Sixteen days ago we crossed the border to Canada by showing Border Patrol our passports and answering simple questions such as “Where are you going?” “Why are you going there?” “How long will you be in Canada?”. Today, when we wanted to enter back into our country, it was a bit more involved. The U.S. Border Patrol wanted to know what we bought in Canada, specifically what food we were bringing over the border. I rattled off the few things I remembered we still had in the refrigerator, such as lettuce, an orange, some broccoli slaw, a few onions and an avacado. We were then asked to pull over so some special agent could inspect our RV. After looking in all of our cabinets, the freezer and the refrigerator, the gentleman had in his hands the orange, the avacado and a few small red potatoes. He then informed us he could fine us $300 because we failed to tell him we had the potatoes. Good grief. He didn’t fine us, but did give us a stern “talkin to” about the responsibilities we have about knowing what is in our “giant suitcase” as he called our motorhome, and what are not allowed over the border...which apparently includes oranges, avacados and potatoes! Lesson learned.
Beside that little incident, today was a happy day for me. First of all, I could use my phone again! Oh, how I missed my iPhone and the way it connects me to my friends and family! I immediately texted the kids and Claire’s response was, “So glad you made it back…what were you thinking picking up hitchhikers?!” Another reason it’s a happy day…for the first time in 37 years, I will not be reporting back to HCPS as teachers did today. It was a long time coming, and as you can tell, I’m making the most of retirement!
We are now in Montana and will spend some time with our friends Wayne and Shirley. The Internet connection is slow, so I will try again in a few days to send some pictures of the last week we spent in Canada.
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