Oddly, Joy, they CAN search your laptop if they choose to do so.  And, they
CAN impound various other items if they choose to do so.  We gave those 4th
ammendment rights away with the P.A.T.R.I.O.T bill.  (How did your
congresscritters vote on that little chunk?  Mine went along with the rest
of the sheep).

I was detained at the Vancouver crossing for four hours while my BMW riding
companions rode on.  The semi-polite Canadian gendarme mentioned that they
had a quota to fill and my number just came up.  This was before 9/11, long
before.  My motorcycle was virtually disassembled and left for me to re-fit
after no offensive items other than the rider, who was not offensive BEFORE
the fol-de-rol and did a superb job of maintaining a tiny shred of cool.  I
had all the proper crossing documents and more.  All questions about
ammunition, firearms, explosives or alcohol or drugs should be answered with
a polite 'no'  ALL questions.  If they ask if you own a 'fowling piece' and
you have one at home, the answer should be a polite 'no'.

There are good reasons to live in Oregon or West Virginia.  The insane
amount of bureaucratic goatblather necessary for the law abiding citizen to
do anything is one of the best.  Note that I live in Kalifornia.

"There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience.
And then there is California."
-Edward Abbey

Al (Cane Rattlin RS-ridin Geef and proud of it)

On 9/12/09, Joy Hecht <jhecht@alum.mit.edu> wrote:
>
> Hi John,
>
> I'm not sure I quite understand what you are worried about - is your
> concern
> crossing the border, or is it what would happen if you had an accident or
> were for some other reason stopped by the police?  YOU need paperwork to
> get
> across the borders - passports, for sure - but your car doesn't.  I've
> crossed the border any number of times in my van, and no one has ever asked
> for anything pertaining to the vehicle.  Not in either direction.
>