The new shopping is nearly down in White Rock though. We went over the Alex Fraser and out on 91 to 99. Then we exited and drove around the area trying to find 160th Street and 24th Avenue. The whole area is rapidly developing. Old farm land is being bulldozed and transformed into mega-project residences. Along with all the influx of people comes big-box shopping.
The whole experience was a little disappointing as there is not nearly enough parking to support the acres of building. It also appears as they had rushed the opening to have it occur over our long weekend. There were hardly any frozen or refrigerated products on display. Little signs read about a power disruption but I'd venture that was hardly the truth. They'd just not met expected schedules. In addition, the checkout person bar-code swiped several items twice forcing us to check the bill and then visit customer service for the refund.
Grocery shopping in an unfamiliar store is disconcerting at best, and more likely a headache. Even within the same store brand, navigating a format that is even slightly different makes my head swim. We came back via the King George Highway and stopped at a Canadian Superstore, but it didn't match up with our usual one in Coquitlam. The items were right; it just seemed they were all in the wrong places.
It seemed weird to travel 16 miles back from a shopping trip but then I remembered that when growing up, that's how far we used to drive weekly to shop. Now, North American society seems to think it is a birthright to have a mammoth shopping complex at every other corner.