Getting ready to leave
Daughter Amy, on a quick visit with Ben and James
Meanwhile
We have flown the coop. I was telling a dear friend recently that we have been doing this transition thing from one home to another every 4 months for the past 16 years since I retired, so we have a total of 48 of these under our belts. You would think that with that amount of experience, we would have this down pat.
And in many ways, we do. We have 3 extensive check lists for what to do departing each home and 3 more for arriving. We update them religiously as the need arises and circumstances change. We keep getting more efficient to reduce and simplify the workload. The issue is ambition. In all that time, in spite of swearing that "the next time" we transition, we will finish all 'must do's' at least a week ahead so as to not work ourselves into a tizzy to the last second, boarding the plane exhausted, we don't. We simply have many things we would like to get done or see accomplished before we leave. We make it happen but I swear, "the next time..." :(
As we prepared to leave, we got word that the Ontario Premier (someone like a governor) was asking Prime Minister Trudeau to have ALL people crossing the land border be forced to spend 3 days quarantined in a government approved hotel at a cost of up to $2,000. per person. That would include all us Americans who have been fully vaccinated for months. Since it took them more than a week to implement it, we don't care what they do now. We made a run for the border and got through.
They sure didn't want us to run out
After spending two extra months at home in California (Thank you Covid), we flew to New York to begin the process to enter Canada. We spent 3 days in Syracuse NY, getting the Canadian required Covid tests and waiting the 72 hours to get our results before making an appointment to show up at the Canadian border (gone are the days of just showing up). Then, having all our groceries pre purchased and negative Covid results and appointment documents in hand, we had our quarantine plans scrutinized and approved before taking a required second Covid test on the spot (2nd in 3 days). We were also given a box each with a 3rd Covid test kit to self administer 8 days after our arrival during our 14 day quarantine. Only then were we allowed to make our way to the island directly (no stops allowed). We were warned of the consequences of breaking quarantine (huge fines and possible imprisonment)
Once there, we reported daily to the Covid authorities to let them know we were following our two week quarantine. The fun started when we were told that we would have to self administer our 3rd Covid test on the 8th day on a Zoom call with the authorities watching. We had a fixed appointment time to ensure speedy service.
Unfortunately, half way through our call....
Then, we were instructed that by law, we were not allowed off the island but, by law, we were required to call and have Purolator (like Fed Ex or UPS) pick up our test kits to have them analyzed. Great!... except that Purolator has no boats. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
The custom agent suggested that perhaps I would be given some kind of dispensation to get in my boat, make my way to my vehicle and drive to town to drop off our test kits at the Purolator office. "No problem" I said, "except that considering the part about huge fines and possible imprisonment for leaving the island during quarantine, I am not about to go anywhere based on some guy telling me I can over the phone. I MUST have it in writing" I said. "Just remember that when you send it, the letter will go to my post office where I cannot go get it as, well... you know, by law I am not allowed to break quarantine and leave the island. After contacting the ministry of health or whatever it is called, I was instructed to administer the 8th day test then email them so they could arrange a 3rd party pick up. I did, on the Saturday when all their offices are closed and are not staffed. The jury is still out on how that will occur. Nevertheless, we got phone calls or emails daily to ensure our compliance.
It is impossible to miss the irony of how differently this situation is being handled by different jurisdictions. 200 feet (70M) across the river from us on the US side, I can see my vaccinated neighbors running around following the current CDC guidelines and policy with no masks or social distancing indoors or out.
I have found this whole topic as toxic as discussing politics or religion so I am merely relaying what we did and certainly not what I think about it.
