Greetings: I'm copying here a brief report of a trip/cautionary tale that I took last week with my best friend from H.S. from Sarnia to London on VIA. I will fill in some of the train details that I didn't bother with after:
Long story short: Had my first negative encounter with a Canadian Customs officer. I was visiting my best friend from High School( we've known each other for over 40 years) in Port Huron, and being a train buff and Canada-phile, I talked him into taking a train day trip from Sarnia to London( had never been there). Running late on the Bridge( very long story), we got to the Canadian side and then when asked by the customs agent our plans we related them to him and his incredulous response was: "why would anyone go to London for the day -- that makes no sense" He then went on to grill us about our background and plans and he continued to imply we must be up to no good because no one in their right mind would take a train trip to London for a day. When he finally decided that while we were obviously crazy we must not be a threat to Canada. Besides he insisted we'd miss our train( we didn't) so it didn't really matter.
Anyway we did make the train, had a decent trip to London ( although I wouldn't rush back) and returned to the States with little incident. Everyone else we met in Canada was, as usual, unfaillingly polite. Being from Michigan and having a grandmother from Newfoundland, I'm very familar with Canada and love visiting. This was my first negative experience with crossing the border and was so upset by it that I thought I would relate it if only to get it "off my chest".
OK, first the reason we were late crossing the bridge was because my friend who was driving turned to me at about 6:20am for a (6:50am train) and said: I think I remember where the Amtrak station is. I, of course replied: Bill, we're taking the train from Sarnia not Port Huron -- Amtrak doesn't go to Canada from here anymore. He then asked, When did it stop -- about 5 or more years ago( couldn't exactly remember), I replied.
Anyway, as you can see from the above, we did actually make the train and got our tickets with about 45 seconds to spare( they were bringing ip the stairs on the coach as we ran onto the platform -- a quick "Hey!" and they put them back down and we got on the train( which was mostly full in our coach.)
Anyway, I had a good trip/train ride. The VIA coaches are very comfortable and the train itself seems to go a little faster than an equivalent Amtrak trip. They even had the rolling goodie cart which allowed me to get my second cup of tea( the water was even hot and the tea bag was decent). London has a very nice new train station( they even have a little FC lounge if I ever take FC from Toronto to London -- long range planning). We got there at about 8am ish; found a place for breakfast; walked around London, particularly the park circling the city; found a great Outdoor store with a super travel bookstore upstairs; had a decent lunch; got back on the train( this time with at least 7 minutes to spare); and made it back to Sarnia/Port Huron without incident.
While, as I mentioned above, I wouldn't rush back to London, it was a very pleasant day trip. A word of caution which echoes what many have said: any trip which crosses national borders is fraught with possible delays so take that into consideration( I thought I had, but that's an even longer story). Has anyone else ever attempted day trips from the states into Canada( or vice versa) to ride VIA? What were your experiences and do you have any recommendations of places to visit? Anyway, all in all, a fun trip.
Ed
Long story short: Had my first negative encounter with a Canadian Customs officer. I was visiting my best friend from High School( we've known each other for over 40 years) in Port Huron, and being a train buff and Canada-phile, I talked him into taking a train day trip from Sarnia to London( had never been there). Running late on the Bridge( very long story), we got to the Canadian side and then when asked by the customs agent our plans we related them to him and his incredulous response was: "why would anyone go to London for the day -- that makes no sense" He then went on to grill us about our background and plans and he continued to imply we must be up to no good because no one in their right mind would take a train trip to London for a day. When he finally decided that while we were obviously crazy we must not be a threat to Canada. Besides he insisted we'd miss our train( we didn't) so it didn't really matter.
Anyway we did make the train, had a decent trip to London ( although I wouldn't rush back) and returned to the States with little incident. Everyone else we met in Canada was, as usual, unfaillingly polite. Being from Michigan and having a grandmother from Newfoundland, I'm very familar with Canada and love visiting. This was my first negative experience with crossing the border and was so upset by it that I thought I would relate it if only to get it "off my chest".
OK, first the reason we were late crossing the bridge was because my friend who was driving turned to me at about 6:20am for a (6:50am train) and said: I think I remember where the Amtrak station is. I, of course replied: Bill, we're taking the train from Sarnia not Port Huron -- Amtrak doesn't go to Canada from here anymore. He then asked, When did it stop -- about 5 or more years ago( couldn't exactly remember), I replied.
Anyway, as you can see from the above, we did actually make the train and got our tickets with about 45 seconds to spare( they were bringing ip the stairs on the coach as we ran onto the platform -- a quick "Hey!" and they put them back down and we got on the train( which was mostly full in our coach.)
Anyway, I had a good trip/train ride. The VIA coaches are very comfortable and the train itself seems to go a little faster than an equivalent Amtrak trip. They even had the rolling goodie cart which allowed me to get my second cup of tea( the water was even hot and the tea bag was decent). London has a very nice new train station( they even have a little FC lounge if I ever take FC from Toronto to London -- long range planning). We got there at about 8am ish; found a place for breakfast; walked around London, particularly the park circling the city; found a great Outdoor store with a super travel bookstore upstairs; had a decent lunch; got back on the train( this time with at least 7 minutes to spare); and made it back to Sarnia/Port Huron without incident.
While, as I mentioned above, I wouldn't rush back to London, it was a very pleasant day trip. A word of caution which echoes what many have said: any trip which crosses national borders is fraught with possible delays so take that into consideration( I thought I had, but that's an even longer story). Has anyone else ever attempted day trips from the states into Canada( or vice versa) to ride VIA? What were your experiences and do you have any recommendations of places to visit? Anyway, all in all, a fun trip.
Ed
