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Old Jul 19, 2011 | 8:15 am
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LuvAirFrance
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 5,051
Visitng Vancouver

Yesterday I went from Bellingham WA to British Columbia. I crossed at Sumas going Northbound. I really got some scrutiny from Canadian border patrol. They seemed very interested in why I visited Washington and B.C. They wanted to know what my job is. I told them I was retired. They still wanted to know what I did when I was working. I rather felt like they were trying to trip me up somehow. After the 3rd degree at the crossing booth, they then had me park my car and go inside. Again an interrogation. Then wait on a chair under a display of international border patrol badges.

I have heard that some of the cross-border drug traffic goes through places like Sumas. When I was back in my car driving to meet my niece, I looked in the car mirror and wondered if I looked like a narcotics mule.

I ate at an Indian restaurant in Abbotsford. Then I drove to Surrey and watched an Indian movie. When that let out at 9:30PM, I drove back to the border on 99.

I love the Vancouver area, but I'm not in love with B.C. roads and highways. They have these very long and straight roads, such as highway 10. And you can drive for miles in the outside lane. Then suddenly there's an arrow painted on the road and the lane disappears without much warning. I had to do some risky maneuvers to avoid an unwanted right turn. When going back to Bellingham WA, I found myself abruptly on an onramp to a highway. But for many minutes I couldn't tell what highway.
When I finally saw a road sign, it said I was on 99 northbound! So I had to find a place to reverse.

When I crossed at the Peach Arch, it was funny. The CBP guy was a Latino with a thick immigrant accent. And he seemed in quite a hurry to get me through. I sure didn't mind at that time of night, but given the trafficking stories, it wasn't what I expected. It was a relief to get on an oversigned American interstate highway. The rest of the trip was uneventful.
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