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5 minutes in the U.S.A.
Last fall a friend of mine loaded up his car and shipped it by truck to Florida. He and his wife then flew to Florida, where they spent the winter. When it came time to come home, they loaded up their car and hired the same trucking company to bring the car back to Amherst. Then they flew home.
While waiting for their car to arrive home, they received a call from the trucking company saying the trucking company driver would not cross the border with his car. They dropped the car off about a kilometre from the Canadian border at Houlton, Maine. It was the same car, the same load, and the same trucking company, but now the truck driver would not cross the border into Canada and then cross back to the USA. Everything was the same except there is now a different U.S. president than there was last fall.
My friend asked if I would drive to Houlton with him to pick the car up and bring it home. I said yes, and then I had driver’s remorse. I was very apprehensive about going across the border because I do comment on the new president from time to time, and it is not always in a good light. I have also heard that some people in our area were having some bad experiences on the U.S. side of the border. However, I said I would go… so off we went on Sunday morning.
Prior to leaving, my friend called the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office at Houlton to determine if we needed an I-94 form. He was told that we would need to register with an I-94 Form only if we were staying more than 30 days. The Canadian Government Travel Advisory recommended that we leave our cell phones at home, but we made sure that we had our passports and papers for the car we were picking up.
When we got to the border there were no vehicles in the lineup on the Canadian side or the U.S. side. It was like a big empty parking lot. There was no one anywhere. When we drove up to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, he was serious and thorough, but we entered the U.S. with no issues.
We found the car right where it was supposed to be. We contemplated going into Houlton for a bite to eat and to pay a visit to Marden’s Discount Hardware store• but we decided to turn right around and go back. We didn’t buy a coffee or a stick of gum; we just wanted to get back on Canadian soil.
When I arrived at the Canadian border crossing, the Canadian Border Officer asked how long I had been in the US.
I said, “5 minutes”.
He said, “No… how long have you been in the US?”
And, again, I said “5 minutes”.
I explained that we were just there to pick up the car, which was now following behind me. He asked if I had purchased anything, and I said no, and he waved me through. My friend landed at the Canadian border next with his loaded car, and the Canadian border officer asked him a few questions and welcomed him back.
There is no moral to this story and hardly any point. However, it outlines our experience crossing the border and back again. If there is a point to the story, it is that Canadians are now concerned when we cross the border, and we generally want to come back as fast as we can.
I understand that tourism and visits to the United States are down significantly. And I understand why visits and tourism are down… there’s a discomfort now, a hesitation, even for a five-minute visit. Unfortunately, our relationship with the U.S. has changed in every regard. So much has shifted in just a few months.
While waiting for their car to arrive home, they received a call from the trucking company saying the trucking company driver would not cross the border with his car. They dropped the car off about a kilometre from the Canadian border at Houlton, Maine. It was the same car, the same load, and the same trucking company, but now the truck driver would not cross the border into Canada and then cross back to the USA. Everything was the same except there is now a different U.S. president than there was last fall.
My friend asked if I would drive to Houlton with him to pick the car up and bring it home. I said yes, and then I had driver’s remorse. I was very apprehensive about going across the border because I do comment on the new president from time to time, and it is not always in a good light. I have also heard that some people in our area were having some bad experiences on the U.S. side of the border. However, I said I would go… so off we went on Sunday morning.
Prior to leaving, my friend called the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office at Houlton to determine if we needed an I-94 form. He was told that we would need to register with an I-94 Form only if we were staying more than 30 days. The Canadian Government Travel Advisory recommended that we leave our cell phones at home, but we made sure that we had our passports and papers for the car we were picking up.
When we got to the border there were no vehicles in the lineup on the Canadian side or the U.S. side. It was like a big empty parking lot. There was no one anywhere. When we drove up to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, he was serious and thorough, but we entered the U.S. with no issues.
We found the car right where it was supposed to be. We contemplated going into Houlton for a bite to eat and to pay a visit to Marden’s Discount Hardware store• but we decided to turn right around and go back. We didn’t buy a coffee or a stick of gum; we just wanted to get back on Canadian soil.
When I arrived at the Canadian border crossing, the Canadian Border Officer asked how long I had been in the US.
I said, “5 minutes”.
He said, “No… how long have you been in the US?”
And, again, I said “5 minutes”.
I explained that we were just there to pick up the car, which was now following behind me. He asked if I had purchased anything, and I said no, and he waved me through. My friend landed at the Canadian border next with his loaded car, and the Canadian border officer asked him a few questions and welcomed him back.
There is no moral to this story and hardly any point. However, it outlines our experience crossing the border and back again. If there is a point to the story, it is that Canadians are now concerned when we cross the border, and we generally want to come back as fast as we can.
I understand that tourism and visits to the United States are down significantly. And I understand why visits and tourism are down… there’s a discomfort now, a hesitation, even for a five-minute visit. Unfortunately, our relationship with the U.S. has changed in every regard. So much has shifted in just a few months.