Crossing The Border

In less than a week now we hope to cross the border into New York state.

We might make it as per our original schedule.

Our car is back from the Niagara Falls Lincoln dealer. The exhaust gas sensor was the culprit for the engine warning light. The part had to be ordered from the U.S. and it took several days to reach Canada.

Not unlike the replacement awning assembly for our coach.  It needed to be ordered from the U.S. and it is taking several days to reach Canada. Or should I say several weeks?

The good news is that the parts did reach Newmar yesterday and Newmar did ship them out to the dealer same day. The tracking information puts the delivery to our dealer for Monday. That is when the dealer would like us back on site. We will be pulling up our jacks on Monday and heading back to Barrie, Ontario where it is a good deal colder than it is here in the Niagara region. The Barrie forecast is for a high of 4 Celsius, or 39 Fahrenheit on Monday. With snow.

The water service is shutdown at the dealer due to the cold weather so we will have to rely on our tanks for our stay. We did not get a chance to sanitize the fresh water tank after we pulled the coach out of storage so we are going to have to do so before we head up to the dealer.

We are spending the day today getting ready for our border crossing.

We carry the following documentation for the border crossing:

• Passports
• Nexus cards
• Travel insurance certificates and policies
• Site confirmations for all of our stateside travel
• Income tax return
• Investment statements
• Bank statements
• Utility bills
• Inventory of valuables (including sales receipts and serial numbers)
• Record of travel in the United States for the past five years
• Papers for Tabby (our golden retriever)

Aside from our Nexus cards, I do not expect to use the documentation for the border crossing. Our experience crossing the border has always been straightforward and we have travelled extensively in the U.S. over the years. But you never know and it is always good to be prepared. We do not have a right to enter the U.S. as we are visitors and we need to have the evidence to prove that we intend to return to Canada and that we have the financial means to support ourselves while in the U.S.

Looking forward to starting our journey south. Hopefully the awning replacement goes well and we can be on our way as planned.

Just in time.