Canada Day

They’re here shopping, eating, drinking, rafting, golfing, hiking, biking, etc.

Really? How can you tell, eh? Considering the value of the Canadian dollar vs the US dollar, I doubt much shopping is taking place. How many Canadians visit Montana, I am wondering.

Thanks Mother Duck for the good wishes. Canada Day in the Nation's Capital is a pretty good place to be (though humidex had temps over 116F this afternoon).
I'm here prepping for my Canadian vacation next week - Newfoundland. Looking forward to temps between 60 - 70F.

@Norma: Many people in town, can’t turn left without a light, and a goodly number are Canadians. A number of them are our neighbors and friends. When we went to Costco yesterday, we had to circle the parking lot to find a parking slot...first time ever. I am surprised that when chatting with our friends from Canada, they sometimes know the sales dates better than us. As part of the mix, there is no state sales tax...compare that to the 5% GST in Alberta. All in all, they are a big part of the regional economy.

@Maria: that sound miserable. Enjoy your trip to Newfoundland and those temps sound much more reasonable.

@Norma: Oregon is another state with no sales tax and we see a huge number of British Columbia license plates over holiday weekends. Big outlet mall south of Portland that is inundated with visitors and locals alike. With the PST at 7% in BC on top of the GST, and our lower gas prices, Oregon doesn't look so bad after all even with the CAN$/US$ exchange rate. Plus, it's a pretty nice place to visit. We've been to the Costco in Bellingham, Washington (not too far south of the Canadian/US border) on our way up to Vancouver, BC in the past and the parking lot is huge and full of BC plates.

But, we reciprocate and go spend money in BC, too.

Mother Duck,

Thanks for the good wishes! At 151 years old, we're still a fairly young country. Although there were lots of events happening here, I just had a quiet day puttering around the house. One interesting event was that our Governor-General (Julie Payette, a former astronaut) received a call from the International Space Station to offer Canada Day greetings. I thought that was kind of cool.

On the topic of shopping in the U.S., the current exchange rate doesn't seem to be much of a deterrent for a lot of people. According to news reports today, there were 2 hour+ waits for southbound traffic at the border crossings in the lower mainland. I don't live close to the border, so that's not an option for me but there's no way I will sit in a queue for two hours!

As long as we're on the topic, I'd also like to wish all of you south of the 49th a happy and wonderful 4th of July!

JG, we are headed to Detroit for 2 nights at the end of July! Lol.

Look at Niagara-on-the-Lake. Very nice place. We also like Niagara Falls. Been a few years since we've gone now. We used to get there semi-regularly on union events/conventions.

JG, I haven't been to Windsor in years, but as it was our automotive centre for years, I am guessing it is similar to Detroit. A little closer to Toronto is Kitchener-Waterloo which is our Amish/Mennonite settlements. From there you can visit London or Toronto. Still far enough away from NY family or the Falls. BTW, Niagara on the Lake is not like N Falls; particularly if you like winery tours.

Ken:

A call from the international space station is pretty cool - on any day!

Can't imagine sitting at the border for 2 hours. Yikes! There is no way I would do that.

Thanks for the wishes for a a happy 4th!