“This has been ramping up for years. Obama wasn’t president in 2007 when, upon returning to the US from a trip to England I was questioned why I had traveled abroad. I still wish I had pushed back a little, but I had a flight connection to make. I’m sure that’s what they’re counting on.”
Even before then. In the mid 1990’s my trophy wife and I flew to the UK for a couple of weeks. I brought on the plane 3 valuable fly rods/reels/lines and flies so they didn’t get lost.
We only had a couple of hundred pounds between us, 100 francs and a few $’s which was stated on the forms after we got on the plane.
That difference must have triggered some alarms. We were challenged by what we believed to be treasury agents re so little cash.
They asked how we were going to last 2 two weeks in the Uk with a day trip to Paris on so little money. I took out my ATM card and showed them.
They kept asking us and my wife said, “Hey we just put our sons through college and helped them to get started. How much money do think we have?”
One of the guys had a sense of humor and was a parent with two kids in college. He laughed and told us to enjoy the trip.
The return trip from the UK was even more interesting.
Unknown to us the unibomber had threatened to take out an airplane flying from the UK to the States that day.
So the tight security at Heathrow was even tighter.
My wife had bought a crystal vase at one of the airport stores. Crystal vases have lead in them and alarmed those checking our luggage via blocking the xrays. She and her bag were taken to the side while she took the vase out to show them.
I had bought a couple of trophy Richard Wheatley wood fly boxes at Harrod’s with trophy fishing flies in them. The security guys wanted them opened up, and I told them they want to steal my flies. One of their guys agreed and had me go out of line to show the boxes and flies.
Also, they wanted to know why I was carrying my fly rods, reels, lines and other flies with me. I said I didn’t trust their luggage apes and the American luggage apes. Again, I had some of them agree with me.
While fly fishing in the UK, I had discovered a dead cow near the stream I fished at. I informed the clerk at the inn where we were staying, and he informed the officials. A herd of them descended on the inn and the farm and asked me questions about how close did I come to the dead cow. I said I stayed up wind and up stream. They thanked me for alerting them.
When we got to the States, we had triggered the treasury guys again, and we had less money declared than when we started. I was prepared and told them to check our charge card receipts and atm receipts. One of the T guys who had hassled us on the trip over on this team. My wife said that we brought back millions of $’s since college costs were so low. They laughed and let us go.
Then, after clearing treasury/customs and getting our baggage, we were told to wait for a USDA guy. He was very interested in the dead cow, which apparently died from Mad Cow disease.
I told him he could keep my wading boots with the felt soles and about staying upstream and up wind from the dead cow. He took the boots and said we could go.