u/Sunshinegirly32

*Names used are fake for privacy reasons*

I (30F) met Mandy (33F) in college and as I was turning 21 YO. We became close very fast, she was basically my fast track to my adult hood. She introduced me to a group of friends that would end up being apart of my life almost a decade later, and introduced me to the bar scene which is where I met Hannah (31F) - she was the bartender at the local bar we went to nearly every day for 3 years.

Mandy was always very jealous of my friendship with Hannah, she would constantly start drama with her, and say nasty things about Hannah when it was just her and I.

Hannah was not a fan of Mandy either, she saw how Mandy talked about her and started a lot of drama in her life. She was always very cautious around Mandy and would never hang out alone with her.

Years go by of this dynamic, I’m close with both but they don’t like each other and get along for my sake. Hannah was always telling me to leave Mandy in my past because she treated me like shit and walked all over me. Mandy caused me a LOT of stress in many ways.

I get engaged, I know Mandy is expecting to be my maid of honor, I had known her the longest after all. But I ultimately chose Hannah because my connection with her was much deeper and I truly felt myself around her. I had a quick engagement so I only had 3 months to plan and get ready.

Bachelorette weekend comes- it’s going exactly as I suspected. Mandy bashing Hannah the whole time out of jealousy. The whole weekend I was on defense for Hannah trying to get Mandy to chill out and leave her alone.

Fast forward I move out of state a month after I’m married, and eventually cut ties with Mandy for several reasons but my main point was because she hated Hannah so much that I couldn’t take it anymore. She just hated anyone I was close to that wasn’t her. Hannah was ecstatic for me and supported my decision and reminded me of how awful Mandy was.

3 months after the break off, I see Mandy and Hannah hanging out via snap stories.
I confront Hannah and she says it was just a couple hang outs because they were both going through something and bonded over misery.
3 more months go by and notice they are hanging out daily.
Hannah again says they are just getting to know each other and she’s cautious because she knows how Mandy is.
2 more months go by and I see they get matching fucking tattoos.

I blew up on Hannah asking how she could become besties with the person who caused me so much stress and anxiety. How she could become besties with her AFTER years of telling me to walk away. Years of me venting about it to her. She knew every shitty thing Mandy put me through and decided to START a friendship with Mandy after I left.

Hannah and Mandy are now long distance

I spend a year in the same state as Hannah trying to patch up our friendship and move past the betrayal.

Spoiler: I couldn’t get past it. I spent a year trying to build our trust back but I couldn’t get it out of my mind. At one point she even took a vacation with Mandy and came back home to complain to me about how awful Mandy was during the trip. So now she’s venting about her shitty time with Mandy TO ME!!! It felt like I was in the Twilight Zone.

2 months ago I told Hannah I couldn’t get past her betrayal and breaking girl code. I genuinely couldnt look at her the same anymore. Suddenly she wasn’t my best friend, I couldn’t be myself around her, and I hated her quietly.

She had nothing to say and ended up blocking me on everything.

So, AMITH for cutting off my best friend for becoming besties with my ex best friend?

Hi there (:

My husband and I have a tradition of traveling somewhere tropical for our wedding anniversary. We have gone to the US Virgin Islands twice, Aruba and the Big Island of Hawaii so far.

Looking for recommendations for locations that can hit a few of our key points for travel (:

• Budget friendly - we are not resort people so would most likely be staying in a Virbo or Airbnb. Aruba was a resort island for sure and catered to that demographic which was a con for us.
• Clean Beaches - Our itinerary is a lot of beaching! Looking for clear blue waters, sandy soft beaches. Again with Aruba - we found the beaches to be pretty dirty. Lots of cigarettes and bottle caps in the sand. However the USVI was incredible. By far our favorite so far.
• Night life - we love to go out for dinner and drinks at the end of the night, something with a lively night life would be great! But again, not resort people. So we are not looking for swim up bars, night clubs etc. we love a good dive bar with karaoke, pool, darts, a patio view etc (:
• Wildlife - Loved snorkeling in the Caribbean and want to continue doing that!!

A few locations I have in mind so far:
• Costa Rica
• Tahiti
• Bora Bora
• Thailand
• Dominican Republic
• Belize

Would love to hear about pros and cons of the above places or new recs that you feel deserve a chance (:

My husband and I will be visiting Banff, Jasper and Glacier in August. We have been to Glacier and are good to go there.

However this is our first time heading to Banff and Jasper.

From what I have read, during our visit there is free entry for the summer. I see you need a shuttle for Moraine and Louise lakes; we are not taking a shuttle.

My questions are:
- What are some great spots that don’t require the shuttle in Banff?
- Has anyone been to the upper hot springs in Banff? How was it?
- Any “iconic trails” you think are overrated and not worth the time?

We understand August is prime time and it’ll be a zoo. But doing our best to stay away from crowds and are fully prepared for 3am wake up calls to beat the crowds.

Trails I’ve notated :

Jasper:
- Tonquin Valley
- Mount Edith
- Wilcox Viewpoint
- Lake Annette
- Whistlers Summit
- Beauvert Lake Loop

Banff:
- Vermilion lake for sunrise
- Tunnel Mountains
- Cascade Ponds
- Parker Ridge
- Peyto Lake
- Upper hot springs
- Consolation lakes - I now see this is not achievable without a shuttle, can anyone confirm?

Thanks in advance for your insight!