Canadians often have similar things, institutions, etc. to Americans, but with

I'm right on the boarder. We used to go there often when I was a kid. They had a Farmers' Market where they sold cookies for 10 cents a pound. They had the best cream soda I've ever tasted. We bought meat there, too. With the exchange often on our side, food, esp. dining out doesn't cost much. When I was a kid, going to Canada was just like going to another state, but a more bilingual one. Their Malls are wonderful. They have an underground one that is great. Even with the exchange, you can't touch their clothes, really expensive, and shoes are worse. 9-11 changed everything. People seldom go back and forth on the boarder like they used to. I dated a guy who had an "adopted" relation up here that he would visit. We went to a Patisserie or Bakery and they had incredible stuff. It was wonderful. Pre-9-11 also. When we were young, my brother used to go to Canada, the Canadian Doctors saved his life, the ones where we live were going to let him die. We had a Canadian Bread Man that would come to our house once a week and deliver bread. He had said that in Canada, the Children's Hospital was the best, and they could save my brother. Eventually, when his kidneys shut down and his "specialist" who was useless refused to see my brother, his regular doctor sent him to Canada. There, he was saved by two American Doctors who were sick and tired of watching children die in Michigan and went to Canada. Most people go to Canada for the Food, Concerts, and Medical. As an adult, I went to a Bee Keeper Convention in the USA and the next week we went to see a bee keeper up there as well as to the biggest Farmers' Market I had ever seen in my life. The bee keeper had a neat set-up. But the best was camping when I was a kid. My Dad would roll down the windows near lunch time. He'd say, smell everybody and tell me which way to go. Fresh baked bread smell was in the air. We would go the way of the smell. We would arrive at a country home, different one each time. But the outdoor oven and the leather shops were at each one. We would buy a loaf of fresh-baked bread and wait for it to cool by wondering around the leather shop. It was so neat! The woman made bread and the men converted a garage into a leather shop. Some of my best childhood memories are of Canada. All my great grandparents came from Canada.

AAAH, don't listen to the Canadians, we go up there and complain about America up there, too.

Hmmm... smells like a book!

Yeah, things have changed a lot. Canada used to be more like another state when I was younger instead of another country. We could buy things at Farmers' Markets and bring them home, not so any more.