The Kissing Bridge

I mentioned that work will be taking me on some road trips in future. On Thursday I was in Carleton County, one of the prettiest areas of the province. I've written about this region before. I was in Woodstock (very near the Maine border), then took a little side-trip to Hartland, home of the World's Longest Covered Bridge.

They're doing work on the bridge now (preservation and repair work on the interior) which means that there was a flag woman at each end. However, to the best of my recollection, this bridge always operates on one-way traffic at a time; you drive up, peek in, and if there's something coming the other way, you wait until they come through before starting in. Or maybe the locals pass each other inside, I dunno.

The repairs also meant that as I drove through the bridge, there were contractors busily working on either side of my car, making it feel a bit like a drive through a very old factory.

Some of you may already know that these bridges were also called "kissing bridges" because they afforded a rare chance for privacy as a couple passed through in their horse and carriage.

It's really long! (390 metres [1,282 feet]!)

I continued on for meetings in Florenceville which, if not the prettiest little town in New Brunswick, is on the top ten.

I didn't have much time to stop for photos but did want to share a couple of the Saint John River, which bisects Florenceville, as it looks from Main Street. The river is narrow, calm and idyllic here, as if it's in no hurry to leave the little town behind and continue its headlong rush to Saint John and the Bay of Fundy.

Next week? I'm headed off to my old nemesis, Moncton. Hopefully no snowstorms, slippery streets and -30 temperatures this time!

ronnie