I was dreading crossing the border with my camper… and I had to do it twice in a five hour period. I’d read the horror stories about searches at the Canadian border, particularly when returning to the USA.
I was so nervous about the time it was going to take that when I picked my friend up in Hamilton, Ontario at the start of our trip, I left my camper at a friend’s business in Buffalo so I wouldn’t have to have it (potentially) searched twice. This wasn’t just a weekend camping trip. My car contained most of my posessions from a two month stint in New York for work, and it would have likely looked suspicious, so I left most of my stuff in the camper before crossing into Ontario and back. For the return journey, however, there was no way to leave my camper in Vermont then come back for it later, unless I wanted to add an additional 5 hours to my already 18 hour long drive.
I packed as neatly and efficiently as possible, making sure my big bins of clothes (and beer, perfectly legal of course, but precious cargo) were neatly stowed in the trunk. The same went for inside the camper… I wanted everything neat and organized before the prying eyes of border patrol saw it.
So, away we went. The crossing into Canada was simple, with absolutely no questions about my tiny camper.
Driving in Montreal wasn’t nearly as hard as I imagined. Sure, the signs are all in French and the only French I speak are ballet terms, but we made it to the airport in record time, and even ordered coffee at a Tim Hortons along the way where I had to point to my donut choice (I have no clue how to say “Maple Dip” in French!). It was a bit of a relief to return to Ontario where the road signs are in French AND English, and after a quick stop at a grocery store to pick up some Ketchup and All Dressed potato chips, I was on my way back to ‘Merica.
I drove through and over a beautiful state and provincial park. The region of upstate New York and Ontario is known as 1000 Islands, and it was beautiful! Lush green islands, the beautiful St. Lawrence river and the very end of Lake Ontario… it’s a place I would love to return to. It’s a couple of hours north of Syracuse, and close to Kingston, ON and only a few hours from Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. I hate all I did was drive through, because it would have been worth an extended stay.
The border crossing back into the USA couldn’t have been easier. I was expecting the worst… a search of all my belongings (and to be honest, I likely had more than the “legal” limit of beer on board thanks to some Vermont purchases!) but otherwise, there was nothing to hide. An RV was being inspected off to the side, and the car towing a boat ahead of me was sent for inspection. But I was barely at the crossing for 30 seconds, didn’t have to answer any of the usual questions about how long I’d been in Canada, the border patrol said, “Have a nice day,” and waved me through.
I-81 for the hours and hours I drove on it was relatively uneventful. I passed through many American Hockey League cities… a bit jealous of how easy the travel is for places like Syracuse, Binghampton, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and finally Harrisburg/Hershey. I stopped for the night at a rest stop in Harrisburg because after 13 or 14 hours on the road, I was wiped.
I slept surprisingly well, but awoke around 3:30 am and decided to hit the road again, because I still had eight hours to go, and was in a lot of pain from all of the sitting and driving and wanted to get the final stretch out of the way. I didn’t last long, but did witness an amazing sunrise near the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia before pulling over again to take a nap for a couple more hours.
Finally, just in time for lunch, I reached Bristol, Virginia, home of my awesome brother and his wife. I got a tour of his new home, and a tasty lunch at a local Mexican restaurant.
When I finally reached Asheville later that afternoon, I couldn’t have been any happier to finally be home. After two and a half months away, it was nice to be back in my mountains, surrounded by the friends and family I’d left in June when I started my journey to Western New York and beyond.
Lessons learned on this drive: I wish I’d stretched the drive out a bit more. Visiting Thousand Islands state park in New York and Shenandoah National Park in Virginia would have been VERY worthwhile stopping points. I’m also NEVER driving more than six hours without a significant stretch break and a long walk. I was in pain for days after I got home thanks to lower back pain. But I was homesick and ready to be back in North Carolina, so I pushed through.
2976 miles after I left NC in June, I was finally home. Stay tuned for part three: Vermont Beer
Teardrops & Ales 