15 Miles to Mexico

Funny story, it just popped into my head on the bus in to work.

Many Americans think of going north to Canada as a trip into the hinterland. But at least in Eastern Canada, that isn't so. We love to be on the water, and so we crowd the waterways that are just north of you. On the St. Lawrence, Ottawa River, and the lower Great Lakes, more than 2/3 of Canadians have crowded in. It is a small strip of land full of Wal-Marts, superhighways, roadside McDonald's, Wendy's and Tim Horton's, filled with large crowded cities and suburbs. Travel a hundred miles north of the border and yes, then Canada gets empty (except for a few cottages) and stays that way up to the arctic circle.

Ironically, though, travelling south of Canada takes you into the hinterland as well. For other than where Buffalo and Detroit are, the southern borders of Quebec and Ontario are met by relatively unpopulated areas of Upstate New York. Anyway, I'm taking too long to get to my story.

Last time we headed to Florida, we drove. We took the International Bridge at Gananoque, which crosses one of the Thousand Islands (Kettle Island, I think.) Anyway, we cross the border, and drove about 15 miles through forest and scrub, with nary a sign of civilization. Then a road sign came up on the right, with a right arrow, saying "Mexico 2 miles." I looked at my wife and said, "See, that wasn't so bad, 15 minutes, and we've already passed it!"