USA to Canada

5 July 2018

Crossing into Canada from Seattle there was a crazy lineup of cars and I had to get a ferry to Vancouver Island on which I had reserved a car spot and was worried I was going to miss it. Someone I met yesterday told me to take the far lane on the right to the duty free to bypass the traffic. I did this but the lane was marked Nexus. I wasn’t 100% sure what Nexus meant but I found out you get a full car search while being held in the waiting area. The waiting area had the type of Americans I have not yet met on my travels. The type who the world stereotypes and I was embarrassed to be in their proximity. A loud mouth female bragging she was being held up because she had Trump “pads” (what are they) and tazers in her car. She engaged another man in conversation who was a Trump supporter and I found their conversation disturbing. I was almost annoyed with having to sit there listening to these ignorant people instead of being in my car in the queue. The Nexus lane is a specific fast lane for people who have a permit and have completed specific background checks to get a quick border pass.

However I did get processed quickly and got to the ferry terminal in good time. I had no fear of them finding any contraband and definitely no Trump paraphernalia good or bad.

At the ferry terminal I embarked with my car on the ferry Queen of Alberni which goes from Tsawwassen to Vancouver Island. The ferry takes 2 hours, holds 1200 passengers and 295 cars and is the primary mode of transport to the mainland. The cost is $90AUD one way for car and passenger.

I am staying with my cousin Elena and her family for a few days in Nanaimo.

How about these views from Elena’s kitchen and front of her home.