Crossing the border

We chose to enter Canada through Pacific Highway border crossing via SR543. We arrived there around 10:30 am, and the queue to cross was quite short, with two cars waiting in the line. The waiting time was only several minutes. When it was our turn, a border guard collected our passports, and Form I-20 from Felipe and Wenjuan, who are non-American citizens. After knowing our nationality, she asked a lot of questions such as why we are traveling together, and what the trip purpose is. Luckily it didn’t take long for us to get passed the checkpoint.

At Saturday noon, we chose to depart Canada through Peace Arch border crossing via Highway 99. Surprisingly the border was very congested at 1:00 pm, Saturday afternoon, and the length of queue at Peace Arch exceeded one kilometer. The dynamic traffic display board showed that the estimated border crossing time at Peace Arch is 90 minutes, while the estimated crossing time at Pacific Highway is 80 minutes. Following the no-idling sign, we turned off our engine during waiting. But we still saw many cars running their engines. Using this waiting time, we relaxed in the Park and explored the duty free store. Near the front of queue, we saw traffic signs controlling the anti-idle system. They provide a countdown during the last two minutes or so, giving driver’s time to regroup and prepare to start their engines. Finally we entered the checkpoint and chatted with a border guard. He examined our passports, I-20 Forms, and let us go quickly.