How To Run Errands in Manhattan

This weekend's been pretty hectic with unpacking and running errands. Somewhere along the way, the boy and I had to go grocery shopping. In LA, this would be a simple half hour errand. We'd just hop into the car and drive to the local Pavillions or Ralphs. In New York, this can turn into an all day affair. We decided to get groceries in Chinatown because we needed a huge sack of rice, and I heard that the produce was better in Chinatown. The boy brought out a suitcase with rollers and put a large backpack on me. I told him we looked like tourists. This was all very strange to me. We took the subway to Chinatown. Before supermarkets came into existence, I imagine that this was how people got their groceries. Although Chinatown does have a couple of very hard to find "supermarkets," for the most part you have your produce markets/stands, your meat markets, and your seafood markets. We walked around from market to market, each time stuffing my backpack fuller and fuller. My shoulder muscles started to hurt, but I guess I shouldn't complain. All of the heavy stuff went into the suitcase which the boy had to pull. We had dinner in Chinatown before heading back. After this trip, we decided that we wouldn't buy groceries in Chinatown again. Although things were cheaper and better than at a regular grocery store, everything was damp and rotted faster. It was also a waste of a day. But this type of errand running is unavoidable. The next day we had to go to Bed, Bath & Beyond to get pots, pans and other kitchen items. It was the same thing all over again. It's funny how you never need to go the the stores around your neighborhood.