Canning, Nova Scotia

We had to travel to Canning, Nova Scotia, as we had met the former owners of the local bed and breakfast --- The Farmhouse Inn. When we stopped in the local coffee house for a little tea and toast we met Vera. She owned the coffee house and insisted that we drop by and see her for dinner and to spend the night. After Halls Harbour we made our way to see Vera. We found her large farmhouse and were delighted at our spacious room and soft bed. She is such a lovely lady. Her husband John was there and she had invited over some new neighbours for dinner as well.

Our new friend, Vera

What a great meal! During our dinner Vera shared her story. Born in communist Czechoslovakia, Vera and her friends had learned that if you wanted to travel at all you had to be good in sports. As a downhill skiier and javelin thrower, Vera had the ability to travel quite a bit. She and her fiancee one day decided to develop a plan to leave and not return. They had an amazing plan and it worked. The escaped and were able to begin living their lives in a free society, traveling across Europe and eventually making their way to Canada. Vera ended up with a vineyard in the Okanagan Valley and was bottling and selling wine. She now is considering selling her properties and joining us on the road in an RV. We look forward to seeing her and her husband John on the road some day.

Ernie Myles is a wonderful host

 Ernie Myles is a local collector who opens his property and collection to VW owners every year and has a big BBQ and brings in local talented musicians to entertain on Saturday night. We had a great time. We were able to meet Ernie's mechanic who agreed to help us install two new carburetors into our beloved bus.

Halls Harbour

Halls Harbour, Nova Scotia

One the day that Irene was to let her hurricane force winds unload on the Bay of Fundy, we decided to take a drive down to the famous Halls Harbour to watch the tide slide out. More water moves out and in every 6 hours here than all the rivers in the world empty into the ocean. Over 100 billion metric tonnes of water every cycle!

It was an amazing view from here. Just a tinnie tiny harbour where when the tide moves out the boats descend about 40 feet as the docks float to the bottom with the absence of the water.

We watched as sheets of water moved across the horizon towards us. The rain falling so thick that it obstructed any kind of view. Moving quickly, pushed by the 90km winds, the rain overcame us as we were parked down by the stone walls they built up to withstand the tidal surges. Our wipers seemed to recently have a mind of their own, only working periodically, so upon Tracey's suggestion we decided to move on.

PS... a couple of days later we met a couple visiting from Georgia. They had rented a car and were down at Halls Harbour a few hours after we were there. The winds were so strong and the waves were crashing over the retaining walls. The winds blew their hood right up on their car and they said they were lucky to get out of there and happy they were in a rental car!

VW show in Iona, Cape Breton

Some came to stay, it appears

Westies and Eurovans all sharing the same turf

Some of the VW's showing off in Iona

Iona, Cape Breton

Susan Samways of Highland Heights Inn

When we arrived in Cape Breton we were reminded of home. The beauty of the countryside is breathtaking, as we remembered what we liked of Vancouver Island so much. Winding our way through the twists and turns of beautiful roads, we found our way to the heart of Cape Breton Island... a small community called Iona. Iona, hosts the Highlands Village... a step back in time, this little village is a museum to life on Cape Breton hundreds of years ago as settlers first came to this area. You can join folks in the creation of crafts and activities they would have had to do in day to day life on Cape Breton.

We were coming to Iona to attend a VW event and we arrived late one night. Seeking directions we pulled into a nearby Inn... Highland Heights Inn. When I popped into the lobby, I could see in the dining room some local talent was performing traditional celtic dance and music!

Celtic Music and Dance

I got Tracey into the Inn and said... this was it! This was why we came to the east coast. Traditional Celtic culture and music. It was a wonderful time of music and interaction with the musicians, as they were open to questions from the audience. We had a great time, a wonderful meal and decided to stay the night. Our first night in a Inn since we left Nanaimo back in May.

