A funny thing happened on the way to China

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Contents:

1. How we almost didn't get visas in time.

2. How we got visas in time.

3. Why we left at 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning, drove for an hour, slept two hours in a Motel, and drove four more hours.

4. How we didn't get into Canada on the first try.

5. Why we were driving to Canada, in our own car.

5. How we took two more days to get to Quebec City.

6. Why we drove all night, and took six hours to drive 180 miles.

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1. How we almost didn't get visas in time.
- The French School of Shanghai applied for a work license for Patty's work visa in time to have it before her first day of work August 26, but not before our planned trip to spend a few weeks with Lillian and danio and Lillian's parents in China before then.
- The round trip tickets that we bought, before we knew how long it would take to get the work visa, have us returning in December, four months after our arrival in China. For a single entry visa we would have to change the dates to some time in August, and there were no seats available. We would have to apply for a double entry tourist visa. My phone call to the Embassy was not encouraging, and I did not see the encouraging response to my email until three days before our planned departure for Quebec.

2. How we got visas in time.
Thursday, July 10, two days before our planned departure: I drove 110 miles to the Embassy and applied for a double entry visa. The person who took the application said that they would have to do some checking, and the visa could not be ready the same day even if I paid the fee for same day service. On the way back home, I got a call from the Embassy saying I could pick up the visas, but it was to late to get back there before it closed. I drove back to the Embassy the next day, Friday, and got the visas.

3. Why we left at 3:30 in the morning, drove for an hour, slept two or three hours in a Motel, and drove four more hours.
Because of my two trips to the Embassy, most of the packing I had planned on doing Thursday and Friday had to be done Friday evening and into the wee hours of the morning. The apartment was stripped, and we had planned to drive an hour or two Friday before stopping at a motel. Even though we were up all night and didn't leave until after 3:00, we decided to do that anyway. I had to drive slowly and take breaks. By the time we got settled into the motel we only had two or three hours left to sleep before checkout time. After that, I wanted to travel at least a few hours before stopping at another motel.

4. How we didn't get into Canada on the first try.
We thought we would drive our car to Canada, and if we couldn't sell it or give it away there, I would drive it back to New York, sell it, and take a bus back to Canada. Monday, July 13, at the border to Canada, we found out there was no legal way I could sell it in Canada, and if I gave it to anyone, the taxes and duties would cost her way more than the car was worth. Even though I said I would drive it back to New York to sell it, we were turned back because the customs official had no assurance that I wouldn't leave it in Canada.

5. Why we were driving to Canada, in our own car.
We were going to Quebec city to spend two weeks with Charlotte before flying to China. We were driving because we had way too much stuff to bring on a bus or a plane, with all the stuff we were bringing for Charlotte and her children, and all the stuff we were bringing for Lillian and danio and their baby-on-the-way and Lillian's family. We were driving our own car because Hertz, Avis and Budget all said they had no one-way cars available for the dates of our trip, and we thought we could sell it or give it away in Canada.

5. How it took two more days to get to Quebec City.
After we were turned back from Canada, we drove back to the nearest city to look for a motel. There were no rooms available because of the Fishing Tournament, the Iron Man Competition and the Mayor's Cup. We had to drive 80 miles farther south to find a room. In the morning we had to drive 80 more miles south, to Albany, to rent a one-way car to Quebec City. Then we parked the rental car next to our car, transferred all our stuff to the rental car, found someone to buy our car, and took a taxi back to the rental car.

6. Why we drove all night, and took six hours to drive 180 miles.
We got into Canada late Tuesday night. We were already two days later than we had planned, and Charlotte was climbing the walls. We decided to just keep on driving, but I had to drive very slowly, and I had to stop several times to take a break and drink some coffee.

Next: On to China!