I have arrived in Miami after an epic 6600 km drive! I left Victoria bright and early the morning of January 2nd with Tyler, a fellow 470 sailor. We caught the ferry and picked up Geoff (Tyler's sailing partner) in Ladner and headed for the border. This proved to be the most difficult part of our trip! After 90 minutes of waiting we got to the front of the line and presented our passports. Tyler presenting two expired passports instead of one valid one. The border agent took one look at the trailer and sent us for further inspection. We went inside with our slip of yellow paper and stood in line for another 90 minutes. By this point we really had to pee but there are no washrooms available for public use at the border. We finally got to the front of the line and the border agent was less than impressed with us. Jen and I travelled all summer in Europe and never had any problems at customs - the EU agents barely look you in the eye let alone ask you questions. I had forgotten what travelling in the US was like, and since getting home from Europe I am technically un-employed; receive my mail at a P.O. Box and pay all my bills online. In short, I had no way of proving to the border agent that I didn't intend to stay in the States forever! After several more questions and inspecting the truck we were finally let through.
After picking up a Laser in Seattle we were finally on our way! The truck and trailer handled beautifully and we encountered minimal delays on the drive here. We had planned on stopping and staying with friends in Phoenix one night and Houston another but with the 4 hour delay at the border our schedule got shifted. We slept in the truck at rest stops and with three drivers were able to drive the whole day without getting tired as someone was always napping in the back of the cab. As with all roadtrips, much silliness occurred. There was lots of singing along to bad music; some running around Walmart late at night and many bad jokes. We kept track of license plates and roadkill sighted which kept everyone focused. We arrived in Miami around 6 pm on the 5th day, just like the GPS told us!
I have uploaded some low-res photos I took during the drive. Jen and I unloaded the boat yesterday and it is mostly set up and ready to go. Today I caught up on my sleep and tomorrow we go sailing!
No comments:
Post a Comment