First time I jumped a border, I kinda literally jumped the border. I was in a Porsche... airborne... sideways.... and screaming like a little girl as I turned the Italy/Switzerland border gate into toothpicks. I didn't even have my passport, so I sat at the top of an Alp with Stephan the border guy while my friends retrieved my passport three hours away. Nice guy. Wife and two kids. His French was rough and so was mine, but I did pick up that his wife really cooked in the bedroom, but not the kitchen. When my friends returned with my credentials, Stephan never looked at them, logged a single thing, or even asked for my full name.
I enjoy the tale about the elderly man flying into the DeGaul airport and being asked if it was his first time visiting France. When told it was indeed his second time the customs official started leafing through his passport looking for a stamp. Not finding one he asked the elderly gentleman when he came through and why his passport failed to reflect his previous entry. The gentleman explained that on June 6 1944 there weren't any customs officials around Normandy.
If I ever have the misfortune to return to Iraq, I'll be sure to point out something similar.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
I feel there is a lot more to that story....
Growing up in Southern Ontario crossing the border is pretty standard for me. As a kid though I'd ride with dad in his truck down to Monroe Michigan and back on March break or during the summer to get me out of my mom/sisters hair for a day. Going through customs in a transport truck was always a bit different, as we'd pull up dad would tell me to answer any questions truthfully so that is what I did, the questions were all along the lines of "has your dad been drinking?" "has your dad hid anything in the truck?" "have you been driving the truck?" etc. That was a lot of pressure on a ten year old!
It was fun though, back then you could still drive a transport truck through the Windsor-Detroit tunnel which took a more interesting route through both city cores. A standard 53' trailer would not fit as they were too tall but we were pulling a dump trailer with 7 axles, all the way through the CB antennas would make noise as they bounced off the ceiling and on the Detroit end going around the corners of the tunnel he'd have to put the front corner almost on the wall to keep the back trailer tires from rubbing on the other side, it was a tight squeeze.
Edit - Can't say I've ever jumped the boarder but I've definitely been chewed out by border agents in the past, all part of the nervous fun.
Edit two - Steve called out my poor spelling 
All I want from the USA Custom agent is "Welcome Home"
and I very seldom ever hear that simple greeting :(
A Border is a boundary, a Boarder is someone renting a room in your house.
a few of you are apparently jumping your renters, and that's just rude.
In reply to Steve_Jones :
Depends on if she's willing
californiamilleghia said:
All I want from the USA Custom agent is "Welcome Home"
and I very seldom ever hear that simple greeting :(
I think I got that once, probably the only time I crossed with a US passport. Green cards ain't the same.
In reply to adam525i :
Its been a tough week at the Ambassador Bridge so far this week...
Keith Tanner said:
californiamilleghia said:
All I want from the USA Custom agent is "Welcome Home"
and I very seldom ever hear that simple greeting :(
I think I got that once, probably the only time I crossed with a US passport. Green cards ain't the same.
I often got the welcome home when returning from China. And a few times at the Detroit Windsor Tunnel.
In reply to TurnerX19 :
All just a question of consent.
John Welsh said:
In reply to adam525i :
Its been a tough week at the Ambassador Bridge so far this week...
Oh, we are all well aware. They were out everywhere over the weekend, seemed like the same crowd that has enjoyed protesting all the way through the pandemic. It's going to be an interesting couple of days as they tackle that mess.
In a previous life I interviewed a guy who had worked for CERN in Switzerland and it came up in conversation that he actually lived in France - so he crossed the border in the morning, at lunchtime, straight after lunch and on the way home after work. Easy in the EU I guess ...
Datsun310Guy said:
I travel to Wyandotte, Michigan every month and stop to catch up on emails by a park and look across the Detroit River and think........at dusk I can swim to that little island, hide out and be in Canada tonight hanging out.
It was funnier in my head when Covid had just started.
I never thought I'd see my hometown mentioned on GRM
ddavidv
UltimaDork
2/9/22 7:44 a.m.
californiamilleghia said:
All I want from the USA Custom agent is "Welcome Home"
and I very seldom ever hear that simple greeting :(
I've been treated like a criminal every time I've crossed the border from Canada back to the US. Sorry to say, I'm not a fan of the northern border agents, and I generally support all law enforcement.
Advan046 said:
Keith Tanner said:
californiamilleghia said:
All I want from the USA Custom agent is "Welcome Home"
and I very seldom ever hear that simple greeting :(
I think I got that once, probably the only time I crossed with a US passport. Green cards ain't the same.
