Straddling the line

While browsing USA Today over lunch today, I saw that beginning June 1st passports will be required for travel to and from Canada. It went on to say that Michigan was one of a few states that offered the enhanced drivers license as an option to carrying a passport since we are prone to going across to Ontario with nary a thought to the fact that we are entering a different country despite having to cross over water to do so. Back during Canada Guy #1 era (a.k.a. 1997-1999) when I did it nearly every weekend, I did start to think of southwest Ontario as an extension of southeast Michigan except that Canadian cars already had daytime running lights, all that god-awful change (their $1 and $2 are in the form of coins) and the lack of M&Ms (they have Smarties which is supposedly like M&Ms but I know M&Ms and they were no M&Ms).

In 2002, I visited Canada Guy #1 in Abbotsford, British Columbia and was treated to seeing the Canada/US border crossing minus any water. It was the strangest sensation to be on a Canadian road that ran parallel to an American one and to only have some weeds separating me from the motherland as shown below:


Canada was to the right in the picture and state of Washington was on the left. Canada Guy #1 said that an alarm would sound if I reached across the border. I doubt that was true even if this was after 9/11 but I didn't dare take any chances. I just stared at the state of Washington from the other side and stood as close to the marker as I could for the photo op.

I'm thinking about getting one of these enhanced drivers license that has some sort of chip in it with all my information minus Social Security number and instead there is some sort of random identification number used. I'm a bit paranoid about identity theft so I'd feel better about it if I got to actually see what the custom guys are seeing when they swipe it. Until then I guess I will try to a)remember to bring the passport and b)squeeze the passport into the non-mother purse that I have.