the Walnut Diary

The following day dawned clear and cool, perfect driving weather. I followed Charlie from wherever we were out onto the highway and drove north to a breakfast place. I don’t know if it was Claire or Charlie who suggested the turnoff he chose, but we ended up in a lush college town with wide streets, beautifully landscaped parks, and a worn, if cozy local eatery for breakfast.

The most interesting thing about this town was the land development on the outskirts. It was groomed like a golf course, but had a sign advertising “Lots: 1 – 94 Acres For Sale.”

Then we drove some more until we hit Buffalo. A right turn and we were on to Syracuse, though the scenery was quite delightful on this leg. North to Watertown and I was feeling the drain of a weekend of driving. The truck chugged along very well, though.

At Watertown by prearrangement we left the truck at the local U-Haul franchise just off 81 at Exit #48. The owner rents garage space to store cars for the 72 hour wait period required by Homeland Security before a vehicle may be exported from the U.S.

An obliging U.S. Customs agent let me drop off the bill of sale and title for the Tacoma, so home we went, happy to have gotten this far on the project.

Three days later my mother drove chase car for the last leg of the trip. Just because she hasn’t been across a border in fifty years was no reason not to make the trip, in her opinion. Away we went in her CRV. The freeway and the tall bridges were no problem for Mom. It turned out even stern-faced customs agents showed their human side with her. We breezed through the importation process and the truck arrived safely at its new home.

The most interesting thing about the last leg of the trip was the assortment of golden eagles and hawks perched on steel fence posts along the edge of Hwy 81. You’d think posts that narrow would be uncomfortable for such large birds, but there they sat.