Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Thanks to Lola for a magnificent evening watching Angelo's film, Flickering Blue, on the eve of our last day in Manitoba. It was a wonderful night of friends mixed up together from all walks of our MB lives while celebrating my favorite person, Angelo!
In the morning, Angelo and I loaded up our car with the intent of checking out a few planned detours 'en route' to BC. We left Canada on July 4th from Morris, Manitoba. At the USA border, we got flagged by customs for a car search. Great, just a stellar way to start a trip! It was a new experience for me because we were directed into a large, windowless garage with creepy customs agents waiting inside for us. We were asked to sit in a sterile room to look on as they took the time to search our vehicle. This is the moment when I realized we were crossing into another country, another culture. The blue latex gloves the agents were putting on in front of me gave me a bit of a start as I hoped it wouldn't be that kind of search. It wasn't. I guess it was the fourth of July, but look at us, we're harmless! Maybe watching the matinee, Fahrenheit 9/11, the day before hyped my paranoia of this situation. Oh well. Ten minutes later, we were waved out of the box and allowed to leave the 'garage of guilt' with friendly goodbyes and thanks for our patience.
We drove through South Dakota, on highway 29, without much ado. Stopping at our first gas station in Fargo reminded us that we were on a road trip in the USA. The Stamart was a beautiful structure of newness and peaceful comfort. The store is an ideal roadtrip stop in which food, hardware, cafes and restaurants are great options at our 24 hour convenience. I found a dreamy kosher pickle for 98 cents which fit in a hot dog paper holder, it was so big. It was a great find. Everything in the store was giant. There were giant to-go cups, giant pickles, giant lighters, giant chocolate bars, giant people, giant aisles to wander, and giant accents to support the culture of the great USA. It was a sign of wonderful things to come...
In the morning, Angelo and I loaded up our car with the intent of checking out a few planned detours 'en route' to BC. We left Canada on July 4th from Morris, Manitoba. At the USA border, we got flagged by customs for a car search. Great, just a stellar way to start a trip! It was a new experience for me because we were directed into a large, windowless garage with creepy customs agents waiting inside for us. We were asked to sit in a sterile room to look on as they took the time to search our vehicle. This is the moment when I realized we were crossing into another country, another culture. The blue latex gloves the agents were putting on in front of me gave me a bit of a start as I hoped it wouldn't be that kind of search. It wasn't. I guess it was the fourth of July, but look at us, we're harmless! Maybe watching the matinee, Fahrenheit 9/11, the day before hyped my paranoia of this situation. Oh well. Ten minutes later, we were waved out of the box and allowed to leave the 'garage of guilt' with friendly goodbyes and thanks for our patience.
We drove through South Dakota, on highway 29, without much ado. Stopping at our first gas station in Fargo reminded us that we were on a road trip in the USA. The Stamart was a beautiful structure of newness and peaceful comfort. The store is an ideal roadtrip stop in which food, hardware, cafes and restaurants are great options at our 24 hour convenience. I found a dreamy kosher pickle for 98 cents which fit in a hot dog paper holder, it was so big. It was a great find. Everything in the store was giant. There were giant to-go cups, giant pickles, giant lighters, giant chocolate bars, giant people, giant aisles to wander, and giant accents to support the culture of the great USA. It was a sign of wonderful things to come...
