NEVER bring a gun into Canada.
Hold that thought for now, we’ll get back to that later.
So we rolled-up shop and left Boston after one last dinner with my Aunt, Uncle and Cousins. They also have a couple of Doodles, so it was full-on party mode for the dogs that last night. It was adorable on steroids. It was also great to see everybody one last time. We’re very fortunate to have such awesome relatives.
The plan was to head into Maine for a lobster roll, then to Vermont for a few days before crossing into Canada, near Montreal. But Nooooooo. Tony just had to call an audible and make things really adventurous. How does Halifax, Nova Scotia sound? Like I always say, “Y not?”
North we go, up through Maine, where we stayed on this drop-dead gorgeous lake for the night. Cobbosseecontee Lake. It was a little out of the way, but picture perfect and worth the effort. We also happened to stop at a famous little roadside seafood shack from back in the Day. A quick pig-out on crab cakes and lobsters rolls, then a to-go lobster for dinner. Cuz, that’s how we roll. The next morning (yesterday), we headed to the border at Saint Stephens, Canada after picking up some last minute provisions at Ye Olde Walmart.
Now, about the gun. I own one and I travel with it for personal protection. I’ve spent too many sleepless nights in shady truck stops and parking lots, not to keep some form of protection with us. I gave a lot of thought to this before we took the trip and I did my fair share of research. I found that if you declare your handgun, fill out the proper forms, demonstrate that it is safely secured, don’t have a criminal record and pay a $25 fee, you can be granted a 60 day permit.
“Sir, I will need you to pull your vehicle over to bay 7 for secondary inspection. You will leave your weapon in the vehicle and proceed into the building where you will be met by a Customs Officer. Do you understand?”
Guess what? Guns are NOT permitted to enter into Canada. Apparently this form is for competition shooters or someone other than stupid Californians. They were actually pretty cool about the whole thing. Since I had declared it to them, I was not in any trouble. But I did have to return to the US with it. They said this happens a lot and there is a store in the town of Calais (about 2 miles away) that will ship my gun home for me. So after an extensive background check on both Laura and I, we were asked to leave the Country. Haha, how many of you can say you got kicked out of Canada?
Finally, we got back to the border crossing, sans pistol, and made our way to Saint Martins, New Brunswick. We found the Century Farm Campground on the Bay of Fundy, dropped the jacks, cracked a couple of cold ones and fire-up that Walmart pizza. What a day!
But wait, there’s more…. The fog was so thick last night, that we really couldn’t see much out in front of us. My bearings were totally off. But the low drone of the fog horn and the North Atlantic winds all night, helped rock us to sleep. When morning broke, and the dogs needed out, we were welcomed to Canada (officially), by a 1/4 mile low tide, a light rain, mild fog and a moon-scape view. It was simply jaw-dropping.
