30-DAY WRITING CHALLENGE / 27 SEPTEMBER 2022
The Day We Got Turned Away From The US Border
It remains one of my favourite family memories
It was dark when the car pulled up to the border crossing. Policies had changed, and we were not sure we could cross into the USA, but we thought we would give it a try.
After parking the car, my husband and I unbuckled our sleepy but curious kids and made our way into the building.
Long story short, we were not able to enter the USA. My non-Canadian passport was expired, and they were not accepting Driver’s Licenses any more unless it was an Enhanced Driver License. We had neither.
Disappointed, my husband pulled over to cancel the reservation he had made earlier. Rather than drive back home, we decided to stay and explore the little town on our Canadian side of the border.
We found a nearby Comfort Inn and rented two rooms. One for mama and the girls and one for dad and the boys. Us women folk were exhausted. I hopped into bed and was soon asleep. The boys, however, decided to track down some night snacks and stayed up watching movies.
The next morning, we packed up and made our way down to the little dining room for a continental breakfast. Besides the usual offerings of cereal and toast, the waffle maker was the main attraction for my hungry crew.
Ready-to-pour batter sat next to a flip Belgian waffle maker. You poured the batter on the hot grill, and after a minute on one side, you spun it to the other side. What magic was this? My kids took turns spinning the waffle maker. The front desk attendant had to make more batter. Lol.
It was mid-October. The sun still made a vain effort to warm up the chilly morning air. The leaves were glowing in a variety of red, orange, and yellow. As we were at the tail end of the tourist season, many of the little shops were already closed up.
We explored the downtown area and stumbled across a gift shop. Soon they too will be closing up for the season, so offerings were somewhat sparse. My husband spotted an advertisement for a river boat cruise. The final trip for the season was scheduled within the hour. The kids had never been on a riverboat before, and we could barely contain their excitement.
Racing up the gangplank, they darted around, eager to explore every inch of the boat, wherever they were allowed. Soon we were on our way. For the next two hours, we (my husband and I, at least) listened to our tour guide narrate some of the more historical areas of interest while the kids continued playing Marco Polo. Tired and happy, we returned to our car and began the road trip home.
What started out as a disappointment turned into one of my more memorable family getaways. Even 11+ years later, my kids, now young adults, still remember cruising along the river. We joked about how we got into the USA anyway since the boat had to occasionally cross over the US/Canadian border as it made its way upstream and back.
Eating junk food, watching late-night movies, flipping waffles, a river boat cruise, and eating Thanksgiving dinner in a British pub all compounded into one crazy weekend. I learned a good lesson that day.
Things may not always turn out how you planned, but if you are willing to be flexible, unexpected blessings could come your way.
