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Date:         Tue, 12 Apr 2005 17:28:55 -0700
Reply-To:     Robert Fisher <refisher@MCHSI.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Robert Fisher <refisher@MCHSI.COM>
Subject:      Re: Coast toCoast!
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
              reply-type=original

We flew from LA to Halifax in the summer of 2000. We were told (by whoever my wife checked with at U.S. Customs) before we left that we wouldn't need a passport and something like a state ID would do, but at the checkpoints both going and coming we were asked for our passports and told that the ID thing was wrong. The lady on the Canadian side wasn't being to hard-assed about it, and it helped that my in-laws were there and promised to be 'responsible' for us (at least me and the kid). The guy on the U.S. side on the way back was a Taiwanese or Chinese guy that was wearing latex gloves, a particle mask and had an accent so thick as to be nearly unintelligible (behind the mask); on top of that his actual use of English was very poor. Now I don't particularly care where the guy was from or what circumstances led him to be in that job, but I think that as part of his job requirements as a U.S. Customs official he should at least be able to communicate clearly in English. I had expected from the information we got from the Canadian official that we were going to have to talk our way back into the states somewhat but I didn't expect to have to do it in Mandarin. I was standing there with our California IDs and it was clear this guy had heard of Cali but that was about it. I had to do an interesting tap dance between smooth talking and playing dumb to get past the guy- in the end I think I just wore him down and got him worried about his huge long line that was forming behind me. I barely kept my temper, but the idea of me getting arrested and stranding my wife and daughter at Chicago customs helped me hold on. Anyway, if you're gonna cross borders, you might as well get a passport and save yourself some hassle. My in-laws did so for their last visit (post 9/11) and fairly breezed through.

This makes me wonder if the Canadians (Frank, Gary, Ben, etc.) that drive down here run into any problems, or if Larry ran into any problems while driving up and back. What do they look for when you're driving across the border? I wonder if it's more of an issue when you're flying versus driving?

Cya, Robert

----- Original Message ----- From: "jimt" <camper@TACTICAL-BUS.INFO> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 4:51 PM Subject: Re: Coast toCoast!

On 4/12/05 17:32, "Robert Fisher" <refisher@MCHSI.COM> wrote:

> They call it 'The Mother Road', among other things. I dunno if you really > want to go to Chicago but I guess you could leave it in Tulsa for points > east and south. > I'm probably going to drive from SoCal to Nova Scotia someday. Might be > interesting to make that drive part of the trip. > > Cya, > Robert

With the new home land rules going in I think we are loosing what has been a "right" of mexican, us, and canadian citizens. The right to cross the borders with an id card and no passport required. Prepare to have passports ready for the trips across the lines. ........................................ jimt Planned insanity is best. Remember that sanity is optional. http://www.tactical-bus.info (tech info) http://www.westydriver.com


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