Ontario Blues

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After leaving Niagra Falls in the morning. We headed across Ontario to Michigan. We really weren't in Ontario for very long but it was a frustrating experience for a period of time. We didn't change any money over when we crossed the border because we weren't going to be in the country for long and planned to use a visa for gas or food. While we were in Niagara Falls (on the Canadian side) we were able to use our visa everywhere and in the one case where we had to use cash, they took both types of dollars (US and Canadian).

So imagine my surprise when 10 miles from the border, we stop to get something to eat and the place doesn't take visa (they take credit cards, just not visa/mastercard). So we left before ordering so we could find an ATM and get some money out. We stop at the little store next door, the ATM doesn't take cards with the visa symbol. We go down the street to another little store with a visa symbol in the window and a sign stating ATM, and I can't get their machine to work with my ATM card either. The town did not have any places that exchanged money and even if they did, it was a Sunday so nothing was open.

At this point I am starting to get a bit irritated. I have traveled all over Asia, and even the smallest, poorest countries I have been in, have taken visa cards at establishments and ATMs. We usually travel with some traveler's checks as well but have found that in most places we can use our ATM or visa card. I guess I just expected Canada (our closest neighbor, physically and I assumed economically), to be wired for worldwide travelers. Please don't misunderstand me, I don't for a second expect countries other than the US to take US dollars. I was okay with the fact that the eatery didn't take US dollars, but I was very irritated that even the places that advertised visa access still did not provide it.

After two more tries, we finally found an ATM that let me take out 40 dollars Canadian, and I was able to get us some food. J was able to find a gas station that would take his visa card and we were set. When we crossed the border back into the US in a few hours, we were able to change all the money back over and I basically got back everything I had exchanged in the first place...I am not sure how that happened.

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