Anchor Blue Closing

Though this isn't a travel or transportation related entry, but this post is about a store I would shop at whenever I am in California. Anchor Blue and In-N-Out Burgers are two California institutions that get my business out west. Even in Austin, TX I went to an Anchor Blue at Lakeline Mall back in 2008. Anchor Blue sold some great t-shirts, but I also liked their flannel shirts and hoodies, especially the hoodie with their logo on it lol!

I will miss this store, too bad the bad economic conditions finally did them in.

An article about the sad announcement:
http://www.costar.com/News/Article/Anchor-Blue-Calls-It-Quits-Closing-115-Stores/125791

Anchor Blue Inc., a specialty retailer of casual apparel and accessories for the teenage market, filed a petition for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code with the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Anchor Blue previously emerged from a restructuring in August 2009. Since then, the company has worked to implement a series of initiatives to position the business for future growth including introducing new merchandise, reducing overhead costs, launching a new store concept, and bolstering its executive team.

However, Anchor Blue has continued to face strong headwinds from product promotions and discounts offered by larger retailers and unusually disruptive weather conditions in Southern California where the majority of its stores are located.

Additional capital was injected into the business in November 2010 to help Anchor Blue through the holiday season, but the company suffered severe sales declines in December which further eroded its financial position.

Central Asia Summary

It was a unique trip, one that many rarely have a chance to go. I've found a unique fondness to culture and history. This part of the world certainly had a lot of historical significance due to it being along the Silk Road and being part of the former USSR.

Food of Central Asia

When guests join families for dinners in Central Asia the meals huge, amd are served to the guests first. Appetizers is bread and a tomato/onion dish. Main dishes can be of chicken, mutton (lamb), fish, and beef. Pork meat is quite rare and hardly used.

In this part of the world, tea is a common drink. Coke and Pepsi products can also be had.

There are no McDonalds in Central Asia, but in Kazakhstan you can find KFCs and Pizza Huts. Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan there aren't any of these fast food restaurants, instead these countries have their own type of quick eateries.

Palov is the national dish of Uzbekistan is made with rice, along with meat and vegetables, and lamb fat oil.

Doner, has that juicy beefy wrap with potato fries in it. This is known as the Kyrgyz burrito and is very good.

Central Asia Trip - Uzbekistan

My gripe about Columbia Transit

This transit agency operates in the Mid-Missouri city called Columbia, which is home to UM-Columbia. This is the largest university in the UM system with an enrollment of approximately 25,000 students. As for Columbia Transit, I've observed this agency over the years I cannot overcome the flaws this agency has. I don't know how they get their funding, but their service is often criticized for being inefficient. Many people I've interviewed in Columbia told me they wouldn't ride it as its more costly to ride than to drive their own car, i.e. gas would have to cost over $4 to make it feasible for some to ride it. Mizzou students I interviewed said they wouldn't ride it as most have access to a car, whether their own or a friend's car. This is one thing about CT, why not encourage Mizzou students to use their system to go to places like the mall. Students use it to get to campus from various off campus apartments, but other than that students seldom use it to run errands or for a night on the town. Residents use it to commute to work and go see doctors, but thats during the day, forget about the evening, after the evening rush, service ends. Another complaint are empty buses, yet CT is buying new buses to replace buses that are not even 12 years old. 5 new Gillig buses have been ordered and should be arriving in the Fall, however, this article is over a year old.

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/04/10/columbia-line-five-new-buses/

Why not use some of the money to bring awareness and increase ridership? Also, why doesn't the city of Columbia work with Mizzou and Stephen College to subsidize rides for students like with Ames, IA Cyride (ISU) or CUMTD at Champaign Urbana (UIUC), both of these systems are WAY ahead of Columbia transit when it comes to service. Both Cyride and CUMTD run late night bus service and offer Sunday bus service. Columbia Transit, on the other hand, has limited to non-existent late night service. The last bus route ends service at 10pm and this is only Thursday and Friday. Yet for some strange reason Saturday service ends at 7:30pm??? Wow, how are students gonna use the bus to go to the mall or Wal-Mart on Saturday and not worry about missing the last bus? Forget about Sunday service as this doesn't exist!



This system has potential, but for now its still stuck in the past. Columbia Transit isn't as progressive nor does the city of Columbia put any effort in making transit better. Instead the city of Columbia rather put more red light scameras to extort money from poor motorists. Most residents overlook mass transit and rely on their cars to get around, however, if transit was more cost effective and reliable they'd ride it too. CT can sit in the sidelines and watch other college towns with superb transit systems that runs late into the night (Cyride, Crimson Ride, CUMTD), offers Sunday service, and is ridden by students not by choice, but by convenience.

Here are some pictures of CT's buses I took over the years.


Wow, a New Flyer D40LF coming back from the mall, probably empty, who rides this to the mall and worries about getting stranded there?


A D30LF in front of the Wabash station (transit center for Columbia Transit).


A picture of their 2008 Gillig BRT bus, which is more of an image booster for CT than a necessity.



A New Flyer D40LF rides down the road.

I haven't posted in a while, but since this is mainly a travel and bus blog I'll be posting my recent trip to the Caribbean with a good friend of mines. I visited FIVE countries and TWO U.S. Territories in 11 days ( Puerto Rico (USA), U.S. Virgin Islands, Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, and St. Kitts).

In the meantime here are a few pictures from the vacation, which involved lots of walking, driving, historical tours, and of course fun in the sun at beaches.