The Marco Polo Group / Olive Tree Publishing

Train Robbers at the Grand Canyon!

2012-02-06T20:32:00.000-08:00

Mark and I spent the 3 days driving out of Baja Mexico and back to the land of convenience! Through all the military check points no problems...one of the high mountain top check points though the young military men did a inspection through Olives cupboards and found our instant coffee. The young man held it up to the other officer and smiled then the other officer looked at me and said "coffee"... "yes" I said...."instant coffee"...."yes" he said "Coffee" smiling..."ok" he said..."Ok?" I replied... "ahh...you want our coffee?" "Yes" he replied smiling still.... "Sure, why not, you can have the coffee." it was then quickly passed off to another officer. I guess it gets cold in the mountains on their shift and a cup of hot coffee was something to look forward too. With that they waved us on...still smiling!

It really is a breathtaking view

We stopped over in Yuma for a couple of days to enjoy the Holiday Inn hospitality and to sleep in a quiet hotel room with all the comforts of home. After we charged up it was on to the Grand Canyon. My oh my what majesty! This will mostly be photos as we took a few. We are so glad that we went on the day we did as the next day a blizzard hit and it was time for us to move on and get going to the Hoover Dam!

our train that we took up to the canyon

the chilly view...

it just went on forever

"All Aboard"

our on board entertainment....Jessie

a room with a view

Chillin in Los Barriles

2012-02-06T19:36:00.000-08:00

My wonderful man taking in the view.

After we spent some time in Cabo we wandered up the coast, on the Sea of Cortez side of the Baja, to Los Barriles. It was a small town with a great love for music and the home of the international kiteboarding competition....so yes it is a bit windy but only from about 11am until 5pm then it stops.

We met some great people staying at the West Cape RV park. Bridgette is the Yoga and Zumba instructor so I signed up for Zumba and it was great fun. Her husband Peter is a chef and every friday night they put on a dinner outside their RV for about 20 people....wonderful food for only 100 pesos. Mark and I also met a wonderful couple from San Francisco area...Jenny and Joe. We enjoyed evenings in conversation and laughter. After a while with interrupted sleep, listening to the Mexican dogs carry on all night (in the day they were laid out in the sand sleeping but you knew it was only a matter of time). Oh and then there were the Roosters who thought that 3am constituted morning! We felt the need to move on and get back to high speed internet and a few less dogs!

Sun Surf and Silliness....good times!

A little lunch get together for East Capers'

Our friend Joe...singing at a local venue...he was good!

Getting the Kites ready for competition

Is the Baja really Mexico?

2012-02-06T19:00:00.000-08:00

The Flag of Mexico

Well sorry for the absenteeism on the Blog....but the answer to my question is of course "Yes". And as we were in Mexico I didn't want to scare my Mum and have her worry about us....hence the tardiness : ). But there and back again. We are ok Mum! We drove down to Cabo San Lucas Mexico through the 9 military check points and no trouble at all or any incidents. Most of the time we were waved right through. The roads were the biggest adventure....twists and turns sometimes with no guard rails and little shrines along the way for those who didn't quite make the turn.

Enjoying the visit

We did end up meeting Sensei Kurt and Breanda and had a very nice timing catching up and having a wonderful breakfast before they flew back home.

We spent Christmas down here so we ended up getting some presents for 5 young children and putting our kids names on them. So kids part of your Christmas present was to give to those who had very little.... we took pictures of the gifts so you can see them when we get back!

Sensei Kurt and Brenda, me & Mark and Olive behind

Sensei Kurt and Brenda with Olive

Off Roading... Anyone?

2011-12-31T14:02:00.000-08:00

Evening on the Pacific side of the Baja, around Ensenada

Miles of desert and Cactus

Well the weather was still chilly so we decided to head further South. Besides Sensei and Brenda were in San Jose Del Cabo…just outside of Cabo San Lucas, Baja…so we thought we would go for a drive, meet up with them and see some familiar faces. The drive down the Baja took about 5 days with a two-day stop over in Loreto…it was both scenic and bumpy. They are doing major road construction in many areas but the worst area is just outside of Ensenada, puts most off road 4x4ing to shame…. Go Olive Go! This little village of Loreto was great…wonderful little restaurant that a young Mexican couple run…all food cooked from scratch…wonderful homemade bread too. There is a lot of joy in the people down here but the poverty is so very evident too. Our Spanish is limited but it doesn’t seem to be a problem, it is amazing how you can still communicate…most of the time. You also can pick up the most important words pretty quick…like bathrooms, honey (for tea), no nuts. It keeps expanding the longer you are here.


Highway out of Ensenada...miles of mud!


The Bay of Conception...met beach dog and couple from Vancouver.

The Bay of Conception

Town square in Loreto

Olive in front of the Best Little Cafe in Loreto

Only Friendly People at Friendly Acres

2011-12-31T11:01:00.000-08:00

Winners of the FA Christmas Parade

As the nights started to warm up a bit we decided to find less expensive accommodations. We did a search online and found a few RV parks but one stood out “Friendly Acres”, that sounds nice we thought. Off we go with the “Tom Tom” programed for a happy place! We pull in and notice that is says 55+… oh dear maybe we won’t be able to stay as we are both not there yet. But the lady at the front desk smiled and let it slide…turns out that if you are only staying for a few nights you don’t have to be of age.

Well we settled in and that night they had a dance going on at their local activity centre. We decided to join in the fun and walked up that evening to where the country music filled the park roadways…. Also we just headed to where all of the golf carts were parked…seems to be the mode of transportation around the park! We were surprised to see the mostly 73+ crowd sipping on margaritas and doing jello shooters…yup! These seniors can party! And can they dance! It was a joy to watch the couples twirling around the dance floor not missing a beat. They had a fifty-fifty draw for the “Wounded Warriors” so we bought a few tickets. They also had a few “ladies only dances” which I got up and participated in…what a great bunch of gals! One lady reminded Mark of his Aunt Betty from Ontario…when we asked what her name was, she turned and said Betty…Mark and I just laughed.

FA's Mr and Mrs Claus

Then it came time for the fifty-fifty draw and the first numbers where called and no one came up to claim the prize money, so they dipped in again and pulled out Mark’s numbers. Cheers went out and Mark had to go up and claim the prize of $64.00 they other half going to the “Wounded Warriors.” Mark decided to give the whole thing to the Vets. Now I say this not to pat him on the back for this gesture but to show how this one small act touched these seniors. The lady running the draw was so appreciative for the gift and we had senior men coming up and shaking Mark’s hand with deep emotion in their eyes. We then got invited to join the table that Betty was at and I got to dance with a few of the older gentlemen…my “two stepping” needs some work though! They asked about our journey and we told them of the request that God had asked of us and what had happened since we said “Yes”. It was a wonderful evening full of laughter and warmth… they even sent us a “Thank-you” card the next morning! They truly hold up the name “Friendly Acres”. They also had a wonderful golf cart Christmas parade and an ice cream social after to give out awards! Blessings to you all from the young'ins.

Yuma and God's Provisions

2011-12-30T11:02:00.000-08:00

Round Desert Rocks

Yuma has the best Holiday Inn we have stayed at!

So after a long drive across the desert…which was partially white from the snow, we found ourselves in Yuma. The weather was still very cold at night just below or at freezing so Mark and I decided a couple of nights in a hotel or motel was still in order. We also needed to get the carbs adjusted a bit before we headed further south so we were praying that we would meet someone who could help out in this area. Mark and I pulled into a local starbucks and a man in an older VW bus pulled up to wash the windows of Starbucks. Mark started chatting with him about his VW and it turns out that he is a local pastor and cleans windows on the side! He also told us of a guy that does all his engine work so problem solved…don’t ever doubt that God doesn’t look out for you all you have to do is ask! To prove this further we saw a Holiday Inn on the hill above the starbucks we were working at and decided that would be a good place to stay to get out of the cold. We headed up the hill and went inside. Well it turned out that they had no rooms, it was a very busy holiday season for them. The young man behind the desk also let us know that as far as he knew there were no rooms available at any of the local hotels or motels…everything was fully booked. He offered to start phoning around but everywhere he tried the outcome was the same…no room at the inn! Mark and I were hanging at the front desk discussing the chilly possibility of spending the night in Olive, when a lady came in to check in for the night. We jokingly said to her “we hope you reserved” she replied that she always did as she was travelling on business and never wanted to risk it. The young lady behind the desk pulled up her reservation and said to the lady… ok I have your two rooms here. Oh said the lady I don’t need two rooms just one. I must have double booked. Mark and I looked at each other then at the young man behind the desk…He smiled at us and said well I guess you have a room after all…Thank you God we said! Every need…it has been amazing.

A Night on the River Walk

2011-12-30T10:20:00.000-08:00

We have to back track a bit here as we missed blogging about San Antonio. There have been a few places along the way that we would recommend if you have never been and the River Walk in San Antonio is one. We stayed for a few nights in the local Walmart Motel (ok the parking lot! lol) and walked around the downtown core in the late afternoon into the evening. The River Walk is full of shops and unique restaurants and the whole area is lite-up with small lights…. you can also take a boat ride where you will get all the history of the area. Mark got the Mariachi band to play us a tune…it was a wonderful evening.

Snowy New Mexico

2011-12-20T17:03:00.000-08:00

Driving up from the chilly Texas plains, we arrived in New Mexico with the anticipation of sunny and warm weather. Instead, we found it colder than we have experienced since leaving BC. So naturally it was a night for hotels. We woke in the morning to find it blowing and snowy! Yes, SNOW! Needless to say, we got a move on and drove for many miles through the dim morning light and blustery snow. Memories of Ontario white-outs springing to mind. We out drove the snow storm and made it into Arizona where the sun was shining and things started looking up.

The Winds of South Padre Island

2011-12-06T20:14:00.000-08:00

Olive on the beach with the Kite Boarders

The wharf at sunset

Some turtles are rescued from fishing nets and loose a flipper

Good for Captain Phil!

Corpus Christi didn’t look that great so we took out our trusty KOA book and looked for near by campsite locations. We found one in the very southern tip of Texas at South Padre Island… 3 hours later we were in our site and enjoying the Gulf of Mexico. The next 2 days a wild wind whipped up with gusts at 50 to 60mph….just a bit breezy. The local and tourist kit boarders were not complaining though. Mark and I checked them out and also stopped in at the local sea turtle rescue center… the turtles are so amazing. After a few days we were off to San Antonio.

