Five Frugal Things
by Katy on July 1, 2023 · 53 comments
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My husband is getting a replacement Chrome Industries pannier through their warranty policy. (This wasn’t his first choice, as he would’ve preferred for the company to have a repair program.) Oh well . . . he’ll be able to keep the old bag, which still functions, just without some of the bells and whistles.
This is very much an example of how when buying new, spending a bit more in the beginning can save money in the long run. Products with lifetime warranties can be worth the extra expense in certain circumstances. (Like these companies.) Since we mostly buy used, this is a rare circumstance.
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My husband and I are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary this summer and finally landed on a plan of what to do. The Alaskan cruise idea was #1 for a hot second until we talked to a friend-of-a-friend travel agent, who made us realize it wasn’t for us.
The new plan? Fly to NYC to visit with my sister who just bought a house and is lousy with spare bedrooms. Stay there a few days and then rent a car and loop through New Hampshire to visit a dear college friend, then up to Canada — maybe Montreal, but definitely Toronto, (where I have a cousin and childhood friend) down to Pittsburgh to stay with family; and possibly even Niagara Falls as we drive from Toronto to Pittsburgh. Back over to NYC to hang with my sister again and then fly back to Portland. So . . . a road trip, but also not a road trip.
My husband gets a sweet deal on rental cars through his job, which’ll keep the budget from spinning out of control. We only need hotels in Canada, which should keep the costs under control.
I’d love any suggestions, especially from Canadians in the know. We’re looking to make the most out of this 30th year.
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I made a trip across town to the Franz Bakery Outlet store, and although they only had a single sleeve of bagels in their “Bargain Room,” I still walked out with seven bread items for just $10.50.
• Two loaves of their Hawaiian gluten-free bread.
• One sleeve of plan bagels and one bag of their mini bagels.
• Three bags of their premium hamburger buns — kaiser, potato and sesame.
Considering the gluten-free bread is normally priced at $8 per loaf, I think I did pretty well. Good thing I have a chest freezer in my basement. You already know I pulled out my punch card for a future visit!
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• My friend brought me a jar of black-eyed peas from the excessive amount she panic bought at the beginning of the pandemic.
• I bought a huge bunch of cilantro, so I walked half of it over to my friend Lise. It’s hard for me to use an entire bunch before it goes bad, so I’m happy to have a friend who shares my aversion to food waste.
• I’ve been listening to O, Pioneers by Willa Cather through the library’s free Libby app.
• I wasn’t able to watch The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent when it was free through Starz a couple weeks ago, so I put the DVD on hold at the library. It’s now sitting next to the TV waiting for my husband and I to coordinate an evening for TV watching.
• I’d written “pickles” on my grocery list for my Winco trip, but they were all priced $3.50 and higher, so I struck them from the list. What am I, a Rockefeller?!
• I stopped at the Buck-Twenty-Five Tree Dollar Tree store near the Franz Outlet and picked up two jars of sliced pickles and a big can of pineapple in natural juice to try. (I like to combine the leftover juice with seltzer for a fun fizzy cheapskate beverage.) I also bought two 3-packs of bar soap.
• We were able to use a $99 “companion fare” for my NYC plane ticket. It’s a once a year perk through our credit card.
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I didn’t buy a Lear Jet.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 53 comments… read them below or add one }
Happy Anniversary!
Come to Maine! Lots to see and do here in the great outdoors! And if you do come here feel free to pick my brain.
You will need a special card from your insurance company when traveling to Canada. No cost and all they need are the dates I believe.
Bread outlets are the bomb, usually load up and freeze.
Thanks for the tip about car insurance, we’ll look into that.
Excellent something-one-doesn’t-think-about advice. And along that line, I know Canada has national healthcare but I’d investigate to find out procedure if (we hope not) you/husband are injured. Medicare still provides coverage (unless they snuck in a gotcha I missed) but I know you’re not on Medicare.
Freezers are such a money saver. Ability to take advantage of a good deal instead of passing cuz you have no space.
Along the lines of needing different things in Canada, we went to Montreal and Ottawa last year and our cell phone plans would’ve been at international rates for Canada. My husband got us Google Fi plans for the month that didn’t charge extra for Canada.
We also didn’t waste any time swapping currency and exclusively used a credit card with no foreign exchange fees.
If you’re passing nearby, Perth, ON is adorable and my favorite meal was a salad and the squash sandwich at the Fieldhouse.
