September 10, 2007: Waterloo…made it safely

  I made it safely to Waterloo.  I slept in this morning and drove the rest of the way (3 hours) when I woke up.  I arrived in Waterloo at 1 p.m.  Not too bad of a drive!  I could have gone all the way but it was LATE when I crossed the border.  Let me make a few observations for future reference:

1.  Arriving in Canada, at 2 a.m., 48 hours before 9/11 is probably not the most optimum time to arrive.
2.  Arriving in Canada with no cash and only credit cards could be a red flag.
3.  Arriving in Canada with a large computer system – CPU and large screen monitor IS a red flag!
4.  Looking like you might have driven 8 or 9 hours straight with only one pit-stop might raise an eyebrow.
5.  Having a laptop, home computer, large camera, video camera, and an assortment of emergency management radios all combined is definately a red flag.
6.  The more tired you are the longer you will have to wait to get across the border.  Murphy’s Law at work on this one.
7.  When you leave immigration (after being searched) don’t turn left.  Do not…do not…do not turn left.  If you do turn left then that takes you back to the U.S.A. and you then have to go through the whole process again. 

These are the little things that I picked up last night/this morning at the Canada Border.

Some other interesting tid-bits that I learned while driving to Canada:

1.  Did you know that there is a two hour talk radio show called "The Bald Truth" and that all they talk about are ways to prevent going bald?  What would we do without XM Satellite Radio? 
2.  There is a tech guy that comes on after "The Bald Truth" that talks about the latest cool electronic gadgets/toys for another FULL two hours!  I enjoyed this show!  Of course!  Two hours of non-stop GEEK talk!  This is what fantasies are made of.  I am telling you!
3.  DO NOT stop for food, after midnight, at a fast food restaurant.  Enough said.