T R A V E L   L O G tj|ca|st
T R A V E L   L O G
tj|ca|st

R O A D   T R I P   T O   V A N C O U V E R ,   B C

Thursday, July 15, 2004

As I approach customs I start to feel a little apprehension. When my turn finally arrives I pull up and am greeted by a pleasant customs agent. We chat for a bit and all seems to be going well, I answer all the questions to his approval and start to think they're going to let me through without any hassle.

Yeah, right... NOT! He tells me to pull over to the parking lot, customs wants to take a little looksee. Having never been searched at the border I don't know what to expect. I try to be positive about the worst possible outcome, customs trashing the van. I figure it'd make a good story for my website?

I'm asked to step out and surrender the van keys. Fortunately their searching only involves a sniffer dog that checks inside and outside the van. Customs also spends about 5 minutes poking around but they don't disturb anything. So all it all it is a positive experience. Then I think about US Customs and shudder, they'll be tougher than Canada because of increased security since 9/11. I immediately push that thought out of my mind, I'll deal with it all when I re-entered the States. No time to worry about US Customs, it is getting late in the day and I need to get to Vancouver before nightfall.

I successfully enter Canada. Welcome to Canada! Unfortunately the visitors information center is closed. My plan to snag a map on the way up has been foiled. Why do I need a paper map when I have GPS? Well my GPS maps don't cover Canada and to add insult to injury the software mocks me as I travel northward for the little navigation arrow moves northward across a blizzard of whiteness. Luckily I had the foresight to pull a MS MapPoint map off the web after my workout before hitting the road.

Up to this point I've only been using my GPS to plan and navigate my routes. Now I have to revert to static maps which is a little cumbersome. As I cross the border I realize I havn't been adequately weened from the GPS teet. But, that doesn't matter, I'm in Canada and on the move.

On the road to Vancouver the sun starts to set and I'm wowed by all the colors. It really puts me in a good mood.


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