2025, Automotive, Travel

Vehicle Bound

44 Comments

You’ve probably heard me say that the only good things to come out of Covid were working from home and drive-up service.  I know that many businesses are making people come back into the office but hopefully drive-up service is here to stay.

With a sore knee, running errands wasn’t the top of my to-do list the last couple of weeks.  Unfortunately, you can’t just keep putting off errands or else your household starts to sag at the edges.  As I started to list things that just needed to get done, I realized that drive-through was going to be my friend.  Here’s what I managed to do without getting out of the car:

  • Aldis
  • Target
  • Value Village (this was a drop-off, not a pick-up)
  • Post office (again, a drop-off)
  • Bank ATM
  • Dunkin’ Donuts
  • Caribou Coffee

There was one more errand that did require me to get out of the car – returning a library book.  The only library with a drive-through return in the Hennepin system was the Southdale Library – and as of this past week, the drive-through is no longer available:

I can’t remember a time when I had so many things I could do without exiting my vehicle.  I do like drive-up and drive-through!!

Do you do any drive-up or drive-through?

 

 

 

 

44 thoughts on “Vehicle Bound”

  1. i do burger king and taco bell drive through but they have both screwed it up so severely with bad customer service response that maybe its a better choice idea not to leave the robots to fill your order

    i have both of them scheduled to go on my past chosen partner statis rather than continue to throe frustration in my daily dealings

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  2. my library drive-through tail getting out of the car with an arm load of books and going up to the thing where the door opens and you put them on the conveyor belt and they get dumped into a bucket at the end of the conveyor belt so you don’t need to go in the building, but you do need to get out of the car I don’t know if they all do this but most of the ones that I use do including Eden Prairie, which is my regular go to. I get frustrated when they bulldoze perfectly good buildings and then do something stupid with the location. I think there taking our community dollars that were spent in South Dale and going to do something that is not community. Based good versus letting the library continue on my son is frustrated with Hiawatha golf course down by Lake Tacoma being turned from an 18 hole golf course into a nine hole golf course and instead of allowing the historically black golf course to remain and paying for upkeep they’ve decided to turn it into a park to go along with the other parks that are down in that neighborhood and it just makes no sense to give up a golf course today They haven’t come up with any drive-through golf course yet that I’m aware of.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Yes, most of the Hennepin libraries do now have the conveyor belt return system so that you don’t have to actually go in the library. But Southdale had an actual drive up so you didn’t even have to get out of your car to put the books onto the conveyor belt.

      Like

      Reply

    2. The Rochester library has had a drive up for quite a few years. They squeezed it into a U turn, so you always end up too far away and have to get out of the car to get the books in. And the process has changed a few times regarding how you insert the books. Now it’s push a button to open the door. (A physical button, not the screen, which confuses a lot of people) The scanner has gotten faster reading the books so that’s not so hard. Then you touch the screen when you’re finished.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. There are only a couple of them. I drive to a post office annex where they have a drive-through mailbox, and I use the ATM at my bank. I don’t go to fast food places very often, if ever. I use the order pick-up at Target once in a while, but also not very often. I still like to walk into the store and look at the items. The Co-op had a drive-through system during the pandemic which worked nicely, but I’m very happy to shop for my own produce again. Things like Riverwalk Market Fair, farmers’ markets, road-side veggie stands, and thrift stores require me to get out of my car. Those are the main places I shop at this time of year, so I’m glad I can still walk.

    I’ve been giving more things away lately, and I’ve had to deliver them, so no drive-up there either. Goodwill in Faribault has a drive-through garage, but you still have to get out of the car and put your donations into a large box, so it’s only partly a drive-through. It’s quick and easy though.

    I had supper with a friend at a new Italian restaurant in town last night. Nice!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. It’s nice to know that the option is there if I ever have more knee pain than I do now! I do my exercises when I have time, but I’m not diligent about it, especially now that I’m busy with moving. I have good intentions about it!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  4. I’ve also done the Burger King & Taco Bell, Caribou and local coffee drive-thru’s, Walgreen prescription pick-up, bank deposits…

    For grocery drive-thru, which I haven’t done, you would have had to order ahead online, right? So you’d have to know exactly what you want, and no impulse buying – could save you money.

