Where've we been?

We've not posted lately due to lack of internet access for the past week or so. We stayed at a terrific RV campground in Canada that allowed us to easily visit Niagara Falls. The park also had a marina with WIFI at the restaurant. We were very busy with visits to Niagara Falls, however, and were not up to toting the laptop over to the marina at the end of our day trips. A couple of the nights were also chilly and we were back after the restaurant closed - necessitating working on picnic tables under the covered patio - brrr! We further were hindered by our AT&T air card service not being international. The charges were going to be really expensive, so we didn't use the air card or our cell phones until we were back within the US coverage.

From Niagara, we scooted across a section of Ontario to enter the US at Port Huron, Michigan. We parked at another terrific campground that has an even more terrific overnight rate - but no WIFI except at the office. We can use our air card with no problem, but will not load photos until we are using WIFI. We've not tested our limits on how many photos can be downloaded within the data limits, but don't really want to! We'll just wait for photos until later.

As long as we're talking about no photos, I can share with you our border crossing adventure. Not really that dramatic, but for those that are curious, we can share stories - but no photos!

The easiest way to cross the border into Canada - a very tourist friendly country, by the way is to follow a few simple tips:

1 - Travel light - don't take anything into or out of the country

2 - Travel without children - border crossings are monitored for potential child trafficking or kidnappings (including those nasty cases of divorced couples taking a child out of the country without the spouses' knowledge or approval)

3 - Travel without pets - no one likes the critters sharing germs across the borders

4 - Travel without firearms - border officials just get touchy about these things

5 - Travel without food or live plants - not sure the real reason behind this one. Supposedly based on health issues, but seems more likely to be a ploy to assure that you will purchase as much as possible from the country you are visiting (and pay their taxes while you're at it).

Here's our experience with our crossing at Lewiston, just north of Niagara Falls, NY.


1 - We're not travelling light. We're dragging a 7 ton, 40 ft. long, 13 ft. tall RV with about 1 ton of baggage and belongings with us with lots of nooks and crannies for stowing items that may or may not be OK with border officials.

2 - We're travelling with children. Minors must have identification such as a birth certificate, passport, or resident card. Both of our children have passports, but one of them is not a US passport. Our youngest child was born in Guatemala and has a passport that was issued after the completion of his adoption. Fortunately, due to the process we followed within the adoption proceedings, he also was granted US citizenship as soon as his feet touched ground in the country. Because his passport is not a US passport, we have to show his citizenship certificate as well. It wasn't a 'problem', just one of those things that gets your vehicle pulled over so that you can be interviewed inside the office rather than at the booth on the international bridge.

3 - We travel with our dogs. Proof of a rabies vaccination and the pet's age and breed is required. No one really checked this, but we were glad that at the dogs' last vet visit and updated shots, the vet's office provided a photo identification with all the information about the vaccinations, breed, gender and age on the card. We thought that was a bit over the top at the time, but were glad to have it when we elected to take them to Canada!

4 - We travel with a shotgun. We looked up information ahead of time for this issue. The
Canadian government provides a form online that you can complete in advance of crossing. We completed it online, printed three copies and had it ready at the time we crossed. Procedure requires that the gun owner sign the document in the presence of Canadian officials, so that part is left blank until you enter the country, there is also a $ 25 fee charged to process the form. Once completed and on file with the country, it is not necessary to do so again for 6 months. We had absolutely no intention of deliberately taking a firearm to Canada and hadn't given it a lot of thought until our plans were made. If making the trip to Canada frequently, I'm sure we would reconsider taking a weapon with us. Some blogs suggest not disclosing the fact that you have a firearm with you. Chances are, you might find a little cubbyhole somewhere where the weapon would escape detection, but then how do you look to those officials if you are found out? We didn't think it worth the risk and the review only took about 30 minutes. Once justified by our carrying a firearm for an inspection of our trailer, I might note that the officer prowled around pretty thoroughly with a flashlight. I later found that the drawers had been tussled around (we waited outside the trailer while he looked around). We were not concerned nor offended by the inspection. We're travelling as guests in this country rather than citizens and if they wish to be careful about who is allowed in, that's their prerogative.

5 - We deliberately didn't have a very full refrigerator. Stories are out there on the internet about some food items being discarded at the border crossing. Again, we checked the website for allowances and were sure that we remained within the allowable limits. The government is very clear about the authority of the border officials to use their discretion within the limits also, so we were prepared to let some items be thrown out if questionable (dairy and produce items seem to be the sticky issue).

If you're considering crossing the border and especially with your RV, we suggest perusing this website.


http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/pub/bsf5082-eng.html#s1x2

Firearms are regulated by the Canadian Mounties and this link provides specific information for visitors bringing firearms:

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/information/visit/index-eng.htm

Because we invested time in our homework online, we weren't surprised that we were asked to pull aside from the general flow of border crossing. The official at the booth indicated that the firearm was the initial reason for asking us to pull aside. Our child's Central American passport just added to their reasons for additional scrutiny. Everyone treated us with respect but had no room for humor or chit-chat. We, in return, treated those officials as people that were performing an important job and we're thankful that they are there to protect their country. Our suggestion to anyone travelling in another country is always to bear that in mind, rather than take offense when questioned.

Our crossing back into the US was uneventful. Possibly, it always would be the case when returning to your home country and having decent documentation to prove that is the circumstance. We also were travelling on a Friday preceding a big holiday weekend for Canada, Victoria Day. Traffic was backed up at the international border - at least 1 1/2 hrs of waiting and that was at noon. Traffic handlers told us that it would be much worse as the afternoon bore on. They also told us as they were routing us into designated lanes that no one was being pulled in. We're not sure that they were supposed to divulge that bit of information, but were happy that the 1 1/2 hr traffic delay was all we would have to suffer through to get back across!