I've got him in Newfoundland getting ready to board the ferry back to Nova Scotia

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/90/248677000_e66f7fd2b7.jpg (http://flickr.com/photos/benzamg/sets/72157594287195546/)

And in Halifax at MINI

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/82/248684013_91d4c3a82c.jpg (http://flickr.com/photos/benzamg/sets/72157594287195546/)

Heard back from Abba:

"We can give you 7 beds at 131 Bond in three rooms and 2 beds in one room at 129 Bond at $65 per room ............... (or) 9 beds 4 bedrooms, full living room and ktichen with breakfast foods provided on a self serve basis, each with cctv, wirless interent.
Total (7 beds) equals $260 per night ........... 4 bedrooms 3 bathrooms .......... full kitchen ............ "

Individually, that comes to $32.50 per person per night, plus taxes.

Since that's just under $20 per night less than the Courtyard and because it's local (you can stay at a Courtyard anytime, almost anywhere), I recommend we stay at the Abba.

Anyone think otherwise?

Heard back from Abba:

...snip...

Anyone think otherwise?

Abba is much preferred over any Marri-rot.

Having 4 rooms together is a better configuration, but in my experience, the served breakfast is half the fun of a 4-star Newfoundland BnB. If we could have the 4 rooms together AND a served breakfast, I'll be happy to pay more than $32.50 a night - hell, I'm happy to pay extra for everyone's breakfast.

If that's not possible, I'd go with the 3 and 1 rooms in adjacent buildings that I presume come with the full breakfast.

Ann has given birth 17 days early to another mini: Cynthia Skye Trusler.


mandatory cute photos (http://baby.trusler.net)

Skye was born yesterday at 2am, weighing 6lbs 9.5oz. Her delivery was quick, natural and without complications. Mother and daughter are both well.

http://www.trusler.net/baby/skye/photos/DSC00228_resize.JPG

The important news is:

Skye's early birth and good health clear the way for me to abandon Ann with the tykes for the assault on St. John's in February. You gotta have your priorities straight, after all.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. MinorRoadsKill!

Will we get to see everyone at the meet up point?

Get some sleep now.

OOOOH! Melting over the mandatory cute photos. She's a cutie! I really want to reach through the monitor and pinch those chubby little cheeks. Congrats to you, Ann, and Quinn!

Definitely Abba.

Ann has given birth 17 days early to another mini: Cynthia Skye Trusler.


mandatory cute photos (http://baby.trusler.net)

Skye was born yesterday at 2am, weighing 6lbs 9.5oz. Her delivery was quick, natural and without complications. Mother and daughter are both well.



Outstanding!

And what a great name (although at first I misread it and thought, oh, no, Skype is too geeky . . .

Congratulations to the MinorRoadsKill Family!

I've made reservations at the Abba Inn for Saturday and Sunday nights.

I like the "local" atmosphere, plus the amenities (breakfast, wireless, cctv, etc.)

8>< snip

The Calais was fine, very friendly.

We should try to get there earlier this year before the sidewalks are rolled up and so we won't keep the restaurant staff up.

Agreed!

Calais is about 5 hours drive time from Portsmouth NH.

How about we meet at the state liquor store where Rt 95 and NH Rt 16 come together? In addition to booze, there's plenty of restuarants in the vicinity if anyone wants lunch.

Plan to meet in Portsmouth at 12:30 and leave by 1:00, getting us to Calais about 6?

One month to go!

I was cleaning up my office yesterday and came across last years equipment list. If Squid doesn't go we will need a second tow strap so two minis can pull at the same time.

Rollie's Wharf for dinner on Feb 15th?

Agreed!

Calais is about 5 hours drive time from Portsmouth NH.

How about we meet at the state liquor store where Rt 95 and NH Rt 16 come together? In addition to booze, there's plenty of restuarants in the vicinity if anyone wants lunch.

Plan to meet in Portsmouth at 12:30 and leave by 1:00, getting us to Calais about 6?

Um-m-m, since I'm planning on having Rob ride shotgun, it looks like I'd have to leave at 5:30 AM :aargh: to even have a shot at making that timetable. I definitely want to get there earlier than last time but it looks like I'll have a 2.5 hour drive just to Toms River, NJ. I would like to have some flex in the schedule if possible.