We spent several days in Ottawa in 2019 and it was one of our favorite vacations ever.
Katy Hester’s black-eyed peas jambalaya is one of the favorites at our house.
We love Kathy Hester’s recipes!
FFT, Living Off the Ground Edition:
(1) Snow peas are finally in at my Regional Market. I bought a double order today, to have enough for both snacking and the stir-fry I’m planning to make tonight.
(2) Also going into the stir-fry, along with some previously frozen Reduced for Quick Sale boneless country pork ribs, will be a generous fistful of the greens I never have to plant: lamb’s quarters, redroot pigweed, and purslane. “Shut up and eat your weeds” season is in high gear here.
(3) The Bestest Neighbors just brought over the shells of four lobsters that Dr. BN used to make lobster rolls for an opera-related dining group they belong to. (Opera, except for a few greatest hits from Carmen and The Magic Flute, is pretty much wasted on me.) But I am now making stock with the lobster shells, and will be making a gumbo later this weekend with some of the stock, any pork I don’t use in the stir-fry, and still more weeds. Purslane is what I use for an okra substitute in gumbo, since I can’t reliably grow okra here, between the vagaries of the climate and the appetites of the local deer herd.
(4) I picked a quart of the wild black raspberries that the next-door neighbor and I allow to flourish between our properties. I’ve been eating these over discounted vanilla ice cream for the past few days. Nom nom nom.
(5) And I haven’t recently stored any classified documents in either of my bathrooms, or gone through legal contortions to deny rights to people with crippling student loans or LGBTQ+ people.
“Shut Up and Eat Your Weeds” Season…love it, love it, love it! Got my LOL for the day from that one!
Your #5…hard to believe… AHEM…this attempted stealing of highly classified documents by someone formerly in power is really happening in our country. I don’t think even a Hollywood writer could make this stuff up. Marvin K. Mooney Would You Please Go Now…
A. Marie, I love your term “Shut up and eat your weeds” season. I may have to steal,er, BORROW that name. I grew up eating weeds and thought it was normal – like, didn’t everyone eat weeds? It was a shock when one of my older cousins brought her new boyfriend to our grandparents house for supper, and he made a remark about “I can’t bring myself to try the weeds you people eat.” Surprised the heck out of me, but it didn’t impact me in the least. I remain a happy “weedeater” to this day.
Our next door neighbors have a pair of backyard geese who are totally onboard with eating the best weeds. If I don’t bring some purslane and delicious tender knotweed to toss over the fence, they holler at me. It’s pretty funny.
That is hilarious!
Katy, that sounds like it will be a memorable trip. Congrats on your 30th!
1. Apartment management company hosted an event for dogs. Mine enjoyed her pup cup and dog treats.
2. Bathed our dog at the apartment’s dog washing station. Shampoo provided.
3. Brought a tunic to a local tailor for altering. A friend gave me this tunic and it was too large for me. Happy to support a local business while my sewing machine is at the movers’ storage facility.
4. Had sister over for a bring-your-own-salad lunch and she gifted me the remaining couscous salad that she had purchased from a deli.
5. Went to another fix-it clinic offered by my county. Between two visits, I’ve kept 6 lbs. out of the landfill (they weigh items to track this statistic).
MB in MN, I never heard of a county fix-it clinic. Unfortunately, there’s nothing like that in my county or any counties near where I live. I wish there was, because it’s such a good idea!
Happy 30th anniversary! Your plan sounds wonderful.
We decided to take a mini-vacation recently, and one of my goals was to see how little we would have to spend on it. Oh, heck, that’s just about always a goal for me. Things we did to keep it low:
1. We had two free nights coming from hotel stay rewards, so it was a given that we would get a room at a hotel in that chain. The only lodging-related cost was tips for the housekeeping staff.
2.. Since we both love hiking and being outdoors, we chose an area with an abundance of state parks and forests. We already had an annual state park admission sticker ($13 – gotta love senior discounts). The weather was perfect, and we managed to visit five different parks without spending a ton on gasoline. Free/almost free recreation is amazing. Especially since this time, I remembered to bring both sunscreen AND insect repellent.
