Border Crossing Review

(previously published in Border Crossing Journal, April 2015)

5 ˜˜˜Stars:   Superior/polite, efficient, helpful

4  ˜˜˜Stars:   Small details may annoy

3 ˜˜˜ Stars:   Officious, challenging, usually on US side

2 ˜˜ Stars:    Don’t like your bumper stickers, make you get out of car

1 ˜ Star:       Inferior/may be detained for no reason/ rude interrogation

 (Unfortunately the stars do not show up in this format.)

Northbound:  Lynden/Aldergrove Crossing

Before planning your northern sojourn,

remember to activate

your data roaming.  If in doubt,

call your carrier to see if this is free.

Tourist, travelers and truckers are fewer

than locals but don’t discount this one-womaned

border unit with a friendly officer inviting you

to enjoy your stay, eh?  That is after you

hand over all the passports of passengers,

and answer a few questions about

tobacco, firearms, alcohol and a new restriction

regarding eggs and all poultry products

due to pathogenic avian influenza in the U.S.

Passports are returned with a smile.

Before you merge onto a Canadian road,

find that illusive little button that flips

miles to kilometers and cruise along

verdant pastures to find the open roads

of our sister country to the north.

Drawback:  Lynden/Aldergrove border opens at 8:30 a.m.

This traveler was told the delayed opening

accommodates an adjacent dairy

which must milk the girls on standard time

and the border traffic interrupts

their flow.  So drive mindfully

and check the time.  Plan ahead.

There is no Nexus lane.

Southbound:  Aldergrove/Lynden

Upon leaving the province,

head south through a maze of construction,

“Oh, it’s the Canadians,” the U.S. border guard

will blame, but still with a smile

in this two lane option as squirrely

to maneuver as the Peace Arch.

It was an easy crossing that day,

with smiles and what did you bring back?

A skein of yarn, sir, and a full belly.

Well, welcome home, he said.

On your next mini international trip,

try an inland border crossing

and enjoy an exceptional  experience.

Due to early morning border closing,

This 5 Star ˜˜˜˜˜crossing

required an inconvenient  drive

to Sumas during milking time.

Thus this rating

is only 4 ˜˜˜˜Stars.

~C.J. Prince

©2015

Border Crossing expert C.J. Prince has reviewed borders worldwide. 

Find her monthly reviews here in Border Crossing Journal and in her

Syndicated column throughout North America.