Getting there isn't half the fun for me anymore, especially not when cross border air travel is concerned. We're on a little family vacation this week to celebrate my husband's 50th birthday next month and heading off to one of his favourite American destinations.
I know many people who travel and have heard many horror stories about airlines, lost luggage, food and unfortunate circumstances. I've been lucky so far, it hasn't been perfect but I have no lasting scars. With tighter security, longer waits, and what seem to be more overbooked flights all the time it is getting more and more stressful to leave home.
Last time I waited in an airport for my flight there were news stories playing about threats to national security because airline staff weren't checking photo identification properly. This week, as I packed, I listened to news stories about a young man who crossed the globe with a mask over his face who didn't have his identification examined before boarding a plane either.
I must look really dangerous because I'm always carefully eyed and follow recommendations to carry all sorts of documentation because I travel with my children, one from my first marriage and both with different last names than I have. My son is already 14 and has his own opinions about where he would like to go and how he would like to spend his time but when crossing the border with me he needs a signed and witnessed letter of authorization from his father.
I understand there are shifty characters and custody disputes but it is an inconvenience and it seems to me there are more important things airlines, customs and security personnel should be looking for.
I approach a border with stacks of legal documents and paperwork and find I get asked more questions when returning to Canada after a few days than when I enter any other land. It is hard to believe people slip through airports and security when it is such a complicated procedure for us.
My brothers have even worse luck than I do and always get searched when they get home. When I was a teenager my family of seven was stopped at customs on our way home from Hawaii, every bag was thoroughly searched and they seized every lotion and oil containing aloe vera even though many of them were purchased in Canada before we left and our kitchen was full of the plants considered endangered. Sometimes I wish I had a horse and didn't have to travel more than a few kilometres down the trail, but then of course I might not have as many stories to tell.
