{"id":7554,"date":"2014-10-17T22:08:42","date_gmt":"2014-10-17T21:08:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mitziszereto.com\/blog\/?p=7554"},"modified":"2015-01-04T05:25:43","modified_gmt":"2015-01-04T04:25:43","slug":"the-case-of-the-vanishing-sock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mitziszereto.com\/blog\/the-case-of-the-vanishing-sock\/","title":{"rendered":"The Case of the Vanishing Sock"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mitzi<\/a>
Mitzi and Teddy at Glacier National Park, Montana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My talented co-author and celebrity bear\u00a0Teddy Tedaloo<\/a><\/span> and I are back from another whirlwind road trip through North America, taking in such destinations as the Black Hills of South Dakota, northwest Montana and Glacier National Park, the Canadian Rockies of Alberta and British Columbia, the eastern portion\u00a0of the Pacific Northwest, and northern Colorado.<\/p>\n

After two overpriced oil changes and having missed the Testicle Festival in Clinton, Montana (yes, you heard it here first!), we were pretty much ready to pack it in and give the exhausted\u00a0credit cards a holiday of their own. Nevertheless, we managed to visit\u00a0a lot of amazing places and cross a few more off our bucket list. Even more importantly, Teddy got to visit several brewpubs!<\/p>\n

\"Teddy<\/a>
Teddy Tedaloo checks out the local ale<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Of course no road trip of merit would be complete without some form of (mis)adventure, and this one was no exception. Last year I encountered\u00a0a bored border control\u00a0agent who gave\u00a0me a load of bollocks\u00a0going into\u00a0Canada<\/a>. This year I encountered\u00a0a bored border control\u00a0agent who gave\u00a0me a load of bollocks crossing\u00a0into the United States! I won’t say which border crossing it was (in case\u00a0you might actually know this character), but I get the impression they don’t get too many customers and have\u00a0to make\u00a0the most out of this gig.<\/p>\n

Now don’t get me wrong – we need to stay\u00a0vigilant in today’s turbulent and dangerous world, but there’s a big difference between wasting time\/resources and being on the lookout\u00a0for potential terrorists and drug smugglers. I flew\u00a0after 9-11 immediately after\u00a0the international borders were reopened (going from the USA to Canada to the UK) and I didn’t experience anything remotely along these lines to enter a “foreign” country. Nor did I have any issues last year upon\u00a0driving into\u00a0the USA from Canada with a US passport, entering via New York State. In fact, they actually seemed glad to see me!<\/p>\n

Not so in this case. Despite the fact that I handed over my American passport for inspection, I was asked to provide yet another form of photo ID. On presenting my US driver’s licence, the fellow proceeded to enter it into a\u00a0computer, no doubt expecting to find a “Wanted By the FBI!” alert placed upon it. I was even asked if my\u00a0car was rented (huh?) and my next intended\u00a0destination\u00a0(err… Starbucks?). I began to wonder if I was entering a foreign country rather than the one to which I had\u00a0proof of citizenship. I looked around for a flag emblazoned with\u00a0a hammer and sickle, but couldn’t\u00a0see one.
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