A Military Sendoff to Portsmouth, England

Oct 22, 2004

We had to be up very early to finish packing and get ourselves out to the ferry harbor. We ended up being early arriving, yet almost didn't make it on board in time. As we were attempting to board customs was checking everyone's passports, and bingo, here were four Americans with no proof of entry into France. (Remember the customs official at the airport that failed to stamp our passports, here's where that becomes a problem... getting back out!)

We were immediately pulled out of line by two serious looking men in full fatigues and automatic machine guns. They were demanding how we got into their country... in French, while we were trying to explain that we were going to miss our Ferry... in English. It was looking pretty bad for us. The French customs had every right to detain us for being illegally in their country, despite the fact that we had done so in ignorance. We were getting good looks at their guns and sweating a bit more than the weather might have recommended.

The last of the legal passengers had now boarded the ferry and it was getting ready to leave. We were starting to feel rather desperate about our situation when one of the girls taking tickets came over with an English speaking man. We explained our arrival and the actions of the customs official, and pleaded that we were only ignorant tourists. We showed them our airline tickets, showing the arrival time and the future departure time from Scotland. It was freaky scary to me, but Jason seemed to be holding it together pretty well.

At last they seemed to decide that since we were leaving the country they'd rather just get rid of us then throw us behind bars, or turn us over to the American embassy. The minute they gave us the okay, we grabbed our bags and RAN for the ferry. We were more than a little happy to find ourselves at last on the boat and safely out of the grasp of the French military.

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