WHATABURGER : WHATAGOD

2011-12-06T18:57:00.000-08:00

Marty and Joe in front of "Olive"

Our wonderful Thanksgiving Feast with new friends

The next day we had said our sad goodbyes to Azle and the Abbey and hit the road for Corpus Christi…we were hoping to find some warmer weather. We had been driving a few hours and it was nearing lunch time and Mark and I started keeping our eye our for some where to grab a bite to eat, when there in the distance we saw a tall WHATABURGER sign. Never ever having a WHATABURGER we thought we would give it a try. Now our story parallels with a spirit filled, warm hearted women, Marty and her quiet spoken lovely husband, Joe. They were deciding what to have for lunch that day and for some strange reason Marty decided she would like a WHATABURGER, bit out of the ordinary for her as she is quite health conscience but nevertheless there it was. Now they had a choice of two places to go and decided on…you guessed it, to go to the one that Mark and I pulled into. When we showed up we ordered our burgers and having received them proceeded to leave. That is when Marty put down her burger, looked at Joe and said “I’ll be right back”. She ran out the door, led by the Holy Spirit and proceeded to ask us about “Olive” where we were heading, where we were from and what were we doing for Thanksgiving, which was the next day…. There is no moss on this rolling stone! She was wonderful! She invited us out with her and her husband to some friends and gave us her contact info if we would like to come. Mark and I drove off and were smiling all the way….Wow God is good to us and put us on the path that intersects with his most precious people. We drove down the road to eat our lunch (sorry but we have both had better burgers) and to see if we felt led to accept. Yes! was the word back. We called Marty and she invited us to spend the night in her home. She let Joe know that company was coming and he asked who and she said the couple she met at the WHATABURGER! I think he just smiles at her wonderful outgoing nature. Well their home is something to behold…it is modest in size but all designed right down to the smallest detail by Marty. Joe said she spent 3 years putting together all the design layouts and placement of everything in their home. It is really beautiful, so unique (in a good way) and very inviting. We enjoyed an evening with them…shared some stories and laughter. The next day at noon we went off to their friends for the most delicious Turkey dinner…All the fixin’s! Our hosts, their two amazing little girls and their guests were so very gracious. We really appreciated our time with them and the fact that God brought us all together. Funny thing to all of this was God had told me weeks before that He had a special family that we would spend this time of Thanksgiving with. Thank-you.

Olive on the beach in Corpus Christi...

It was sad to leave Marty and Joe. In our very short time together we felt like family and I have gained another sister…how blessed am I.

I feel I have met some very special women on this journey so far….women of strength, beauty, courage, faith, humor, kindness and vitality. From Toronto, Nova Scotia, PEI, North Carolina, Azle and Salado… you are my women warriors. I admire and respect you all. May His glory shine upon you.

The Biggest Thing it Texas? The Heart of it's People

2011-12-06T18:42:00.000-08:00

Just outside of Marshall Texas...moon rise

So there we were hanging at Starbucks (our travelling office], getting a bit of work done and wondering why God led us to this state? Mark had come back from washing Olive and as he walked in a couple, who were sitting at another table, commented on the bus. Mark let the couple know that it was a “God thing” and that was all it took! “Sit down!” they said….”we need to talk!” We told Chris and Lisa our story and about not being sure why we felt led to be in Texas. “To meet us, of course!” responded Lisa. This is a very warm and dynamic couple, full of energy and love for our Lord. We talked for over an hour and they invited us to park “Olive” at their place overnight and come to a pot luck get together with some of their friends from their church. “Why, yes!” we replied. We got over to their place later that afternoon and had the pleasure of meeting four of their wonderful children, bright, intelligent and warm hearted, like their parents. That evening we spent a great time in fellowship and laughter. The next day was Sunday and Mark and I have planned to go to Kenneth Copeland’s Church “Eagle Mountain” but we got “hijacked” by Lisa and Chris. They said we really needed to come and spend the day with then at “The Abbey.” We agreed and it was a great decision.

The Abbey set up for Thanksgiving dinner

Pastor Paul in the middle singing at Abbey's Got Talent

We walked into the Abbey and instantly felt the warmth envelope us, there is a peace that invites you to let down any walls and just be yourself. We met many exceptional people and were introduced to James and Jennifer another great couple who head up the street ministry. James introduced us to his parents Ray and Mary who we fell in love with. They invited us over to their place for dinner the next night…Ray would make his famous spaghetti and meatballs. It was a wonderful night….the food was fantastic, yummy Ray….very yummy, and we had a chance to all sit and fellowship. We also got to watch a video by Pastor Prince on the message of Grace…thank you, thank you, thank you, for sharing this! It has stayed with me and I know the Lord wants more of us out there teaching this message and what Grace means to us and how it impacts our lives! We have watched the copy you gave us James and will continue to watch it. Now we had thought about moving on but didn’t feel the urging of the Lord to do so and everyone kept telling us that we really needed to stay and meet their Pastors who were coming back from South Africa the next weekend. . Joe, Pastor Paul and Perrianne’s son, another exceptional young man, even said we could park in the Church parking lot and gave us 2 books that Perrianne had written…bravo! So we became the church parking lot squatters! Even had a phone call and raised eye brows over who these VW corporate drop-out gypsies were that had taken up residence The next Sunday came by quickly….sorry Kenneth….still didn’t make it over to his church. And we had the real pleasure of meeting two individuals who are preaching the right message! Wow is all we can say….we love them too! That night was the Church Thanksgiving supper and talent show “The Abbey’s Got Talent”. We laughed and shared, yet another wonderful time with our new friends. On Tuesday we were able to have lunch with Perrianne and Paul, we are so impressed by this couple, truly inspiring. Perrianne reminded me of Heidi Baker….you go girl! The Lord has big things planned for this couple. Both Mark and I feel revived and lifted up by spending time in the presence of those who inhabit “The Abbey”. As I said to Perrianne, I see a golden river of life flowing out of the doors and everything it touches blooms and where there was once dry ground now it is fertile. There is a true anointing on the people and the church that will touch many lives. We are blessed and honoured to have been led to your doors.

Captain Ryan and Sarah

2011-12-02T12:02:00.000-08:00

New Orleans was an eventful stay. Our starter had died again... and so we were doing the push start to get going. We had to stay somewhere long enough to allow for shipping of a new starter that I'd put in. So we stayed at a KOA in New Orleans. As God would have it... we pulled in beside a white panel van that was completely restored to allow for a kitchen and cozy pop top bed. It was quite the set-up. Captain Ryan had spent 5 years in Afghanistan and served his country as a Marine. It was a real honor to meet him and his 'princess' Sarah. Everytime I hear that name I ask if they know what it means. Such a nice name.

Well it seems that God knew what He was doing locking us down for three days while we waited for our part. Ryan and Sarah were not planning on coming to New Orleans either... but here we were. We had three days of great company and cool conversation, right up my alley. They had questions on bible history and what God is all about. Sweet. My favorite.

After a farewell breakfast at this cool 50's style diner we bid a farewell and promised to keep in touch via email. Which we have. I am so tardy at this blog thing... I am filling this in finally and it's Dec. 2nd.!!!

Shameful.

Anyhow. We'll do better. Funny though how we felt to leave the Turks and Cacios islands with the white sands and beautiful shores... and get to Texas. Funny how we happened to breakdown just then... and meet our new friends. God is so cool.

New Orleans Baby!

2011-11-08T06:26:00.000-08:00

French Quarter

That is the common term here in New Orleans' French Quarter "how you doin baby!" And apparently if my career as a designer ever goes south I have been offered a job as a dancer at an undisclosed establishment...when asked if I was local and if I danced...I replied NOT LOCAL AND DON'T DANCE!...Oh my....this place needs some out reach!!

We stopped in at a recommended spot and had a great breakfast... Joey was our entertaining host...gold tooth glistening, he served up laughter and smiles! Time for a stroll. The streets were fairly quiet on an early Monday...the broken sidewalks were getting watered down from the weekend festivities so the smell of Lysol, stale booze and urine wafted in the air...mmmm.... just what one needs on a sunny morning to wake the senses! The architecture was quite remarkable, colourful Creole Cottages, American Townhouses, Raised Center-Hall Villas, Shotgun Houses (no shotguns on the walls..it comes from the saying that if one fired a shotgun through the front door the pellets would fly cleanly through the house and out the back door, just long narrow homes. As you are taxed on the width of your home as well as the height, in New Orleans, these type of homes keep the taxes down) and Double-Gallery Houses.

We spent the afternoon in a great coffee shop, Antoine's Annex, catching up on some work. Later in the afternoon we headed out to find some authentic Cajun style cookin'. We met a couple that had spent their honeymoon in New Orleans 40 years ago and come back every year to celebrate...nice people. They recommended that we try The Pralines...a local restaurant just outside of the French Quarter that is more local inhabited than tourists. I had the Jambalaya and greens (first time with the greens...not bad tasted like something my great Nan would boil up) and Mark had the Fried Chicken with Okra and cornbread. All in all pretty good. So ended our day in the Mardi Gras town...not really somewhere that Mark and I would visit again but nice to have experienced.

Anne Rice's Home

Old Paddle Wheeler

John Goodman's Home

Little Miss Sunshine

2011-11-06T16:59:00.000-08:00

Now we made it down the road and as the sun was setting we pulled into a TA (a truck stop that you can park overnight at, which also has showers for $12, laundry and restaurants). Oh and our odometer turned over to 100,000 miles…so we are now back to zero miles and counting… they didn’t make the oometers to go over 100K, I wonder if that seemed like so much back then…like 64 megs of space on a hardrive back in the day seemed a huge amount of space to fill. Well we made a nice cuppa’ tea, played a game of crib and snuggled in for the night. In the morning we filled up Olive and filled up our tummies and headed for the state of Alabama. Along the way we pulled into a rest area….to well…rest etc. and when we got back into Olive she obviously hadn’t rested long enough as again no life. We decided to pull a Little Miss Sunshine (which Jody had mentioned back in Perry). So there I am at the wheel with Mark pushing behind and an absconded volunteer helping out. I pop the clutch and life returns to our bus. Now we know we have to replace the starter which means staying somewhere for a bit until the part comes in. We are on our way to New Orleans if she makes it there! Say a prayer!

The Hero of Perry

2011-11-06T16:44:00.000-08:00

Jody and Mark after getting Olive going!

We were making our way to Pensacola Florida…has anybody seen the movie “Contact”…just reminded us of that flick. We stopped at a gas station to fill up and attempted to be on our way… emphasis on the word attempted! Olive was tired and would not start. After going through a few the obvious options as to why she didn’t want to move on…she liked it in Perry, she was tired, it was a sunny day and she wanted to suntan…or the starter had given up…we chose the latter. So here we were in the middle of next to nowhere…you know, that place right next to somewhere. But we didn’t panic we know God has our back in all things! I leaned on the side of the bus and said a prayer that He would send us a good man to help out. I was making my way up towards the gas station doors and looked back and Jody had pulled up and was talking to Mark…thanks God! Now Jody was the kindest, most pleasant man…he has an easy manner about him and warm eyes, that make you feel right at home and at ease. He went back to his shop and got his tools and Jody and Mark proceeded to take out the old starter and give it a clean to see if we could get a bit more life out of it. After working on it for a few hours…amidst the laughter and genuine concern, they popped it back in and Olive came to life. We tried to offer a token of our appreciation to Jody for his time and skills but he wouldn’t have it. His mum popped by on her way to a birthday party…a lovely women who raised a wonderful man…good job! Mark and I thought about it later how things seem to be orchestrated. You see…Jody was down that end of town because his buddy had put diesel gas into his gas tank by mistake and only made it a short way down the road before his car died. After helping his friend Jody noticed Mark up to his elbows in the back of Olive and thought to himself that he better see if these folks needed some help. Lucky for us. Thanks again Jody…you really are our Hero of Perry!!

