Bringing Furman Home! - LANDED

Thought this day would never come!

Ok..that's a lie, but you know what I mean. Lol

It only took 11 Months. Or should I say 51 Weeks. 

Well, it was 360 Days to be exact! Although it felt like forever!

But now...it's over!

Furman is Home, LANDED....A Permanent Resident.

I couldn't wait. lol So, as soon as we got the paperwork we needed I was making plans to get Furman Landed! Decided Thursday that we would make a night of it and take advantage of one of the Travelzoo Deals that I often get in my email for a Niagara Getaway. I immediately took Friday off work. After I booked and paid for a Fallsview Room for the 25th, I found out that it was a blackout date, meaning I could only have a Cityview room. No biggie! We were going anyways! Oh yes we were! So, they refunded my Fallsview Room and charged me for a CityView Room instead. Friday morning...we set out on The Mission. (you know I had to link this classic tune.lol)

We decided that we would hang around Niagara/Buffalo for a while before Landing. We couldn't check into the Niagara Falls Hilton until after 4pm so we had plenty of time to kick around. Plan? Shopping of course! We had our list of items we intended to buy, and found some amazing deals. Of course, for lunch, we hit the best Buffalo Wings in Buffalo....La Nova. That's where Furman took the opportunity to complete the B4/B4A form to declare his belongings that would be following at a later date. Then, we were ready to head to Immigration. We kind of had to get going because we had dinner reservations at Brasa Brazilian Steakhouse at 8:30pm.

LANDING:  

When we got to the Rainbow Bridge it wasn't busy at all. Drove right up to an agent closest to the entrance for Immigration, since we knew where we had to go. The officer asked us a few questions and sent us inside with that infamous yellow slip. He had no concern about our expenses from shopping. Yay! 

Inside wasn't busy either. We went right up to the counter and indicated that Furman was ready to Land as we presented the yellow slip. The officer took Furman's papers and gave him some information before sending him the the Customs counter where they did the same thing. Apparently it would have helped if Furman brought the title to his vehicle with him. We didn't know, just had it listed on the form. So..if you are going through this process, bring your title when Landing, even if you aren't Landing with your vehicle. The entire process took @15 minutes. Woo Hoo!! Done! Caput! Finito! Painless! After a quick high five as we exited the Immigration doors, we were ready to go!

Soo much Ice!

Fallsview Casino

Hotel wasn't far from the bridge. When we checked in, we got an awesome surprise...a FREE upgrade to a Fallsview Room. Oh, but wait...wasn't that the room I had booked and paid for in the first place, and was told I couldn't have because it was a blackout date? lol. I was thrilled! Now we had a Fallsview Room at a CityView price. And, I was even more thrilled when I saw the room they gave us. Two bedroom suite with Jacuzzi, Fireplace, and a great view of the Falls from the 41st Floor (4159)! I couldn't wait to hop in that Jacuzzi. I didn't forget to pack the Bubble Bath either. But first....dinner at Brasa, which was awesome. Always love Brazilian Steakhouses. Clearly, I wasn't tracking calories that day. I'll pay for it later.

Saturday check out was not without incident. Oh noooo! Just our luck, we got STUCK IN THE ELEVATOR! No word of a lie! 30 minutes with 10 other people. Thank God there were no seniors or children or it may not have been a pleasant experience. lol The guys we were stuck with were characters. They let us all know that they had a 6 pack of beer available to ration if we had to. lmao It got a bit warm but nobody panicked and we got out safely. Now, just gotta wait for the credit to our accounts the hotel promised us for our inconvenience. Luckily, we were out in time to head to our first scheduled Wine Tour and Tasting. That was part of the deal that i've always wanted to try.

So, we took the scenic route to Niagara-On-The-Lake to Peller Estates and Trius at Hillebrand. I'm not a big wine drinker (Furman doesn't drink AT ALL), but i'm all for experience and learning something new. Loved it! Got some great pics too.


 

I didn't think to double up on my wine tasting by drinking his, till after I realized I was enjoying the Ice Wine and wouldn't mind more. lmao
It was a great experience!

I swear, our one night getaway felt like we were gone for the entire weekend because we did so much. Was awesome. We'll definitely have to do that again.  Heck, we can go anywhere we want with no stress now...my hubby is a PERMANENT RESIDENT baby!!




Anyways.....the rest of the weekend was great too. Got to be a part of a surprise birthday party for a special friend on Saturday evening, and met some nice people. Oh...and Furman was able to show me the definition of a "Man Cave". lmao The house we were at on Saturday evening had an impressive one of those. Oh boy. Now that Furman is able to get settled, we can start taking serious steps to plan our life.

Next Steps:
Furman was told that he should receive his PR card within about 3 months but word has it that he should get it much quicker than that. We'll see. At some point in the near future, we will return to Export/Import Furman's vehicle so that he can get it registered here in Ontario. That will be another story. First thing's first....next week he is able to go apply for his SIN# and possibly his OHIP. I say possibly because you are supposed to be here for 3 months before it would take effect. Furman has been here longer than that but we really have no way of proving that. So, in getting OHIP, they may not allow it to be effective until 3 months AFTER his landing date from what I've read on the forum. I guess we'll see what happens with that too! Then, he can look into employment and eliminate his boredom. lol No more being stuck in the house. He wasn't really stuck but...like he always says.."Everytime you leave the house you spend money!" lol

Well...I think i've said quite enough about our Grande Finale to this Immigration adventure. I'll start to make some changes to my blog as we close one chapter and start another. I'm no longer BRINGING FURMAN HOME. Thank you all for your prayers and your following of this journey. I certainly hope you continue to follow my blog as I continue to write about Furman's settlement.

God is good. Prayers have been answered. Feeling blessed.