Items

• 2020-06-23

  An Emptied COVID Border

  Being a dual-citizen has its perks under normal circumstances, but was incredibly useful when the United States-Canada border was closed amidst the pandemic. Every summer, my family and I do the road trip from Denver, Colorado, all the way to my grandparents' cottage in northern Ontario. However, this year, all unnecessary travel was completely restricted to non-citizens. Since we are all dual-citizens, we were allowed to enter, given we complete a 14-day quarantine before seeing anyone. It had been almost a year since my Granpa had a massive heart attack, and then survived triple-bypass surgery. Thus, my family and I thought traveling and completing the quarantine would be worth the risk if it meant we got to see them. Masked up, we drove across the Blue Water Bridge between Sarnia Ont. and Port Huron, Michigan. Normally, this bridge would be filled with cars and trucks, backed up in a 30-45 minute long line. COVID changed that. As we approached the border station, there were no other cars or trucks in sight. We slowly entered the only open crossing lane, and eerily, everything proceeded relatively normally. The pandemic killed travel, especially international movement; but I never would have expected to be the only vehicle crossing into Canada. It felt so unnatural and was an abnormal experience I hope I never see again.