McDonald's restaurants around town

When I was growing up we didn't have McDonald's restaurants on practically every street corner. There was only one in Surrey and none in Langley, so I really didn't grow up with the fast food joint.

Of course, we saw the McDonald's commercials on TV and wanted milkshakes, fries, and burgers. The closest McDonald's was in Whalley on the King George Highway and about 102nd Avenue. It still stands there today. Occasionally we'd get a meal from McDonald's, usually in Vancouver or some other town we were visiting. Maybe once at the Whalley McDonald's.

By the mid-70's a few more McDonald's had popped up around town. There was one at the Scottsdale Mall, Scott Road and 70th Avenue that I used to go to from time to time when visiting the mall. Back then I got a hamburger, large fries, and a large coke for one dollar.

That was around the time McDonald's was running the commercials about how you always get change for a dollar. Those days are long since past. Maybe change from a ten or twenty now depending on if you're eating alone or with someone else.

The first McDonald's in Langley opened around 1978, the one on the corner of the Fraser Highway and the Langley Bypass, so now we finally had a McDonald's that was somewhat closer to home. Though I think the one across the street from the Guildford Mall opened around the same time, perhaps a year or two earlier.

The McDonald's in Cloverdale opened around 1980 with a decidedly Western theme. Stools shaped like Western saddles adorned the counter tables. The Ronald McDonald statue wore a cowboy hat. Little things keeping with Cloverdale's country western town, and possibly a tribute to the Cloverdale Rodeo which was the second largest in Canada at the time.

I'm a vegetarian so I rarely go into McDonald's. I still like their fries and McFlurry's so I visit about 2 or 3 times a year for a snack. I was last in the Cloverdale McDonald's a little over a year ago and the stools shaped like Western saddles are gone, as is most of the other decor I remembered from after it opened.

But if you go through the drive-thru at McDonald's, you'll be on the east side of the wall at Stampede Tack and the mural is full of McDonald's characters in Western attire.

And why the sudden interest in McDonald's? Darned if my father didn't phone last night and is bringing his car into the mechanic around the corner on Wednesday morning and he wants to take us out to breakfast at McDonald's.

Hmm. I'm hoping I can persuade him to go to another fine dining establishment in town....

Going Shopping

When I was a kid I loved going shopping with my mother. Grocery shopping was the best. But there was a mall not too far from our house called Guildford. Anchored by the now defunct Woodward's department store, this was a 2 story outdoor shopping with a bakery, pet store, book store, and many other shops I've long since forgotten. The outdoor walkway was covered so if it was raining we didn't get too wet. There was also a movie theatre and below that a roller skating rink.

But changes were coming in the early 70's. The new concept for Guildford mall was to enclose the shopping area so that everything would be undercover. Eventually Eaton's was built on the other side of the road and a covered walkway with shops went over the street. The roller rink closed down and became a furniture store and over the years the space was broken down into several smaller stores. Guildford became one of the biggest and best shopping malls in the Greater Vancouver Area. I used to go there several times a month through the late 70's and early 80's.

However my shopping habits have changed in the past 10 years thanks to the Internet. I can get most of my Christmas shopping done in November. These days when I go shopping I don't head to the mall. I go to some big box stores but most of my shopping is done online. Even grocery shopping I go to local produce stores once a week or so and do the majority of my grocery shopping once a month or even less.

As for things like clothes and household necessities I buy them as I need them and I don't normally head to the mall for buying. Recently I was part of a discussion about shopping at malls. The consensus is that the majority of people in shopping malls these days are seniors, teenagers, and mothers with young children. I had to think back to the last time I was in a mall, and it was quite some time ago. I'd run in on my way home from dining out because I knew a card shop was in there and I had to buy a birthday card.

The Internet has changed our shopping habits. Retailers on the Internet do not have to pay the high prices of leasing space in a mall. A website is a fraction of that cost.

Its time to get on the wave and that's why we opened our online store. We sell make up, health care products like shampoo, toothpaste, and vitamins. We also sell Perfect water, energy drinks, weight loss products and snacks. In addition we've partnered with over 500 stores and refer people to shop online. Check us out: www.ditto4u.ca