Going to Canada, Without the Headaches and Anger

It is highly recommended by this blog that you often head to Canada for fun and excitement, but this blog entry only deals with the most rudimentary mechanics of going into Canada and successfully getting back home.  Three things: Documents, Tolls, and Traffic Check.  First, you have to have the correct documents because otherwise you will spend the rest of your days in a Turkish prison.  See this website for the current requirements.  Second, bring at least $4 for bridge tolls, maybe more.  Lastly, check the current traffic conditions on the bridges at this site.  It is unlikely that you will avoid a line in the middle of summer, but checking ahead and planning your route accordingly will be the difference between a 30 minute wait versus a 2 hour (or longer) wait.  A tip: add the traffic hot line number to your cell phone and call it as soon as you get close enough to the border to get service from the US and find out the wait so you have some idea of the wait (for potty breaks, getting food, and the like).  Also, early morning (until 9:30 am)  and later at night (after 8 pm) are generally good times to get through customs in a hurry, but there are always exceptions.

Some ideas for exploration in Canada (an incomplete list, which may or may not be fleshed out at a later date):

• The best view of the Falls is in Canada
• Marineland, Niagara Falls (an extra $5 above regular admission gets you a season pass)
• Toronto Zoo
• Ontario Science Centre
• Toronto Temple - only 30 minutes further away than Palmyra
• African Lion Safari - bring money for a car wash to get the monkey poop off
• Butterfly Conservatory, Niagara Falls
• Niagara-on-the-Lake, a quaint and expensive (but it's quaint!) village
• The beaches in Fort Erie
• IKEA in Burlington
• Toronto sports teams - Blue Jays, Raptors, and Leafs (just don't plan on getting tickets to a Leafs game, but the downtown ambiance is nice during a Leafs game)
• Myriad other things I have not mentioned yet - Like the Royal Ontario Museum, the shoe museum, and other things