I don't know much about the Senators and its players. I find it interesting but not unusual that there are more non-Canadians (players from Russia, West Germany and Czechoslovakia) on Senators' roster compared to Aneheim Ducks. There are more Canadian players on the Ducks' roster, a California hockey team, than Senators supposedly a Canadian team.
(Latest News - the Ducks won (3-2) game 1 on Monday, May 28th. Game 2 was on Wednesday, May 30th - the Ducks won again 1-0. It was a good goal when Pahlsson (Ducks) sent the puck through Senators' defenseman Corvo's legs, surprised goalie Ray Emery and scored the only goal of the game. I hope home ice will give the Senators extra energy and motivation to win Game 3 on Saturday, June 2nd. )
The first time I visited Canada was in 1984 during a trip to Seatle, WA to visit a childhood friend from Viet Nam. Jai Sing (JS) moved to Seatle in 1982. JS, Juon Ling (JL) and I were good friends and we spend hours playing basketball after school. JL went to Germany early 1979 before I left Viet Nam. JS also left Viet Nam by boat and was sponsored by his sister who lived in Seatle. I think JS lived in a refugee camp in Malaysia for a year or so. We kept in touch for a few years but somehow the writing stopped and the connection was broken. I never heard from neither JS nor JL. When I was in Seatle, we drove to Vancouver but I don't remember much about the city. We came back to the US without any problem showing only our driver license. I did not have a passport because I was not eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship until 1986.
I made several trips to Ontario, Toronto during 1987. When the appropriate time comes, I will write more about how I almost moved to Canada. Looking back, it was unbelievable and somewhat comical that I would even consider making the move. I am not being disrespectful to the country of Canada, it was a personal situation and I am not comfortable to explain any further at this point.
I went back to Canada in July 1991, as a married woman, during a camping trip in Niaraga Falls with my husband, CP. We drove from Michigan to Buffalo, NY. (I was not a hockey fanatic back then, so I did not take any photos standing in front of the Buffalo Sabres arena.) We drove into Canada and went on the Maid of the Mist boat ride.) I remembered getting wet and almost fell a few times on slippery ground.
I really liked the photo in my passport. I was so ready to show off my "beautiful" photo, but the agent at the border just looked into our truck, asked a few questions such as where we lived, what we did while in Canada and where we were going. He did not even speak to me or asked me any questions. The agent took CP words that I was his wife and that we were on a camping trip. Later CP told me that I looked too Americanized that the border agent had no reason to ask any questions. How did I become Americanized, that is a good topic for future entry.
My most recent trip into Canada was in July 2002 when we were in Vancouver awaiting for our departure on a cruise to Alaska. Part of the cruise included a train ride into the Yukon. This time the border agent asked for everyone's passport. I presented mine with the photo that of a 40+ years old chubby woman. I wonder if I looked more Americanized!
This summer we are planning a trip to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. We renewed our passports last month. Even though I saw in one of the websites mentioned that U.S. citizens do not have to present valid passports to travel to and back from Canada, we will bring our passports to make sure we have no problem getting back into the United States.
Just a thought - the last sentence in the U.S. national anthem, "The land of the free, the home of the brave" and in the Canadian national anthem, "We stand on guard for thee." Is it coincidence or firm statements about true brotherhoods?
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