A successful shop

This will be a re-cap of the shopping trip to Bismarck. Am I the only one who finds the return trip longer than the trip there? We were on the bus by 7:30 a.m. and arrived in Regina about 5 p.m. on Sunday. When I arrived at the house, I visited with my son and his friends for a bit, grabbed some leftover pizza and headed downstairs for an early bedtime. 

Let's go back to Thursday - I called the cab company for a pick-up about 20 minutes later. He didn't show for nearly 15 minutes more than expected and then drove like an idiot to the drop off. He said he had winter tires on the vehicle, but skidded around a few corners. I was not impressed. However, we arrived just as the bus arrived in the parking lot so I gave him a small tip.

The ride down was smooth and easy; there was less snow and the sun shone for most of the trip. We stopped twice, once in Estevan for lunch, and then at the truck stop in Minot (the only place open on Thanksgiving) for dinner. We left Regina at 10 a.m. and were at our hotel about 7:30 p.m. The bus had started in Saskatoon with a pick-up there, then Moose Jaw, Regina and Weyburn. With the driver and our hostess, there were 49 of us on the bus, including one husband who was the subject of some good natured ribbing. Which he handled kindly. We never did ask him to carry our packages. :)

Early the next morning, about 5:30 a.m. I looked out the window to see a vehicle leaving the hotel. It was a mother/daughter pair hopping in an Uber to head for Kohls. Most of the rest of us left the hotel about 7:45 a.m. - a much more civilized hour for Hobby Lobby and Joann. After a couple of hours (no I didn't shop that long) we headed to a mall for four hours, and finished the afternoon off at Menards. Back at the hotel, we off loaded our purchases and were on our own for dinner. I'd bought a microwaveable meal so ate in and watched television.

We had a later start on Saturday, just around 10 a.m. and had a short drive to a shopping area with several stand alone shops. We were given three hours for this area - far too much time in my estimation, so when I finished my shopping there, I dropped my parcels on my seat and walked the block or two to Walmart. It was another two or three block walk back to the hotel. I was finished my shopping by noon, so I grabbed a sub at Wally World and took my bags back to the hotel. The afternoon was spent relaxing in my room, packing, crocheting, reading, and watching a bit of television. The bus arrived back at the hotel at 5:00 p.m. I picked up the last of my items, and packed the remainder of my purchases before heading out to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Several of the other shoppers had eaten there the previous night and said it was great. It was not, but was adequate and I washed down my dinner with a Blue Moon beer. 

The good: it is so wonderful to not have to drive. At one point on the road home, the driver avoided an accident as several vehicles had stopped on the highway. She was able to maneuver that big bus to the shoulder and stayed on the road. 

I picked up the remainder of my Christmas gifts and got some great prices on various items. The best buy was a pair of winter boots, regularly priced at $80 for $19.99. There were also some needed items purchased for the house I share with my daughter. A hall rug for the living room front door area, baking sheets, food containers, a cutting board, and just for fun, a couple of Christmas tea towels. The latter were a mere 96 cents apiece.

Because I was travelling alone, I had the two seats in the row to myself. Not only was it a space to put my shopping bags, but I was able to take a short nap on Sunday morning.

The okay: The food at the truck stop and at the restaurant in Bismarck were just meh. The former is the only choice, but should I decide to go next year, I'd definitely try one of the other restaurants near by. That's assuming, of course, that they return to Bismarck.

The mall was huge, anchored by J.C. Penney and Target. But, there was no food court, just a few small restaurants scattered throughout. With the bazillion people shopping, everything was crowded. I did find a two top at Shiels and had a taco in a bag salad. 

The bad: Between the taxi at the beginning of the trip and one at the end, I'll probably call an Uber next time. I'd called for the taxi just as we were pulling into the city. I told the dispatcher, I would be on a large white bus. Although he was told this the driver waited at the Walmart doors, and when I didn't answer my phone (it was in my pocket and I didn't hear it), he left without me. I called again, and he did return but I was annoyed as it was a bitterly cold walk across the parking lot. His excuse - he didn't see the big white bus!

The interesting: Diane, our hostess handed around a form with our names and asked for our personal contact information as well as emergency contact. One of the women across the aisle from me saw her maiden name on the form and asked "who is X? It was me, and we quickly determined that we are distant cousins as I recognized names of her father and grandfather. I wasn't able to open Ancestry until I returned to the city, but have since learned that her great grandfather and my great-great grandfather were brothers. 

Will I go on next year's trip? Probably not unless our Canadian dollar improves against the U.S. dollar. While I got some good deals, I did have to watch the pricing. I stopped at Walmart for some boxed foods and Oreo cookies. These were brands or flavours we don't have here in Canada. I was shocked at the price of Oreo cookies, over $5, so only purchased one package of the toffee crunch flavour that my daughter asked for.  In fact, I found the pricing was often higher on some foods than we see here, however, the boxed items (cake mixes and Hamburger Helper) were considerably lower. 

In any event, it was a good get-away. I'm happy to be at my son's and will drive back to my daughter's tomorrow. Oh, and one last thing, I parked the SUV while I was away and was able to back it out in one try. Can't say I wasn't a bit nervous about my first time! Hooray for back-up cameras. 

There will be a post on Saturday with some other news and the rest of the week! Hope everyone is having a good week!