Thousands of Canadians, many of them snowbirds, eagerly crossed the U.S. border as it opened to non-essential travel on Nov. 8. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on Oct. 29 that land ports of entry and ferry terminals would be open to vaccinated non-essential travellers from Canada at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on Nov. 8, making the first time in roughly 20 months this was possible. Trips to Florida have been part of Michelle Cormier-Cowle’s life since she was a child. The Oshawa, Ont., resident and her husband, Rick, had no competition at the Rainbow Bridge crossing at Niagara Falls at 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 8 as they headed to Lakeland, east of Tampa. “Friends of ours purchased in Lakeland and we fell into a good opportunity to buy a mobile home. … Unfortunately, we only got to experience about six weeks in 2020 before the world imploded. This …