Not so invisible border anymore

Is this contraband?  I don't think so, but I wasn't saying we had any...  there is little toys in here that can kill small children.  I think handguns should be banned as well if Kinder Eggs are a safety risk to children.

Thank goodness for freedom.  In more ways than one.

We did have a little adventure entering the United States.  It's not like we had to give a bribe or got strip searched, but we ended up getting Eddie and Dakota's dog food taken away (cause it had lamb in it).  We also spent time in the office asking questions over and over again about firearms, alcohol and tobacco and why we didn't have a residence.  "Please step away from the door" when we told her the door to the office was locked.  Thank goodness they were nice and didn't make us put Eddie and Dakota in a kennel.  She had to be cautious and make sure we insisted that neither of them would attack.  And then their customs dog searched the truck.  It was fun to watch because of course it was packed with all our winter stuff including skis, sleeping bags, backpacks, helmets, and warm clothes.  It probably does look suspicious driving a 1989 toyota with Alberta license plates when we tell them one of our residences is Salmon Arm and mine is North Bend...  We have to do that cause we are only allowed in each other countries for 6 months per calendar year.  I'm grateful we speak English cause if we were really foreigners and our grasp of English wasn't too good, I think the entire experience might be a little intimidating.  Good experience for travelling elsewhere in the world where the border experience truly can be scary.  It became even more suspicious that we were "going skiing" and we were warned to make sure "we were telling them everything" before the dog searched the truck.  i.c. no illegal drugs.

I personally think the woman who interviewed us was doing some training, but I guess we never will know.  It's the first time there has been an issue going through the border since we've traveled together. (By the way, in Canada people spell it "travelled").


It does feel good to be back in the Pacific Northwest where someone like me can ski and garden on the same day.  Also the freezing levels have been quite low, so the snow base has really piled up and there is no more rock skiing and my shoulder is healing up.

The US and Canada border services are making sure there is a border for us.  Next time only cheap dog food.