The Great Western Road Trip 2017....Part Thirty Three/Day Twenty Five & Twenty Six--The END

Part One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

Part Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Five of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Six of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Seven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eight of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Nine of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Ten of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Eleven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twelve of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  
Part Fourteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE  
Part Fifteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Sixteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Seventeen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Eighteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Nineteen of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE 
Part Twenty of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Three of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Four of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Five of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Six of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Seven of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Eight of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Twenty Nine of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirty of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirty One of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE
Part Thirty Two of the Great Western Road Trip is HERE

The morning after visiting the Serpent Mount we had breakfast at the motel.  They had a pretty nice brekkie set up.........

I wanted to have a bowl of oatmeal but when I went to put hot water in the bowl I pressed the wrong button and started putting COFFEE in instead.  ick  I realized my mistake and finished putting hot water in but the whole think tasted of coffee(side note-I don't drink/like coffee).

Then I saw this breakfast roll/bun.  Of course I had to take a "Raisin Snail". lolz

We left the motel for our next stop but I noticed a Rite-Aid across the street from where we stopped to gas up the car.  I guess I have Rite-Aid Radar or something. ;-)

Hubs cleaning the windshield while I sat and pointed out spots he missed. lol  I am ever so helpful.....

Hubs wanted more coffee and they had a Tim Hortons nearby so we swung through the drive-thru.

I think this was a prison we passed down in Southern Ohio.  It's been almost 7 years so  I may be mistaken.

Approaching the big city from sleepy Southern Ohio.......

                  

We made it to Columbus pretty quickly. 

                   

 I saw that there was a World Market in Columbus and it was on our route so we stopped for a brief look/see.........

"Kittea Infuser"  A cute gift for the tea drinking cat lover in your life.

And for the dog lovers, "Pug in a Mug".

And what is this I spy?  Why it's a tiny ceramic giraffe.........

In a Giraffe patterned mug.

I bet many a coffee lover has felt the anguish of "Perkatory". lol

                                       

And I found my mug, well it should say "Mrs. Almost Always Right". lolz

I guess they clearance-d out all the Fourth of July items, like these "Party like it's 1776" decorative napkins since it was August now.

                                                

Ok, don't get triggered by the price of gas sign in Summer 2017 we passed.  Most people around the country would like even $3.11 per gallon of gas now.

We stopped to visit with another online friend, Chris and her hubby, yet another Dan in our universe. lolz

Dan made us dinner while Chris, my Dan and I chatted.  Then we had ice cream and went to bed.  It is so nice to meet people in person after getting to know them online!

Dan also made us all breakfast the next morning.

 Hubs snapped this photo of me and Chris in front of her ginormous fireplace painting that she got for a good deal and she loves.

                                                

 We said our goodbyes and thanks and hit the road.  We had one more stop to make that day North of them.

More Tim Horton's???  Is Canada taking over Ohio or something? lolz

                                           

I spied this water tower painted to resemble a pumpkin(or some similar squash)on the drive to our next stop.

Fairly quickly we were out in a rural area of Ohio.

And just like that!....another Rite-Aid appeared.  Seems parts of Ohio are lousy with them just like Pennsylvania.

We made it to another town in Ohio and to see Rachel, another online friend and her family.

Here we are posing with her kids.  Boy, have they grown up since then!

And one more photo of us two.

Rachel made us a yummy meal(pasta if I remember correctly), we visited for awhile and then she sent us on our way.....

                                       

But not before gifting us some yummy zucchini Bread.

                                       

Back on the interstate and Eastward Ho....

        

Passing an old long closed Goodyear Factory.  They don't call this part of the country the "Rust Belt" for nothing.

Getting onto I-80 and heading toward PA.

Lots of folks seem to move in the Summer.

And just like that we hit the state line.

But we had a 5+ hour drive once we got to PA since we lived on the other side of that often traveled and too long state.

So we booked a hotel room near Grove City.

And you know what Grove City is known for?