3. Speaking of gasoline, a check of gas buddy showed that gas prices in that area were, on average, 40 cents per gallon lower than where we live. We also got $1 off per gallon (maximum 35 gallons) courtesy of Kroger Fuel Points. To maximize our savings, we threw a few gas cans in the back of the truck so we could get the full 35 gallon discount (does the gasoline we brought home count as a souvenir?) The lower gas prices combined with the fuel points saved us $49, and we shouldn’t need to buy gas for quite awhile.
4. The hotel offered a pretty decent free breakfast. While we normally don’t eat breakfast, we decide to shake things up and eat big breakfasts each day. No need for lunches; we were both still pretty full from breakfast each day.
5. The room had a kitchenette with full size refrigerator, microwave, sink and dishwasher (I don’t even have a dishwasher at home). Oh, and plenty of dishes and glassware we also furnished. We brought along food to provide supper for both nights – pulled pork one night, Italian beef the other night, along with rolls and salads. Both main dishes had been prepared at home at earlier dates and frozen. There’s only two of us in the house, but I still cook full amounts when possible and freeze the leftovers for additional meals. Maybe we’re weird, but neither my husband nor I are fans of restaurant eating; we’ve had too many disappointing meals. But we ARE big fans of our own home cooking.
6. The only additional money spent was at an amazing local bakery. Because, YUM. And being on vacation seemed to require desserts both nights, at least to me.
I think this may have been our cheapest mini-vacation to date. But the gorgeous sights, adventures and relaxation were priceless.
Susanna D, I love that you brought home lower-priced gasoline as a travel souvenir!
USPS rates for first class stamps and international stamps are increasing as of July 9. Forever stamps of course remain good no matter when they were purchased, so this next week is the week to shop ahead!
I can’t figure out from reading online whether package rates are going up as well; proposals were made, also for July 9.
My ultimate cheapness now is using return address labels that come from charities that decided instead of marking my parents as deceased, for the last three years Dad has lived at my address hundreds of miles away from his home. I snip off his name on the sheet of stickers and use the address and city sticker, with my last name scrawled above it on the envelope. (Note that I moved from “Ames” to a city with ten letters and still get irritated at writing out the whole city name).
**Another** USPS rate hike?? Oh, well, thanks to Heidi Louise for the heads-up.
Ya gotta remember during the bush II era, the Post Office has to fund 75% of its pension costs per year. No other private or public company is required to do this. I’d hoped it would be reversed in 2009/2010 but alas was not. Time to stop Saturday rural delivery (post office open and mail pick-up available). Tell insurance companies that if you don’t allow refills 2 weeks ahead of time, they have to paid non-USPS shipping costs which are *not* deductible. I cannot tell you the last time we got any mail on a Saturday that could not have waited until Monday (or Tuesday if Monday is a holiday).
I knew the rates were going up, didn’t know when and bought a roll of stamps two weeks ago. The time savings from buying a roll is worth more to me that the dollar savings. But looks like this time I got both.
Happy Anniversary!
For your 40th anniversary, I urge you to check out not an Alaska cruise but a trip on the Alaska State Ferry. If you take it from Bellingham you can get to a port where you take another ferry down the entire Aleutian Chain. If you bring you car, you can get off at various points and, if you want, stay a day or two before getting back on the ferry (you have to decide when to stay off before you go, when you buy the ticket). If you are really cheap, you can go without a cabin and sleep on the deck…and you can bring your own food and use the cafeteria microwave to heat things up. Oh the animals you will see…
1. Someone gave me her excess lettuce. Too much to eat before it would go wilty and brown, so I made a lettuce soup recipe I read about on another blog.
2. Like A. Marie, we are eating weeds this month, in soups, stews, and pesto (where we use half the basil required, so it still tastes like basil pesto).
3. The honeyberries are the earliest fruit to ripen and we have several bushes in the yard, so desserts are free berries. Not many berries make it through the winters in Northern Alaska, so honeyberries are most welcome.
4. Have a yearly gathering of six folks who first met working in a very remote rural village. The ingredients each person is to bring are divided up in advance, so for about $10 each, we get a stupendous halibut fry that also includes deep fried zuke and mushrooms.
5. Had one final single pane window to replace. Really, when it is 40 below, you might as well not have anything in the window for all the good a single pane does. It was $1600 (and this is not a huge window by any means) but we paid cash for a discount and a neighbor traded tomatoes from his greenhouse for the discarded single pane that will fit a cracked window in his greenhouse.
6. Our dump sites have a recycle platform and I left two rarely used king sized flannel duvet covers there for someone else. No money but I like the idea that someone will make use of them and it is another thing out of our over-stuffed linen closet.
