[auld argonian]

I expressed my disappointment re how long it was taking a kilt that I bought from a private party on ebay to get to Chicago from Nova Scotia...my only guesses are that either the postal service is really dragging it's feet or that the thing got hung up in customs - my comment being that the US customs people were afraid that there was some dangerously subversive Canadian stuff hidden in the box like a same sex marrriage certificate or some Canadian Bacon. Archangel then mentioned how complex it had become crossing the US/CAN border for him recently.

Geez...I hate to see any kind of deterioration of this relationship. I remember driving into Canada from Washington State and seeing a big arch that had an inscription on it proclaiming these two nations something like twins seperated at birth but still on each others' side. I now understand that direct train service from Chicago to Toronto is a thing of the past. I had the pleasure of taking that trip twice with my family - get off the train in Toronto and just go through the concourse under the street and come up in the Royal York, one of the NICEST hotels that I've ever stayed at. I've been to Canada about a half a dozen times and it has always been extremely cool...I love Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria and have been dying to hit Stratford Ont for the Shakespeare. Everybody is now saying, "Oh...you know the exchange rate isn't so favorable as it was so there's no reason to go to Canada." Well, if that was the only reason that you wanted to go to Canada then you're a low down opportunist. I always recommend that people looking for a vacation destination GO TO CANADA! It's cool, you'll love it. Great painters in Canadian Art History and you'd be hard pressed to find one US citizen who knows anything about them. Tim Horton's beats either Dunkin' Donuts OR Krispy Kreme any day of the week!

Why does it seem that the US is giving Canada an undeserved hard time lately? Let's get real here, people!

best

auld argonian

ps: and I got to go to one of the last home Expo's games and it was great and those guys really got the shaft from that Florida Marlins idiot!

[Canuck]

Originally Posted by auld argonian

dying to hit Stratford Ont for the Shakespeare.

If you happen to come up let me know, I can show you some of the sites around town. We also have a pretty good Scottish shop as well. Excellent restaurants, few pubs, great parks. Nice place to be this Stratford.
Cheers
Robert

[Raphael]

If you decide to come to Vancouver again, let us know.

[Blu (Ontario)]

Originally Posted by auld argonian

... Why does it seem that the US is giving Canada an undeserved hard time lately? Let's get real here, people!...

There is no single or simple answer to this question without getting into personalities and poltitics... one of the verboten subjects. Suffice it to say that we live in a different world than 5 years ago and that must be taken into consideration.

As for shipping time across the border... it took 2 weeks from the shipping date to arrive at my door.

blu

[Kilts_Knave]

2 weeks is about the time for anything to get from point a to point b in country (no offense if there are any US Postal workers here). That is why I was so surprised to get my kilt from Rocky in less than a month!

In the US, $ talks and 6^!!$"*+ walks, I guess. To get anything expedited of course you have to spend the extra dough.

As for Canada, I have to say it is looking better and better as time wears on, eh?

[jkdesq]

Reece,

I wouldn't discourage you. Canada is pretty much the same as the U.S., except with: less Republicans (here we call the "Conservatives" -- and they usually loose federal elections), less guns, less military spending, more health care spending and more marijuna (never tried it myself, but I am convinced it helps many around me into a happier place). How can any of that be a bad thing?

All in all, a place I am pround to call my country. Hope to see you up here some day.