Anticipation turned to elation Monday as fully vaccinated Canadians visited loved ones, vacation properties and popular American shopping haunts after the United States finally eased southbound travel restrictions along the worldB次元官网网址檚 longest unmilitarized land border.

Shortly after midnight Sunday night, Customs and Border Protection agents began letting fully vaccinated vacationers, visitors and day-trippers drive into the U.S. for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

B次元官网网址淚 am excited. I am nervous. I am terrified. ItB次元官网网址檚 everything. The anxiety is all there,B次元官网网址� said Patricia Fountain, a resident of Niagara Falls, Ont., who hasnB次元官网网址檛 seen her boyfriend, who lives in the U.S., in person since May of last year.

Fountain, who entered the U.S. Monday via the Rainbow Bridge, said the pair plan to spend some quality time B次元官网网址渟itting and cuddling and watching moviesB次元官网网址� after 17 months of phone calls and video chats.

B次元官网网址淚 just hope everybody gets over this and we go back to normal,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 would like to get some normalcy back in my life.B次元官网网址�

ThatB次元官网网址檚 precisely what snowbird Don Livingstone had in mind when he walked across the bridge Monday in order to catch a flight to Punta Gorda, Fla., where he had a tee time waiting.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 looking forward to a great winter. WeB次元官网网址檙e going to golf every day,B次元官网网址� said Livingstone, 80, from Burlington, Ont.

B次元官网网址淎s long as you have your health and you can afford it, why not?B次元官网网址�

Wait times to enter the U.S. ran the gamut in the early hours of the morning Monday, with some waiting two or three hours at traditionally busy crossings like the Peace Bridge in Buffalo or St-Bernard-de-Lacolle in Quebec before the backlogs cleared at midday.

In the town of Coutts, Alta., however, the wait stretched to four hours just before noon local time, levelling off at just over three hours by mid-afternoon.

Mayor Jim Willett said vehicles and RVs began showing up as early as Friday, tripling the population of a town thatB次元官网网址檚 usually home to fewer than 300 people.

B次元官网网址淭alking to people who have lived here all their lives, theyB次元官网网址檝e never seen a lineup this long before,B次元官网网址� Willett said.

In Plattsburgh, N.Y., an hourB次元官网网址檚 drive south of Montreal, Quebec licence plates were spotted in the parking lot of the Champlain Centre mall B次元官网网址� a destination so dependent on cross-border traffic that it uses the Canadian spelling of its name on all its marketing material and signage.

The mallB次元官网网址檚 website even included a special section for its foreign customers, festooned with Maple Leaf flags and boasting of new retail outlets that opened during the pandemic and special savings for anyone showing proof of Canadian residency.

B次元官网网址淎 great deal of the Plattsburgh economy is supported by Canadian visitors,B次元官网网址� said Charles Loscalzo, the manager of Bookburgh Books. He estimated that roughly half of his customers in past years were from north of the border.

Loscalzo called the latest travel developments B次元官网网址減ositive steps,B次元官网网址� but admitted heB次元官网网址檚 nervous about CanadaB次元官网网址檚 requirement that anyone entering or re-entering the country must show proof of a negative PCR test, along with their vaccination cards.

The test, also known as a molecular test, can cost anywhere from C$150 to $300 and must be taken within 72 hours of arriving at a northbound border crossing. The U.S. requires the same of air travellers, but allows them to submit the cheaper, rapid test widely available at drugstores. It waived the rule for people crossing by land.

CanadaB次元官网网址檚 requirement is now squarely in the sights of the business leaders, activists and U.S. lawmakers who have been calling for months for the borders to reopen. Requiring a family of four to shell out an extra $1,000 for a B次元官网网址渞edundantB次元官网网址� test is unnecessary, they say.

B次元官网网址淧eople donB次元官网网址檛 want to be constrained anymore,B次元官网网址� said Rep. Brian Higgins, a New York congressman and one of the most vocal critics of the restrictions.

B次元官网网址淩emove the redundant testing. And letB次元官网网址檚 really celebrate this opening, so that we can realize the full potential of the United States and Canada getting back to its friendship, getting back to its binational relationship in an economic way, but also in a life quality way.B次元官网网址�

Drew Dilkens, the mayor of the border city of Windsor, Ont., pointed out that Canada allows visitors who plan to return from the U.S. within 72 hours to get their re-entry test done before they leave.

That would include the B次元官网网址渢housandsB次元官网网址� of Canadian football fans who routinely travel to Detroit, Buffalo and other NFL cities to watch a game in person before heading home at the end of the night.

B次元官网网址淭he current system would allow someone to take a PCR test in Canada, cross into Detroit to cheer on the Lions with 65,000 other fans in the stadium, and then return to Canada using the test they took before leaving,B次元官网网址� Dilkens said.

B次元官网网址淗ow is that test of any use to anyone about the nature of oneB次元官网网址檚 activities and the risks that they were exposed to? I think we can all agree itB次元官网网址檚 not.B次元官网网址�

Floyd Jorgenson, of Mervin, Sask., said he accompanied his parents on a flight to Phoenix to get them settled at their Arizona vacation property, but is now wondering whether heB次元官网网址檒l be allowed back into Canada when he returns home Friday.

The clinic where he inquired about getting a PCR test said it would take upwards of seven to 10 days to get the results, he said.

B次元官网网址淭hey said, B次元官网网址榃ell, weB次元官网网址檙e so backed up, itB次元官网网址檚 a week, week-and-a-half delayed before you get the results,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Jorgenson said. B次元官网网址淎nd I go, B次元官网网址榃ell, that doesnB次元官网网址檛 really work very good for me.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

He said heB次元官网网址檒l keep trying, but in the end may have to plead his case with customs officials: B次元官网网址淚 wonB次元官网网址檛 even have my results, so IB次元官网网址檓 not sure B次元官网网址� but I know I have a ticket, so IB次元官网网址檓 getting on the plane.B次元官网网址�

The new rules took effect on the same day as the U.S. began requiring foreign nationals arriving by air to be fully vaccinated and tested before boarding their flights. Unvaccinated Americans are allowed to fly, but must be tested within 24 hours of departure.

The U.S. has also lifted a travel ban on a number of countries thatB次元官网网址檚 been in place from the outset, including China, India, Ireland, Iran, South Africa, Brazil and the 26 European nations without border controls, known as the Schengen group.

The U.S. Travel Association estimates that inbound international travel produced $239 billion in export income in 2019 and directly supported 1.2 million American jobs. The pandemic has cost the U.S. some $300 billion in foregone export income and more than a million jobs, with travel levels not expected to return to 2019 levels until 2024 at the earliest, the association estimates.

B次元官网网址擩ames McCarten, The Canadian Press