Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2001 12:55:35 -0600
Reply-To: Chris Smith <chris.smith@AQUILA.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Chris Smith <chris.smith@AQUILA.NET>
Subject: Re: Crossing the Border the easy way
In-Reply-To: <OF10B0D5C9.6689C37B-ON86256B1F.0080764E@ra.rockwell.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
From now on Alan, I'm taking you with me. For some reason it's always
been my wife that had the problem. Last month we were trying to get back
into Detroit from Windsor via the tunnel when we were questioned at length
about my wife's citizenship. This is with my father and his 1963 vintage
green card (so old it's actually green) any myself in the front. At least
we didn't have to wait for a 'random' search again. The fastest crossings
always seem to happen right after a Red Wings game lets out :-)
At 06:42 PM 12/11/01 -0500, Alan Bosch wrote:
><<<snip>>>I used to not bring my birth certificate, but since Sept.
>11 it is required to cross.<<<snip>>>
>
>Chris, your post about crossing the US - Canadian border has some very
>good information in it. Points that many should take heed and follow.
>However, the excerpt snipped above is wholly untrue - or at least untrue
>as for my recent border crossing. To wit...
>
>My wife, our two kids, my sister, and her partner all piled into my
>intrepid Phred for a day-trip to Niagara Falls on 12/1/01. Crossing the
>Peace Bridge into Canada from Buffalo, we were asked the number of people
>in the bus and citizenship of each. And were waved through that simply.
>Canadian side same thing. How many, citizenship, going where, and for how
>long. And waved through.
>
>We went to Fort Erie (closed) and then drove up a real nice road from Ft.
>Erie to Niagara Falls. Oooo'd and ahhh'd at the Falls for two hours, the
>went into the city for some touristy-type roaming. Ate dinner, then
>headed back to the US via Ft. Erie and Peace Bridge, after a stop the
>Duty-Free shop.
>
>When US Customs asked what we were bringing back, the guy actually looked
>like he could have cared less when we started listing the stuff we bought
>at the Duty-Free shop. In fact, we never finished the list (my wife
>wanted him to know we were honest, and insisted on accounting a detailed
>list). The guy waved us through without even asking for ID, much less a
>birth certificate. Simply, a breeze.
>
>And I thought we'd be in for all kinds of hastles, what with 9/11 AND a VW
>bus...
>
>Alan Bosch
>& Phred ('88 Wolfsburg)
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