My Getaway to Gassaway

NOTE: This entire post comes from the mountainous state of West Virginia. While the June 23 floods hit the state hard physically, I hit the state hard on my vacation taking pictures of retail. The weather didn't stop me. And of course, I also took weather pictures. I'll save my stories from this trip for later after we take a look at this very special small town Kroger.

Located just off I-79 in the small community of Gassaway, West Virginia, lies a small Kroger which is the right size for the area. While there is no pharmacy here, customers do not have to travel far for their perceptions as a CVS is located right across the street. The store is of the superstore design and has the millennium decor. My apologizes in advance for some of the blurs in the store caused by the rain. I didn't realize that it was there until now.

Looks like the trash can has been weathered.

Under the superstore exterior ceiling.

Services and carts are on the right upon entering the store.

Transition from Seasonal to produce

Produce

Front of the stores with checkout lanes on the right. 

Meats along the back wall

Example of signage for frozen foods

Dairy

Deli

Counter for the bakery

The Manager upstairs

Small town Information center, brought to you by Kroger. 

Another view of the outdoor ceiling

The Kroger cube and CVS across the street.

         Although I was aware that Flash Flood watches had been issued for northern and central West Virginia, I used experimental future radar to estimate if I would run into rain. While it said I wouldn't, I did. And, boy it is no wonder why some parts got hit hard. While I was riding along I-79, which runs at a higher elevation than local roads, I could start to see some flash flooding starting to occur in some of the valleys below. I didn't realize how hard some of these same valleys got hit until the next day upon hearing the news via my electronic tablet. Clendinin and Elkview were two towns that I actually traveled through that got hit hard by the high water. There is a plaza in Elkview that people became stranded at after flash floods washed away the bridge connecting the plaza to the road. I was at that plaza just hours before the bridge washed out! All in all it was a very interesting experience to have gone through. I hope for the best for all the victims from the flooding.

This a shot of the road of the mentioned plaza. While my intention was to capture the Kmart banners lined along the road, it now doubles to serve as a before photo. If you search Google you can easily see why people became stranded here.

Despite encountering the bad weather, I did manage to visit many Kmart locations, in addition to Kroger stores. It was, quite literally, a vacation that I won't forget!