    OT: tim left a late post on Allergy day (Friday?) that might be worth reading if you have bad allergies…

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. The acupuncturist I go to is Colleen LaSota. She practices in south Mpls at Ascent Acupuncture (41st and Grand). Her website is fourgatesmpls.com.

        Like

        Reply

        1. Good Grief! That is a lot of work for what benefit?

          We noticed that in Arizona the mail service was poor. They did not even have daily delivery which was a poorly kept secret. That allowed more opportunity for mail theft.

          Liked by 3 people

        2. The benefit is that any checks in any of the mail can be chemically washed to remove the recipient’s name and the amount and then rewritten to benefit the thief in large amounts. That’s why the post office advises not to put mail with checks in the boxes but to bring them directly to the P. O.

          Liked by 2 people

      2. I’ve heard of instances where boxes have been cut open with a metal saw. Also, I believe, there is something of a black market for mailbox keys.

        Like

        Reply

        1. I only put mail in the drop box outside the post office around noon or later. Pickup is at 3:15. I almost always put it in the drop slot in the apartment mailboxes and never overnight.

          Liked by 2 people

  6. I just got done feeding Sandra breakfast, which can only be done from the right side of the bed. Because I have to use my left hand, I have to reach out with my damaged left shoulder, which is throbbing by the time I am done.
    I have a small car, which does not match up with drive through levels. I have to reach up and out, especially at my bank. Like you can’t go in VS, I need to go in. Culvers is very high as is every coffee place I have tried.
    Clyde

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. I also have a very short car, a Honda Insight. But for now, my shoulder is OK for reaching up and most employees are pretty good about reaching down to meet me halfway.

      Like

      Reply

    2. The Walgreens window by me is built it seems for trucks. And they have posts that keep you from getting very close. I had to get out of the car to get the bank card. I had not been there in years until a few months ago. They now put the card in a small envelope and staple it to the bag.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  7. We rarely, if ever, eat anywhere but home, and we only drink coffee we make at home. We use the drive through at the bank. We have yet to order groceries for pick up.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  8. We went to get the dog an icecream cone at Dairy Queen the other day, but the drive through line was so long I went inside and ordered while Husband and Kyrill waited in the car.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

        1. Thanks! 🙂 I was surprised, but not surprised. Lisa Deyo, owner of the wonderfully unique Sweet Reads Bookstore in Austin, is a HUGE fan of mine and my best “assistant bookseller.” I think she’s sold close to 300 copies of my books over the years! She’s amazing. So much energy and love for her local authors. If you ever get a chance, stop in at her store, directly across the street from the SPAM museum, on North Main St. Make it a day trip and add a coffee stop at the Coffee House on Main, which is kitty-corner from the SPAM Museums. And maybe hit Piggy Blues BBQ for some delicious ‘cue to finish the day.

          If you go to the bookstore, tell Lisa, “Chris sent me!” She’ll be thrilled.

          Chris in Owatonna

          Liked by 1 person

        2. WP won’t let me “like” anything. Just assume I do unless I make some smart-ass comment to the contrary. This is so cool. Congratulations Chris.

          Like

  10. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    If any Baboons are headed for the State Fair today, I will be at the “Ask a Master Gardener” Booth from 12:45pm – 5:00pm.🍃. It is definitely walk though, not drive through.

    Drive through was a saving grace after my hip surgery when I could drive, but walking and getting in and out was difficult. That story is almost identical to that of VS. At the Arboretum I use the drive through entry lane. That one has not been mentioned. Otherwise the bank, Caribou, and occasionally Culvers. I cannot think of many other sources.