P.S. https://modernfarmer.com/2018/07/10-edible-weeds-likely-growing-in-your-yard If anyone is interested in finding some of their own free food, here is a good list of common ones.
P.P.S. If a reader is looking for a complete change of life, with financial help included, the tribal council of Karluk, located on Kodiak Island (a particularly gorgeous place with weather like the Pacific Northwest) is looking for a couple families with 3 to 4 school aged kids to move there for a year. Unless they can find folks, their school will close because the number of registered students is too low to continue to get state funding. This is a legit offer. You can look online to find more and the number to call for more information, but the offer includes “all living expenses paid for a year, 3 or 4 bedroom home accommodation, employment or job training support, and access to recreational activities like fishing, camping, kayaking.” The village has only about 37 people right now.
I miss fried halibut! And good point about the AK ferry. One time I met some folks who lived down the street me when I was a child in Ft. Pierce, FL!
1. Made breakfast burritos with leftover restaurant fajita vegetables and tortillas.
2. Went back inside grocery when I realized that one pack of soda didn’t get scanned. I was told “thank you for your honesty. You don’t need to pay.”
3. Cleaned up limbs after a storm just in time for the next storm to bring down more. I will be resting my back for a couple of days before I continue.
4. Discovered that immature butternut squash are delicious. I have several volunteer vines that came from composted seeds. I like the baby ones cooked like yellow squash or zucchini better than mature ones. They are producing more than the summer squash I planted.
5. Bought bacon on sale and used a coupon, making each 12 Oz pack 4.50.
Our recreation this week was very frugal. Totally entertained by smiley 4 mo old granddaughter who we babysat briefly and afterwards had a nice visit with our son. Took the pup and drove a few minutes to the SF Bay near our new home and took a walk one beautiful afternoon. Gas and a bit of water for the pup were the only expenses.
We have large home repair and improvement expenses the rest of this year (think termite and fungus damage repair, total landscaping, plus earthquake retrofit) which were budgeted as part of moving but … we feel the pain. Eating at home and using everything unless we are with family for an outing. Shopping carefully for food. Library, Buy Nothing group, or Little Free Library books only to feed my reading addiction.
1. Scored four jars of Bonne Maman Red Fruit Spread for $1 each at a local discount store. Didn’t know if I would like it but like the slight tartness instead of an over sweet spreads.
2. Picked up a Family Size box of Raisin Bran and two bags of my husband’s favorite candy for $1.00 each at our local bin store.
3. Have been picking up birthday presents at said bin store for my great-nieces’ birthdays saving well over $100.00.
4. My husband found a penny on the ground. Yes I have converted him.
5. Needed to touch up paint in kitchen and bedroom. Searched around house and found samples we had purchased thus saving paint purchase. Paint used to be cheap but not anymore.
1. Scored four jars of Bonne Maman Red Fruit Spread for $1 each at a local discount store. Didn’t know if I would like it but like the slight tartness instead of an over sweet spreads.
2. Picked up a Family Size box of Raisin Bran and two bags of my husband’s favorite candy for $1.00 each at our local bin store.
3. Have been picking up birthday presents at said bin store for my great-nieces’ birthdays saving well over $100.00.
4. My husband found a penny on the ground. Yes I have converted him.
5. Needed to touch up paint in kitchen and bedroom. Searched around house and found samples we had purchased thus saving paint purchase. Paint used to be cheap but not anymore.
That’s an amazing deal on the fruit spread!
Oops – Didn’t mean to post twice but don’t know how to delete it.
O, Pioneers is one of my favorite books. Close to first place is My Antonia, another Cather masterpiece. Oddly, Death Comes for the Archbishop, probably her most famous book, never grabbed me. I’ve started it several times but gave up a few pages in.
I hope you have a great time on your trip. It sounds like it will be a lot of fun. Happy 30th Anniversary!
Should have grouped this with the above post. Oh well…here goes.
1. Bags of green peppers were on sale for .99 lb. as was ground turkey for 3.49 for 20 oz. Cooked some rice, added it to the turkey along with some Adobo seasoning and stuffed it into the peppers. I had an on sale can of spaghetti sauce in the cabinet so spread some over each stuffed pepper. They were in the slow cooker all day and came out in time for supper. DH and I each got two meals from them.