I often got the welcome home when returning from China. And a few times at the Detroit Windsor Tunnel.
same. airport border folks always seem less uptight to me than road border folks.
ddavidv said:
californiamilleghia said:
All I want from the USA Custom agent is "Welcome Home"
and I very seldom ever hear that simple greeting :(
I've been treated like a criminal every time I've crossed the border from Canada back to the US. Sorry to say, I'm not a fan of the northern border agents, and I generally support all law enforcement.
Opposite for me. US customs asks if I bought anything while in Canada or if I have any vegetables/fruits and they wave me on. Crossing north to Canada for the last 8 years has always been an hour of scrutiny. I have to go to immigration where they have to call my destination to "confirm my lodgings" (which is my buddy's house where I keep my camper) while customs searches my vehicle and my boat. They have never found a single thing to complain about, but I'm on some "list."
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:
ddavidv said:
californiamilleghia said:
All I want from the USA Custom agent is "Welcome Home"
and I very seldom ever hear that simple greeting :(
I've been treated like a criminal every time I've crossed the border from Canada back to the US. Sorry to say, I'm not a fan of the northern border agents, and I generally support all law enforcement.
Opposite for me. US customs asks if I bought anything while in Canada or if I have any vegetables/fruits and they wave me on. Crossing north to Canada for the last 8 years has always been an hour of scrutiny. I have to go to immigration where they have to call my destination to "confirm my lodgings" while customs searches my vehicle and my boat. They have never found a single thing to complain about, but I'm on some "list."
We don't allow hippies into Canada.
californiamilleghia said:
All I want from the USA Custom agent is "Welcome Home"
and I very seldom ever hear that simple greeting :(
I often get that when returning to the US from Canada, and I'm not a US citizen. More often than not the border agents are nice and polite........well, except that time I didn't realize I was in the NEXUS line........
RichardNZ said:
In a previous life I interviewed a guy who had worked for CERN in Switzerland and it came up in conversation that he actually lived in France - so he crossed the border in the morning, at lunchtime, straight after lunch and on the way home after work. Easy in the EU I guess ...
Last time I was in Europe ( 2007?) you could drive across borders as easily as crossing state lines here in the states. Once you cleared customs at your arrival airport you were in for all of the EU.
Streetwiseguy said:
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:
ddavidv said:
californiamilleghia said:
All I want from the USA Custom agent is "Welcome Home"
and I very seldom ever hear that simple greeting :(
I've been treated like a criminal every time I've crossed the border from Canada back to the US. Sorry to say, I'm not a fan of the northern border agents, and I generally support all law enforcement.
Opposite for me. US customs asks if I bought anything while in Canada or if I have any vegetables/fruits and they wave me on. Crossing north to Canada for the last 8 years has always been an hour of scrutiny. I have to go to immigration where they have to call my destination to "confirm my lodgings" while customs searches my vehicle and my boat. They have never found a single thing to complain about, but I'm on some "list."
We don't allow hippies into Canada.
I don't think I can pass for a square, but I'll try more camo next time.
DeadSkunk (Warren) said:
RichardNZ said:
In a previous life I interviewed a guy who had worked for CERN in Switzerland and it came up in conversation that he actually lived in France - so he crossed the border in the morning, at lunchtime, straight after lunch and on the way home after work. Easy in the EU I guess ...
Last time I was in Europe ( 2007?) you could drive across borders as easily as crossing state lines here in the states. Once you cleared customs at your arrival airport you were in for all of the EU.
That was true even before the EU was a thing. All European countries (except some obvious ones like East Germany, Switzerland, and oddly Liechtenstein) were no different than crossing from Ohio to PA.
Some of my wife's family owned the last property in San Diego county and they said they would have folks sleeping on the porch in the mornings on their way to work. That is all border patrol owned now and the house is the headquarters. That would be boarders hopping the border?
In reply to chandler :
What if they were snowboarders sleeping on the border?
Border boarder boarders.
Oh no...what if the camping snowboarders sleeping on the border were more bored than you?
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:
DeadSkunk (Warren) said:
RichardNZ said:
In a previous life I interviewed a guy who had worked for CERN in Switzerland and it came up in conversation that he actually lived in France - so he crossed the border in the morning, at lunchtime, straight after lunch and on the way home after work. Easy in the EU I guess ...
Last time I was in Europe ( 2007?) you could drive across borders as easily as crossing state lines here in the states. Once you cleared customs at your arrival airport you were in for all of the EU.
That was true even before the EU was a thing. All European countries (except some obvious ones like East Germany, Switzerland, and oddly Liechtenstein) were no different than crossing from Ohio to PA.
You had to pay $5 in tolls every two miles?