    I always wonder about the wisdom of drive through liquor stores–that cannot be a good idea. Drinking and driving and all that.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  11. The only drive throughs we use are at the credit union and the post office. The only place where we get fast food (a local chain called My Burger) doesn’t have a drive through. Husband makes his own coffee, so no need for Caribou/Starbucks.

    We didn’t use pickup service during the pandemic, either. I don’t like the idea of strangers picking out food for me. I want to choose the greenest bananas and the least crushed-looking package of spinach for myself.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    1. I agree, Julie, I much prefer to pick especially fresh produce myself. As I can no longer walk any distance or stand for any length of time, husband has been doing our grocery shopping for the last year and a half. It has been a revelation to me – and not a happy one – just how little attention he pays to the quality of what he brings home.

      Some of it is, I suppose, that he simply doesn’t know what to look for, but it seems obvious to me that if a casual inspection of the bag of onions reveals a rotten onion in the mix, you pick a different package. This past Friday he came home from the local Farmers’ Market with a $4.00 bunch of basil that was irredeemably past it’s prime. When I asked him about it, he said he figured he’d just stick it in a glass of water and it would perk right back up.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

  12. I use a few drive throughs – the bank, Culver’s, the Roseville & Shoreview libraries (no need to get out of the car), and the new recycling center in Roseville. I never use pickup service for groceries. Like others who have posted, I prefer to pick out my own food. I did use the Kohl’s pickup service once during the pandemic.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. The recycling center is a worth a look if you have time to get out of the car and go in. We have Fix-it Clinics there, and there is a nicely organized reuse area for things like paint and cleaning products.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  13. speaking of banks, we use the one with the stagecoach, and so many smaller branches have shut down in the last few years…i resisted doing the mobile check deposit, but was kinda forced into it. And now I love it! So easy! Never had issues with it except when I forget to finish the process on my end.

    There used to be a parts guy at my local John Deere store that would always carry stuff out to my car. Kelly joked he was my boyfriend.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  14. I used some drive up grocery options during the pandemic, but I like to use my own bags, and if you have them bring it out to your car, they usually give you a bunch of plastic bags. I figure I can go in and bag my own stuff.

    I often pick up odd things that are lying around. One thing I found a number of years ago was one of those bank drive-thru cylinders that shoots through the tube. I took it to several banks in the area, trying to return it, but each person I talked to said it wasn’t theirs, it was the wrong color. (It was red,) I would think that someone could use it, even it’s not their normal color, but after being sent away a few times I gave up. I probably still have it somewhere. It would be fun to get a Captain Kirk figurine to tuck inside and send it through a bank drive-thru and then quickly drive away.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  15. A few years ago making a deposit at the drive thru and that cylinder went up about 2’ and got stuck. I could see it right there. Course my card, and the check I NEEDED deposited were in there. The bank tried sending another tube back to knock it loose. Then they tried adding weight to the canister to give it more “Ramming Power”, nope. I was able to get my arm inside the machine, I could feel a pen had jammed in the container door, and I was able to knock it loose and retrieve the canister. Whew!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  16. I don’t do drive-throughs or -ups other than the ATM. Tried a few fast-food joints years ago, but have a multi-year streak going of not using drive-throughs; OR eating at fast-food places.

    I hate ordering through their microphones—lousy sound most of the time. I feel rushed in deciding what to order. And I don’t care to interact with disembodied voices. That’s probably why I don’t enjoy talking on the phone unless absolutely necessary. I prefer to see who I’m talking to, read their body language, etc.

    Our library drop-off requires us to get out of the car. Return depository is cut into the end of the building. Open the small door, drop book into slot, close door. Nothing fancy like them thar high falutin’ conveyor belts you city slickers get to use.

    Chris in Owatonna

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Correction, we do have a drive-by mailbox in front of the post office. I use that a lot. So I guess I’m not a “purist” after all. 😉

      Chris in Owatonna
      (who’s getting annoyed that WP forces me to resubscribe to this blog every other day (sometimes 2x a day like it just did today!) What the hell, WP? Are you intentionally making your software LESS user-friendly??)

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a reply to tim Cancel reply