Derby Line, Vermont

The view is absolutely beautiful from the top of Jay Peak, not far from Derby Line, VT.  Derby Line is a tiny little town with not much going on in northern Vermont.  Why am I writing about it?  Let me just say that it exemplifies our border issues.

I recently visited a very dear family friend who lives in the small town of Derby Line.  I took a picture while standing in her back yard.  The picture of the cornfield behind her house is in Quebec, Canada.  And that is the most normal circumstance I saw there.  The border in this town is bizarre.  It used to be a non issue, because all of the folks in the area are related and friends.  There didn't used to be any issues crossing the border and no one in particular really cared.  Now, you need a passport, and most of the locals carry it at all times, just in case they need to cross the border.  They never had strict border policies until terrorism came along.  Now, they have been forced to use their meager budget to convert local buildings into border checks.

The church is in Vermont.  The view from the church is Canada.  Once again, the locals always enjoyed the lake, but now it straddles the border.  Complicated.  In this area of Derby Line, the closest grocery store is in Canada, but there are certain items that can't cross the border, so the locals have to travel to another town in Vermont to finish their grocery shopping.  Most of the residents of Derby Line carry both Canadian and American money on them all the time.

The library really hit home.  It was built so that the Canadians and the Americans could share it.  It sits on the border.  Literally.  The Canadians and the Americans now each have their own assigned entrance.  There is a border patrol person sitting in a car down the street watching to make sure that no one crosses the border at the library.  I was taking pictures of the stone line that marks the border outside the library, and the border guard repositioned his car to watch me better.  No, I didn't try to cross the stone border.  But this is life in Derby Line.  Bizarre.

That being said, the area is great and full of friendly people.  We went to Canada and to the small towns on the other end of the lake.  We had a great time and there were no terrorists.  There were no people trying to climb a wall to illegally come into our country.  It was a perfectly wonderful shopping trip to the little shops of the local Quebec towns.  It was scenic and wonderful.  It was a great afternoon.

We also visited the resort at Jay Peak in Vermont.  They have a gondola ride to the top of the mountain for a scenic view, an indoor water park, and an indoor hockey arena  in addition to the wonderful ski resort and hotel.  Just don't be surprised if your cell service goes out because you're too close to Canada.  The same problem comes up in Derby Line.  My cell service tried to latch onto the signal coming from the closest tower which was across the border and it took me hours of dealing with my service to get it back to normal afterward.

Derby Line, Vermont and the area are beautiful.  The people are warm, friendly and kind.  The scenery is fantastic.  The food and shopping are great.  Just make sure you bring your passport.  The border is a little weird here, and politicians should come and take a look at it.  It really paints a picture of what's wrong with the world.  As far as a place to visit, I'll be back later this year.  Enjoy!

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/us/canada-usa-border.html
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https://www.cbp.gov/contact/ports/derby-line-vermont-0209
https://www.gsa.gov/historic-buildings/us-border-station-derby-line-vt
https://www.tripsavvy.com/what-to-do-in-magog-quebec-4137672
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