border food limitations

[Guest guest]

According to Canadian Customs, fruits that are not allowed are tree

fruits such as: apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, and apricots

(there might be some others). Tropical fruits are OK. So, bring your

mangos and avocados. It sounds like northern tree fruits are the no

no's.

 

Jeff

 

 

>to those of you going to the taste of health and spending the nite

>at my place...

>

>several people have been concerned about the border crossing as far

>as food and belongings.

>

>here's some information;

>

>the blaine truck crossing is sposed to have shorter lines during the

>busy times.

>

>us border patrol. 360-332-8781

>canadian customs. 1-604-535-9754

>

>anyone is welcome to leave their stuff at my place on the way up.

>the fridge is on the porch and the house isn't locked if you want to

>use the 'facilities'. just walk in and the bathroom will be to your

>right. leave your belongings anywhere in the house. the cat

>doesn't bite but may ask for some strokes.

>

>norm )~

[Guest guest]

In case anyone's interested, here's how to get to Pro-Organics, which is a

major organic food wholesale distributor in Vancouver, BC. They have a

saturday market in their warehouse building open to the public every Saturday

from 8:30 am to 2 pm. Pro-organics is located at the Willingdon Ave exit on

Highway 1

(the Trans-Canada Hwy) going into Vancouver. Directions from the border are:

 

Heading into Canada, take the Blaine Truck crossing and follow Hwy 15 (also

known as Pacific Hwy and 176th St.) for about 14 miles, pretty well in a

straight line north (except for a little wiggle through the small town of

Cloverdale) til you hit Hwy 1. Head west to Vancouver on Hwy 1 (which means

that before

getting onto Hwy one, you'll be driving over the Hwy, then taking a right loop

turn to get onto the Hwy, heading west to Vancouver) and follow it for about 17

miles til you get to exit 29, which will lead onto Willingdon Ave. This exit

is just one exit before the Grandview Highway exit, and one exit after the

Kensington Ave exit (exit 33). After taking exit 29, and heading north (to the

right) onto Willingdon Ave., go only maybe a quarter mile before turning right

onto the first available street (Alaska St., which quickly hangs a 90 degree

turn left into Alpha Ave.) Right there, on the left, you will see the signs

and buildings for Pro-Organics. Enter the complex and head to the main

distribution and loading area, inside of which you'll find the warehouse that

will be selling the fairly inexpensive organic foods. Canadian dollars, canadian

smiles.

Just so you know, at the border, the truck crossing heads straight onto Hwy

15, explained above, so its obvious where to go. In Washington, the truck

crossing exit is exit 275, if i remember correctly, and is marked as the exit

for trucks and commercial vehicles. However, if one misses this exit,

accidently,

by driving right by it, and crosses at the Peace Arch crossing, which is about

one mile further along, and then heads onto Hwy 99 which heads north into

Vancouver, then to get back to Hwy 15 (the highway that leads away from the

truck crossing and to Hwy 1, as explained above), one would need to exit Hwy 99

by

taking a right turn onto 8th Ave. (Campbell River Rd.) which is about 1.5 miles

north of the Peace Arch border crossing. Follow 8th ave for about 1 mile and

then take a left onto Hwy 15 (176th St, or Pacific Hwy) and follow the

directions to Pro-0rganics as outlined above. Of course, and also, if one

missed

the 275 exit, then one could always get off at the last exit, the 276 exit in

Blaine, which is just before the border, and drive their way eastward for a

mile or so through Blaine, till they got to the truck border crossing street,

and then head north across the truck crossing, as planned.

I hope i have not confused anyone. I've just given some directions in case

anyone gets lost at a border crossing. Pro-Organics is very conveniently

located just off Hwy 1 and is easy find. If you have any trouble with the

directions, consult a map. Then my directions will become more visually

obvious.

 

Robert Rust, Whistler rawfooder.

[Guest guest]

In case anyones even more interested, a place in Vancouver, BC to get unfrozen

durian is in China town, in Vancouver. I'm not sure of the times of the year

its available there, but its a little less expensive than in the states,

usually. A map is a good idea to use to find Chinatown, but coming from the

States,

across the border, and entering Vancouver via Hwy 1 (say taking the truck

crossing in Blaine), one could follow Hwy 1 to the 1st St. exit (exit 27), or

the next one after that, the Hastingsd St. exit, and take either one heading

west. If taking the 1st St. exit, follow 1st St. for about 4 miles til you get

to Main

St., then take a right onto Main and follow it for about half a mile which will

take you into the heart of China town. The fresh fruit and vegetable shops in

the area are located mostly on Union, Keefer, and Pender Streets, which cross

Main St., and to the east of Main St. by a block or two. If taking the

Hastings St. exit off of Hwy 1, follow Hastings St west for about 4 miles til

you get to Main St, then turn left onto Main St., go a block or two and you'll

be in the same area as when you take the 1st St. route mentioned above.

Another place for frozen durian is at the Real Canadian Superstores

located in a few places in the Vancouver area, one of which is located on

Grandview Highway and Rupert St. To get there, off of Hwy 1, heading into

Vancouver, take the Grandview Hwy exit (exit 28B), and follow Grandview for

about half a

mile, and there you will see on the right the large Superstore, just past a very

large PetsMart (something like that) store on the right. They usually have

durian there for 98 cents Canadian and less, depending on the time of year.

Also, they have young coconut there, normally, one of the few cheap places for

it in

vancouver, though the quality of them isn't always the best. Chinatown tends to

be a little more expensive than the Superstore, but its all in Canadian

dollars, eh. They just were selling frozen durian at the superstore recently

for 65 cents CAN per pound. Rates fluctuate. Coconuts are anywhere from a

buck to a

buck fifty CAN each.

So those desperate for some durian when they visit Vancouver, can find it in

these places. In chinatown, there are also a few other tropical type eastern

fruits available, such as longans, lychees, and such.

 

Robert, once again.