Swamp Creatures

2011-11-06T16:37:00.000-08:00

Wonderful Everglades

When we saw the road signs “watch for alligators” we knew we were on our way through alligator, mosquitos and panther (?) country. There is a very large panther (or what we call mountain lion) reserve down here. So not only did the signs say watch for alligators also…large cat crossing! The everglades are part tundra and marshy swamp. There is a wide variety of birds… 34 types of Swans, ducks and Geese, 15 types of wadding birds, Swifts and Hummingbirds, Goatsuckers (yes that's right...who knew!), Shore birds, Gulls and Turns, Kingfishers, Flamingos, Owls, Woodpeckers, and too many Passerine birds to mention...of course we only saw a few of the wadding birds but... amazing to watch. We did actually see a few alligators too, one was sunning itself on the grassy banks and a few others swimming in the clear waters…. Looking for some lunch. Hey Mark step back! There are also a variety of snakes, like the cotton mouth viper…thankfully we didn’t get to see any of those. We did see some houses on the outskirts of the main wildlife reserve and wondered what life on the everglades was like…can't say it would be somewhere I would like to retire. There were a few acres along the way for sale and Mark was wondering as a realtor how you would word the ad… Lovely water edge property, teeming with vegetation and wildlife, great for bird watcher…not for the faint of heart! We made it out of the Everglades and off to Spring Hill and our friends at Wally World (aka Walmart). After a suprising restful night…one of the quietest Walmarts we have been too…except for the one in Drumheller Alberta, We got a knock on our door and it was…hey Zack a Jehova Witness…nice to know they make bus calls too! After listening to the Gospel of Mark…Zack had a few questions to take back to his elders! But all good, just might be a few more than 144,000 getting into heaven is all.

Everglade Marshlands

Visions of Tiki Huts

2011-11-06T16:20:00.000-08:00

7 mile bridge to Key West

After picking up our bus at Car Safe… a secure car storage place in Miami that is run by Andrew and his lovely wife Victoria. They are a wonderful couple and were very gracious to us…even giving us a refund (which we weren’t expecting) after we returned early from our trip. If you are looking for a great place to keep your vehicle safe while touring the local islands, check them out!....we are off to the Florida Keys.

Ok….hey where are the sandy beaches and Tiki huts? The drive down to through the keys was wonderful, miles of bridges through ocean waters. Pelicans flying along keeping you company. Once we got down to Key West…with the beach boys song blaring in my head…Key Largo, Montego, baby why don’t we go… no sandy beaches…just rocking shores. Not what we had envisioned. Very much a party town. We hung out for the night and then headed back up. Stopping for lunch in Key Largo…Mark and I decided to try some local fare so bring on the tenderized alligator and dolphin…ok before you freak out…which I was doing when I saw it on the menu in a variety of dishes, our waitress came over to explain the difference between cute little Flipper (which is illegal to catch and holds a 12 year prison sentence) and the Mahi Mahi (as it is called in Hawaii)…not at all the same thing…phew! Ok give me the dolphin…still feeling somewhat apprehensive!...But yum! The Alligator wasn’t bad either…tasted like dark meat turkey…no not chicken!! But close! After a good lunch we headed for the Everglades to see if we could see any live alligators.

Alligator Anyone?

Driving the Keys

The Dolphin that is on the menu : } not Flipper!

On the Road Again

2011-11-06T15:00:00.000-08:00

Tranquility

We said goodbye to the turquoise waters of the Turks and our good friends Will and Laura. I know you must be thinking we are crazy for not hanging there for the initially planned 3 months but to be honest, after almost 4 weeks, we were missing Olive and life on the road! Highlights though were the walks along the white sandy beaches, diving into the clear crystal water, saving a puffer fish that had got swept up on shore… that was neat seeing one so close up…and going to church…again being the only “crackers” , as they called us, in the whole church! Also, although the water and beaches are very beautiful, life in the Turks and Caicos is very expensive....Breakfast out was about $70….10$ for a small pot of coffee, $10 for a bottle of mineral water, $30 for a buffet type breakfast! And 21% tax. So you would think that buying groceries would be cheaper but it works out that you are spending about the same. They do not have any natural water source so all of the water is obtained through a de-salinization process, powered by diesel gas. There are only a few items that are grown on the island in hydroponics…such as cucumbers, mint and some lettuce. Otherwise all of the veggies and other food items come from the US. It is mostly dry brush and shrub islands. We are glad we were able to experience life there but are happy to be back in our bus!

Reflections

2011-10-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

As we are now stationary and visiting friends, we have time to reflect on our travels and what we have seen, the people we have met and how God has been guiding our steps and keeping us safe. We have discovered many things in the almost 6 months of being on the road with "Olive".

1. God is so very good...when we were without work God provided new clients

2. People, at the heart, are good and kind. We were given a full tank of gas by a complete stranger in Montana (get the flax next time), we have been invited do dinner and to share our story, we were taken in when the heat wave hit, by a wonderful man, we enjoyed a very yummy lunch with talented and inspiring individuals in the quaint garden of a Toronto brownstone, we were offered a place to stay and feast when hurricane Irene hit, we spent 6 days in the most beautiful spot in Cape Breton in exchange for our design services, we found kindness in a father and son of Nova Scotia when we needed to get Olive new "carbs", we shared music and great company by a lighthouse in PEI...beautiful beautiful people are all across our countries.

3. We have had opportunities to pray with people all across Canada and the East coast of the US. To offer peace in God's love. We need to continue to do this and increase our boldness in stepping out. Also to the young girl who proved her Grandad wrong...you can live in a VW bus and be a traveling designer....hold on to your dreams. They are bigger than you think!

4. We have been Blessed and been a Blessing in God's Holy name.

5. We have increased our love for one another and found out even more how much alike we are.

6. We have learned how very clever God is putting us in a 72 VW bus because we have had line-ups asking about Olive and our story... God's story and His goodness to us. Usually the first question we are asked is"what year is it?"... to which Mark now responds "it's 2011 man, where have you been?"

7. It is possible to wash your whole body in 2 cups of water! Oh and BC has the best tasting water around!!

8. Stepping out of your comfort zone leads to wonderful adventures. You never know where you will end up when relying on God's plan for your life but it is always better than what you had planned!

9. Fear holds us back and faith erases fear. He will never leave you or forsake you!

10. We have shared precious moments in peoples lives that we would never of experienced had we stayed home.

Blessings and love to all!

The Turks and Where?

2011-10-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

Island are bottom right...top left is Florida...below Cuba

view walking through the Gansevoort Lobby

Well if you are not sure where Turks and Caicos Islands are you are not alone. Mark and I didn't know where they were until our good friends Will and Laura located here for work. The Caicos island is home to Providenciales or Provo as it is referred to locally. They are touted to have the best beaches in the world and I think they are definitely in the top few. What we did find strange though is that there are no farmers markets here. They do not grow any vegetables or fruits, all of the food is imported from the US which is a short hour and a half plane ride away but makes groceries really pricey! This is also costly for the locals as they only have a few choices in where to shop IGA being the main destination. One of the top hang outs is Hemingway's Restaurant... great food and service. Also they have a cool cat, who is a local not so wild cat... as he didn't have a name we called him "Oz" as he looks a bit like Haley's cat. Best place so far though is the Gansevoort Resort...superb views....fantastic food...friendly service. I would image staying there is great too. I have checked out the local sports and have be going to Kung-Fu which is good...tried the karate but only a few kids in the class so not sure if I will keep going back....we'll see. We may not be hanging on the islands as long as originally planned but it is a great place to see.

OZ #2

Our current office space

Beautiful Beaches

Hmmm... a wee bit wet!

2011-10-21T10:19:00.000-07:00

After Georgia...we headed further south to the land of oranges and apparently the tail end of Hurricane Phillipe. Spent the next two nights at the Holiday Inn Express...staying dry.

Georgia On My Mind

2011-10-21T09:52:00.000-07:00

Web photo of the Hamilton-Turner Inn

As you can tell we are doing some catch up on the blogging here and we didn't see all of these places in one day! It was now Oct 4th and we were heading into Georgia... Savannah Georgia to be exact. Mark had decided that for my birthday we would spend the night in an old Southern B&B establishment The Hamilton Turner Inn...and oh my was it spectacular. The home was restored to its original grandeur by the current owners Gay and Jim Dunlop.... it really is beautiful. The service was 4 star... the staff were very professional and friendly, the breakfast was scrumptious and we left feeling pampered and appreciated. They even let us borrow a movie in the evening "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" which is a bit of history of the scandalous parties that used to go on in the house. If you ever find yourself in Savannah Georgia we highly recommend taking the time to visit and spend a night in this historic Mansion. We also walked around and next door was the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist located in Lafayette square. Mark and I took a peak inside and Wow...amazing!

Web photo-of our room..doesn't show the 12ft ceilings.

web photo of the spectacular dining room

web photo of the wonderful yummy breakfast

Took this one for you Richard...Pipes

Beautiful Murals

stain glass art on every window

Next Stop.... Myrtle Beach

2011-10-21T08:54:00.000-07:00

Upside down mansion at Myrtle Beach Amusement Park

Another beautiful vacation spot...long sandy beaches...and a great amusement centre. We spent a few nights in the parking lot of the Amusement park... had a great connection at the Starbucks there and met some young guys who were checking out the bus and life on the road. One was a photographer from New York, the other Guy rented mopeds in Costa Rica and third I believe was local...hey how's it going guys! We hung out talking to them for quite sometime and really enjoyed the conversation and sharing stories.

Giant Ferris Wheel at Sunset

Enjoying a sandwich on the cool evening beach

Olive hangin at Myrtle Beach

My Brother from Another Mother!

2011-10-21T08:09:00.000-07:00

We popped into visit some family in North Carolina my Uncle Billy and Auntie Bev. I hadn't seen my Aunt since I was a little girl and it was wonderful to get to know her and my Uncle. They are beautiful people and they made us feel so at home. They have also run the same business for more than 40 years.... a wonderful wig shop... and Mark put on the Jimmie Hendrix locks for a photo Op with "Olive". My brother from another mother. Think I prefer the clean cut look.

