There was something symbolic about starting our journey to our new home at the border to another country, something that felt initiatory about the first leg of the trip requiring crossing an imaginary line. We crossed the border in New York, drove to Niagara and spent the afternoon at the Falls, cat and dog in tow. While we were there, we learned that we weren’t the first to bring a cat to the landmark. In 1901, Annie Edson Taylor, the first person to go over the Falls and live to tell about it, tested her barrel by launching it with a cat inside. By all accounts, it emerged unharmed (though I cannot begin to imagine its post-barrel mental state!)
We kept our cat safely in his carrier and didn’t bring him too close to the spray. But Bella and I broke off for an excursion a bit closer to the wild water with a walk behind Horseshoe Falls. If you go and don’t have time for a boat ride (or, like us, are traveling with animals), Journey Behind the Falls is an epic introduction to the majesty and scope of Niagara.
After waterfall spray, ice cream, and (score!) gluten free pizza at Table Rock Market, we were headed back to America. Were the hours spent in traffic at the border worthwhile for an afternoon at the Falls? That’s an enthusiastic “Yes.”
The contrast between the border crossing from the US into Canada (New York) versus Canada into the US (Michigan) was stark. Whereas Canadian Border Patrol was welcoming and asked few questions, at the US border in Michigan, Homeland Security met us with the assumption that we were not, in fact, US citizens and were almost definitely up to something illegal. Having re-entered the US at other border crossings more times than we can count, our experience coming through Michigan was eye opening. The border into Canada looked like the entrance to a ski resort; the entry point back into the US looked like a post-apocalyptic military zone. The officer interrogated us about where we were headed and why, what we did for work, our road trip plans, and even our reasons for moving, all of which he seemed to find unacceptable. I honestly wasn’t sure we were going to get back in!
But we did, of course, and then we were off to our next adventure: the wonderland that is Michigan. To come along on our journey, check out Have You Ever Actually Been to Michigan?
Happy journeying!
Update: It’s worth noting that when we went back to Canada about 6 months later, crossing back to the US in Washington, we were met with friendly agents who didn’t think anything strange about our travel, so the experience is heavily influenced by either the individual officer or the crossing location.
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