One of my favorite Wawas

A lot of the Wawas I am hitting, I have not posted pictures of because I hit them on my first challenge and the pictures of them are on older posts. The one I hit this morning was one of my original Wawas from the challenge but it was one between Wawa Sunday Fun Day Part 1 & Part 2 and when I didn't post anything. I ended the last challenge around the 32 Wawas-hit mark but ended the blog before I updated on all of them.

I stopped for breakfast on my way into work today at the Wawa in Essington, PA right off of I-95. I didn't get a chance to blog about this one the first time around, but it is one of my favorite Wawas I have been to. Some things that are different & interesting compared to some other Wawas.

• Different doors designated for entrance & exit
• An island counter for "hot foods" - morning has breakfast sandwiches, lunch/dinner have stuffed pretzels
• Tobacco sales have 1 register only - you cannot purchase tobacco products at the other 2 registers
• Is one of the biggest Wawas I've been in

I want to go back just so I can take some pictures of the inside of this Wawa but it just has a little bit of a "bigger" feel to it the way it is set up and seems more spacious.

This is a picture from the original 50 in 30 Challenge, and I am fairly positive it is the Essington Wawa.

#9. Wawa Store #254 - Monday, November 29 - 10:58am

600 S. Governor Printz Blvd.

Essington, PA 19029

Items Purchased: Donut and 20oz hazelnut coffee

-Ford

You Learn Stuff

After Thanksgiving I had enough turkey, stuffing (2 kinds!), mashed potatoes, & green bean casserole to last for quite awhile. Over the weekend, I had to combat that with some sugar.

On Saturday I met up with the girl (she loves when I refer to her as 'the girl'), AKA Sarah, and we went to Firecreek in Downingtown, PA with my sister and brother-in-law, Kim & Andy. On my way there, I stopped for a quick sugar-fix as I had been sitting around the house watching tv and reading. I got my Mountain Dew & Peanut Butter M&M's at the Wawa on Carpenter Road near me and continued on my way. Looking at the receipt just now, I realized that Delaware has gotten me again.

We all know Delaware as one thing: a tax-free state. Well, they have their 'hidden' costs and they get their money. The ol' bottle deposit charge trick. Pennsylvania residents - you know when you see on the labels of your bottles (beer, soda, etc.) you can return for 5 cents in certain states? Delaware, Maine, Hawaii, etc. Well, everyone who buys one of those bottles pays 5 cents more for that bottle. So if you don't save your bottles and return them - you are essentially paying a tax on those bottles you buy.

I just did a little research (thanks Google) and according to www.bottlebill.org the Delaware bottle deposit law will suspend on December 1, 2010 and refunds will cease on February 1, 2011. I'm kind of torn on that. While I'm glad I won't be spending 5 cents per bottle that I'm too lazy to save and take back, it is a good practice.

#6. Wawa Store #809 - Saturday, November 27th - 4:06pm
2300 Carpenter Road
Wilmington, DE 19810
Items Purchased: 20oz Mountain Dew, Peanut Butter M&Ms

So after making one of my last deposits to the bottle deposit law in Delaware, the four of us hung out at Firecreek for a little while. Sarah & I then went to the new P.J. Whelihans in Downingtown to meet up with her friend Joey and then we went to Victory to meet up with her friend Kelly and a few others. After trucking around and meeting up with everyone she rewarded me with a Wawa stop. And by rewarded me, I mean I paid.

We stopped at one of the Downingtown Wawas and got a gatorade, pretzel m&m, & 2 reese's peanut butter trees. Back in PA, I was forced to pay a little thing called tax. There was also quite the display of Coke & Diet Coke 12-packs. I was tempted to purchase a 12-pack of Diet Coke just to test my Jenga skills.

#7. Wawa Store #245 - Saturday, November 27th - 10:31pm
100 Boot Road
Downingtown, PA 19335
Items Purchased: 20oz Lemon Lime Gatorade, Pretzel M&Ms, 2 Reese's Peanut Butter Trees

Onto this morning. Nothing exciting, just went to one of the Wawas on the University of Pennsylvania's campus on my way into work to grab a coffee & breakfast sandwich. They do have a unique set up for the coffee station though which is unlike other Wawas. Most have their coffee stations as an island and then the coffee pots or whatever the new things are by the counter where all the food is prepared. This Wawa has their coffee station against the window on Spruce Street. I liked it just because it is different.

#8. Wawa Store #179 - Saturday, November 28th - 10:34am
3744 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Items Purchased: 20oz hazelnut coffee & sausage, egg, & cheese on a bagel

Day: 5
Wawas hit: 8
Days left: 25
Wawas left: 42

-Ford

What is your favorite?

There are no new Wawas to report on, but I wanted to pose a question to you, the reader. [I'm hoping that 'reader' is actually plural, and not singular]

There are so many items at Wawa as any store would offer a variety of options. However, Wawa always seems to hit the mark with their products. From the always-present items like hoagies to the limited-time products such as the turkey bowl, they always have something that keeps people coming back.

So what is your favorite item? Post in the comments and see what other people say as well.

