Well, I’ll admit that Boone is a stretch.

But a few years ago, I met an older couple in the local Trader Joe’s parking lot, filling up four coolers’ worth for the trip home. To Johnson City.
We go to Costco about every eight weeks, almost entirely for meat. Much higher quality (steaks and pork chops are cut thicker, etc.) and noticeably lower prices, although they’d definitely jumped on our run two weeks ago. We load up the basement freezer, and I’m done shopping for meat for several months.
We also buy wine, occasionally grilling spices, some paper goods, a few Costco-only things like their pesto and pecan pralines for my mom, occasional cat litter, and booze at the attached non-Costco liquor store (escaping the death grip of the NC ABC stores). Maybe a gadget once a year. We don’t buy produce, t-shirts, cereal, etc. We usually drop around $400-$450 a trip, although the inflation was noticeable last time.
And the amazing $1.50 beef hotdogs and drank at checkout!
I know some people who live near a Costco and go 2-3 times a week. I guess it makes sense if you’re feeding eight kids or something, but it takes me (and my feet) 2-3 days to recover from a Costco run. I would blow my brains out if I had to go more often. For us, it’s a gird-up-your-loins, put-your-game-face-on thing.
And hey, when you’re retired, it’s one of our few sources of excitement!
It just frosts me to have to drive 54 miles each way, when they could clean up around here!