Afro Mark!

Neptune Rules the Surf

2011-10-20T15:45:00.000-07:00

King Neptune

We stopped over in Virginia Beach for a night on our way down to see my Aunt and Uncle in North Carolina. The tourist season was just winding down so nice and quiet to walk around and check out the beach. We walked down to the beach and were greeted by a 34 foot bronze Neptune statue that weighs 12.5 tons...very well done.

Vietnam War Memorial

2011-09-25T19:32:00.000-07:00

As we left the Abraham Lincoln Memorial we walked along the park and pass the Vietnam War Memorial, a large wall full of over 50,000 names of the brave young men and women who laid down their lives in a small country on the other side of the planet. It was sobering to see so many names and to reflect on so many families impacted by such a large sacrifice. To date 5,550 have paid this price in Iraq and Afghanistan. Perhaps it is time to have these, who would lay down their lives for you and me, return home to their anxious families.

The Library of Congress

2011-09-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

The library was a beautiful building. They only would allow photos in the lobby and that's why I can't show you pictures of anything else. Oh well. Hope you enjoy them.

Washington DC

2011-09-25T13:59:00.000-07:00


Gen. Andrew Jackson

Pulling into a KOA late that night we booked in for a couple of days and set up our 10ft x 10ft awning that a great guy had just given us at the VW rally in Bath, Maine. It was nice to have the extra space to sit the chairs in the rain, just outside the doors to our bus. Rain. Did I mention that we have been in rain and cloudy weather since we left Boston. Its been quite a while. And pour. It's what I call "Forrest Gump Rain." That's rain that comes at ya from all around. From the sides and even up from below! Well it was some heavy rain and on the day we packed up to leave the KOA campsite we wanted to head into the city and walk about and see the sites. The rain let up. The sun came out and we had looked up a parking garage the night before... TomTom'd it and pulled into it at 7:45am. Parking the bus, we grabbed our backpacks with our laptops and headed out, excited to see the sites of this historic town. Walk... and walk... and walk. We walked our feet off!

Closed Wash. Monument

The Washington Monument was closed due to fractures from an earthquake they had here! The huge reflecting pool that sits in front of the Lincoln Memorial, (the one Jenny runs through in that Forrest Gump movie I mentioned earlier), well it was totally torn up. Ripped to shreds. It looked like downtown Beirut. I guess this is where all the Stimulus money is going. Beatifying Washington.

What was the Reflecting Pool

Anyhow we walked around the mess to go see Abe. He looked so majestic sitting up there looking down over the mess that used to be his pool. The building was truly impressive. I was glad to be there and to take the time to read all the writing on the walls of this shrine. Abraham Lincoln's words. His address after the war had ended.

Abraham Lincoln Memorial

Now, I was under the impression that the Constitution was on display at the Library of Congress. So we began the long walk back up Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capital Buildings as the Library is behind them. Now the Library of Congress in a beautiful building and hosts Thomas Jefferson's personal library. You can't check out these books for a weekend read... but you can flip through them on computers as they have digitally scanned all the pages of the books and have them there on computer screens for you to read. Neat eh?

No Constitution though. And having spend numerous hours listening to the only politician that actually knows what it says and stand by those hollowed words, Ron Paul. I had to see this document and get a copy for myself. The guards kindly informed me that the sacred papers are on display at the National Archives and that this building was on the way back to our parking garage anyhow. So we made another stop. Hustling through the crowd of school children who had just showed up and were apparently being carefully examined by security we made our was to the large domed cathedral like chamber. With subdued lighting and marbled floors I took the time to notice every detail wanting to emblazon the experience into my mind. There were no photos allowed in the National Archives. Sorry.

Manchester Car Show

2011-09-25T13:42:00.000-07:00

Car Show in Manchester

We were heading to Washington DC, and taking the side roads which we were getting accustomed to. They are quieter and I can still do about 55 on most of them down here. No big semi's barreling past either. On the way down one of these little roads we noticed a sign for a "Car Show" in a tiny town called Manchester. Why not! We turn into this one street town to see the whole street just full of cars. We pay our 10 dollar entry fee and in we go. I suspect we were the last car in... as they took us to the centre of town in the middle of the road and had us park right there... in the middle of everything. It was like the spot was saved for us!

It didn't take long for the crowds to form and Tracey, standing by her door must have told our story 40 times or more that afternoon! I thought she was going to lose her voice. I stood at the back with the big door up and the engine door up. She looked pretty with her new chrome carburetors shining back there. I was content to stand a bit back, munch on a hot dog and listen to folks comment on her. We stayed until the show was beginning to break up and then made a quick exit to keep going on our journey to the nation's capital.

Boston

2011-09-25T13:28:00.002-07:00

Boston
It was a very busy time of year for us, workwise. Therefore, you may be disappointed to learn... we got no pictures of Boston. Besides the place was a disaster as far as roads go. You may as well had driven a tank over the roads. The same goes for Virginia Beach... but I am getting ahead of myself. One of the places we did stop in was a nature preserve and the look off was at the top of this hill. There was a tiny parking lot there and we happened to get a spot off to the side. My perfect spot for parking is at the end of a lot or right beside a handicap zone. That way it is unlikely that someone with park, at least on one side of the bus. There ws quite a few people coming up to this look off point and a crowd quickly formed around our bus as I busied myself with the work of making our lunch. Tracey did the story telling as she likes that quite a bit I think. The crowds listened intently forgetting for the time being why they came there in the first place. The wonders and beauty of nature surrounded them, but everyone was enthralled by Olive.

September 11

2011-09-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

We drove from Bath down the coastal highway, enjoying the views of the ocean and countryside. The small quaint towns were nice enough but we didn't really stop in them to spend any time, as we did want to move onto our next destination.... Boston. I took a picture of the flag at half mast, as all were down here at that time.

VW Camping Event in Bath, Maine

2011-09-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

Now off to our VW Show in Bath, Maine.

Bath.
We were on our way to the VW show and stopped into a small town along the highway. Bangor. He we stayed a night, got some work done and I wanted to switch out the spark plugs in favor of some real German plugs. I had left Tracey at a local Starbucks and, having ordered the plugs the day before, heading down to the auto parts store to pick them up. I pulled into the parking lot intent on doing the switch out right there in the parking lot. No trouble. Old ones out. New ones in.

Just then a orange VW pulls up beside me. Out hops a young guy named Scott. He says, "Hey are you Mark?" I look him and his bus over and reply, "Yes, who is asking?" He pulls an envelope from his pocket and says, "My name is Scott, and I think I have some mail for you."

We share a laugh as I thank him for the envelope and explain. I had noticed while we were back in Canada... going around the Gaspe Penninsula, that my license had expired. Calling back to BC I had arranged to have a replacement license mailed out to the address of a fellow VW'er named Gary, who we had met in Nova Scotia. He actually lived in New Brunswick, and we were going to be passing by his place on our way to the USA. Well, as we got to Gary's house, he was not there and we had to keep moving, but we knew he was coming to the VW event in Bath, Maine so we figured he'd bring it with him. Well, it turned out he couldn't make it with his bus, so he gave our mail to Scott who was coming. Scott and his wife just happened to be stopping in Bangor and spotted our green bus. And there you have it.... I got my mailed delivered 6000 km from home. lol.

Bath VW Event
This was the largest assembly of VW Buses we have seen yet. There must have been 50 buses in attendance. We were peppered through the woods and had just marvelous sunny skies during the day and evenings of starry wonders to keep us up at night. We all were hosted by a campsite that gave us a remarkable rate for the weekend and the organizers cooked up a lobster and clam dinner for all of us. In the morning that we were all going to leave, a parade was organized and 50 or so VW Campers headed down the highway to a local beach to all park in a row and show off a bit. There were special draws and prizes awarded, but we didn't win anything, except the admiration of all in attendance. If it was a show n shine, I am sure we would have come away with something more then the fond memories we have now.

From Canada with love

2011-09-25T13:17:00.000-07:00

Fredericton was not better than St. Johns! Now for those of you who love New Brunswick... let me apologize now. But there was nothing we found endearing about the province in our trip down the east coast or this journey up it's middle towards the US border at Houlton.

Making it to the border, as we had decided to press onto a VW event someone had told us about in Maine, we pulled into the lineup expecting the same basic questions we got when we popped over the border in Montana. Not so lucky. "Pull over please sir, you have randomly been selected for a more thorough examination." Deciding it best not to question this 'random' selection, we pulled over. Instructed to leave the vehicle, we made our way into the inner chambers of the US Border Office. Leaving Olive unlocked as instructed their crew carefully went through our vehicle, just outside our sight, as we anxiously waiting within. Young office DoingLittle decided that wasn't enough, so he calls me into a separate interrogation room to ask me some more detailed questions.

Walking into this tiny room was did not bother me as much as the small bench which sported hand cuffs on either side. Quietly I sat down as Sgt Bilko looked about for a note pad. Pulling the pen from his pocket and making some doodles on the newly discovered pad, he began asking me a series of questions. How long do you intend to stay in our country? Are you planning on recruiting clients in our country? Do you have any relatives in our country? He made it quite clear that they were considering "Deporting" me. Then he corrected himself and said... well just refusing admission into "His Country." But I suppose after he was satisfied with my answers, our passports were returned and we were allowed to return to our Olive. Now we were expecting to have to put her back together again, but to our surprise, there was a large stainless steel table on wheels beside our bus, but nothing was on it and she was neat as we left her. Whew. We got into the states.

Leaving Nova Scotia

2011-09-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

Digby Ferry heading to New Brunswick

Digby ferry to New Brunswick was our next trip. The boat reminded us of home and the expensive 1 1/2 trip to Vancouver. However, there was no picturesque city awaiting us on the other side. St. John, NB was a disastrous town. Industrial and dirty the whole feel of the place was like driving into a large refinery. It was labour day when we came in and it was as though everyone had been beamed up to the mothership! There was no one home. No one on the roads and the stores all closed. I guess there was something good on TV. The only thing of note was meeting this fine gentleman and his wife (names escape me), who had traveled the world in their RV. If you zoom into the map displayed on the back of his RV you can see the route he has taken and the territory covered. It was quite impressive and it got me thinking about doing a map like that for our Olive. That was it for St. John, though... early in the morning we were out of there and heading for Fredericton.

