The Steam Clock and the U.S Border

Our last day in Vancouver we headed back downtown to see a few things before driving back home. I wasn't real sure what to show them since I'd only been there once before. I decided we would go see the old steam clock in Gastown. Pablo had bought a magnet of it when we had a layover in Vancouver over Christmas but he'd never seen it so I figure we must go. It is the first or only or something, steam clock in the world so that is exciting right? It is also in a cute neighborhood and by the water so I figure we could just walk around and check it out.

"Welcome to Vancouver A Nuclear Weapons Free Zone"
Good to know!

Steam clock steamin

We are married so we dress alike now

Maybe it was because I hadn't driven in 4 months or because I was driving my mom's car, or in a new city or had 4 spanish people with me, but driving in Vancouver really stressed me out. They are crazy there. So as we drove downtown I didn't really know where I was going or where to park. Veronica brought me to a shopping mall that I wanted to park at, that was no longer open. So I just parked at the first parking structure I found and we ended up walking down about 6 blocks or so to check out the steam clock. We got there right on time to watch it blow off some steam, which was pretty cool. It plays a nice little song too. There were also some more tourist shops so everyone could get their last minute gifts.

Pepo and the moose

After we stocked up presents and took enough pictures of the clock, we stopped for coffee and then walked back to our car because we were running out of time. In Vancouver we had to prepay in all the parking garages. I find this a little stressful when you're a tourist because you only have a limited time before you have to get back. Anyway, we got back to the car and headed for the U.S. Border and home.
We were met at the border with a 45 minute wait, which wasn't very fun. Luckily, they have bathrooms along the way or it would have been another story! At the booth the dude asked me the usual questions, where did you go, how long were you gone and what did you buy. I answered all correctly. He passed the passports through the computer and said nothing more except go to second expection that lady with direct you (lady in another booth in front of me). What the hell happened? This sucks.
The lady points us to a parking lot where another guy comes and tells us to put our keys on the hood and go in the building. I ask, where is the door and he goes walk that way and you'll find it. Well gee thanks, you're nice and helpful. So here I am with 4 stressed out spaniards, I'm stressed out, I have no idea what is wrong because the toll booth guy only asked me the basic questions and said nothing else, they took our passports and when we entered the building there was a line a mile long with people just like us, waiting and they have no idea why. We get in line and see it isn't moving. Everyone is freaking out, asking me and Pablo what is happening, we are hungry and have no answers. After while we see that everyone in line is a foreigner or seems that way. We see some people have to wait even longer once they make it to a desk for some reason or another. Some people are paying. I am watching everyone and can't figure out what is wrong and what will happen to us.
The scene was so typical of government workers. There were 20 computers and 20 police or whatever they are but they were busy chatting or getting more vitamin water or going to the bathroom or something instead of helping the people who were waiting in the line. It wasn't two people or twenty people it was more like 50 or 75 people waiting.  First there would be 2 police at the desks helping people, then for a brief moment it was 10, then back to 4 and then two. My favorite part was one police guy would help someone and then when they left the police guy would leave too, probably to get more vitamin water. At one point, when we were next in line there was NO ONE. It was horrible.
Finally, someone came out and called up to the desk. He finds our passports and starts asking who these people were to me. I tell him that this is my husband and his family. He asks Pablo if he has a green card and I say we live in Madrid. Then he says, so they are visitng your family and I said, yeah probably never again (since the U.S government was giving them hell). Then he goes how long have you been here? I go Canada? Because that is what they ask in the booth and he goes, NO, you are in the United States now. Well EXCUSE ME, sure doesn't feel like home when you are being rude. Then he asks if anyone has ever been denied entrance into the USA. I told him they don't understand and then he goes, can you ASK them? I'm like I know the answer and said no they haven't. Then he tells the spanish they have to fill out a visa. I ask, well they already filled out the visa waiver form online before the trip. He said that only works if you enter through air and if you enter the U.S. via land, as we are doing now, they don't work. I think to myself, that is stupid and a big hassel. So they are filling out the forms and I'm thinking I know Pablo and I are going to Whistler someday so I ask again if there is some way we can do this online so we don't have to be pulled out of line at the boarder and deal with this again. He said only air entry you can do it online. So I go, every time we come to Seattle and drive to Canada for a couple days, on the way back we have to fill out this form. Then he goes, wait, you flew to Seattle? Yes, on the 2nd. I am American, why would I fly to Canada? Then he goes oh, I'm sorry, you don't have to fill these out. We have a lot of new staff and this is a new law. I'm sorry.
WHAT! You made us wait here an hour because you messed up?
But there was something else too that I can't really hate them fully and completely. We learned that someone with Pepo's exact name is not allowed entry into the United States and so they had to ask where he was born and verify something or other and then we were free to go.
So basically you made us wait an hour because you messed up and all you needed was to verify where Pepo was born and thats it? The guy in the booth couldn't of done this? Saved us all the hassle? IDIOTS!
Now I have one BIG Question for the US Government about my national security. Why, when your little booth man scanned our passports into the computer there was no information about us arriving in the US, in Philadelphia on August 2nd? No information that told him we entered legally, with visas already completed. This really scares me. Maybe if he listened to my answer that we were in Canada for 3 days, VISITING, we wouldn't have had this problem because once he heard visiting he would of asked, oh where did you come from? How did you get to the US? Oh, you flew? Oh well look my computer says right here you already filled out your visa waiver forms.
I wonder who else is entering the U.S. since, apparently, all the boarders don't share information. There wasn't a problem in Philadelphia. Does this mean that only the Canadian border has this information about some spaniard named Jose Benjamin Fernandez Fernandez who is denied entrance into the country? If so I'm very, very worried.
IDIOTS!

This was actually before the booth so its a little misleading if they kick you out

Relieved and very hungry we got out of there as fast as we could! We got far enough away and then stopped at the first fast food place- DQ! I love Dairy Queen and really wanted a blizzard after that ordeal. We all ordered hamburgers and chowed down. Then we all went back for dessert and I forgot American sizes because I thought I'd get a little extra blizzard as a treat and ordered a medium. Well God Bless America because the medium there is a large in Spain and it was a lot! Sadly, I couldn't finish it all but it was oh so good!

I called my mom and told her we were back but had to cancel the plans we had. But it was so good to arrive home and have my mom take care of me, speak english and give me a hug. She also gave me lots of wine and spaghetti! The BEST!