Canada Called, but I Could Not

Stunning hillside in Creston

A bathROOM with a view near Cranbrook

Can't miss the postal boxes. 

Clock tower in Cranbrook

Headed east from Cranbrook

Water wheel welcoming dark clouds at Fort Steele

Bill and I left the country yesterday---cuz we could.

For once, the stars lined up with lawn and garden under control, weekend visiting completed and neither one of us committed to anything in particular.

I suggested the trip the night before while we were enjoying a barbecue with my sisters, brother and Willie and Debbie.

Bill did not have a lot to say at the time, but first thing yesterday morning he asked, “What time do you want to leave?”

I think he was just as anxious to take advantage of the day as I was.  So, horses got extra hay to nibble on, dogs went to the run with plenty of water and ATTA Boy, and we took off with our passports, of course.  

This would be Bill’s first time for presenting his passport at the Canadian border and probably his first trip to Canada in at least five years. 

It was my first time crossing the border with my cell phone WITHOUT kids to tell me one very important detail.

Before leaving, I texted Debbie and told her where we were going and if we weren’t back by dark, to send out the troops.

Our first stop was for gas in Bonners Ferry.  As I walked toward the convenience store, a man got out of his car and walked toward the door staring at me.

“Do I know you?” he asked.

“Well, you look familiar and I’m betting I know you,” I responded.  “Did you teach in Bonners Ferry?”

“No, but you taught in Sandpoint and your name is Marianne Love,” he said, then gave his name, “Larry Copley.”

I hadn’t seen my first-grade classmate from Lincoln School in several years.  Last I’d heard he was giving travel information on train tours in Alaska.  

Before that, Larry and his friend Gale had worked with Willie at home basketball games.  Willie ran the camera while they did the commentating.

That was a LONG time ago----back in the ‘90s.

Anyway, Larry is in poor health but his fun personality hasn’t changed a bit.  We did some catching up, I promised I’d rope Willie into joining me on a trip to Bonners for lunch with Larry and then Bill took pictures of us.

 

Back on the road, we soon reached the border and when I wanted to take a picture of Bill presenting his passport at Porthill, I received an emphatic “NO PICTURES!”

I also learned a frustrating and potentially expensive lesson yesterday.  DON’T JUST TURN OFF THE CELL PHONE AT THE BORDER BUT ALSO GO TO ITS SETTINGS AND TURN OFF ‘ROAMING.’

Long story short on that one, by the time we were leaving Creston, I started receiving text messages that my internet had been suspended due to high data usage.

  

When you’re 60-somethings and your 30-something kids are usually there to tell you every move to make with your cell phone, you don’t take in some of the important mental data, which, as in yesterday’s case, caused my phone data intake to start running off the charts.

I’ve talked to three different AT & T reps, who’ve given me three totally different kinds of over-the-phone service.  Last night after the second tech promised he’d remove all charges and the suspension from my record, my phone finally started working about half an hour later.

This morning the internet did not work again, so I made the third call to some lady whose dialect was so thick I could hardly understand a word.  I really don’t know what she said to me but she did put me on hold for a long, long time, then suddenly cut me off.

I checked my phone and the Internet was back on.  I think she just didn’t want to talk one more minute to the stupid, ignorant lady who couldn’t hear.

Back to the day in Canada----except for the phone debacle, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, probably more driving than we expected to do but still saw lots of beautiful scenery.  Creston was ablaze with the spring blooms.

 

We went to one rest stop where I encountered a bathroom with a view as seen in the photo.  What I did not photograph was the toilet paper strewn all over the unit and the roll thrown into the toilet.  Some dumbo had to leave their mark on the province facility.

We walked a few blocks in Cranbrook where normally we had passed through on our way north.  I was struck with how strung out the town seems to be with no real central focus.  I’m thinking the jagged, snow-capped Canadian Rockies serve as its calling card.

Anyway, we put in more than 300 miles of driving, saw temperatures fluctuate from 51-64 several times, drove through some heavy downpours and kept taking sunglasses off and then putting them back on.

It was a good day except for the technical problems with the phone.  Plus, all animals at home seemed to survive our day-long absence.  

Not the flag, though, as I learned later that the wind and rain got pretty strong here at home, blowing the flag from its stand.

Willie and Debbie took care of it, though, bringing it into the house.

While folks in the U.S. were remembering their loved ones, the populace of British Columbia was dealing with a teachers’ strike.  We saw picketers in Cranbrook, and, of course, true and loyal to my trade, I waved.

A great Memorial Day for Bill and me, and now we’re return to our normal grind, which for both of us, ain’t too bad.

Happy Tuesday.