So we arrived in Liverpool (Syracuse area) at our hotel - Super 8. Not a bad place and it was very cheap! The rooms were clean and the beds comfy enough. We got up Saturday morning and drove to the Waterloo Premium Outlets. We did a lot of of shopping and would meet back at the car every few hours to unload. We bought tons of stuff but overall, the outlets weren't that great. I'm not a brand name shopper so I have a hard time there. Even at 50% off, you could still easily pay $50 for a blouse. Way too much in my opinion. I personally think the outlets are overrated. I shopped only the clearance racks and the most expensive thing I bought was a pair of shoes at $40. I think we can get as good or better prices here if you take your time and shop the clearance racks. The only reason to go back there was for the different stores that we don't have here.
However, after we left Waterloo, we went to Fayetteville Towne Centre in Dewitt, just to the southeast of Syracuse. TJ Maxx, Kohls, Target.... aaahhhh, that's more my pace. We each bought a ton of stuff there for very cheap prices and when we got back to the hotel, we went through everything and ended up returning hundreds of dollars each of purchases to Waterloo on Sunday. LOL! In total we still spent our maximum exemption and exhausted and wanting to get home, we headed for the border.
Those of you that cross border shop know that the maximum is $800 for 48 hours away. Not two days, but 48 hours....exactly. We entered the US on Friday night at about 7:30 and it was now 8 pm on Sunday, just over the 48 hour mark. So, I drive up to the border guard and hand over our passports. He asks me the usual questions, when did you leave the country, do you have any cigarettes or alcohol, fruit or veggies. etc. Then he asks how much we've spent and I tell him the exact numbers from our totaled receipts. Then I have to hand over the receipts. He looks through Monique's receipts carefully and says " these are all dated for Saturday and Sunday. Do you have anything with Friday's date on it? Gas, bank machine, anything?" I was utterly calm up to this point, then panic struck and I thought, "Shit, we went straight to the hotel and stayed put until we went shopping on Saturday morning. Even the hotel didn't give me a receipt because it was all prepaid with points from my credit card. Crap, we have nothing to show when we entered the US. The only thing we did was pay tolls but I didn't get receipts because why would I? Who wants a receipt from a $2 toll?" A few flustered minutes ensued while we were trying to figure out what to do and how to prove that we entered the US on Friday night, exactly 48 hours before, realizing that we're going to have to pay a whole lot of duties on our purchases and make all of our deals useless. UGH! Then totally flustered and at a loss of what to do and no idea what was going to happen, the border guard said thank you and handed everything back to me. Stunned, I said Pardon? and he said thank you again and I took our papers and drove away. Nobody followed us, so I guess we're clear. Phew. Lesson learned, I will be getting a receipt from the Hill Island toll booth next time. Be sure you do the same!
A few comments about international shopping. Is it just me or are many people really rude? It was a very busy day at the outlets and there were a lot of tempers being tested of parents shopping for school with their beastly offspring. But really, is it necessary to interrupt when I'm talking to a salesperson or jump in line in front of me? In one store I kept crossing paths with an older couple and each time said excuse me or smiled and let them go first. On our last interaction, the man asked me if I was from Ontario. When I replied yes, we had a polite conversation about how rude people were and how he can often tell the Canadians from the other shoppers because we wait our turn and say please and thank you. It was really incredible. Of course there are lots of rude Canadians, but I've gotta say that New Yorkers were hard to shop next to. I think if I go to the outlets again, it would be on a weekday when presumably it would be less busy.
Another experience that made me shake my head and go HUH? was when I found a cell phone in the bathroom at Waterloo. It had a password so I couldn't figure out who owned it. The info/security office was literally on the opposite end of the shopping centre from where I found it and I had some returns to make so I put it in my purse and went to make the big return then head over to the security desk to turn it in. When I was in line at the Children's Place, it rang so I answered it and it was the owner so I told her where to find me and we each gave a description so we'd know who to look for. She showed up a minute or two later and I gave her the phone. We chatted for a minute and she thanked me profusely then left the store and I continued to wait in line to make my return. The woman in front of me turned around and asked me how that all happened. I told her the story and she was looking at me as if I had 10 heads. She couldn't believe I was honest as to return the phone. Her shock was shocking to me. Of course I would return the phone, it didn't belong to me. I'm still bewildered by that.... hmmm... fits with my feeling that it is hard to shop next to New Yorkers.
Overall, it was a productive shopping trip - my children won't be naked at school, Robin has a new wardrobe that actually fits him and I have new shoes!! It was fun to get away and have some adventures with my BFF too. We will do it again, just not anytime soon... I don't think Robin will let me!
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