When family reunions are '6 feet of space, and an international border!'

ABBOTSFORD, B.C. -- What to do when your family lives on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border, but the border is closed for non-essential travel?

Have a family get together *at* the border -- all while not only maintaining social distancing, but international boundary distancing as well.

Gavin Willis is originally from Lynden, Wash., but now lives with his wife in British Columbia. His brother and wife also live in B.C., but the rest of their family remains in Lynden.

"For people who live right along the border, crossing is often a weekly or daily occurrence," Willis said. "So when the US and Canadian governments restrict border crossing, people are having to be creative in finding ways to still see each other."

So both sides of the family regularly meet along where E. Boundary Road on the U.S. side runs parallel to '0' Avenue in Abbotsford on the Canadian side. The border is nearly invisible there, separated by a small grassy median and a marker denoting the boundary, which runs right along the 49th parallel.

"Since we basically had 3 households meeting, everyone brought their own pizza and drinks, along with lawn chairs or blankets for sitting down, and we spent an hour and a half having dinner and catching up on our lives while maintaining social distancing," Willis said. "Before the pandemic we would all go to my parents' house every Sunday, so this was the first time since social isolation started that we've all been able to be in the same general area."

And they're not alone in the idea.

"It's actually become a pretty common way for people to meet," he said. "When we were there, a couple of other groups or couples were also meeting a few miles down the road. I have friends who are dating and stuck on opposite sides of the border, so they've been meeting there, and I've seen others post on social media about being able to see their kids or grandkids there."

He says the Border Patrol keeps an eye on them but otherwise has been a friendly, relaxed atmosphere.

"They're driving by pretty regularly and they slow down and wave hello, but they've been really good about it from everything that I've heard and seen, as long as people keep their distance," he said. "We happened to be sitting right underneath one of their camera systems, and we could see the camera panning down and checking on us, so they're definitely watching!"

And the in-person chats sure beat the video calls.

"We've been doing video chats fairly regularly, but it's so much more satisfying to be face to face," he said. "The conversation flows so much more easily, and there's something satisfying about hearing everyone laugh together that you don't realize until it's gone. I know lots of people are getting creative in how they meet while maintaining social distancing - for some it's sitting across the lawn, or on the other side of the fence with their neighbors, or visiting family by standing outside the window. For us it was 6 feet of space and an international border!"