Thirteen Things I Learned on My Recent Trip to Canada

1. Do not trust internet directions.
2. Do not trust internet travel time estimations.
3. Always take more than three days off to make the trip.
4. My husband does not drive as fast as I once thought he did. He drives fast, but just not as fast as some of the drivers I have now observed.
5. Never arrive late on a Sunday. Everything starts closing down and you will not be able to do the currency exchange thing, which is important.
6. My debit/Mastercard works when swiped as a credit card, but not in the ATMs. Bummer.
7. Once you get on a highway, you'd better be sure that you're traveling the direction you want to go. You will not see a sign that says "QEW" (or whatever road you happen to be on) again. Only on off'/on ramps.
8. Other than the road signs, everything looks pretty much the same as it does here.
9. People are pretty much the same as they are here, only maybe even a bit friendlier. Many wanted to know what our weather was like right now, where we were from, had we lived there long, had we been to Canada before, how long were we staying, etc. It made me smile.
10. There seems to be a lot more road construction (destruction?) here than in Canada.
11. It's good when you're in the line to get in (or out) of the country, and you're not one of the vehicles that get singled out for inspection. (Wheh!) ;)
12. Both US citizens and Canadians flock to Wal-mart in droves.
13. I've met the coolest Canadian ever and her name (alias) is Elliemarie. ;)