2. A friend and I drove to the town beach where we get free admission from DH being over age 65. A man was practicing his guitar not too far away from us, so we watched the boats while listening to live music.
3. My raspberry bushes are starting to bear fruit. Yum. They usually have one crop at the height of summer and then another in the fall.
4. A friend invited me to her lake house for the 4th of July. I’m making a potato salad and a dessert.
5. I signed up (again) to be a member of the Friends of the Library. It’s not necessary but the with the amount of material I borrow and the free classes and programs I attend, $20 a year is money well spent.
We have a program where you agree to sponsor an author, which means that whenever that author has a new book come out the library buys it at a discount and you reimburse them. You get to read the book first, they put a thank you with your name on the inside cover, and then it is put in the general collection. We sponsor two authors so we end up buying 2 to 3 books a year total. Like you, I am happy to find a way to help the library given how much we use them.
If you are looking at activities in Montreal and like museums, I suggest getting this pass:
https://espacepourlavie.ca/en/faq/espace-pour-la-vie-passport
This gives you access to 5 attractions : biodome, planetarium, botanical garden, biosphere and insectarium. 4 of which are at walking distance one from another. (You HAVE to reserve your tickets once you buy the passeport)
There’s also this museum that offers free tickets on the first sunday of the month, if you are lucky enought to snag some :
https://zooecomuseum.ca/en/
There is so much to do in Montreal, more than in Toronto I would think.
Happy 30th!
Thanks!
We went to the insectarium over 30 years ago and I recall it being fascinating and bet it is more so now. Definitely unique.
1. Made .69 cents by purchasing 2 50-ounce containers of laundry detergent using Swagbucks, a coupon, and credit card cash back.
2. Brought a pair of pants to have zipper replaced
3. Had 4 pairs of shoes resoled – including a pair of boots that I purchased in the year 2000. The cobbler shined all of them and they look fabulous – including one pair that I got for free through my Buy Nothing group.
4. Staying with in-laws for the holiday weekend. Offered to make dinner, which will include a chicken one night & burgers another, made with chicken, beef, cheese & buns that I got free from mystery shops.
5. Had dinner with a former colleague. I offered to bring entree to her house, which was chicken (free from mystery shop) and a red pepper from the clearance rack.
Look into Niagara inns and suites. Extremely reasonable . Request a renovated room! They come with full fridge and kitchenette. 2 pools and hot tub https://www.booking.com/hotel/ca/aa-niagara-inn-motel.en-gb.html?aid=356980&label=gog235jc-1DCAsoJ0IUYWEtbmlhZ2FyYS1pbm4tbW90ZWxIM1gDaCeIAQKYAQm4AQnIARHYAQPoAQGIAgGoAgO4Ape4haUGwAIB0gIkMDg0Yzg0MjItMmU4MC00Nzc4LTk1MTUtOTM3MGI5MWQ0OWEy2AIE4AIB&sid=6fa89576f1d3b826b073873f8a3dac99&dist=0&keep_landing=1&sb_price_type=total&type=total&
1. I reserved a hotel for a short trip up north with my mom and sister. I used my AARP membership for a small discount and we shared the expenses including gas.
2. I brought my dog along for a small fee at the hotel.
3. My Mom made us lunch to eat along the way. We sat at a picnic table at the marina in a charming little beach town. We all brought ice water and sodas to drink.
4. We ate dinner on the patio at a dog friendly restaurant. We waited for a long time for someone to wait on us. They kindly gave us a 25% discount on our meal.
5. We ate the free breakfast at the hotel which was very good with many options. I was able to sit in the lobby with the dog and eat.
Also the National Sea Shore we stopped at along the way was not charging for admission for some reason saving us $25.
1. Listening to free podcasts and reading free books through Libby and my alumnus uni membership.
2. My hens are still laying in the middle of Winter – crazy! Only two remaining of the original four we purchased during the pandemic, and yet they laid four eggs in 24 hours the other day (not sure how that is even possible). With eggs so costly right now, feeding hens is actually pretty cost effective.
3. Cooked black eyed peas from scratch, made a delicious curry in the instant pot – it was so, so good.
4. When I was clearing the front yard I found a self-seeded Canary Island Date Palm (from when we used to have a date palm in the yard). I dug it out and then repotted it for a houseplant. Date palms cost several hundred dollars in a nursery. We had to remove the palm from our yard, as it had been planted right at the footings of the house, but I am happy to have one in a pot.