Geowit,
Last time did you meet us in Portsmouth?
- my pictures from there aren't clear enough to see.

If you meet us at the Calais Motel late, just make sure to have dinner before you get anywhere near Calais.

NHref or MRK,
Where are we meeting MinorRoadsKill?

Geowit,
Last time did you meet us in Portsmouth?
- my pictures from there aren't clear enough to see.

If you meet us at the Calais Motel late, just make sure to have dinner before you get anywhere near Calais.

NHref or MRK,
Where are we meeting MinorRoadsKill?

Good question. I may fly to Halifax, or drive to NH or ME in search of a MINI. Flying saves a day each way, but I've never been to NH.

Driving hinges on whether I put up my beloved '99 Accord for sale, which in turn depends upon whether I reel in a contract next week that requires traveling out of town more frequently in 2008.

Um-m-m, since I'm planning on having Rob ride shotgun, it looks like I'd have to leave at 5:30 AM :aargh: to even have a shot at making that timetable. I definitely want to get there earlier than last time but it looks like I'll have a 2.5 hour drive just to Toms River, NJ. I would like to have some flex in the schedule if possible.

One benefit of staying in Calais is that (barring terrible weather) it buys us about 2.5 hours of potential activity time on Friday, which we could spend visiting the Bay of Fundy, or seeing something in one of the cities of Saint John or Moncton. [Saint John, NB is not to be confused with St. John's, NL, our ultimate destination]

For those who find Calais is too far a trip on Thursday, I would suggest trying instead to get to Bangor, about 2 hours short of Calais. This permits a later departure from your origin on Thursday, while still catching up with the pack somewhere in New Brunswick. The downside is that if the weather is really bad, you'll have to get an earlier start on the Friday.

MinorRoadsKill

Another alternative is to meet later in Portsmouth (say, 2:00 p.m.) and either have dinner enroute to Calais or after we arrive there.

Pete

Um-m-m, since I'm planning on having Rob ride shotgun, it looks like I'd have to leave at 5:30 AM :aargh: to even have a shot at making that timetable. I definitely want to get there earlier than last time but it looks like I'll have a 2.5 hour drive just to Toms River, NJ. I would like to have some flex in the schedule if possible.

Good question. I may fly to Halifax, or drive to NH or ME in search of a MINI. Flying saves a day each way, but I've never been to NH.

Driving hinges on whether I put up my beloved '99 Accord for sale, which in turn depends upon whether I reel in a contract next week that requires traveling out of town more frequently in 2008.

Trade it in @ MINI of Halifax and we'll meet up with you there.

Ohh what we can expect two years later, with the US$ = CD$ now (and crude oil at ~$100/barrel)..
:p


(the Halifax charge was for a case of beer... :cool: )

Regular is going for cn $1.16 / liter in St. John's which (if my algebra is correct) works out to US $4.43 /US gallon. There wasn't pricing for premium on the web site I used. (I used 1.01 for the money factor)

Geowit,
Last time did you meet us in Portsmouth?
- my pictures from there aren't clear enough to see.

If you meet us at the Calais Motel late, just make sure to have dinner before you get anywhere near Calais.

NHref or MRK,
Where are we meeting MinorRoadsKill?

Yes, we met some of the group in Portsmouth. I believe Pete led the way to Calais. I would prefer to meet and travel with the group from Portsmouth but I may need a little flexibility on the time depending on Rob and possibly weather. The drive in '06 was like spring time so I was able to take some liberties on the "recommended" limits.

For those who find Calais is too far a trip on Thursday, I would suggest trying instead to get to Bangor, about 2 hours short of Calais. This permits a later departure from your origin on Thursday, while still catching up with the pack somewhere in New Brunswick. The downside is that if the weather is really bad, you'll have to get an earlier start on the Friday.

MinorRoadsKill

I don't think the drive is too far, we did it in '07 without too much difficulty although I agree with the assessment that we should have had an earlier departure time from Portsmouth. Separate starting points is a variable I would rather avoid.

Another alternative is to meet later in Portsmouth (say, 2:00 p.m.) and either have dinner enroute to Calais or after we arrive there.

