Curzon in Kingston, Part 1: The Border Crossing

Kingston’s City Hall

I chose to post about the historic meeting between Younghusband and Curzon in Chitral because I just got back from a long weekend visiting Sir and Lady Younghusband in Kingston, Ontario. (Thanks again for a wonderful time!) It was only the second time Younghusband and I have seen each other in the almost two years of this blog, the last time being our trip to New York to see Kaplan last year. The trip was wonderful, and I got to see historic forts, the Royal Military College, dine in the Officer’s banquet hall, and meet many of the Canadian civilians studying all aspects of war.

I’ll be posting a lot of my thoughts over the next few days before I head back to Japan (more on that later). In the meantime, here’s a quick report of the border crossing. It was my first overland trip to Canada since 9/11, but I still did not need my passport. I simply handed them my driver’s license.

Crossing into Canada:
“Where are you heading?”
“Who are you visiting?”
“Where does he live?”
“Do you have any fruits or vegetables, animals, or agricultural supplies or products?”
“Do you have any firearms, explosives, or pepper spray on you?”

Crossing into America:
“Who were you visiting?”
“How do you know him?”
“Where were you born?”
“How long were you in Canada?”
“What is your job?”
“Where did you go to school?”

The U.S. custom’s inspector opened the trunk of my car and rumaged through my luggage. Nothing too exciting, but interesting to see where their respective focus of concern is.