5. I didn’t join the national frenzy for Taylor Swift tickets, and saved myself a couple of weeks salary in tickets, flights, and inflated accommodation in Sydney. Over a thousand dollars a night for a ‘Taylor Swift Package.” That’s a “Getting Shafted Package” if you ask me.
I love the Dollar Tree (that is, dollar twenty five tree but still a bargain) Breckinridge brand relish. I buy it all the time.
1) Used a $20 grocery store reward to pick up things we needed, & saved another $3.60 on iBotta.
2) Similarly, I needed a bunch of stuff at Rite Aid (I go rarely, so probably just a few times per year, and prefer to buy toiletries there vs paying to have them shipped, even if it’s a bit more). I spent $55 (huge stock up), and saved $16 in Fetch offers, and $6 in Rite Aid rewards.
3) My teen and a friend stopped by unexpectedly for dinner. My husband & I had originally planned to go out for a date, but opted to swim in the pool, make drinks ourselves & grill steak. We rounded out the meal with several sides, to ensure there was enough for our bonus guests. It turned out great.
4) We’ve been using lots of garden goodies: basil, cucumbers, peppers, etc.
5) I sold an outgrown reffing kit on FB marketplace. Great to have it out of the house.
6) Bonus: I gave away two teen suits (full set – pants, jacket, vest, tie, shirt) on BN, and people were so thrilled. Finding suits for teens is super expensive, and hard to fit. I’m happy to pay it forward.
I took a family vacation to Montreal last summer, and alas, we were so disappointed. It seemed like every street in the city was under construction (very hard to walk about) as were many of the big “attractions.” We also found the amusement park, Olympic park and waterfront to be in-very shabby condition—and no where for pedestrians to sit! The people were very nice, snd the food good, but otherwise, I wish we’d gone to nyc.
Cilantro lasts a very long time if you put the stems in water and cover the leaves with something that’ll keep in moisture (bag, Stasher, plastic wrap, lid, etc) and put that whole thing in the fridge! Just in the crisper they barely last a week, but they’ll last like a month in water in the fridge!
I need to remember this. I usually just put the stems in water and keep it on the countertop. However, this last bunch turned to slime in under two days.
Happy anniversary, Katy. Your celebration trip sounds awesome.
After a rather expensive June, I am doing a no silly spending July. In the spirit of that:
1. I used all the aging apples in the fridge drawer to make an apple crumble and planned dinner around a pack of bacon that needed to be used up within three days.
2. Caught an almost half price sale two weeks ago on Biz enzymatic detergent and used it to wash my son’s sneakers after they got and stayed wet with rain and developed an overpowering funk. That seriously saved the shoes from going into the trash.
3. Used some eyelet fabric scavenged from an old garment to make a fake camisole “modesty panel” for a blouse with a neckline cut too low. It turned out cute.
4. Read four digital magazines checked out on my library card.
5. Received a birthday coupon for $10 off $50 from the farm supply store and stocked up on canned cat food at a fabulous price. It was very timely, as we were nearly out of their food.
I like “no silly spending.” However, I can justify almost anything as “not silly,” so that wouldn’t work for me.
Your trip sounds terrific!
1. It has been raining and humid so it has put a damper on things I have wanted to do for a long weekend. It has saved a bunch of $, though.
2. I have been using up a bunch of freezer and pantry things. Kind of nice.
3. I have been watching frugal fit mom and budget eats. Some of what they do is not what I would do as I am definitely as recipe person and if I am cooking and spending $ on food, I want to it to be good. Some substitutes of course.
4. Have not spent $ in 4 days.
5. Making the usual from home-coffee, iced tea, ect.
If you are going to be near Rochester, NY on your way to Canada, I highly recommend stopping by The Strong National Museum of Play. It is technically a history museum but is highly interactive and just opened a huge new expansion. It is worth checking out!
Your 30th anniversary trip sounds awesome! I live in Buffalo, which is about 20 min from the falls, so let me know if need any suggestions about where to eat/what to see on the US side of Niagara Falls!
Definitely do Montreal, so much amazing food!!!!
I’m actually starting to think the Canada trip might not even happen as the passport renewal I applied for in May isn’t even being shown as received, even though the check was cashed almost immediately. Apparently the passport offices are insanely backed up, so I’m just keeping an open mind as to whether or not I get to Canada on this trip.