Where is BOTN

[Melbo]

Has anyone heard from Bobofthenorth? I know he was planning to head south before his tires froze to the ground.

I have not seen him post or in chat.

I hope he did not get stuck in a snow drift or a canuck uprising.

Melbo

[buswarrior]

He was on about a week ago, IIRC.

Somewhere in BC.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[JohnEd]

He was supposed to be coming down I5 thru Eugene this year.  I haven't heard him go by yet so he must still be up northerly.

John

[Just Dallas]

Removed

[Tenor]

Dallas! LMAO!!    At LEAST he could bring us back some Labatt!

Glenn

[bobofthenorth]

Maybe he got stopped smuggling Velveta back across the border!

Its nice to know you're missed occasionally.  And we weren't smuggling cheese but we definitely did get stopped. 

If you are a glutton for punishment you can read the whole sordid tale here.

[bryanhes]

Bob,

Talk about harassment  I am glad I read your story about the border. I am going to have to quit complaining about the $0.45 toll I have to pay going to work each way to Tulsa 

Bryan

[Melbo]

Nice to know you are safe

Welcome to the United States  --- did you bring your own health insurance??

Good Story


Melbo

[pvcces]

Hi, Bob.

As far as I know, the only country that has to accept us is our own! There have been times at the border when we have gotten chewed on going into Canada, but mostly, it's no problem.

I'm really sorry you got tangled up with those people; it can be really hard to satisfy them, sometimes. They didn't believe us when we were walk-ons on our way to New York, either. You should have seen the looks we got when I dug the license plates for the Subaru that we had just bought out of my backpack.

We were high bidder on eBay, and we were going to pick up our car!

Is Marilyn still watching foreclosures in Arizona?

Take care.

Tom Caffrey

[buswarrior]

Yup, gotta love the arbitrary authority of those sworn to protect America from invaders.

Be thankful you weren't cavity searched.

And, no, I'm not joking.

Ask any cross border line run driver.

No smirks on the intending visitors' faces after that has been done to them...

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[bobofthenorth]

Yup, gotta love the arbitrary authority of those sworn to protect America from invaders.

Its not just on the south side of the 49th.  The Canadian guys can be absolute pricks too.  As Tom said it's any country's right to decide who they will or won't let into the country.  I just wish they would give a straight answer to a straight question.  But I'm afraid we'll see worse before we see better - the pendulum has to swing.  For now we'll have to hope that they put enough notes on our file to expedite the crossing for the immediate future. 

And no Tom, she's lost interest in AZ and moved on to Sayulita.   

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Sounds like a "fun" time.    At least you knew you were going to have a story out of it!  If we ever meet i will have to tell you our "Story" of when we bought the bus and dealing with the Az. Dept. of Revenue.

[PCC]

Making sure you have a telephone number, not cellular, in Canada is a really big deal. Other utility bills are good too.

People are becoming more mobile, moving about in coaches and motor homes.

There is so much to enjoy when you can go and see those places that most people only get to see on TV, or in the movies.

Too bad that this world has turned into a place where people have to fear for their safety. It is usually the ones who are the least threatening; the ones with the least to hide, that are the ones that are suspected the most.

A friend of mine used to drive a commuter run across the border between the US and Canada, and there were occasions when that time spent on the "wooden benches" was more than his passengers wanted. But there was always a hearty cheer when all was found to be in order, and the trip continued.

[bobofthenorth]

When my father was in his late 70's he and his slightly younger brother went to San Diego to visit a cousin that they hadn't seen for a long time.  Ron's story of getting father through security in L.A. is priceless - he's a much better story teller than me.  Evidently somebody was convinced that they had a pair of geriatric terrorists on their hands and they weren't about to take any chances.  They had father's suspenders and his belt off and were making him parade through the scanner repeatedly to the point where Ron was afraid his pants were going to fall off.

Another time Marilyn was taking her antique Aunt to Vancouver - Anne was in her late 90's at the time.  She had this morning ritual involving flax powder and prunes that she credited for her considerable longevity.  Its a long story but the punch line comes when the purse-snooper finds the stash of brown powder, holds it triumphantly aloft and asks Anne what it is.  She was deaf as a post so she didn't hear the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or subsequent questions.  Finally Marilyn reached her own boiling point and shouted at the screener "IT'S HER LAXATIVE".  At that point the screening concluded and they got hustled on their way.

What frustrates me is twofold -first that productive manhours (our own time as well as the employee time) get wasted on this garbage and second that petty bureaucrats get the power to arbitrarily and completely disrupt our lives and we have no real recourse.