The Bay of Fundy

2011-09-25T13:12:00.000-07:00

Biggest Tide in the world

Before we left Nova Scotia, several had told us about a neat driving towards a provincial park, which would be a nice place to spend the night. Well, everyone says things like, "Its just 20 minutes to this place, or it's only 10 minutes to get to this other place". The reality we have found is quite different. Forty minutes of driving and we still weren't there. It was very dark by now and the stars were bright in the sky. Our twisting and winding road kept snaking it's way across the country side and with no real signs to guide us, Tracey was beginning to feel anxious. We both like to reach our night rest stops well it is still light out to scope the place out a bit. Not to proud to ask for directions, and realizing we are in the friendly province of Nova Scotia, I pull into a farmer house drive way and knock on the door. Making sure that the lights were on first, of course. A nice guy comes to the door and confirms I am heading in the right direction... just a bit more he assures me. I felt if we had of kept the conversation going a bit more he would have offered to put us up in his backyard! Well, we got there and it was too dark for photos and as we had to make an early go of it in the morning, it was straight to bed. Up to early for photos and there you have it. Nothing to show for the trip. lol. Now on the way out I had noted this little bay just off the road, and so on the way back we pulled in here for breakfast. The tide had pulled out and left the boats 40ft down on the mud. It was shocking to see and as we were making breakfast, up from below climbs a fisherman. Apparently living on his boat. We talk and exchange some stories. He is a rough fellow with hands that are cracked and leathery with years of hard work and salt air. His smile is broken with missing teeth but his spirit is not broken. Smiling and pleased to see us and the Olive he is quick to share his blueberries, that he seems to have in abundance as he hands over a large grocery bag full. Now we had our fill with blueberries and not the room in the fridge to keep them. There was however, another VW owner who had pulled in to see our bus and share a tale or two about our mutual passion. He was glad to have the berries, and was thinking about how his wife was going to use them in their tasty breakfast.

East Coast Blueberries

2011-09-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

I had never actually seen blueberry bushes before. It is just one of those things you never really think about. Where do blueberries grow? Where do they come from? For instance, did you know that pineapples actually grow on bushes and not trees?

Blueberries Everywhere

Well, we were driving down another little back road in Nova Scotia, and chatting about the beauty of the land and the fertility here. Everything grows. We passed corn fields on our left and onion fields on our right, and a bit more up the road as we just made it over a little hill, fields and fields of blue berries. There was a little restaurant there, where they also invited people to pick their own baskets full of the tiny royal coloured nuggets of tastiness. We stopped as it was beginning to rain as I was craving a piece of pie.

We met a lovely waitress whos' family owns the restaurant and we discussed minimal living, family and her upcoming wedding! Upon leaving she was exciting to learn we were driving and living in our VW Bus. Well, after the tour she wanted to show us just how much of a VW fan she was. Turning around rather quickly, she pulls her pants down!!!!.... just enough to reveal the VW logo tattoo she had just above her... well, you get the picture.

Beers and Macs

2011-09-25T13:01:00.000-07:00

We had settled into a nice afternoon at a street side pub in the small university town of Wolfsburg in Nova Scotia. Having struck up a conversation with the couple beside us... we discovered that they were from the beautiful state of Georgia. Atlanta to be specific. Which was great as this was one of the places we wanted to visit. Myles Smith and Ortrude White.

They were kind enough to snap a photo of us after Tracey had spilled a beer on her Mac. They don't actually go together... drinks and a laptop. Fortunately it dried up nicely and all was well. We hope to see Myles and Ortrude in about October.

Our Private Beach Night

2011-09-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

Famous Painter Roger Savage

We arrived in Liverpool, on the south shore of Nova Scotia and pulled into renew our water supply. Up to the bus walks Roger, a local and well known artist. Full of smiles and laughter we share stories and Roger recommends a provincial park a few minutes out of town. But he informs us of a small private road that few know about, which we could take the bus down right to the end of a jetty and enjoy the private sandy beaches and ocean view, camp for the night without anyone disturbing us. We take his advice and find this beautiful spot.

Canning, Nova Scotia

2011-08-31T13:50:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-31T13:29:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-31T13:19:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-31T12:57:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-31T12:00:00.000-07:00


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.

2011-08-31T11:14:00.000-07:00


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

2011-08-31T10:19:00.000-07:00


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.

Driving around the Gaspe Peninsula

2011-08-31T08:43:00.001-07:00

I have to write a bit about our drive around the Peninsula. It was late in the day when we decided to press on to Gaspe near the tip of the Peninsula. The sun set in a sky full of colour as we began our journey. The twists and bends in the road took us from one quaint little seaside village to the next and as the moon rose over the hills, and the stars came out it became apparent that this drive would be magical. The moon was full and the stars lit up the water as we drove. I remember driving around a bend and seeing yet another little hamlet tucked into a little bay. The moonlit twinkled like a million diamonds on the tips of the tiny waves gently rolling into the harbour. The hills and slopes of this drive seemed harder on our little Olive then that of the Rockies. The mountains were a gentle grade and we made it over into Alberta with not much trouble, but the hills here on the Peninsula were suddenly there as we turned the bend and they were a steep climb up. As Olive was not feeling herself, (needing some new carbs) we did not feel to press our luck around the Cabot Trail, which the locals tell us is much steeper than anything we have yet seen. Next time.

PEI....love this place.

2011-08-30T13:08:00.000-07:00

As we crossed over the longest darn bridge I have ever been on...it seemed that we had finally arrived. I had dreamed of being on the east coast of Canada for many years and I was finally here. Another thing off the bucket list!

Bridge into PEI

We toured around and savoured the laid back life of an east coaster. Kind of like us on the west coast but x's2.

That evening we went to the Claddagh Oyster House and for the first time in his life Mark had PEI mussels...hey I said "When in Rome". He bravely ate one and then two and you get the picture...yup they were a hit!

tasty morsels

After a great dinner we wandered around Charlottetown. Listening to the music from sidewalk musicians.

Olive at Point Prim...go Olive go!

The next night we decided to venture out to a local lighthouse, Point Prim. It is the oldest lighthouse in PEI built in 1845 and the only round brick lighthouse in Canada. Down the gravel road from the lighthouse is a true gem of a restaurant. The best seafood chowder!

Ruth playing the pipes

This is where we met Sandy (owner of the restaurant) with a fantastic sense of humor and Ruth a warm and wonderful women who played the bagpipes (or on this occasion the parlor pipes...smaller version) We ended up chatting with them for quite sometime and when it was time to go Sandy told us to just park overnight right where we were....we took her up on the offer to sleep by the ocean. When the ladies left for the night there was no one around (the lighthouse was down the end of a very long road and it was pitch black). In the morning Sandy was back with the coffee on and made us two egg sandwiches with the best PEI cheese. Thanks again to two very beautiful ladies for making us feel so welcome. We appreciated spending time with you and listening to your stories. Blessings.

Sandy and Ruth

Linda, Mark and me in PEI

On the same night we met a Sharon and her daughter Linda who were spending some time together...just the two of them, left the boys at home. Turned out they were both Christians and we had a wonderful time telling them our story about our adventures across Canada and how wonderful it has been to have opportunities to pray with people and share the "Love". We were very impressed with Linda and how mature she was for such a young women. She had been some major health issues in life but through her faith as pulled through and is on her way to school to become a nurse. Talking to her we know she will make a compassionate and inspiring nurse and we wish her the best of luck with her studies. When we finished talking with them, Sharon said we had made their night...in fact their trip she said! That was very kind and we also enjoyed the moments that we were able to share with all of the wonderful ladies we met at Point Prim PEI.

Gaspe - The Scenic Route

2011-08-30T11:51:00.000-07:00

Well we are certainly spoiled by the beauty that sounds us on Vancouver Island.....but those who live in the Gaspe area are equally spoiled. Rolling grassy hills and the cool Atlantic waters. We stopped for the afternoon at a wonderful little Bistro "Marea Cafe" the food was fantastic and the service excellent! Thanks again.

Our hosts and owners....Bon Appetit!

Along the way we stopped and spent the night next to the lapping water....6:00am up and ready to move on.

A room with a view!.... Breathe in the fresh air....loving the sights.

We stopped for lunch in Olive along the way....hot dog anyone?....yes they do taste better when looking at this view : )

Time to Catch Up

2011-08-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

Time flies when you are on the road.... Between our design work, seeing the local sights of each new province and hanging with great people we have met along the way, we are getting a bit behind with our blogging!

So where have we been lately and who have we met?

We headed next to Montreal and the old city quarter....this was our overnight parking spot for two nights, an old train yard that allowed you to park overnight. Not much to look at but it was walking distance to the old quarter which was great!

Olive in the parking lot with 13 stray cats...not the music group.

Montreal Old Quarter

While having lunch at a local restaurant we met this wonderful "couple". She was from Pittsburgh and he was from Ontario....we had a great conversation and will hopefully meet up this winter in Florida! Cheers you two!

Enjoying life - Laughing Out Loud!

The St. Lawrence River

Leaving Montreal we headed for Quebec City....
We spent a night at the local KOA...which was wonderful as usual...Great Bathrooms Guys!!

As we travel we have discovered that some things are more important than others and having a clean bathroom to wash up in is a great feeling : ). Thanks KOA! Keep up the good work.

Our Beloved Gypsy Friends

2011-08-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

Our inspiring friends Will Taylor and Laura Leoncini. If you're looking for inspiration, if you're looking for someone to spotlight for any TV documentary or show... here they are. Two internationally educated world travelers who have inspired us to venture forth into a beautiful world full of amazing people.

My hats off to their optimism for a clean, sustainable blue/green world. I would like to encourage anyone to explore what is possible, when we all work together to accomplish true unity and greatness.

http://www.bt.com.bn/news-national/2011/08/08/govt-private-sector-tie-ups-go-long-way

Funny thing... this recent correspondence from our good friends on the other side of the world... we were discussing our travels and they gave us some tips...

Very cool - you should have no problem relaxing in PEI! If you get a chance to check out Stanhope beach, my parents used to own land in the area. Very beautiful if I remember correctly - and I believe there is lots of red sand?

Nova Scotia - definitely do not miss Cabot Trail. Incredible!

USA - definitely do not miss Maine. Highly recommend Woodstock. Savannah Georgia is also a must see.

Here in Asia we've wrapped up in Manila, Brunei, Singapore, and are now in Bangkok. Funny the world we live in - writing from Starucks to Starbucks on opposite sides of the world! lol

Talk soon!:-)

TV Producers... seriously??

2011-08-08T12:26:00.000-07:00

Sandy Kybartas

You may laugh... but we had forgot to blog about our new friends Harvey Crossland and Sandy Kybartas. Harvey is a producer with the CBC and has quite a selection of quality productions to his credit on both Canadian and International television. Sandy is an award winning production designer. We met this couple in Niagara on the Lake. Intrigued by our way of life on the road they invited us to lunch at their place in Toronto.

We had a marvelous lunch with Harvey and Sandy, and met another producer MaryAnn, who had an enchanted childhood traveling the world with her parents.

What a wonderful conversation we had. It was a pleasure to share our time with them as they have such a perspective on the world around us. I suppose that is what captivated them about our story.

