My latest visit to Toronto

I mentioned a few days ago that I went back to Toronto to visit my husband and son over the U.S. Thanksgiving weekend. We had such a good time, and I thought it appropriate to get away from this complaining about the government (or lack thereof) and provide some details. I want you, Dear Reader, not to think that this is all I do all day, find fault with Canada and both the U.S. and Canadian immigration processes. Yes, I do have a job and I have a family and a couple dogs, and I do laundry once a week and run to the grocery store and stop and put gas in my car (as painful as that is with the current gas prices), much the same as everyone else.

I arrived in Canada on the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving (U.S.) to pouring and cold rain. The temperature hung just above freezing and that is just miserable weather. I was processed through Canadian customs rather quickly even after telling the officer that I was there to visit my husband and son. He asked how long we have been married and I answered him, "2 years." Then I added that we were in the process for my husband to immigrate to the U.S. He nodded, and waived me on. No stamp in my passport though. In my previous trips in and out of Pearson, I always had to be very careful with the words I used with the Immigration Officer. It was nice be relaxed about the process (but I carry my complete CIC file with me, including FOSS notes just in case).

I had declared on my form that I was carrying $400 in gifts, which was a slight understatement. I had an XBox 360, extra game controller, and a copy of Halo 3 in my carry-on. So, needless to say, I got waived into the duty area. I waited in line there about 30 minutes before my turn came up. I explained to the officer what I had, and he took my form and waived me through. Seems as if they are only interested in alcohol and tobacco imports. I was thankful for not having to pay more for my son's birthday gift than I already had. Those XBox's are spendy things!

I found my husband as soon as I exited Customs and he was relieved to see me. He told me after that he tracked my flight and was going to give me 1 hour to exit Customs before he started trying to reach the MP as he was sure I would be pulled into secondary because of the poor experiences we had had in the past. It was so nice to see him. I had forgotten what a good looking man he was. He even brought me my winter coat to wear leaving the airport since I had left all my coats and heavy sweaters in Toronto as there is not much call for them in Arizona. That man is always thinking of my welfare, even when I don't appreciate it.

We went straight to the my in-laws, so we could play early Santa and give the XBox to my son and my brother-in-law. I missed my son more than I thought and was thankful to see him again after 2 months. Fortunately, he looked exactly the same, so I didn't feel like I had missed anything, except his crazy, goofy, self. We dispatched our gifts, hubby hooked up the Xbox, provided them another game, Call of Duty 4, and that was pretty much the last I saw of The Kid and my brother-in-law for the rest of the weekend. They had their faces into the TV playing those games for the remainder of my visit. I take it they liked it.

My husband spent the next few days going back and forth between our hotel (very nice and glad my hubby thought enough to get one instead of me staying at the in-laws) and my in-laws house. We caught a movie and dinner out a few times. My husband likes taking me on dates and I think that's wonderful. We cooked up a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday with all the fixins. I made a huge ham (preferred over turkey at my house) and it was yummy. My husband was eating ham salad sandwiches at work for the next week, but he wasn't complaining.

The hardest part is always leaving. It is like a dark cloud that plagues the entire visit, knowing that I have to go home without my men. But, knowing I was going to be intensely busy at work takes the edge off. We decided that since airfare is completely out of control over the Christmas holidays, we were both going to stay put and plan for my husband to come for a visit sometime in late January as an early birthday gift for him. I can't wait.

Here is a picture of the dog that stayed with my husband. The dog is originally from a sled dog trainer/breeder in Quebec and he is gorgeous. I bought him for my husband's birthday last year and we drove about 5 hours one way to go pick him up. It is rather hard to take pictures of him because he won't sit still for any amount of time. Talk about a dog with ADHD.