For people who aren’t familiar with the State of Washington, it is a bit difficult to explain exactly where we live. I frequently describe our home as in the northwest corner of the state. For those who are unfamiliar with our State, it probably is an adequate description since we live within a 15 minute walk of the ocean and a 15 minute drive of the Canadian border. However, the western border of Washington is not a straight line. Because of the shape of the West Coast, there is a lot of Washington that is west of where we live. I’m pretty sure that the people of live on the Neah Reservation at Neah Bay could claim that they live in the Northwestern corner of the state even though they live considerably south of our location. They have Canada immediately to the north of them and have water to both the north and west. Neah Bay is at the tip of the Olympic Peninsula.

The Salish Sea is connected to the Pacific Ocean to the west by the Straight of Juan De Fuca and extends south as far as the state capital, Olympia, in what is known as the Puget Sound. The border with Canada follows the 49th Parallel until it reaches the Salish sea where we live, Then it makes a zig zag south and west, wandering through the various islands of the Sea. Victoria, the capital of British Columbia is located on the southeast tip of Vancouver Island, approximately 50 miles south of where we live.

To make matters even more interesting, a quirk of the international boundary is that the border follows the 49th parallel out into the sea a bit and crosses the very tip of the Tsawwassen peninsula south of Vancouver, British Columbia, leaving a tiny bit of land that is in the United States. The community there is known as Point Roberts and has a population of just over a thousand people. To reach Point Roberts from where we live by land, you cross the border into British Columbia, travel 25 miles across Canada and then cross the border again to be in Point Roberts, BC. During the Covid-19 Pandemic, the Washington State Ferry operated a direct connection with the US across Boundary Bay so that Point Roberts residents could travel to and from the rest of the state during the time that the border with Canada was closed. However, there were essential services that did have to cross the border. A neighbor, for example, delivers fuel oil to Point Roberts. He was allowed to continue his deliveries when the border was closed, crossing it twice each direction.

Another exception was made for the high school students from Point Roberts. They travel by bus daily to and from their High School, located in our school district in the town of Blaine, crossing the border four times each day.

Point Roberts does, however, have its own Elementary School. The school is tiny, with just seven students enrolled this year. It is one of our state’s smallest public schools, but continues to be eligible for State funding because it has been determined to be a “remote and necessary” school. The school is too small to have its own library, so the students visit the public library, a branch of our county library system, each week.

Even though we live very close to Point Roberts, we have yet to visit it. The Canadian border was closed when we moved to Washington and a tourist trip to the small town just to satisfy our curiosity wasn’t deemed to be necessary travel. And since the border has re-opened, we haven’t ventured across simply because we have the services we need on our side of the border. However, we have enjoyed visiting British Columbia in the past and have used Vancouver International Airport (YVR) to travel. This summer our daughter and grandson are coming for a visit from South Carolina and the best price for tickets for them are flights to and from YVR. That is a real convenience for us because it is much closer to us than Seattle. Even allowing for the time it takes to cross the border, the airport is an hour closer to our house than Sea-Tac Airport.

Once, when we flew from Seattle to London, we took a short commuter flight to Vancouver and flew directly from Vancouver to London. We returned by the same route. There is a way to make the change of planes in the Vancouver International Airport without having to officially enter Canada, so we only had to deal with customs leaving the US and entering England and vice versa on our return. However, since our daughter and grandson will be leaving the airport, they will have to enter Canada at the airport and then re-enter the US at the border crossing in the car with us, so passports will be required for their trip.

The border is very porous. There are a lot of people who cross the border on a daily basis. In addition to the students at Point Roberts and the neighbor who delivers fuel oil, we know several people who live on one side of the border and work on the other. In our church choir I sit next to a woman who works in British Columbia. There is a couple who belong to our church whose primary home is in British Columbia, but whose jobs are in Bellingham. They keep a large boat at a slip in Bellingham Bay as a place to stay when they need to spend a night away from their home. We have plenty of friends who have family members who live across the border, and several couples one of whom is Canadian and the other a citizen of the United States.

There is a pass which allows expedited crossing at the border. Most people who cross frequently have the pass. We intend to get passes, but there is a wait for the interview required to obtain the pass, so won’t have them for a while. And, when crossing the border, every person in the car needs to have a pass in order for a car to use the expedited lane.

We’re learning a lot about living in a border town. However, I still haven’t quite figured out how to explain where we live to those who are unfamiliar with our unique geography.