Down south...

...which, in this case, means south South Bend.

A few days ago, I was released from work a few hours early. The store was dead and our usual freight shipment had not been delivered. It was fine with me. Temps in the lower 70's, clear with a slight breeze. With a few hours to kill, I thought that I would head to the southern end of South Bend.

Before Mishawaka was developed in the shopping mecca it is today, the area shopping complex was in south South Bend. It was anchored by Scottsdale Mall. Similarly to how Mishawaka is anchored by University Park Mall (where I work, yea!) By the late 1990's Mishawaka's successful business development had caused the Scottsdale area to decay and eventually the mall and numerous nearby businesses closed. A renewal campaign occurred a few years ago which promised a similar shopping experience as Mishawaka's. I hadn't been in the area since about 1998 so I thought it was about time that I check it out.

My first stop was the Sears Essentials stores. Season pay attention. This building used to be one of three or four K-marts that were in the area. After the major shake-up a few years back. Only the K-mart store in Mishawaka survived. Last year, K-mart bought out Sears and reopened some of their shut-downed properties as Sears Essentials stores. I thought I would check out what they have done and was impressed. It still has a discount store feel but it is a helluva lot cleaner and nicer looking.

I didn't take a picture of the old Scottsdale complex. Stores like Old Navy and Kohls have set up shop. Target is still there. It's all new and looks really nice. The plus side to all of it is that it still looks like the crowds are still flocking to Mishawaka because there weren't any crowds over here. The bypass still makes it somewhat easy to get there.



If you ever wondered what the North/South Continental divide looks like, here it is. Rain falling where that truck would go to the North Atlantic by way of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence. Rain falling where I am would eventually get to the Mississippi River and then to the Gulf of Mexico.

Hey John, aren't our freeways nice and shiny? :P