“Bonjour!” greeted the border patrol agent as we crossed the bridge into Canada. Our upcoming five nights were reserved at New Brunswick’s Fundy National Park and we were eager to get started with the Canada leg of our trip. But first, we handed over our passports…and then came the questions.
- Where are you from? (Oregon)
- Where are you going? (Maritime Provinces)
- How long is your stay? (Six weeks)
- How much cash do you have? (Uhhh)
- More than $10,000? (What?!?)
- Do you have any alcohol? (Yes)
- How much alcohol? (3 bottles. No, wait. Maybe 4.)
- Well, which is it? You need to decide. (3!)
- Any tobacco products? (No)
- Any drugs? (No)
- Any bear spray or pepper spray? (No)
- Any guns or weapons? (Definitely not)
We thought we had passed the pop quiz with flying colors, but as she handed our passports back we heard the dreaded words. “Just pull over there, you’ve been selected for an inspection.”
Two more agents appeared, had us put the trailer slides out, took the keys and pointed us to a waiting room. First they went through our truck. The little guy even managed to squeeze between the tailgate (which only opened halfway due to the trailer hitch) and truck bed cover, handing out various objects for his taller, female partner to examine.
Next, the trailer got a thorough going-over, with the little guy even climbing up on the roof. I really wanted to take photos of the entire process, but not wanting to seem too cocky, thought better of it. At last they were finished. The female agent handed Reg his keys and announced, “You have a beautiful camper. It’s so neat and clean.”
Ô Canada, here we come!
carryoncouple 
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