Stepping out of the rat race and selling all our possessions. Discovering a life on the road, where living is simple and the need to be driven by pop culture is eliminated. We laughed when we saw a poster in the Scotia Bank window... "Borrow to get ahead". I mean really, completely out of touch. How can you be telling your clients that the way to get ahead is to borrow? Don't get me started.

Microphones in our bus were one of the things discussed. Images of Tracey turning towards me holding a Starbucks cup, (with the logo strategically positioned) stating how the flavor of her Grande White Chocolate Mocha made for such a perfect roadtrip drink.... floated through my head.

We will wait and see what comes of this cool encounter.

Volksfest 2011

2011-08-08T09:06:00.000-07:00

Olive in the Lineup

It was early in the morning when we reached Embrun and found our way to the park where the show and shine was to take place. We found a spot and popped our top and it wasn't long before we were surrounded by interested fans. The fact that we were living in the bus full time was the shocker to everyone as we told them our story.
It is so amazing to me to watch the reaction of people when they hear we are living this way. The inspiration it seems to spawn is a thrill to watch. There were so many couples asking questions of our day to day living challenges that they were curious about. One particular couple seemed to be so moved by our story that they are seriously considering doing the same thing next year. They are a year of so from retiring to some property in PEI, but now are thinking... why not complete the restoration on their van and hit the road. I think they'd love it.

One of their questions was how we manage to live in such close quarters and not kill each other. lol. Actually Tracey and I are completely compatible and there has not been any issues or fights with living in such a tight place. I think you need a great sense of humor and patience. We just love each other and have such a good time on our adventurous life that each day is just a lot of fun. Perhaps we'll see you on the road sometime.

Good folks in Ottawa

2011-08-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

Serge and Helen, Ottawa

No one could ask for better hosts. Serge met us in a mall parking lot as we were getting ready to settle into another day of work from a Starbucks.

We talked VW's, many he had owned during his life, and we had mentioned where we were camping. A small family campsite that marketed itself as a "Good Sam" Campground. Honestly the site was far from something that we'd recommend. KOA's, so far on our journey, have consistently been the cleanest sites with the most features.

It was the next day that Serge popped into the campgrounds with his wife Helen and invited us for dinner. A wonderful cook, Serge had prepared homemade Lasagna and we dined, shared some wine and had a very interesting conversation. Spending the night we headed off to the VW Show in Embrun early in the morning.

2011-08-08T08:20:00.000-07:00

Capital Hill, Ottawa

Welcome to Ottawa. We honestly were more excited about reaching the East Coast and hence made a push to get to the cities we wanted to see before we could continue our journey. When you get a place stuck in your mind, your feet get itchy to keep going until you have finally reached your destination. So we drove practically straight through from Dundas to Ottawa.

We laugh at ourselves as we are not the kind of tourists to linger in a city and check every nook and cranny of a place we feel were passing through. It is the nation's capital so we did feel we had to stop.

Here is a lovely lady poising by the walkway up to the parliament buildings. We were completely not satisfied with the services we have been receiving from our Government so we went up here to get our money back. No luck. They wouldn't see us. Perhaps I needed to have a receipt. But without an appointment we couldn't get in. No chance at getting an appointment because the House of Liars were all on vacation for the summer anyhow.

This is Frank. A truly gifted artist who worked for 5 days on a masterpiece, chalked into the sidewalk here on the streets of Ottawa. With a hope to raise enough to travel to Italy to study, I have no doubt that he will reach his goal.

The Museum of Civilization was alright. Good value for the $12 admission fee but unless your were a strong fan of native culture you'd be moderately interested. We made it through the museum in probably record time, watched a IMAX show and that was pretty much a wrap.

We had heard that there was going to be a VW show in a small town south of Ottawa called Embrun so that was to be our next destination.

Ancaster / Dundas

2011-08-08T07:56:00.000-07:00

You know you'd think we'd be better at this by now. The amount of times that we simply forget to pop out the camera and snap a photo is remarkable. We spent a week or so in my hometown of Dundas and visited with my Uncle and Aunt in Ancaster. My parents flew out from Vancouver Island and not a single photo snapped. What? Yes.. can you imagine.

We did discover that public libraries are a great place to hang out. High speed wi-fi service and quiet working conditions. We had a busy week of work and got a lot done. Parking in the shady parking lot during the heat of the recent warm spell in Ontario, was quite comfortable, and being able to stream high speed internet was very convenient.

We met up with my cousins for the first time in almost 15 years. That was very nice and had a chance to go out to see the horses that my cousin owns.

Heading off to Ottawa and Montreal next... and yes we'll have photos.

A Good Samaritan

2011-07-24T18:08:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful place, full of wonderful people. Mark and I enjoyed 3 days in the quaint little town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. This is a town that is full of the theatrical and surrounded by vineyards.

Irish Harp Pub

Peter, our new friend

On our first night we didn't get much sleep as the heat and humidity kept us up. The next day we found a great little coffee shop, Balzac's....great coffee! We were parked in the street just outside the coffee shop and a man came up to us and started talking to us about Olive. This is how we met Peter, from Holland, and our Good Samaritan. He said as the nights were so hot would Mark and I like to stay in his apartment above the coffee shop....we can shower, get a good nights sleep and even do our laundry.

What a blessing he was to us and such a kind and compassionate man. It makes one realize that you just have to unplug from CNN to find out that there are actually some great people in this world. We got to spend three evenings with Peter, talking about life, love and freedom from stuff! We greatly appreciated all he did. One night we got to enjoy some Irish music at the "Irish Harp" pub. Great little spot....yummy fish and chips. Thank you Peter....we will think of you often.....we will think of you fondly.

Olive Gets a Tow

2011-07-24T17:36:00.000-07:00

Al hooking up Olive

I have to back up a bit to share this story and to ask everyone to pray for Al and Linda. We spent one night in Owen Sound and the next day Olive wouldn't start....we didn't worry as we had faith that God would take care of us as He has done every step of the way.

Well this is where it gets interesting. Our tow truck driver shows up and takes good care of our girl. As we are driving over to the mechanic, Al begins to share what is going on in his life. Last year he and his wife Linda lost their 9 year old daughter when she died of a misdiagnosed Strep infection. They spent days taking her back and forth to the hospital but they kept sending them home saying she just had chickpox. Well it turned out to be much more serious and that Saturday they took her back to the hospital and she died a few hours later. Al is a warm jovial fellow but you can see the pain behind his smile. They are struggling to keep their marriage together and also are involved in a heated lawsuit. We asked if we could pray for him and his wife, he said they weren't christian but that would be very nice. We gave him a hug and said goodbye. So if you could keep them in your prayers I know the Lord will touch their lives.

Mike ( Georgian Bay Motors) and our Hero (to his right) took a look at Olive and had her in and out in 10 minutes. Just a loose wire....no charge! Thank you Lord and how amazing You are to use us to bring some words of comfort to a man in need. Praise to you.

The Thundering Falls

2011-07-24T17:03:00.000-07:00

Niagara originates from the Neutral Indian name "Ongniaahra" meaning "Thunder of Waters". This is a sight that shouldn't be missed. We hung out at the local KOA...not bad but not as good as the KOA in Sault St. Marie! The temperatures were hot and humid and we were thankful for the outdoor swimming pools.

35,000,000 gallons of water PER MINUTE

Maid of the Mist...heading up to the Falls

We took a drive over to Niagara Falls as I had never seen them before. Mark had been there a few times but something he had never done was to go on the "Maid of the Mist". We decided to go for it and got our tickets....it was really spectacular to see the falls from so close, the water crashing all around you....what a memory! As we got off...soaking wet....we thought they might find a more appropriate name for this excursion...perhaps, "Maid of the Drenched" would be more appropriate. Off to Niagara-on-the-Lake.Post Options

Sauble Beach

2011-07-24T16:46:00.000-07:00

Olive on the Beach

Miles of Sandy Beach

Brandon and Luke's Family...great group!

On the shores of Lake Huron lies Sauble beach.... Amazing! Beautiful sandy beaches and clear water. We loved hanging out for three days. Olive was looking hot on the beach and drew a crowd.... God is so smart. We also met a wonderful family from "The New Nashville" aka Branson, MO. Brandon Bliss and his family were visiting his good friend Luke and his family. Brandon and his wife are worship ministers at Tri-Lakes Christian Church.

So while we were hangin at Sauble Beach we were looking for a place to park for the night to sleep. Hey a large church parking lot looked inviting. So we get settled and off to sleep.....around 12:00am we get a knock on the Olive's window, from a man in a golf cart?! Where the heck did he come from...we figured it was the camp ground next door. He bellows out " You can't park here!" Ok we politely say....getting ourselves organized to head back to the grocery parking lot...which is fine with it. Again he yells out "Get a move on!" "Yes... we say we are going". We talked about this later and thought how SAD! that you can park at Walmart....they welcome you with open arms as they know you will spend money in their store. But church parking lots are off limits....something is wrong with this picture. Off to Niagara Falls!

Checkers "King Me"

2011-07-15T09:23:00.000-07:00

Serious concentration here!

So on our last day at the KOA is Sault St. Marie. Mark challenged me to a checkers game. Hmmm memories of my brother Barry kicking my butt.... flooded my mind, but hey it's just a game right. Well the game started off fairly even and then the years of beatings or more the strategies behind the beatings came to me and 3 Kings later...I won...I know, it was a great day! Hey thanks Bro' it all paid off in the end: )

View from the front of the ferry

We packed up and said goodbye to Bill and Joan and thanked them for their wonderful hospitality! Mark did a new business card design for them and they offered us two free nights at their KOA...any time...it's a beautiful day at KOA! So off to the ferry at South Baymouth on Manitoulin island. Weather was great and it is hard to believe that this is Lake Huron and not the ocean.

View from the side

Look at all that fresh water. We landed in Tobemory and headed to Owen Sound where Mark grew up. Hangin at the Frog Ponds coffee house...nice spot....working now : ) Later!

Rolling Hills and Majestic plains

2011-07-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

A view from our window

After leaving lake Louise we headed off to Calgary...the Rockies were beautiful.

Majestic Mountains

Lunch just outside of Calgary

We hung out for the day and although it is a great city it is a city so we headed for a quieter setting....Drumheller! Why you might ask? Well to see the dinosaur bones at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of course.

Drumheller is a small town, dry land but warm people. We had a great chat with the locals...who Olive pulled in.

The Tyrell Museum was full of wonderful artifacts and some darn large bones....did you know some of their teeth are the size of bananas. That's some huge chompers!

Elephant of steroids.

James and Mark

After spending one night in Saskatoon and 3 days in Regina....donating blood and not to the Red Cross. They grow big mosquitoes out here! We headed down in the US (side note here...we had to donate some fruits and veggies to the US border guards and I think they were hungry and wanted to make sandwiches) and Montana where we were blessed with some wonderful Montana hospitality. James was the first person we met in this beautiful state and after swapping Westy stories and James buying our gas (made me well-up...he was so nice. Will grab that flax next time James : ) We headed to North Dakota....Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and back into Canada at Sault St. Marie.