The next morning Tracey was having a shower and chatting with God. She said, "Wouldn't it be nice to stay for a while in exchange for design work." We had heard from a staff member that the owners had just purchased the inn.
We were having breakfast, when the owner walked up to us and said... "I hear you guys are designers, how would you like to stay for free in exchange for some new branding?"

Lol. We stayed for 6 days! Room, meals, everything comped! It was tremendous. We used Iona as a base to see the rest of Cape Breton, as it is situated right in the middle of the island. A quick drive to anything you want to see.

We took a drive up to the Celtic College, a place where they still teach Gaelic to students who travel from around the world to attend this unique school. They teach the fiddle and bagpipes as well. We journeyed up there for a fiddle fest outdoor concert. It was nice. But your sitting out in a field listening to many musicians on stage playing.  We enjoyed the private entertainment that we had almost every night in the dining room of the Highland Heights Inn.

The Old Signage for the Heights

I will upload the new signage and samples once we have the new photos in.

Angels on the Highway

After we had Al Roberts tweak our carbs, he had mentioned that his family was hosting a VW show in a small town called Iona, on Cape Breton Island. That was fantastic, as we wanted to head that way anyhow. So off we went towards the Celtic Island, looking forward to the culture and music.

On our way we were faced with a tremendously slow vehicle, (and we thought we were slow), well, we went to pass this guy and it happened that we were going into an up hill grade and had two lanes. We moved to pass and up we went. I noted suddenly that the gas petal was unresponsive! It just flopped to the floor and we were running at full throttle!!! Yikes. Thankfully we were going up hill, but something had to be done. Adrenaline was pumping as I said to Tracey... We're running at full throttle and I can't stop it!!!"  "Oh no"... she says what do we do?" I said, "Ok, when we get to the top of the hill, I'll pull over and slam on the brakes, then you'll have to get out, run to the back, lift the engine lid and push the accelerator bar up... cus it's stuck down for some reason!!!"

So we get to the top of the hill and I yell over the sound of the screaming engine.... "OK... you know what you gotta do?"

"No" she yells back!!!

Well, we pulled over and she jumped out, ran to the back of the bus, just when I remembered the right thing to do.... turn the key off!!!!

The engine backfired like crazy, banging and firing off like a gun blast!

I walked to the back and could not see why the accelerator bar was stuck! Engine oil had blasted it's way through the gaskets, spraying a light peppering of oil against the inside of the back tires. Thinking it was significant and perhaps that I'd blow a valve, and not being able to see why the accelerator was stuck, we decided we'd better use a life line and call a friend... (CAA).

Just then, a VW Jetta pulls over, out pops a VW mechanic who says, "Hey, what can I do to help?"

Sticking his head in the engine compartment, he quickly sees the problem. A clip had fallen down off the left hand air breather over the carberator and was keeping the accelerator bar from returning to normal position.

After a little while, as the engine was flooded, we were on our way again! Amazing... anytime we need help... presto --- there it is. We were on the side of the road for less than 2 minutes!

Thanks to .... names to follow as soon as I find my book.

New Glasglow - The Walsh Clan

Nova Scotia's Best

Now you hear about the people in our nation's east. The hospitality is out of this world. Well, we found this to be so true. We entered New Glasgow, having departed PEI via the ferry straight to Nova Scotia. Still having troubles with our carburetors we parked and were walking over to a coffee house to work, and there in the parking lot was a young man who was intrigued by our bus. After a brief conversation he told us he'd call us in an hour someone who could help us out. Chris was true to his word and called us with a guy who could take a look at Olive. Chris also invited us back to his place to work and for dinner. His Dad, retired police officer Danny Walsh, cooked us up a wonderful lobster dinner! After dinner we took a drive out to the bus whisperer, Al Roberts. Al was terrific. Sticking his head into the bus with his tiny screwdrivers... he tinkered about, insisting on silence as he worked. Al got our bus running as good as he could, which was quite a bit better than she was running, and got us on our way. A super thanks to Chris and his Dad, Danny, who represented everything Nova Scotia is famed for... amazing people, super kind, warm and open.