Grand Forks

You may have guessed we were away... Jed at the babysitter, and no posting for three whole days.

I'm not going to say much about Grand Forks because everything comes out sounding snobby, but I will say something about crossing the border to come home.

Apparently Winnipeggers love a bargain, and there are many bargains to be had in Grand Forks. They have cheap aluminum foil, for instance. And cheap paper toweling. I've been told that lots of people from Winnipeg drive to Grand Forks to stock up on these bargains. I just can't imagine driving for 2 hours to save money on cleaning supplies, you know?

When we were in the grocery store stocking up on some junk food for the hotel, I did happen to notice that canned fruit is a lot cheaper there than it is here, but I couldn't be bothered to grab enough cans to make a difference.

I've always been kind of lazy.

Anyway, we did shop a bit and we did buy a shirt for Rob and some shorts for the boys. Joey got a new t-shirt. But we barely spent $100.00. I suspect this is not the norm for Canadians crossing the border when they are coming home from Grand Forks.

Our Border patrol person posed the usual question. "What was the total amount of goods purchased while you were away?"

"Um. 25 dollars each."

"Really," she says it as a statement. Doesn't believe us.

"Yes."

"Could I see your receipts?"

I did keep the receipt in the bag with all the stuff we bought, and so I got it out and showed it to her.

She looked at the pathetic little cache and then she looked me in the eye and said, "What did you DO when you were in Grand Forks?"

"Ah, watched movies, ate junk food... I guess we're not very good shoppers."

"Mm," as if to say, "You bet you aren't."

She then asked the requisite duty free (no alcohol or cigarettes) and firearms (I left my UZI at home) questions.

"Okay. You're free to go."

I guess Grand Forks doesn't really have a lot to offer besides cheap toilet paper and chain restaurants, but we just wanted to hang out with no responsibilities for a few days and it fit the bill.

We had fun. Doesn't really matter where you go if you're with the right people.