So here we are in Sault St. Marie KOA campsite...beautiful spot, great hospitality and so very clean! Olive made the trek and we know the prayers of friends and family have kept us safe along our way.
Thank-you. This is a vast and spectacular country and our most used word has been "WOW". God is great....if you get a chance to do this some day...Just do it! Your experience will be full of special memories of wonderful people in a beautiful country.

Lake Lousie

2011-07-04T19:30:00.000-07:00

What can I say? What a magical place. It was very late when we made it up to Lake Louise. We found a closed gas station and called it a night behind the station along with another camper. Early in the morning, as I am getting accustomed to waking early, I decided to walk up to the lake. A four mile hike. But as the sun was peaking through the light clouds that had formed at the mountain tops and the rays broke through illuminating everything in the soft light of morning, I thought, "I can't keep this to myself." So I turned around and hiked it back to the bus to wake someone up! Tracey had to see this. As we crossed the bridge heading up to the lake a few minutes later, we were in awe. The waters of the Bow River raging down the mountain was an amazing aqua-marine. Crisp and cold escaping the mountain tops and rushing downhill in a journey that would take it 623 miles, through Banff, Calgary and stretching across the prairie.

Lake Louise this morning was quiet. Not too many others up this early in the morning. A few paddlers out on the lake in their canoes, saying good morning to such a majestic view, along with us. The waters appear milky blue/white with the snow melt that floods this little lake. At times the waters change to an emerald green and in the winter it is a wonderland. The snowy peaks surround the lake and seem to hold it in their hands. We loved this place. You would too.

Canada Day Celebrations

2011-07-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

Making our way from Kelowna into the Rockies, we had driven as far as Golden. Olive making the trip like a trouper. While once in Golden we had decided to call it a day. So prepping everything, (which simply means pulling the curtains and doing a wash up), we settled in for a good night sleep. Well, honestly, I forgot it was Canada Day. Funny. The firecrackers going off gave it away. Being parked at the Golden Husky Station may not be the best place to call it a night when your sitting there with the curtains drawn and kids are in the parking lot with firecrackers. What goes through your head is - "Who is going to think it's funny to toss a noise maker under a vehicle while people are sleeping inside?" I wasn't going to find out. Figured the best thing to do would be make the drive up to Lake Louise. It turned out to be a great idea. We caught a wonderful fireworks show at a campground along the drive. We just pulled over and enjoyed our Canada Day celebrations. Hope you had a great time too, this holiday weekend.

The Sweet taste of Success

2011-07-04T18:58:00.000-07:00

Somewhere out there, there is a 'sweet' hippie loving person who decided one night to tie sugar candies from our door handles while we slept. We didn't notice until we had got ourselves ready for the day and went around to hop in our seats.

The Last Spike

2011-07-04T09:37:00.000-07:00

As we left Kelowna and ventured into the Rockies, we had to stop to check out the last spike. What is that you ask? Well, apparently as the group from the east met up with the group from the west, the track got connected here. In case you missed it... Tracey is pointing it out, and both of us just being silly. There was this familiar old looking fellow in the photo too... perhaps a distant relative of mine.

World Day of Prayer

2011-07-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

Hundreds crowded the downtown park in the City of Kelowna, where music filled the air and people danced and sang to many different bands, all afternoon. At the end of the afternoon several people led in prayer for the city and the valley. It was a pretty cool time and a wonderful afternoon for it.

Heading through the Rockies

2011-07-01T10:17:00.000-07:00

Today we begin our journey. It does not really feel like we have started yet, being in Kelowna. It still feels like home, with our family so close and the weather so much like Nanaimo.

We will head into some real mountains now and test the endurance of our little Green Bus. Lake Louise seems like a good place to stay and perhaps we'll make it that far today and rest up. Once we are there we'll take photos.

We will be looking up some special folks when we get into Calgary and just 'be' where God wants us to be. It has been amazing so far, seeing all that He has developed ahead of us to walk into. We thank God for the great people we have met in Kelowna and pray for them often. Randy, Joshua chapter one is for you man. There are some wild and exciting victories ahead for you and, wow, what a testimony it will be. Trisha and Jamie, God Bless in all you do and set your hands to. Keep singing and rockin til He cracks the sky for you. Len and MaryAnn, you guys got it all started. There was a reason we met. When I reflect on all God has done in the time we have been together, what comes to mind is Esther and the months of preparation before she was presented to the King. This is preparation. All of us are called to be faithful in what we have to prove ourselves faithful for what He has prepared for us. Great things are ahead for the church, while the world recoils in the things they put their trust in. That's it for now. Ciao

From Africa, with love

2011-06-01T14:33:00.000-07:00

Meet Clement. Clement is trying to convince me that he is sixty years old. Reluctantly I will take his word for it.... for he is as strong as he looks. Clement has traveled far to be a tree planter in the mountains of British Columbia. We sit across from each other while we wait for our clothes to finish spinning. Easily we drop into conversation and he begins to tell me how he met God in Ghana, Africa. In Canada now for many years, he sends money back home whenever he can. Any amount will make a huge difference to his relations there in Ghana. We begin to talk about the way they believe in God and have faith simply by seeing the majesty of nature. How the Spirit of God moved into his life the day he found out about Jesus. The Bonke meetings in Nigeria with over a million in attendance. How they had to tear down homes to make room for the crowds, and how people were willing to loose their houses as they knew that miracles were taking place at the meetings. How the crusade team paid everyone who lost their house and helped them rebuild. We talked about the difference here in this very blessed land, where we have everything, yet struggle to have faith.

We had a great time and met a really unique man, who does the work of a young person, but has the heart of a lion. We prayed and said our goodbyes. Clement is a man I will often find myself praying for. A truly good man.

A beautiful day at the park

2011-06-01T14:01:00.000-07:00

Sunshine. It is what the valley in known for. Vacation land for those venturing up from the big cities. Yet Kelowna has had one of the cloudiest, wettest and just plain ugliest springs on record... according to the many locals we see. We just point up and shrug our shoulders and they all know what we mean.

Yet this particular day was quite nice. :)

Knox Mountian Hill Climb

2011-05-22T15:36:00.000-07:00

Realizing that I sound like a proud papa... but Olive really did steal the show, and the hearts of many of the passers by, at the Knox Mountain Hill Climb. This event has been going on for decades in Kelowna. They block off the road that snakes it's way up to the top of Knox Mountain and cars, that are obviously the love and passion of many, who travel far to compete, race up this sidewinding road to get to the top. We had been told that VW was sponsoring this event and we should find our way here. It was a sketching morning with heavy cloud and attempts at dampness as rain drops splattered our windshield on our way to church in the morning. We met some really cool people again Sunday morning as we attended New Life Assembly in the heart of Kelowna. After the service we made our way over to the hill climb with thoughts of popping down to a car show in Peachland too. But the crowds at the hill climb thronged around our little girl and we shared our story again and again. We fondly remember our stoic security guard Frank and his many adventures in his VW bus. Hey Frank. Thanks to all who stopped by.

Peachland

2011-05-22T15:26:00.000-07:00

It was actually Friday the 19th, when we decided to take the trip down to a place called Peachland. I was expecting farmers markets and fresh fruit carts lining some small town surrounded by orchards. Instead I was surprised to see a pretty little lakeside town, with a beautiful walkway and tidy little shops. We decided this would be a perfect place for lunch. I think you'd agree.

Scrumptous Dining

2011-05-14T17:48:00.000-07:00

You may think were living on sandwiches and crackers. Far from it... first night with the new dishes... and we cooked up spaghetti carbonara. We still have to learn to cook for two. Loads of left overs. Hey... why not drop by for dinner? Today at lunch we made up so yummy chicken soup. Not the kind of summer fare you'd expect... but it's been kinda cool up here recently. Besides our little munchkin Haley was not feeling so good.... so mummy made her up a big bowl of soup. Oh, and we deliver too! :) Get well Haley.

Our Campsite

2011-05-14T17:41:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Apple Valley Orchard RV and Campsite. Don is the owner. We stayed up here a couple years ago camping. Don graciously offered us an RV slot at camping rates. We just needed a place to park after all. No power needed. Olive has 2 deep cycle batteries that when juiced up keep us powered up for over a week... unplugged.

Kal Tire

2011-05-14T17:32:00.000-07:00

Today was an unusual day. We had purchased some new, highly touted, tires for the westy in Langley from the boys at Kal Tire. Now we have always had such great service from them ... we always go back. Well, the tires go on just great. We make the trip here to Kelowna and we had noticed a clicking sound only when you hit the brakes. Better check it out... safety first. So most of today was working from the Kelowna Kal Tire parking lot while they looked over the bus. We go back Friday to ensure all the gremlins are exercised from the vehicle.... the clicking sound remains elusive.

Ok.. .gotta 'raise the roof' for the guys at Kal Tire. Suited us up with some slick new shoes for Olive in Langley, and in Kelowna, a genius named Pierre, solved the clicking noise... 40 mins later we were on the road with a smooth sound and gentle ride. Just what the doctor ordered.

Amazing Grace

2011-05-10T23:14:00.000-07:00

What a day today was. We had said a prayer this morning asking God to steer us where we needed to be today. We were getting water for the Bus and I knew I was going into Kelowna to seek out a shop called BowWow Motors... to look into our bus. I met a guy at the same "watering hole", filling his 5 gallon jug of water and we started talking. Olive seems to always help break the ice and start conversation. Well, won't ya know it... the owner of BowWow is his nephew and this guy I met turned out to be a mechanic. After a nice conversation and some words of wisdom from "Uncle Willy" - we go our way into town to find BowWow Motors.
We missed the turn. A wee bit lost we drive a few miles and decide to ask for directions. Unlike so many of my sex, I don't mind stopping to ask for directions, and we have been a bit lazy in using the TomTom as we should be. So we pull into a marine repairs shop.... just a little place... and ask "Larry." Turns out the owner -- that would be Larry... knows the BowWow guy... who happened to be Steve. Larry says - I am actually on my way down there to see him.... this is how you find him .... tell him I am coming.
To make a long story short... (interupt!)... no, I mean... we get there... get some more good advice and go for lunch.

