We would like to thank Tom and Marge Warner for their great hospitality
and friendship that they extended to us over the past weekend when we
travelled to New York to purchase their 1974 Canyon Lands. The kept us,
fed us and sent us on our way with bottles of preserves and great buys
from Oneida Silver. Now for the journey. We left by car from Nova
Scotia on Saturday morning, travelled through Quebec down the I87 and
over to Vernon, New York, 1100 miles in a day and a half. Arrived at
Tom and Marge's at 2 pm Sunday afternoon, looked at the coach and
immediately started working on it as the coach had not been running in a
year and a half. The coach had been sitting for 10 years. Work done
included new plugs, scraped and set the points, changed the oil, greased
it, pumped up the tires and left on Monday afternoon at 2:30 pm.
Travelled east on I90, up the 495 north, spent Monday night at a rest
stop in our new coach around Armesbury, north of Boston, it gives a
whole new meaning to cuddling! We froze, so much for minus 40 degree
sleeping bags. On Monday we travelled north on I 95 to Calais, Maine
into St. Stephen New Brunswick. No one told us we had to let American
customs know 3 days in advance we were taking our prize home to Canada.
However, for those of you who have experienced the GMC winter travels,
you will know that a mere blanket over your knees to keep warm is not
enough, Richard's shivers and pathetic looks touched their pity and they
sent us on our way, glad to be rid of us and our prize. The Canadian
customs, when they stopped laughing, welcomed us and our money as part
of the Canadian tax paying ritual. Stayed the night in St. Stephen, New
Brunswick, from there made it home Wednesday at 4:30 pm. to Antigonish,
N.S. We made it in record time in spite of icy roads, no heat and a
shifted battery on our rough Canadian roads that managed to short out a
wire and fill the coach with smoke. A quick battery shift and a touch
of the key and off we went again. The home trip was 1,000 miles. How
many vehicles could sit for 10 years and then travel almost non-stop for
a 1,000 miles virtually trouble free except for Richard and Tom's bungee
cord battery tie downs that caused the only mishap. A tribute to the
GMC. Mike Beaton would be proud to know we even had the Black list with
us and didn't have to use it. For those of you still wondering about
tires, those on the coach, are 10 years old at least, bias ply and
square, no blow outs, they are still holding air but we did manage to
wear one tire out right to the canvas. I guess we were lucky! All in
all, a great trip, very excited to get it home, we will have more
details at the next rally we make it to. We are now proud owners of two
GMCs, does that make us twice as crazy? We will need parts for our new
acquisition, hope to hear from anyone.As we both work full time we are
slow to reply to e-mails, be patient, however we plan on being home now
for a while, after travelling to Forrest City and then back to New York,
unless Richard spots a 23 footer, he always wanted one of them!
Richard and Alena Wilgenhof
76 Eleganza II
74 Canyon Lands
and friendship that they extended to us over the past weekend when we
travelled to New York to purchase their 1974 Canyon Lands. The kept us,
fed us and sent us on our way with bottles of preserves and great buys
from Oneida Silver. Now for the journey. We left by car from Nova
Scotia on Saturday morning, travelled through Quebec down the I87 and
over to Vernon, New York, 1100 miles in a day and a half. Arrived at
Tom and Marge's at 2 pm Sunday afternoon, looked at the coach and
immediately started working on it as the coach had not been running in a
year and a half. The coach had been sitting for 10 years. Work done
included new plugs, scraped and set the points, changed the oil, greased
it, pumped up the tires and left on Monday afternoon at 2:30 pm.
Travelled east on I90, up the 495 north, spent Monday night at a rest
stop in our new coach around Armesbury, north of Boston, it gives a
whole new meaning to cuddling! We froze, so much for minus 40 degree
sleeping bags. On Monday we travelled north on I 95 to Calais, Maine
into St. Stephen New Brunswick. No one told us we had to let American
customs know 3 days in advance we were taking our prize home to Canada.
However, for those of you who have experienced the GMC winter travels,
you will know that a mere blanket over your knees to keep warm is not
enough, Richard's shivers and pathetic looks touched their pity and they
sent us on our way, glad to be rid of us and our prize. The Canadian
customs, when they stopped laughing, welcomed us and our money as part
of the Canadian tax paying ritual. Stayed the night in St. Stephen, New
Brunswick, from there made it home Wednesday at 4:30 pm. to Antigonish,
N.S. We made it in record time in spite of icy roads, no heat and a
shifted battery on our rough Canadian roads that managed to short out a
wire and fill the coach with smoke. A quick battery shift and a touch
of the key and off we went again. The home trip was 1,000 miles. How
many vehicles could sit for 10 years and then travel almost non-stop for
a 1,000 miles virtually trouble free except for Richard and Tom's bungee
cord battery tie downs that caused the only mishap. A tribute to the
GMC. Mike Beaton would be proud to know we even had the Black list with
us and didn't have to use it. For those of you still wondering about
tires, those on the coach, are 10 years old at least, bias ply and
square, no blow outs, they are still holding air but we did manage to
wear one tire out right to the canvas. I guess we were lucky! All in
all, a great trip, very excited to get it home, we will have more
details at the next rally we make it to. We are now proud owners of two
GMCs, does that make us twice as crazy? We will need parts for our new
acquisition, hope to hear from anyone.As we both work full time we are
slow to reply to e-mails, be patient, however we plan on being home now
for a while, after travelling to Forrest City and then back to New York,
unless Richard spots a 23 footer, he always wanted one of them!
Richard and Alena Wilgenhof
76 Eleganza II
74 Canyon Lands
