Amen! Used drive there all the time to hit gambling and strip clubs , but once the passport thing happed just stopped goin , even though in Michigan at least you can get a enhanced Id to cross
Growing up in greater Vancouver we crossed into the states sometimes daily in the summer. Parents had a cottage in Birch Bay Washington and that was the code word to get across hassle free. " Where you going?" Birch Bay " Have a nice day" or Bellingham to shop worked well too.
Now its a 6 hr drive to get to Calais Maine. I don't drink much now but there was a time I drank like fish and I still like a cold beer or two on a hot day. From my years of spending time in the USA I grew fond of Bud, I know some will laugh and liking US beer in Canada is treasonous.
Last year on the hottest days of the year I took that drive to get as much Bud as I was allowed to bring across back into Canada. We drove to Moncton ( 3+ hrs) where I dropped my wife off at the casino and I continued on to Maine 3+ hrs.
The border guard asked me where I was going, I told him and he said sternly " You didn't drive all the way here from Nova Scotia to go to WalMart to buy beer" I replied just as sternly. " I did so" then I went on to tell him I'd left my wife in Moncton and had to get back so lets hurry this up hey, with my smiley face on. He said as he lightened up, you'll have to pay duty, enjoy your beer, have a good day and off I went.
On the return to Canada they just told me to go inside to pay the duty $60 for 48 bottles of Bud on top of the $40 Us for the beer and the gas it was over $200 Cdn for the beer, lol I like my tall cold Bud on a hot day. Plus the money my wife spent at the Casino, it was a very expensive day but I hope to do it all over again this year when it gets into the 90's.