Pete

Pete, after I hear from Rob, I'll have a better idea of time lines. I like the idea of meeting earlier but I may need a little leeway if I run into delays. I'm sure we can work something out. Not a big deal.

Everyone from south of NH has to drive through Portsmouth. Coming from Milford NH, I, too, have to drive through there.

I'm flexible and can time the arrival in Portsmouth to whatever is convenient for folks.

Is anyone else interested in a Portsmouth rendezvous?

While fooling around with google maps today (learning about uploading kml from my gps), I came across this interesting journey (http://www.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=101442802410069762195.000443286fc49c5e68390) happening as we speak. Here's todays picture on his web site (http://paulmondor.com/forum/index.php?topic=3.msg232#new). Look familiar?

Gadzooks, my co-driver just bailed on me.

Apparently something came up at work ... I guess I won't have to make that detour through Newark Airport after all... so unless some intrepid traveller would like to take my passenger seat, I will be going solo this time around...

Anyone travelling near southwestern CT want to meet up on the way to meet NHref @ Portsmouth?

Regular is going for cn $1.16 / liter in St. John's which (if my algebra is correct) works out to US $4.43 /US gallon. There wasn't pricing for premium on the web site I used. (I used 1.01 for the money factor)

hmm...

I did a little bit of searching on the novascotiagasprices.com and I finally found a price on premium...
In Cheticamp, Nova Scotia, it is 125.5 c/l (where regular is 118.8 c/l so I assume the price will be similar in Newfoundland)
http://www.novascotiagasprices.com/index.aspx?s=Y&fuel=C&area=Cape+Breton&station=All+Stations&tme_limit=60&list=0

And with the current nearly 1:1 exchange rate.. 1.25500 (Canadian dollars per liter) = 4.70365521 U.S. dollars per US gallon (Thank you GOOGLE)
1.255 CAD per liter to USD per gallon - Google Search (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=1.255+CAD+per+liter+to+USD+per+gallon&btnG=Search)

While fooling around with google maps today (learning about uploading kml from my gps), I came across this interesting journey (http://www.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=101442802410069762195.000443286fc49c5e68390) happening as we speak. Here's todays picture on his web site (http://paulmondor.com/forum/index.php?topic=3.msg232#new). Look familiar?

WOW! Did you read what happened to him north of Manic on the way to Labrador City yesterday? Rough road--in fact so severe his windshield fell out!

I believe the word used was "bumby" :rolleyes:

Well unfortunately I'm going to have to bail on this years trip. Only learning about this trip this 2 months ago, I really didn't have time to fit it into my budget. I was hoping my tax return would have been more, but it didn't turn out that way after I did them last night. :mad:

Also, now that I have almost 100K on my 04 MCS I have a lot of work that needs to be done over the next few months. New struts, tie rods, front control arm bushings<- this is a killer for labor cost, and tires. I will most likely need a new clutch as well in the next 6 to 12 months . Plus my pickup truck needs a new clutch and brakes.
:oo7dt:

But with all the work being done, I feel comfortable driving my Mini on the next Arctic Run and hopefully my girlfriend will be able to join me. :)

I know I'm really going to miss this run. If for some odd reason I come into any extra cash in the next couple of weeks, I still may try and jump in last minute if I can secure all the necessary lodging and get a Ferry ticket.

If anyone has a Windows Mobile Pocket PC or Smart phone, I can still set you up with the Copilot GPS software and website tracking.

Regards,
-ROB-
:mad:

Yeah, me too...didn't really commit to this trip, but I'm going to bail as well. There's a slight chance I get a work trip to the UK. And even the slightest chance of that happening is enough to keep me from committing to this trip. (Possible free trip plus flying with the UK coast guard.)

OK, it looks like I'm doing a solo also.

Pete, it looks like about 7 hours to Portsmouth for me. I think I can be there by 1PM if that will work?

Ben, I'll be coming across I84 through Danbury if you want to meet up for the drive up to Portsmouth.

Oh, where the heck is Roman? I need some Czech beer. :aargh:

Some of you solo drivers should consider teaming up. While I understand the comfort of being in your own car, I have to say, I had a blast last year carhopping. It gives you a tremendous opportunity to really get to know everyone, even the people you've "known" from past events. Plus it means more company and an extra set of eyes, which with the long days we put in can be very useful. Just a thought.