Now, we went for a little coffee first --- grab a wrap and decide to head to the park. When we get to the park, we reconsider where we are going to park the bus, three times. Deciding finally we pull in and set up shop... which is to say... hang the beach towels we used when we went to the city pool in the morning. Open up the laptops, have lunch and actually get some work done.
It isn't a few minutes until a car pulls up beside us and a fellow asks if we can break a ten dollar bill so he can have change for the meter. Yes, Kelowna charges for parking in the city park downtown. Well, we rummage about... and just decide to give him a toonie. He says, "You guys must be Christians"... we laugh... "Sure are". He said he could just tell. Well we end up spending the afternoon with Leonard, Mary-Ann and their daughter Lydia. What a great time of sharing we all had. I felt a real connection with them.
Shortly after they had to leave... we settle back into getting some work done. Suddenly a fellow rides up on his bike. "Hello, mind if I look at your van?" Well, that starts a whole new conversation and it turns out he is a Christian too! (Sorry... forgot his name at the moment). Anyhow, another fantastic conversation about VW's and God.... and he asks if he can pray a blessing over us! Sure! Just a super day. Invited to go kite-boarding tomorrow with him!
To top the day off, we attending a prayer meeting we were invited to. 2 hours of great music and a group of people starting an iHOP (International House of Prayer) here in Kelowna. Wonderful time of praise and prayer to call in intercessors to pray for the city. Got to meet a whole new group of great people and ... I didn't know about this until just a few minutes ago... but a very nice lady slipped a note to Tracey offering a place for us to stay for a bit should we want to stretch our legs a bit more than Olive will allow! Lol.
Now that is a blessed day! God put us on the road... we have no plans on who or where... but He does... and He is putting us in the right spot at the right time to share with the people He has for us.
:)

The Great Climb

2011-05-08T20:09:00.000-07:00

Thursday we headed over to Vancouver and California Imports in Langley. We needed to pick up a few more items for "Olive" before we hit the road. It turned out that we didn't get there until late so we stopped in at a Tim Horton's, brushed our teeth and parked out front of their office and snuggled in to sleep in our new bedding... One of my main concerns was being cold but the ladies at Good Planet were right! Cozy and warm...gotta love those Alpacas : ) Up early the next morning we headed back to Tim Horton's for some java and freshen up. We got over to California Imports and spoke with Gary...he was very helpful! Picked up the parts we needed and he was looking at our tires and suggested that we get something that would make the trip smoother. Thanking him for the good heads up we headed over to the friendly guys at Kal Tire, they hooked us up with 4 new black shoes (alright, tires) for Olive....lookin good! Thanks to the Kal Tire guys for the fantastic customer service!

We were now ready to make the great climb up the Coquihalla. I don't think we realize it when we are racing along in our cars how many steep hills there are along the way. We said a prayer and Olive climbed and climbed...third gear and at one point we had to drop down into second....All the way up to 4068 ft. slow and steady she rolled along. We were very happy that we made it all the way to Kelowna....but then God did pave the way.

Getting going...

2011-05-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

We left Nanaimo, Wednesday morning, after a tearful farewell to family. We started our little Olive up and cruised away. Really unsure of the adventure that God had for us. We simply had a Word from Him to get mobile. So we are.

We arrived in Victoria without incident. Stopping on the top of the Malahat to pull over and place my hand right on the aluminum engine, cool, not hot. Nice. So we kept going into Victoria to make a very important purchase... bedding. Alpaca and believe it or not shredded rubber pillows. Well, I choose Alpaca... seemed like a logical choice to me, but Tracey opted for the rubber. Weird --- rubber. She explained it. If you can make rope from Hemp... you can make pillows from Rubber plants.... She is so right, because it's really a comfy pillow. Thanks to the good people at "The Good Earth Bedding Company" in downtown Victoria.

We thought we had all we needed and headed to Sidney. Too late we felt to catch the ferry we looked for a nice place to boondock, (Boondocking is when you simply pull over somewhere and camp in your van for the night - check out the parking lot at your local Walmart some time and you'll know what I mean), anyhow we pulled out our newly purchased bedding only to find out that we got a mattress cover rather than a much needed duvet! No way were we sleeping in a van without adequate blankets. So off to the motel with our cold bodies. The next morning we call the folks at Good Earth and headed back to Victoria. They were so nice. Had our duvet ready to go and basically paid for our room at the motel as the Duvet was $100 more than the mattress cover and they covered it. Sweet. Thanks for the blessings. Tracey actually was asking God about this before we got there.... and it was all taken care of.

The Adventure Begins...

2011-05-03T10:43:00.000-07:00

Our adventure is about begin. Today I turn 43. We start out tomorrow morning on a trip with no plan. In a direction --- quite basic... east! Everything we want we have. Anything else we need... we can get. Debt-free and carefree we jump in out bus, our home, and just drive. If the weather is lousy, we keep driving. If the sun is shining, we stop. We have access to a new world - an inter-connected world, where anyone is an email away. Where Skype joins us to family, friends and clients. Video chatting across the globe.

It has taken 9 months to restore our bus from the dark green shell that we started with. With the help of a lot of friends, we have rebuilt our Olive to the shiny eye-popper she is today. A special shout out to the craftsman that made this possible... Ron's Autobody, Chase River Upholstery and Flesh Electric.

Kelowna for the first two months... we know that for sure. Heading up there to spend some special time with our kids and family there. Then, east... who knows. That's what makes it such a cool adventure.

But everyone is on an adventure too. My son said something profound the other day, (he is a great source for quotes from the deep), he said, "Life is a river with lots of bends and turns in it, God shaped the river, but we bob along in out little diggy, and it's the paddling, (the choices) that determines where we go."

The Struggle with Faith

2010-11-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

Why do we struggle with faith? When we are children we are open to so many possibilities and then it leaves us. There is a father on our street who walks every day at 11:30 to pick up his daughter from Kindergarten. She has no doubt that when she needs her father to show up that is what he will do. He guides her on the right path to home and is always by her side.

Who’s really behind this degeneration of faith? We call him Lucifer. Old saying like “the devil made me do it” ring truer than we think. To have faith in God is to truly surrender all that we are, all that we want and that we “think” is good for us. What we don't realize is that His plan for our lives is so much better than our own plans. In a society where we are taught that self is more important than anything, how can we possibly obtain this quest of giving over our lives to God? The self made millionaire, the self appointed man, the inner self, are all based in the flesh, in our carnal selves that has no true direction or understanding of the greater meaning in our lives. We spend so much time searching to fill a void within us that can only be filled by God. Instead we put into this void what we ourselves think will appease the aching emptiness. We fill it with sex or drinking or drugs, we seek “love” from strangers who’s only need is self fulfillment. We walk further and further down an unstable road that is built by the opposer to God. We believe that these things are what we need and a shroud of deceit is pulled over our eyes and we wander blindly in a desolate plain. Some of us wander our entire lives and never seek redemption and the Heavens wail for this lost soul. When do we wake up and remove the veil of lies, what does it take for us to fall on our knees and seek His face. What is amazing for so many that do not believe in God is when tragedy strikes that is exactly where we find ourselves, on our knees praying, begging to God, a God we have never thanked, a God that we have no faith in and yet here we are on our knees before Him, because we have no where else to turn. Are we hypocrites? No, it is only in this moment of true release of our own agendas, in this moment of complete surrender that we release our spirit and our spirit knows exactly where to turn. If we could just move ourselves out of the way and let our spirit take over then we would find that being in the presence of the Almighty God a very natural thing. Your God given connection has always been there, only it is hidden from you by the one who doesn’t want you to realize who you really are. True daughters and sons of God.

Faith is a very hard concept for so many. We can all have faith when things are going well, me included. But when you are looking at your bank account and it has $1.01 in it and you have bills that need to be paid that is when your faith is challenged, that is where the enemy would have you crumble into a puddle of tears and let hopelessness permeate from your very being. To the deceiver this is a victory. The further he can remove you from your Faith in God and His provisions the stronger he becomes in your life. But that is when you say “Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world” and smile and know that God will provide for all your needs according to His riches and glory! For us the faith comes by knowing it will happen in His time, not ours. When my children were younger and I wanted them to clean their rooms or do their homework, I would always say to them “in my time”. I needed them to perform what I had asked them to do in a time frame that suited me, not when they felt it was a good time to do it. We are the same when we ask God to step in....we look up and say “God a miracle would be good right about now” with emphasis on the word “now”. We have no patience when it comes to God. I mean really, if I am finally here on my knees the least He could do is say Yeah! I have been waiting for you to come before me.. what can I do for you and *poof* our prayers are answered! I mean it is not like we ever make God wait? Right? We don’t make him wait days, weeks or even years to say hello and thanks for all you have done and are doing in my life. We don’t make him wait to acknowledge what He did for us on the Cross. If we even understand what that was. We don’t make Him wait until we think we are good enough to come before Him and ask Him into our lives. The interesting thing is that when we do finally get around to being obedient to His word, we discover that He was right there all along... just waiting.

Don’t get me wrong it isn’t that God wants to make us wait to answer our prayers, to punish us for only coming to Him when things are bad. My daughter phoned me one day in tears. She was having challenges in her life and needed some advise. I listened to what was going on and offered her the advise I felt led to give her. When we were nearing the end of our phone call she said she felt bad that she only called me when something was wrong in her life. I smiled and let her know that I did the same thing to my mum when I was her age. My mum always said that if she didn’t hear from me then she knew that things were going well. But do you think for one second that I love my daughter any less because she only calls when she needs me? No, I love her unconditionally no matter what. The same way that God loves you. He knows your heart, he knows that you have need of Him in your life. And when you call upon Him, He is always there, your true comforter because He loves you. As your Father I think He would just like to share the good things that go on in your life as well.

Faith needs to be cultivated, similar to a farmer who plants his seed and waits for the harvest. He knows that the seed will grow into a crop that will sustain his family and others. But he also knows that he must plant his seed in fertile soil in order to reap the harvest. The word of God is the seed and you are the ground in which it is sown. In “The Parable of the Sower” Mark 4:4-8 “And it happened, as he sowed, that some of the seed fell by the wayside: and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced; some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” The Parable is explained further along in Mark 4:12 and we understand that the seed that fell by the wayside is sown in our hearts but Satan quickly comes and pulls it out. When the word is sewn on stony ground we can receive the word but our faith is rocky and has no roots so it soon shrivels and dies. When the seed is sown in amongst the thorns, the thorns represent the challenges in life. So when hardship strikes it chokes out the word and we do not rely on the promises of God but look at the thorns in the natural and our faith diminishes. But when the word is sown in fertile ground we are able to accept the word, stand on it in faith no matter what the circumstances and our bounty is multiplied.

How do we stay in faith mode? How do we not falter? The same way a runner can run and win a race. He trains hard, he eats the right food, he rests and he believes it to be true. This is a skill that must be cultivated in us. We do not live in the Matrix where we can plug in and download any skill that we wish we had, it takes dedication, time, energy and commitment. In this microwave age where all gratification is instant we have lost the skill to savour the journey of acquiring. You will falter, but Faith is built one step at a time so just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I have learnt that it is not instantaneous and it takes a commitment on my part to push in, to not believe all that is in the natural world as truth but to look to God for the answers. Seek Him first and see your faith grow.