We left our campground this morning around 8:30. The rest of the caravan was headed outside for another bus tour, so we got some final goodbyes and hugs. Jo gave us a Christmas ornament to remind us of the trip as well as a tiny jug of local maple syrup. I was sad to leave them. We also said goodbye to our friends Deb and Kenny, along with plans to perhaps meet up next summer out our direction.
We got to the border about an hour and a half later. There was no line and we drove right up to the check station. We gave the officer our passports and he started asking questions. He was not friendly and would not smile or engage with us at all. He asked if we had a pet with us, if we had any purchases to declare, where home was and why were we in Canada. He wanted to know how long we stayed, how much alcohol was on board and what we had for fruits and vegetables. Then he asked if our side door was unlocked because he was coming inside. That was the first time that’s ever happened! He came in, looked in our bathroom and then opened the fridge. He took out our limes and tangerines and said we couldn’t bring citrus into the states. He took our fruit, handed us our passports and waved us on. No thank you, welcome back, or even ‘you can go now.’ Not exactly welcoming. I can’t imagine how he is for people who aren’t citizens. Thank goodness I had inventoried the fridge, made a list of what we had bought with receipts, and had dumped what was left of my sleepytime edibles. This officer clearly wasn’t going to give us any slack.
We arrived at our campground, The Pumpkin Patch RV Park, in Bangor Maine around noon. We thought about continuing on to Marc and Karen’s house, but it was very windy today and not fun driving. As soon as we got parked, the rain started pouring. I made us some soup and we just relaxed and listened to the rain on the roof of the RV.
We headed into town and search of some dinner. But we didn’t realize there was a concert going on and every restaurant and parking lot was packed! After trying two or three places, we just headed back. We ran into a grocery store, picked up something from the deli and a bottle of wine. Back to the RV to watch some TV and relax. Tomorrow we head back to Marc and Karen’s‘s house and to our dog Maggie.
