Another Mini-Adventure Booked and Treasure Found

Anchors Inn Ucluelet

This week I made good use of our weekends away fund and booked 4 nights to the same cabin we went to last June in Ucluelet.  It is one of  the cheapest places in the area to stay and was absolutely perfect for hubby and I to take Buddy with us on a mini-vacation.  The Ucluelet/Tofino area of Vancouver Island is the most expensive area, much higher generally than even Victoria.  I feel so fortunate we found it last year and are able to go back this summer.  Cost for four nights ($170 a night plus tax) is $714 plus a $20 pet fee which they donate to their local SPCA.  It checks all the boxes - right on the ocean, can kayak right off the front of the cabin, allows our dog in a safe environment, has a mini-kitchenette and BBQ, has good internet (important as we still must check/answer emails for our business) and even cable in case it rains and rains which is always possible on the coast.  It just so happens my 48th birthday falls within those days so I get to celebrate it in a lovely spot (hubby's 55th we will be in Santorini, Greece in June).  

I already have $400.25 saved in our weekends away pot which is solely funded by return bottle deposits and items we purge and sell from our household using our local 24 hour Facebook bidding site (items I buy and resale are not included in this fund, that is separate).    This is added incentive to step up purging/cleaning out items we no longer use.  If we are still short I shall take the remainder out of our regular travel fund which we contribute $300-$500 monthly to.  We have decided to not eat out at all that trip and to carefully meal plan our 4 days knowing exactly what kitchen implements we have at our disposal (2 burners, toaster, microwave and a BBQ).  There is also no additional cost for National Parks which is about a $75 savings as I have received the free Canada Parks pass in the mail (still available if you haven't signed up yet, valid for everyone, not just Canadians, request yours here).  We hope to do a lot more exploring of beaches and hiking trails in Pacific Rim National and both Ucluelet and Tofino and only saw a small part on our last trip.  We work so hard the rest of the year and hubby finds it difficult to not work at home so these getaways maintain our sanity.

Saturnscope (Sterio viewer)  by James M. Davis $26

On the treasures found front - I have wanted a stereoscope for years but was simply too cheap to buy one.  They were made in the late 1800s to early 1900s and were used for creating a 2-D image.  I bought this one off the Facebook bidding site for $26 including 3 cards.  Value is usually between $50-$100 and the cards sell for $5 each and higher depending on content.  Very cool!!  I was on the fence about buying it as don't need more stuff - so right after I bought it purged another bunch of items to resell to justify it lol.

This week more chaos in the house as on Wednesday the dishwasher gets uninstalled, Friday we get our kitchen floor fixed from our early January roof leak and then the week after the dishwasher will be reinstalled.  It will be a relief to finally have it fixed as it has been so difficult to keep the kitchen clean with only partial flooring.

We ended up laying some plastic underlay over the rough edges to keep from tripping over pieces of floor until it is fixed.  Yes, plastic on your kitchen floor is not a decorator look to be sure.

And that is what's shaking in my world.  Have a great rest of your Sunday (and Monday for those in Europe) everyone!