This is not a free country any more

Here we are on vacation – which in itself is weird. I am not used to do just nothing, being in a place without a specific purpose. Birch Bay, Washington, which I had never heard of before we booked the timeshare with Zoze and Bryan. It is almost on the Canadian border, on a very pretty bay. The timeshare is very ordinary and there is not a whole lot to do.

So this morning we get a slow start and decide to find a place for breakfast and the closest place is Blaine, home of the Peace Arch Park and RIGHT on the Canadian border. We’d been here a couple of days ago and ate at this funky diner called Nicki’s and the food was great. But they are not open Monday and Tuesday so had to find somewhere else. The old gentleman at the Visitors Center suggested Big Al’s Just go north along this road and go under the freeway and it’ n the left.” So off we go and it looks like an old “Bob’s Big Boy” restaurant. Anyway, the food is ok and when we leave we decide to go look at the Peace Arch. The only way we see to get there is by getting on the freeway.

Big mistake.

It took us directly, do not stop, do not pass go, go directly to the border crossing. OOPS! No passports, no nothing, just our driver’s licenses. A short wait in the line and the Canadian lady crossing guard kind of laughs and tells us to go past the building, hang a left and go back. There is no parking area on the US side to go visit the park. So we do what she says, and bang, we end up in this long line to get back into the US after we technically didn’t leave.

But that’s just the start! Forty-five minutes later, moving at a snails pace, we get to the crossing and the border guard, this time a US guy laughs and says, year well sort of thing and hands us an orange slip. Guess what. We got selected for a “random search” and we never left! So we had to pull over, fill out a form, hand over our licenses and car keys, answer questions why we were in Canada even though they knew we hadn’t gone there, and wait while they searched the car! Another 15 minutes and they said ok we could go!

Talk about fuming! What a load of BS!

I am getting so fed up with what is going on in this country! All they had to do was override the computer and laugh at us having to go around the mulberry bush. But no, this damn homeland security s**t won’t let them do that and I swear they enjoy being little hitlers pushing their weight around.

Sure makes me want to look at other countries as a permanent place to live. This is not a free country any more.