DETROIT — When the clock struck midnight on Monday, Canada reopened its borders to U.S. citizens after more than a year of only allowing essential travel.
Although some Americans were not going to wait a minute longer than necessary to get into Canada, Detroit’s ports to Canada didn’t get much attention early Monday. Wait times for the Ambassador Bridge hovered around 10 minutes, with the Detroit-Windsor tunnel following closely.
But the Ambassador saw some families reunite and couples return to empty properties across the river.
Asawari Kaur of Indiana, along with her family, huddled together at Detroit’s duty-free shop minutes before midnight. Some of Kaur’s family hadn’t seen her brother, who got married in April, in almost two years.
“We were all so eagerly waiting for that day,” Kaur said. “As soon as it hits midnight, we’re gonna enter the border.”
Carolyn Ferroni and David Bruns of Columbus, Ohio, hadn’t seen their lake house across the border in almost two years. The minute Canada's border reopened, the couple was ready to go.
“It’s just part of a family culture and tradition — we go there every year,” Ferroni said.
If not for close kept friends on the other side, Ferroni said their well-loved family lake house of 50 years could’ve been in disarray.
Now, Ferroni and Bruns said they plan to resume their yearly visits to the St. Anthony property.
