Results 471 to 480 of 1147
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28 June 2011 #471
Sleep Inn, Comfort Inn and Baymont Inn are all part of the same chain. We stayed at a nice Comfort Inn that had an indoor pool and a pseudo water park up in Akron, OH when we went up to pick out our puppy over Easter weekend. We've got some Drury hotels around here, I've never stayed in one, but judging by the location of the ones around here, they aren't cheap. The free food sounds like a good plan. I lot of the nicer hotels around here are near business parks, which shut down at 5pm.
I made the mistake of declaring nothing the first time I came back to the US from Europe, which quickly got me a "please step over here sir", and this was pre-9/11. Flying into Europe is simple, even flying domestically in Europe is easy. The only time I was questioned was when I flew out of Amsterdam. The agent saw my Danish residency permit in my passport and wanted to know why I was flying out of Amsterdam if I'd been living in Denmark. I explained that Amsterdam was the only city I could drop my car off in and get a non-stop flight to Cincinnati. Of course he wanted to see paperwork on the car, but once I produced enough documents to satisfy him everything was fine.
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28 June 2011 #472
Frank Administrator
- Join Date
- 30 Jul 2010
- Location
- USA - Netherlands
- Posts
- 7,901
- Saab(s)
- previous: 2006 9-3, 2001-06 9-5, 2011 9-4X
Motel 6 can be a hit or miss. The newer ones are usually fine but stay away from the really old ones. I like the Red Roof Inn for budget motels. The newer or remodeled motels are pretty nice.
Crossing the border to Canada is usually pretty quick, except for one time. The customs lady was too friendly and wanted to know everything about my motorbike! I think the wait was about an hour but I guess that's what happens when she chats with everyone like that. I wanted to say "well, I have to go now" but you don't want to upset a customs officer.
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28 June 2011 #473
- Join Date
- 30 Jul 2010
- Location
- Vancouver, British Columbia, CANADA
- Posts
- 711
- Saab(s)
- 2006 9-3 2.0T SportCombi "Mattie"; On SAABatical: 1993 9000 CSE 2.3T "Matilda"
"Nulla tenaci invia est via"
SAAB CLUB of WESTERN CANADA (SCWC)
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28 June 2011 #474
I haven't seen a "nice" Motel 6 since 2005 in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. It was a new one. We also stayed at a Red Roof in Grand Junction, Colorado on that trip that was nice.
I've never been to Canada. From what you say it sounds easier to travel through and cross borders in Europe. The only time I got stopped at a border crossing was crossing from Holland to Germany. Twice. By the same border agents.
I had just crossed into Germany near Bad Benthiem and a VW Jetta wagon with "Zoll" written on it and an LED sign board on the roof pulled in front of me and "FOLLOW ME" flashed across the sign board. The first time they were pretty thorough, but I'm not dumb enough to try and smuggle weed from Amsterdam to Denmark. After the dog gave the all clear, they let me go. The second time they pretty much let me go when I said I remembered them pulling me over 4 months ago.
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28 June 2011 #475
- Join Date
- 30 Jul 2010
- Location
- Vancouver, British Columbia, CANADA
- Posts
- 711
- Saab(s)
- 2006 9-3 2.0T SportCombi "Mattie"; On SAABatical: 1993 9000 CSE 2.3T "Matilda"
"Nulla tenaci invia est via"
SAAB CLUB of WESTERN CANADA (SCWC)
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28 June 2011 #476
Sounds about right. It's easier to get out of the US than it is to get back back in.
I figured out that Chicago is one of the easier airports to go through customs. In 06 I flew back for my grandpas funeral, about a year later I came back to find a house and the customs agent asked me "how long have you been out of the country, Mr. Klein?" Before I could answer, he says "oh, it was about a year ago, I stamped you through last time." Stamp. "Enjoy your stay."
Copenhagen is easy to fly into. They have two lines, one if you have something to declare, another if you have nothing to declare. I always walked right through the "nothing to declare" line and was never stopped.
The first time I flew to Europe was in 99 when I got married. We got to Billund, Denmark about 10:30pm and customs was closed.
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28 June 2011 #477
Sam Carlson Tutorial Bot
- Join Date
- 14 Aug 2010
- Location
- Medford, MA
- Posts
- 684
- Saab(s)
- '90 900 LPT with a flat-nose conversion
So, six days ago, I hit a deer...in the boss's Ford Ranger
It was more like a 50-50 that the deer hit me. I was going between 25 and 30mph on a small gravel road. The deer's head appeared in my field of vision just in front of my right headlight, clearly going on a sort of intercept course, only about 30º off of my course. I slammed on the brakes, but being on gravel with ABS, it didn't stop very fast. The impact made no memorable noise. The dog in the passenger footwell wasn't even perturbed. No sound was made on impact. The deer's head/neck sort of wrapped around the front of the vehicle before snapping back. Aside from some whiplash, the deer appeared to be fine, and used the energy of the rebound to propel itself into the woods, no doubt with a new goal of scheduling an appointment with its physical therapist.
