Re: [Paddlewise] Travel tips: USA/CA

I'd hope my experience in Port Huron, Michigan the exception to the rule.
This was last August, prior to the events of 9-11.  Driving back from Maine
to Iowa, I crossed into Ontario from Buffalo/Niagra and then spent the night
in St. Cath. Driving up to a very un-busy point of entry at Port Huron, I
was asked a series of what I took to be odd questions about why I had a
'boat' on the 'roof of my car'.  I'll add that Iowa requires kayaks and
canoes to be registered and affixed with State of Iowa decal, as well as 2
inch high, contrasting letters/numbers of registration.  I was carrying a
valid driver's license, my US Passport, and a notarized copy of my birth
certificate. I carried proof of insurance on my vehicle, as well as the
"boat on the roof of my car".  I had bought nothing in Canada, save a motel
room, dinner, breakfast, and the morning's paper.

The US customs official was incredulous that anyone from Iowa would drive
all the way to Maine with a boat on his roof.  I politely suggested it
reasonable that a 'sea kayak' might be taken to an actual 'sea'. I produced
copies of the course materials given to me by MIKCO in Maine.  This prompted
a phone call to the main office, which then prompted them to issue a 'call
out' order, which then required me to pull into a special area for further
search and questioning.

The search of my vehicle took an hour. They did everything except tear out
the seats.  They had me stand in a special area, empty all my pockets, and
then subjected me to a body search. They were not pleasant, and several of
them kept returning to the question about why Iowans would own a sea kayak.
When they harped on about the possibility of having bought the boat in
Canada, I suggested that the Iowa Registration sticker is awfully hard to
come by in Ontario, and the proof of insurance, with NDK serial number
noted, would be difficult to organize in a less than 12 hours stay in
Ontario.  This provoked a series of 'harrumphs' and a sequence of throat
clearing snarks...but no actual spoken language or response.

After ninety minutes, the 'desk officer' dumped my personal possessions
across the counter and floor (they'd literally disassembled my wallet &
contents, a flutter of receipts, notes, yadda yadda...) When I approached
the desk/counter to collect my scattered stuff, I was barked at to 'stand
back' and he then placed a rather large can of Mace on the counter before
returning to some keyboard tapping.  After another 15 minutes of standing in
silence, he snapped, "You can go", put his Mace away and then walked into
some back room.

Maybe it was a slow day and I was the random chain to be jerked for their
amusement. Maybe Port Huron thinks Brit Boats are overbuilt and overrated.
Maybe someone with all of their paperwork in order arouses suspicion.
Maybe, as an Iowan, I'm supposed to stay home and turn random cornfields
into dream induced baseball fields and leave the kayak stuff to the pros.

-Will 



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