Thanks and good luck with your test situation.

That bridge is the original reason I got Nexus. Pre-Covid, I recall sitting in traffic for at least an hr. The Whirlpool Bridge (Nexus only) is the only way to go, especially when the border reopens. No testing there but they give you the kit to do at home.

Datapoint from BUF airport on 6/13. Snowbird family been away all winter in the Caribbean took a taxi from BUF airport to Barrie for quoted price of $460 US.

FYI for everyone paying these extortionate rates for taxes from BUF to wherever your home is in Ontario, it's WAYYY cheaper to just Uber from BUF to the Rainbow Bridge (about $30 USD) and then walk over (literally 5 minutes, with a stunning view the whole way), and then take an Uber from the Canadian side on to your final destination.

These people had a ton of luggage from being away all winter.

The was my experience when I went through Blaine in the evening last night, Sunday. I had got a 1 day rental from Portland (about $250), which was the only place I found a 1way for when I looked a few weeks ago. Actually, not true, I could have got a 1 day from Hertz for a lot more ($500 1way fee +rental cost >$800 total. I think you need high status, PLUS searching via the GB version of the Hertz website to get that. I tried the Enterprise trick mentioned above, but they're not doing 1-ways - I mean, not even SeaTac pickup, downtown Sea dropoff - they said demand is really high and they're not allowed to do any 1ways at all.

There were 4 cars at the gates when I pulled up and they had two gates open (not nexus). I went to a gate with only one car ahead, and they had to open their trunk and the inspector looked in it. When it was my turn, I forlornly flashed my nexus card at the reader as I drove up, for nostalgia I suppose, but to my surprise, the man said the details showed up on his screen - so you can try that to save time. I handed him my passport and visa and arrivecan printout.

He asked for my Covid test. I had done the Walgreens ID NOW test earlier that morning and when I mentioned that and said it was a pdf on the phone, he seemed to be familiar with the test, and said that was fine. The Walgreens is free! But extremely limited availability in the NW states for prebooking. I found their website displays appts up to 3 days ahead - you want to login (create an account ahead of time for faster booking) about midnight local 3 days before, and check the most recently added date for greatest availability. They all go pretty fast, esp in Bellingham. I booked one in the south part of WA, and one in the north, which is lucky, because the drive took much longer than anticipated that I missed the northern 2nd appt. The test is easy, it's drive through, done in about 5 minutes, and results probably came in about an hour (not 24 which they tell you).

In contrast to my previous border drive through's , this man mostly asked a lot of detailed questions about my exact movements of what I did when I was out of Canada (for less than a week) - what airline did I fly to what city, what hotel did I stay in, why did I pick that hotel, did I meet up with anyone, etc. It was a bit weird, I think it was like when these people talk to you and they're not really interested in answers, but looking for some inconsistencies or perhaps that you're telling falsehoods because of lack of details? For example, he asked the routine, are you carrying any cash? And in fact I was, because I'd taken out some CAD from Canada, hoping to put it in my US bank, but didn't get a chance, so I brought it back with me - so he seemed OK with that, but then this prompted questions like 'why do you have a US bank account?' To which I said, '...err, because I'm American? and I've had the bank account for 30 years? And I'm on a temp visa in Canada and I'm going back to the US when I'm done?' and he says, 'oh right'. I think he'd forgotten I'd just handed him my US passport moments earlier and it was instinctive for him to probe further any mention of money movement. Anyway, the questions weren't health/safety vis a vis Covid at all, they were more, I don't know, like you might expect from normal entry except significantly more detailed. Maybe he thinks I'm a gangsta and have links to the Surrey crew? But he didn't want to look in the car, or my three suitcases at all, except to ask what was in them ('14 days worth of ... chocolate! I hear people lost in the wilderness can survive on chocolate bars, so so can I', I said.) He did ask if the car was a rental, and when I said yes, he asked about the return, and I said I was going to get a friend to drop it back in the morning, he said the rental company might be happy to arrange a local pickup, as I wasn't supposed to stop anywhere and could only go straight to my quarantine place. I think he was trying to be helpful, so I said, 'that's handy to know!' and smiled politely. He was very pleasant, and I was happy to natter away, maybe giving him way more detail than what he wanted to hear. I was not asked at all about any aspects of my quarantine, or anything about my actual being in Canada or stay in Canada, and at the end, almost as an afterthought, he said, 'oh I have to read this to you' and then read the statement about the rules of quarantine and the max possible fines, etc.

