I lived in Canada for seventeen years. It was a great experience. I loved our farms and Canada still has a special spot in my heart.
Still there were things that all Canadians coveted from the United State when we were living in Canada from 1971 to 1988.
One of the biggest items happened to be clothes. Most Canadians that I knew would travel with two very lightly packed suit cases and immediately buy some clothes as soon as they got to a city in the United States. The new clothes would be worn and often washed before crossing the border back into Canada. I wonder if that has changed?
Some friends of ours who lived near the border between the US and Canada would make regular trips to the US to buy chicken, milk, and fill up their vehicles with gasoline.
Recently we visited our kids who live near Tyson's Corner, Va. Our great Reston trip reminded me of trip we once made to Toronto just after we moved to Canada. I can still remember finding the Eddie Bauer store so I could buy some down pants for my new southern bride who was about to freeze to death.
It is interesting how shopping changes over your life. My oldest daughter wanted a list of potential father's day presents. One of the present got rejected because it was only cost $9. She could not believe that it was actually what I wanted even though the camera store clerk assured her that he was showing her exactly what I had specified.
In the days when we lived in Canada it seemed like we were always accumulating coats and boots. It was only when we moved back to Nova Scotia and into Halifax that tennis shoes became more important than boots.
We managed to enjoy our trip to Tyson's Corner, Virginia without buying anything. I even went to the Apple Store and walked out with nothing. The time we went to Toronto, I think we had to buy an Eddie Bauer soft sided bag to haul home all the stuff.
When you live on the coast and wear shorts ten months out of the year, you don't need a lot of clothes.
I doubt we will ever again use our Hudson Bay blanket that we bought in Kentville, NS our first summer in Canada. It just does not get cold enough in the south. It was packed away when we lived in Roanoke, Virginia, and Roanoke occasionally sees some snow.
Down here on the North Carolina coast, snow is mostly a rumor and cold weather a passing fancy. As I like to remember, January 2007 brought us a total of nineteen hours of below freezing temperatures for the whole month. On top of that, we had twelve days where the high reached into the seventies.
Maybe if Canadians do not have to go shopping for clothes in the United States these days, they can at least shop for some warm weather and warm salt water.
I think we might we able to provide a solution to that need.