Outlet shopping!

Not that we really needed anything but we walked around for a couple of hours, I went into the Vera Bradley Store and found some new purses.......

Then we went into a bookstore for Hubs and browsed the selection.  I think Hubs found something to buy too.

After dropping our luggage at the hotel we went down the street for a light late dinner.

I couldn't help but laugh at the ginormous sweet roll on their glossy menu.  All I could picture was Jerlyn's breakfast back in Nebraska, earlier in the trip.....

I think I had an unsweet iced tea and a salad and don't recall what Hubs had but it wasn't very big.  And NO Sweet Buns for us!!!lolz

We slept, rolled out of bed, dressed and it was back on the Interstate to home.

We hit heavy foggy in Central PA.

Stopped for gas in Clarion where our Daughter attended college for one year.

Got home and snapped a photo of the mileage on the car before we turned it in.  7.416 miles on this "before we left" brand new rental car.  Oh my!

It was a great trip!  Full of sights and fun times with many great people that I won't soon forget.  But it was good to be home and sleep in my own bed again. '-)

Sluggy

Frugal Friday.......the June 14th 2024 Edition

There are a few Frugal wins over the past week.

* Had an assessment for PT on my right side/back muscle and 1 session of PT this past week.  Again, no co-pays.  Man, this gal works me hard and the back exercises are even harder than the shoulder ones.  Plus my left shoulder still hurts so doing some of the back stuff hurts that arm as I have to brace myself with that arm.  

*  Every PT session I grab a bottle of water from the fridge there.  So free 12 bottles of water so far and counting. 8-)

*  I hit up Walmart on Wednesday........

The spices were all on clearance(one is a gift so we don't count that one in the grocery budget).  The pads are for the food bank(also not counted in groceries)and a moneymaker after coupon and rebate.

*  I picked up this at Dollar General too ........

These were part of their 50% clearance event.  $4.47 for each pack of 64 plates.  These heavy duty name brand ones on this sale were cheaper than store brand ones and it was something we needed.

*  These were picked up this past week.......

These had a free manufacturer's rebate and an Ibotta rebate.

*  I tired to put a CVS deal together..........

We picked up $20 ECB due to buying some gift cards there.  So I had $20 ECB going in.

Well this didn't go as planned really.

I bought the cereal(on clearance for Hubs)and the Peroxides for laundry.  The rest(plus two tubes of Colgate and a canister of Scent Beads not pictured)is for the food bank or a gift.  This was two transactions and totaled $18.53 OOP.  But I earned $22.00 in rebates so it turned into a $3.47 moneymaker and I have $5 in ECB left. So not as bad as I thought. ;-)

*  We got second place in Trivia on Tuesday night and got this.......

a $20 gift card.  Though we did eat there and spent money(doesn't come out of grocery budget)but next time we go we'll use that gift card to help pay for dinner.

*  I also found this on the floor there, when I went to the bathroom.......

A novelty guitar pick.  Interesting.

*  As for Kroger and my KCB account...what a f**king cluster!  Coupons started being grayed out on my app after I used them but I never get the $$ in my account.  I started taking screenshots of those coupons that clearly state they were used but they start falling off my account and still no $$ shows up.  Another two rounds of phone calls to Krappy Kroger Korporate and they give me a case number but nothing ever changes.  Seriously, they need to FIX THIS SHIT or get rid of it!  Some times I get the $$ and some times I don't.  Going forward I won't be eager to do any deal involving KCB AND it I do and I don't get the $$, that/those items are going back to the store for a refund.  I am tired of their games.

The next to last employee I talked to treated me like an imbecile, talking down to me and when I calmly tried to explain that yes, I KNOW how to send my KCB to my shopper's card, and no, that isn't the problem here, he hung up on me. What a jerk! **rant over**

*  I needed new nightgowns as mine are old and getting ratty.  I went online and perused at the fat lady store.  There were having a sale on what I needed but there would also be shipping.

