Finally, here it is, the Labour/Labor Day weekend – your spelling will depend which side of the border you are on.  However, this is one of the few holidays that is a holiday both in the US and in Canada, unless you work in retail, and if that is the case, if you are one of them I hope you are getting paid time and a half.

I’ve always found it funny that even though Canada and the USA share so many things, we don’t share the same holidays. Recently I went to a conference in Portland, and one of the days I was gone was a holiday in Canada, but it was a regular working day in the USA. Fortunately for me a friend had recommended that I get a Nexus pass for the border, so instead of waiting for an hour and a half, I was across in ten minutes.

This weekend the border lineups will be insane because it’s a holiday on both sides of the border.  I’ve often wondered what people do on the other side of the border that could be worth waiting 2 or 3 hours.  A park is a park, and a mall is a mall. Yes, there are specific destinations, but most weekend crossers aren’t going for those.

Although today in Vancouver, it’s raining and somewhat cool. But is it really any better a few hundred miles south?