As for the truck...
Just a small impact crack in the right turn signal!!
I was so relieved. Looked on RockAuto, eBay, and did a few local junkyard searches immediately upon arrival home, and decided after seeing that a new turn signal was only $16, that I would tell the boss and offer to pay for it, though I didn't think she'd notice. If it'd been $100, I wouldn't have told a soul, but for $20 it's a cheap way to earn some good karma. Six days and $20 later, I have the new signal lamp from RockAuto, and it installed in about 5 minutes.
I'm impressed with both how easy working on a new Ford was, and with how lucky I was not to have caused more significant damage.Ask me a question about your c900! I promise I either can answer it or know someone who can
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28 June 2011 #478
Dave T. Super Moderator
- Join Date
- 03 Aug 2010
- Location
- near Seattle, Washington
- Posts
- 1,515
- Saab(s)
- 1999 9-3SE (2013-2015), 2005 9-3 (2005-2013), 1990 900 (1990-2003)
Canadians have a tough time. Canada to US: Endless questions....why are you a terrorist? US to Canada: You bought a lot of stuff...admit it....those tires look new....where did you buy it? In Buffalo or Seattle or Detroit? During weekends, there are long lines at the border in the direction that Canadians come early in the weekend and when they return on Sunday afternoon.
With Americans, the questions are different. US to Canada: Why are you coming, who do you know? The response might be that one suddenly has no friends. Once I said I'm going to see so-and-so (maybe SaabKen, one day) but he's not my friend....if he's committed a crime, I don't know him! Once on TV, the reporter interviewed the friend of the gunman. The friend replied. "let's get this straight, he's not my friend, we just attended some of the same classes in school." Coming back, Canada to the U.S., they assume that there was little shopping because things are generally more expensive. They don't seem to care if one has a bottle of Chilliwack honey or Quesnel birch syrup. The lines are also shorter when Americans generally travel, which is into Canada early in the weekend, back on Sunday afternoon.
Once I got the fluorescent orange sticker at an airport in the Middle East. I had to go to a little room, undo my pants, bag throughly searched, devices, like the electric shaver, examined, etc. Sarcasm is generally not recommended but I said "Do you want to check inside my shoes?" Maybe reverse psychology? "No", said the security man. That was before the days of the shoe bomber.
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28 June 2011 #479
Mike Moderator
- Join Date
- 30 Jul 2010
- Location
- Rochester, New York, USA
- Posts
- 1,985
- Saab(s)
- Saab-less
Typically I have an easier time getting into Canada, but the past year or so, it's been easier to get back to the States!
Going to Canada, it's normally:
Hand over the passports of all people in car (the guy might glance at them each, but normally it's add up the number of passports to the number of people in the car).
Answer questions like "Where are you going?" "For how long will you be staying?" "Where are you coming from?" and "Do you have any illegal substances with you?"
Normally coming home it's:
Hand over passports of all people, and the guy checks each person is what is says on the passport ("Michael Rhode? Ok... John Smith? Ok...")
Answer questions like "What did you do?" "How long where you there?" "Why did you go there?" "Did you happen to purchase any fake ID's in Toronto?" "Any drugs on you?" "Now what did you go there for?" "Buy anything at duty free?"
And maybe even "Can you open the trunk?"
Once a guy got out the little rolling mirror to have a look under my car.
But the last few times, it was complete reverse! The very last time coming back to the states, I went to hand over the passports, and the guy shook his hand "No" to the passports, and just asked how my day was. I said "Great" and he said "Awesome, keep on having it." and waved me on. This was coming through Niagara Falls, which is normally harder than when I go through Wellesley Island on the St. Lawrence.Free SaabWorld Stickers
"Sometimes it is better to travel than it is to arrive." - Robert Pirsig
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28 June 2011 #480
Jared The young one
- Join Date
- 05 Aug 2010
- Location
- A little town in Indiana
- Posts
- 580
- Saab(s)
- 2003 Saab 9-5 ARC ( and care-taker of a '98 900SE)
wow! Last year my friends mom hit a deer in her Ford Escape, only she was doing about 45. It bent back the fender (pass. side), destroyed the headlight, fog light, cracked and dented the bumper cover, and put three huge dents in the hood. Not two weeks before that a young girl backed into the same corner of the Escape, bending the fender, cracking and denting the bumper cover, destroying the fog light and headlight, and it had just been fixed when she hit the deer. They just popped in a new headlight and called it done.
I don't drive fast...I fly slow
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