At the red cross tent, I was the only one at first, so again I was chatting away to the friendly man, taking my time, and then when I finally finished, and drove off, I looked in the rear view and realized 4 cars were backed up behind me, probably drumming their fingers in impatience because I'd taken so long. Oops. I did ask the red cross man, and he said they'd been extremely busy that day all day, so I was surprised, and asked if most of the people weren't non-testable 'essentials'? And he said that all the truckers have to go through the other (truck-route) entry, so everyone driving through Douglas was a non-essential and had to undergo tests.

Regarding the Walgreens ID NOW, do you need an appointment? The website shows not available appointments in Seattle at all. My wife will be flying next week to SEA from overseas and needs to take a test prior to driving to the border.

I think you need an appointment. If you go to the website just after midnight local time they start to load the appointments for the third day out (so right now, weds 16th a few minutes past midnight, you can find appts on the 19th which have just been added to the system). They go pretty fast, might be gone in a few hours.


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ec39e217a2.png
renton id now appointment

Interesting, because all 7Walgreens with PCRs in around Buffalo show "many appointments available" and you an literally roll up anytime today, go shopping and hopefully have the results by the time you get to the border!

Yeah, I noticed that, and also read with interest about the availability of lots of taxi/limo options back East, but for those of us hoping to enter via BC, things seems to be a bit more challenging. I think definitely if someone is originating from elsewhere in the US, then flying to SEA, then driving, it might be better to do the Walgreens before SEA, the day before, elsewhere in the US.

So I woke up in the middle of the night last night to try to book a Sunday test, they were all gone already!

Not sure how recent but what a shame...

https://www.blogto.com/travel/2021/0...niagara-falls/

Most people in this forum realize you need a test in the US itself before crossing the land border, but I appreciate how that would not be common knowledge to less frequent travelers.

What's even more disgusting is the comments - blogto is trash in general and perhaps attracts that sort of reader - but the number of people in the comments that actually think this fine is reasonable, and warranted, shows the level of brainwashing happening here.

Yes, they go fast; from the time I screenshot, to when I looked 15 minutes later, after I posted, a third of them had gone. I personally tried some dry runs starting several days out, to try to work out when they tended to update the system. Unfortunately it seems there are no CVS test options in Washington.

On an unrelated note, for anyone wondering about the followup process, this is mine. Backstory: crossed via rainbow bridge, already fully vaccinated in the US:

- Took test at Rainbow Bridge on day 1, results were available online in the switch health portal 24 hours later
- Automated call on day 4
- Call from a live person on day 5 asking me all the standard stupid questions
- Call from another live person on day 7 asking if I needed any help
- Took test with a switch health agent on the morning of day 8. They had emailed me a set time slot to log in, and I was connected within 5 minutes or so. Used the Uber voucher to send back the test.
- Knock at my door later on day 8. This was a Friday around 5PM. I missed this knock because I was "sleeping". They left a pre-printed letter stating that they came knocking and no one answered and that they WILL refer this to law enforcement (emphasis theirs), and that law enforcement MAY follow up (again, emphasis theirs). The letter also stated the usual stuff like I'm required to quarantine, stated the maximum fines and penalties, etc
- Automated phone call on day 9, essentially asking me to press 1 if I was complying, 2 if not. This may have been the result of me missing the knock at the door.
- Results were available online in switch health by Monday for the day 8 test (on day 11)

That is all. Me missing the knock at the door because I was "sleeping" carried no consequences. If anyone plans to be "sleeping" during the daytime or evening of their quarantine period, I would venture a guess that you can afford to miss a single knock at the door, because the bylaw officer doesn't have the power to do anything other than leave a note and refer the matter to law enforcement (who likely can't be bothered to care anyway). You will also know if they came while you were "sleeping" because they will leave a note, and can potentially take more caution not to "sleep" during these hours for the remainder of your quarantine.

Why is “sleeping” in quotation marks? Are you implying that you weren’t “sleeping” but that's the excuse you will use? Were you actually home? If so, why not just answer? Or are you suggesting that people should just blow off quarantine since there are no real consequences to you?