Blog Note
I will be likely be hitting some Wawas today as I venture out to Downingtown, PA later with the girl to meet up with my sister & brother-in-law.

Challenge Update
Day: 4
Wawas hit: 5
Days left: 26
Wawas left: 45

-Ford

Wawa for Thanksgiving

And here we go again. The journey has begun and it started with my local Wawas as you could imagine. The challenge begun on Wednesday, November 24th, the day before Thanksgiving and I only hit 1 because I decided I wanted to take a lazy day as many of these days off around Thanksgiving have been and will be.

So on Wednesday I went up to my usual Wawa to get the paper. This is my usual Wawa because it is in close proximity to I-95 which I hop on to get to work every day. Nothing special about this trip, just doing my old-man thing and buying the Philadelphia Inquirer so I could read the news and do the crossword. And by 'do the crossword' I mean get about 30% of it done and give up because I'm still not good at them. What I fail to do is look at the paper the next day and see the full crossword done. Maybe then I could learn some things and actually end up completing a crossword one day. But nope. Still haven't learned.

#1. Wawa Store #816 - Wednesday, November 24th - 9:31am
Ridge & Naamans Road
Claymont, DE 19703
Item Purchased: Philadelphia Inquirer

Onto Thanksgiving day. Happy post-thanksgiving everyone! I did not get a chance to post yesterday as I spent the majority of the day at my parent's house. On my way I stopped for gas at the Wawa in Parkesburg, PA. So I thought I was done for the day since I didn't think I'd stop for food after a large & wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. However, I still did. On my way back at around 10pm I needed by Mountain Dew fix since I hadn't had one in awhile. I also got Pretzel M&M's. If you haven't had pretzel M&M's yet...get them! They are fantastic.

#2. Wawa Store # 263 - Thursday, November 25th - 2:33pm

3711 W. Lincoln Hwy.

Parkesburg, PA 19365

Item Purchased: Gas

#3. Wawa Store #298 - Thursday, November 25th - 9:59pm

1413 Wilmington Pike

West Chester, PA 19382

Items Purchased: 20oz Mountain Dew and Pretzel M&Ms

Here are pictures from the 2 Wawas - first Wawa # 263 in Parkesburg, PA & then Wawa # 298 in Wester Chester, PA on Rt-202.

 

Black Friday

I was not planning on going out for Black Friday shopping today but when I woke up I realized I had nothing better to do, so I showered and went out to see if I could get a little Christmas shopping done or maybe get a few things for myself. I of course needed my Wawa coffee before I got going, so I stopped at the Wawa on the corner of Rt-202 & Naamans Road for hazelnut coffee & a breakfast sandwich. For anyone who knows me or read the blog before, you know you will be seeing a lot more of hazelnut coffee popping up on this blog. So I hit the ATM for some cash, get my coffee & sandwich and get into my car. While getting into my car, I realized I did not ask for a receipt. Doh. I semi-panicked. I wasn't going to go in and be like - "umm, remember me? I purchased coffee & a breakfast sandwich about 10 customers ago. no? well, can you print my receipt for me anyways?" No, I didn't do that. However - what I did remember was that I hit the ATM and got cash...and more importantly...a receipt! Success. Take my picture of the store and move on.

#4. Wawa Store #826 - Friday, November 26th - 9:13am

3448 Naamans Road

Wilmington, DE 19803

Items Purchased: Cash at ATM, 16oz hazelnut coffee, shorti breakfast sandwich

-Insert unsuccessful black friday shopping stories here-

I will not bore you with black friday shopping. After a couple hours of that, I stopped at the Wawa in Chadds Ford on Rt-202 for lunch & the paper.

#5. Wawa Store #170 - Friday, November 26th - 11:51am

721 Naamans Creek Road

Chadds Ford, PA 19317

Items Purchased: Chicken Caesar Wrap and Philadelphia Inquirer

And there you have it. 3 days in and 5 Wawas hit already. The day is still young too, we'll see if any more get hit tonight. Here are the receipts from the past few days:

Now back to the Flyer's Black Friday game vs. the Calgary Flames. Let's Go Flyers!

-Ford

The Quest Not to Fail

Welcome back to the challenge! For those of you who followed the last time, I apologize for the failure. Major Wawa fail on my part.

I could make excuses, try to explain myself - but it really boiled down to getting sick of planning out everywhere I went and trying to find a Wawa to accompany my trip every single day.

That will not happen this time. I will not fail twice.

For those of you new to the blog, the challenge is simple: Go to 50 different Wawas in 30 days. To prove I hit each one, I will take a picture of the Wawa and post my receipt from whatever I purchase.

I am strategically rehashing this challenge from Thanksgiving to Christmas as I have a little more down-time and will have the Christmas spirit with me in my travels.

I will start the challenge on Wednesday, November 24th and I will need to complete the 50 Wawas by Thursday, December 23rd. So I'm going from Thanksgiving Eve to Christmas Eve Eve.

I highly encourage people to comment on the posts throughout the journey such as:

• Suggestions on what to buy
• Some Wawa location tips
• Anything Wawa related - because I hope we can all agree, Wawa is awesome.

So here we go.

Again.

-Ford