While up at Walmart I found these.....

3 Summer weight night gowns all on clearance.  Regular price of $14.98(these were the sale price at the online store!), marked down to $9 each.  So much cheaper now that I can shop at regular stores and don't have to buy clothes at online fat lady stores. 8-)

*  I found money!

I found this dime at Walmart last Friday by the self-checkout machine.

On Sunday, I hit up the 'ol Walmart again, first to return something.....

Found a dime and a penny at the CS desk on the floor.

Then I found a penny randomly somewhere in the store.

And as I was leaving the self-checkout area I spied another penny by the candy racks.

We went to Trivia on Tuesday evening and I found this in the parking lot........

And then stopped at CVS on the way home and I spied this in the entrance........

Total Found last week.... .25¢ 

Grand Total Found this Year.......$4.96 & 5.30 Euros

That's all I got.  

Any frugal wins in your neck of the woods?  Let's hear all about them!

Sluggy     

 

Someone Who Understands Our Budget/Spending Issues

Sluggy

Some Music for a Wednesday

 Just a few songs I was listening to today.

Some Classic Beatles........

Some not-so Classic The Eagles....

Audra McDonald really shows these other two "non-singers" up.  Trivia time-I was a costumer dresser for Ms. Baranski long before she was "Cybil"s best friend in that sit-com or Leonard's mother in "The Big Bang Theory".  This was back when she did Summer Stock and legitimate theater work and hadn't broken into the "big time" yet.

And I still think the Elaine Stritch "Company" version is the best. ;-)

And here's Elaine's version from the original cast of "Company"..........

It will be 10 years next month since Ms. Stritch left us.  Gosh, time flies......

What music have you listened to lately?

Sluggy

Shopping Last Friday

I picked up some grocery deals late last week at Kroger and Walmart....from l to r

3 x Yoplait protein yogurts on clearance .59¢ ea.

1 x Brekki overnight oats $2.89, free after rebate

2 x Nature Made Vitamins BOGO $19.99, $1.99 for both after Ibotta, coupons and KCB

2 x Nature Made Zero Sugar gummies BOGO $18.99, $4.21 moneymaker for both after Ibotta, coupons, Shop Kick and KCB

2 x I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray .29¢ ea. after sale

1 x Dawn Power wash dish soap $2.29

1 x Gillette mach 3 razor .99¢,after coupons and sale

1 x Coke Zero 2 liter FREE after BC coupon

1 x Cretors popcorn snack $4.99 , .20¢ after rebate

1 x Wild Turkey Rye whisky $9.00 after Ibotta and Shop Kicks(comes out of Hubs WAM)

1 x Nature Valley Wafer snacks $4.32, Free after rebate

2 x Barilla Protein pasta $5.04, .04¢ after coupons and Swag Bucks

1 x Gatorade Water(really?)$1.98,  .98¢ after Ibotta

2 x Clorox toilet bowl cleaners $5.36, $2.36 for both after Swag Bucks

1 x 12 ct. box Beneful wet dog food clearance $7.00. $4.20 after Shop Kick

3x Purina One wet dog food cans $5.94, $2.94 after coupon, Swag Bucks, Ibotta

1 x Persil laundry pods $5.44, $1.44 after Shop Kick and Ibotta

4 x Sweet Tart Ropes $5.92, $2.08 moneymaker after Swag Bucks and Checkout 51s

The razor, the laundry pods and the candy are earmarked for the food bank.

I spent $62.53 on all the above.  Rebates earned were $69.91($27.75 Ibotta, $3.00 Checkout 51, $3.00 Shopmium, $6.02 Swag Bucks, $18.18 Shop Kicks, $13.97 Fetch, $4.32 Nature Valley Manu. Rebate, $2.89 Brekki Manu. Rebate and $4.75 Cretors Manu. Rebate)so a $7.38 Moneymaker for all.

Have you found any good deals on items you can use or donate?

Tell us about it.

Sluggy