O Canada

What do we think about Maine?  We love it!  It's quite a beautiful state, with mile after mile of rocky coastline.  There are lots of charming villages and magnificent views.  The people we've met are great, for the most part.  However, there is the issue of those harsh winters which, while undoubtedly scenic, might be a deal-killer for us - not because of the cold weather, which we can tolerate better than most people our age, but because many of the restaurants and stores there shut down for the winter season.  That would leave us feeling isolated for months at a time, if Maine was our year-round home.

And we never found that perfect combination we seek - a university town with a rich restaurant scene and pretty neighborhoods with services nearby.  However, our explorations are incomplete.  We have been impressed with pretty much all of the New England states and certainly won't rule out a future house-hunting trip there.

After a last day with our fabulous hosts Pat and Liz O'Grady - a delicious lobster-in-the-shell dinner at their home and another wonderful classical music concert at Kneisel Hall in Blue Hill - we began preparing ourselves for a voyage into the wilds of Canada.

At the border crossing we knew we would need our passports and evidence that our dogs were up on their shots, but then I began wondering if we would also need evidence of insurance coverage for the motorhome.  I called our insurance carrier, and the lady confirmed that we were covered for Canada, but that the Canadian border officials usually required an official card, prepared by the carrier, certifying coverage.  I tried to have that card delivered overnight to our campground.  However, the office in Ohio closed before FedEx could get there.  And this was Friday afternoon.

About this time we did further investigation and learned that visitors into Canada are only allowed to bring in two bottles of wine each, with duty to be paid on wine that exceeds that limit.  Unfortunately, we have about 25 bottles, stored under our bed, many of which we brought from California and haven't consumed yet.  It was at this point that we realized just how pathetic our planning process has been.  Flying by the seat of one's pants has its advantages, but there will be times when lack of preparation will bite us.

Nancy read on the internet that we were not allowed to bring in to Canada eggs, milk, butter, uncooked meat, and cheese.  She tossed all of that stuff we had onboard into the trash.  On the positive side, we now had more refrigerator space.

She also wanted to toss the small quantity of marijuana gifted us by the young woman from Humboldt County a couple of months ago, since Canada, in spite of legalizing weed recently, does not allow importing it.  I overruled her and hid it as a keepsake.

Should we wait until Tuesday, when we would be able to receive a FedEx delivery of the insurance certification card?  What should we do about the wine - lie about it at the border and face jail time?  Leave it with the O'Gradys and pick it up on return?  Find a storage facility to hold it?  Pay that exorbitant duty?  Invite our fellow RV'ers over and drink it all before we left?

Our decision was to go boldly forward to the border crossing, and to tell the truth to the Canadian gatekeeper..  Off we went on Saturday.

As we approached the border, the traffic was extremely light.  We had anticipated endless lines of automobiles, as is the case on the West Coast.  We could see that there was some backup of cars coming into the US, as presumably the officials were diligently protecting Americans from killer Canucks.

But when we reached the Canadian border, we drove without waiting to an open Canadian customs window.  A young man took our passports.  He didn't ask for our dogs' rabies certificates, and he didn't ask us for proof of insurance coverage, and he didn't ask about food items on board.  He did ask if we had any firearms, weapons, or mace - which we didn't.  He asked if we had any wine or spirits.  I said, "Yes.  Unfortunately, we have about twenty-five bottles of wine, and three or four bottles of hard liquor."

He shook his head sadly and we prepared ourselves for the inevitable full inspection of our motorhome, a lengthy delay, and hundreds of dollars in duties.   He asked how long we would be in Canada - 10-14 days - and whether we would be visiting anyone - no.  Finally he smiled, handed our passports back, winked, and said, "Don't tell anyone."

Well, now I've told you, the readers of this blog, and I'm counting on you to keep our secret, so that fine young border guard won't lose his job.

And what a fine RV park - Kiwannis Oceanside Campground - we pulled into upon crossing into Canada!  It is in the province of New Brunswick, on the very tip of a peninsula and ringed on three sides by magnificent Passamaquoddy Bay.

The town, within walking distance, is St-Andrews-by-the-Sea, an idyllic little village.

Our first chore after setting up our motorhome was going into the local grocery and buying replacements for those food items that Nancy, in an overabundance of caution, had thrown away before we crossed the border.