International Adventure on Spyder

[dltang]

What a day it has been today. It was 68 degreed and begging for a good ride. I decided to combine two things into one good ride today. Let me start by informing you that we live just a little less than an hour west of the Canadian border from Port Huron, MI into Sarnia, Ontario. My niece had a softball game about 1/2 way between my home and the border. So I decided to make this a very productive day. I would leave the house and head for the border so to speak, get a couple of good photos for the photo scavenger hunt and then turn around and head back and stop at the softball game. Great plan right? We all know how those go. I saw the sign that said Bridge to Canada, I figured I would head that way, get the photo and turn around and just come back off and then go down to the water and get my photo of the Lake. As it turns out, if you head toward the Bridge to Canada, there is no turning around. I got up there and could not find a spot to turn around, so I went up to the gate and talked to the guards and explained my predicament. Told them I didn't want to go to Canada and did not have my passport with me. Asked if I could just turn around and head back. As it turns out, you can not do that, you have to cross the bridge and turn around on the other side. Okay I thought, no big deal, I'll just tell them on the Canadian side that I really didn't mean to come to Canada, and I just want to turn around and head home. This is not as easily done as it is said. After my 1/2 hour wait on the bridge to the customs booth, I once again explained my predicament. They took my license info, wrote out a yellow slip and sent me to immigration. (Big sigh here) I headed over to immigration and got in line. When it was my turn, I once again explained that I really didn't mean to come to Canada today, I just wanted to go back. I was directed to go sit in the green chairs and wait. This is not good. Those immigration people have no sense of humor and I don't think they ever smiled. Not one of them found it humorous that I really didn't mean to come to Canada today. After 20-30 minutes of waiting I finally got called back to the counter where they took some more information and validated my yellow immigration slip. I was now free to head back to the USA. What a debacle this was. If I had been thinking, I would have taken my passport just in case and I would have just said I was going shopping and then just come right back home. I will know next time. Anyway, here are the great photos I got for the scavenger hunt after all of this hassle.
Here is the Bridge sign:

Here I am actually on the Bridge going into Canada from Michigan:

Here I am back on the US side looking across Lake Huron under the Blue Water Bridge:

Here is another angle looking across Lake Huron from Port Huron, MI, USA to Sarnia, Ontario, Canada:

 

[SpyderWolf]

That is a great story. At least you were lucky and it didn't include strip searching, or tearing apart the Spyder, while looking for contraband.

 

[Neez]

All part of the War against Tourism--er, Terrorism. Makes me long for the days when we didn't have to be so paranoid.

 

[musicarcade]

great story!
I bet they were really thrilled to see you taking pictures as well...:yikes:
"really sir...I didn't mean to come here- the pictures I took? Oh, I am participating in a scavenger hunt...":roflblack::roflblack::roflblack:

 

[Lamonster]

:roflblack:
That sounds like something I would do. nojoke

 

[wyliec]

You do know that they now have a passport id card good for international ground/sea travel to Canada,Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda. It fits into your wallet; that way you can have it with you all the time (just like a credit card). I just got mine when I renewed my passport.

 

[dltang]

You do know that they now have a passport id card good for international ground/sea travel to Canada,Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda. It fits into your wallet; that way you can have it with you all the time (just like a credit card). I just got mine when I renewed my passport.

Yup, well aware of that. Also, they cost almost as much as a passport. And since both my husband and I already have passports, it seems a waste of money to have both. The main problem I had today wasn't that I didn't have my passport with me, it is that I didn't intend to go to Canada in the first place. LOL

 

[BRPjunkie]

You would think that with "Can-Am" emblazoned on your Spyder both the Canadian and American officials would have realized that you were an ambassador between the two neighbors.

 

[DynamoBT]

Un - believe - able!!!! I know a motorcycle friend who's wife always asks when they run into problems on the road, "Are we having an adventure yet?" Glad yours ended well.


But this makes me think of the time my hubby and I went up to the Montreal Olympics in '76 with no plans, tickets, or a place to stay. We even had our dog with us. And, of course, no rabies paperwork on him. We didn't have any trouble at all.

I guess the days of impromptu voyages across the border are over!

 

[j45p3r]

Yep, we have to be careful of this on the Snowmobiles, too. No more impromptu trips to Quebec or New Brunswick.

 

[ArmyJoe]

Well, blame Canada
Blame Canada
It seems that everything's gone wrong
Since Canada came along
Blame Canada
Blame Canada
They're not even a real country anyway

 

[Yazz]

I tried to get one of those pics on the Mexican boarder. Couldn't get close enough for a decent pic. Asked the locals about getting closer and was told "You can get into Mexico easy enough, they just won't let you back into the States." Have to have a passport, proof of vehicle ownership (original copy), dogs sniffing up your muffler, yadda yadda... Wasn't worth the risk because we didn't have our passports.

You are a brave woman to perform such a daring feat!:2thumbs:

 

[NancysToy]

Un - believe - able!!!! I know a motorcycle friend who's wife always asks when they run into problems on the road, "Are we having an adventure yet?" Glad yours ended well.


But this makes me think of the time my hubby and I went up to the Montreal Olympics in '76 with no plans, tickets, or a place to stay. We even had our dog with us. And, of course, no rabies paperwork on him. We didn't have any trouble at all.

I guess the days of impromptu voyages across the border are over!

Yeah, more's the pity!

 

[WaltH]

Many years ago, I worked in an office building on the west side of the Detroit river across from Windsor. From time to time, we would go to Windsor for lunch and then return to resume our work day. The crossing was quick and easy. Sometimes we had to declare our citizenship, but other times they would just wave us through on both sides of the border. Any significant delay would have made it impractical to go to Canada for lunch.

At that time, I had several employees who where Canadian citizens living in Canada and working in the U.S. They crossed the border twice a day without delay. They were more concerned with the currency exchange rate than with the border crossings.

When I went to the Spyder homecoming in 2008, I crossed into Quebec from Vermont. I was detained on the Canadian side for more than an hour while they questioned me and took everything out of my Spyder for examination. There was nothing to find. Finally, they let me go. They must have realized that they had captured a harmless old man who did not smoke, did not drink, did not do drugs, and did not even own a gun. When I left Quebec at the Maine border, the Canadian side of the crossing was not manned. I could have entered Quebec without stopping. When I entered New Brunswick from Maine I had no problem. The Canadian computer must have indicated "harmless old man".