Day 14 - Holding tongue avoids possible search

Tuesday June 24th, 2013

To some, driving 4 or 5 hours a day is a pleasure.  To some, it is a necessity. To some it is just a job. For me, a dreaded chore.  Now that we have reached the region where we will spend the next month or two, I feel as if finally the vacation has officially started with the dreaded passing of inspection and interrogation by the Agent at the Border.

Did the Agent like Norm's answer to the question
" Do you know where you are staying here in Canada?"

As we passed through Customs today , I did not have the nervousness that I had last year.

The Customs Agent seemed like a pretty nice guy. He asked what I guess are the normal questions: “ do you have any tobacco, plants, firearms, pets? "( we wondered why ask about pets? Perhaps they check the paws for random dirt?  An errant tick? And the odd one: “is there anything you want to leave behind?“  My mind instantly went crazy with all kinds of possibilities.... hmmmm is he suggesting something as simple as leftover trash? or was he thinking of something bigger - perhaps better - such as leave the obnoxious kids, or perhaps a grouchy spouse?   I really wanted to ask what he had in mind, but after being asked “ Do you know where you are staying here in Canada?” Norm answered with “ in our RV!” with a tone that suggested the unsaid " you stupid bastard ", It was probably best we took a hasty departure .  I could tell he was pissing off the Agent and we could end up being searched. Or maybe created an international incident.  God forbid he find the 3 potatoes and the summer squash we had stashed away.  As we left I kept looking over my shoulder for the “potato police”.  We ate the evidence that night.

New Brunswick has a whopping 58 covered bridges.  We have seen several in Vermont, but we felt a need to drive an extra 40 miles to see The Longest Covered Bridge IN THE  WORLD!  We could not be this close without seeing this engineering marvel constructed at the dawn of the twentieth century.  Besides, Norm and I like to go out of the way to see the biggest, longest, farthest, etc. of most anything somewhat interesting.

It was a very nice bridge as far as covered bridges go (although the speed in which the cars flew across it was unnerving) and definitely long. 1283 feet ( 391 meters) to be exact.  It crosses the Saint John River from Hartland to Somerville, New Brunswick. What is not exact is the date this was actually built.  One plaque at the base of the bridge proudly states that it was built in 1901, yet a second plaque 10 feet away says 1921.  Which is it? Since this is a National Historic Site, shouldn't it's history be a little more clear?  Because I feel responsible for accurate information ( to the best that I am able ) on this blog, I did some digging.  ( Thank God for my iPad  ).

World's longest covered bridge in Hartland, NB

 Wikipedia states that the bridge was originally built in 1901, uncovered, but when an ice dam took down a couple of spans in 1920, it was rebuilt and opened in 1922, at which time it was covered.

 What I also discovered in my research, was that this bridge was a "kissing bridge".  Kissing bridges date back to the years of horse and wagon traffic, when young men "trained" their horses to stop about half way across the bridge, wait while the couple shared a couple of kisses, then continue on.  Darn!  We missed an opportunity to smooch in honor of tradition! ( Not that we should need an excuse ).

The small town of Hartland, New Brunswick was extremely quaint, but the neon flashing sign right after you crossed this lovely, antique bridge advertising " Cashmere Toilet Paper  $4.99 12/pk"  was a little tacky. What is "cashmere" toilet paper?  Sounds heavenly.  Too bad RV paper is made to quickly disintegrate.

Internet ad: This new toilet paper is made with actual cashmere -- one of the more expensive fibers on earth, normally associated with high-end clothing. 
Make sure you flush it! Just because it is cashmere doesn't mean it's worth wearing!
Now I have seen everything!!!