Monday, March 22, 2004

OUR BUS TRIP:

The Cape Breton Island Hoppers will be sponsoring our first Bus trip as a group off the Island.

Open to all Members of the Club and the General Public, the prime purpose of the tour is to walk for Fun, Fitness and Friendship, though we encourage people to walk, anyone can join us for a leisurely weekend in this very spectacular Park, there is no obligation to participate in the walking events, though you may enjoy a swim in a salt water pool or stroll around as you would like!

Some Tour Information:

Bus Tour To Fundy National Park

Sept. 3, 4, 5 & 6 2004


All prices include: 3 nights accommodations at the Alpine Motor Inn and all taxes, bus trip and driver, Fundy National Park daily passes; daily trips to Start Points & other locations as required for meals and shopping.

The Driver will be Ed MacRae from Unique Charter Tours, this is a local company from Glace Bay.

Deposit of $70.00 for each person is required ASAP to ensure you have a room and confirmation of the bus for the group.

The Balancing Owing must be paid by 1 July 2004.


4 persons per room - $250.00 per person.

3 persons per room - $285.00 per person.

2 persons per room - $315.00 per person.

All meals and IVV fees are the responsibility of each participant.

Sign in sheets will be made available on the bus before arriving at the daily Start Points.


Please contact Elsie Buck 562-3117/Rollie Coombes 849-0747 if you are interested in going on this great adventure.


On Sunday, Sept 5: A turkey dinner will be arranged by the Dartmouth Club for your enjoyment.

Please preregister by sending a cheque for $21.00 per person, cost includes taxes and gratuities.

Send To: Lionel and Lily Conrod, 17 Benview Avenue, Dartmouth NS, B2Y 1W6
Telephone: 902-466-4421, Emailag583@chebucto.ns.ca

The first Walk Event will be held at Hillsborough, NB on Friday Sept 3rd, at 2:00pm, so we should expect a very early start beginning in Glace Bay and making our way across the Island picking up passenger as we go. A detail of the trip will be published at a later date!!

STAY TUNED FOR UPDATED INFO ON "Celtic Colours International Music Festival" and our "Celtic Colours Fall Walk Events" to be held 8 - 16 of October



Saturday, March 06, 2004

The Fortress and The Lighthouse are waiting and calling for you!

This message was sent out to our Friends in the Halifax Regional Area, there is some interesting information for all of our members as well.

The executive and members of The Cape Breton Island Hoppers Volkssport Club would like to extend to our friends at the Dartmouth Volksmarch Club and to all in the Atlantic Area an invitation to walk with us in the community of Louisbourg and the historical sites at Fortress Louisbourg.

We will begin our activities on Saturday, 21 August with a registration time of 12:30 at the Hans Beck Sea Products, Main Street, community of Louisbourg. The Lighthouse Walk Event will begin promptly at 1:00pm led by Anne and Phil Irons. There will be a BBQ and picnic after the walk at Simon’s Point; this is the picnic area along the route, with a wonderful view of the fortress and Louisbourg harbour.

For those who are interested in IVV stamps, this is a great opportunity to walk in the morning, as the YRE starts at Peck’s Store on Wolfe Street, get our YRE stamp for basically the same walk event, then receive a different IVV sanctioned stamp in the afternoon for almost the same walk. What a bargain, only $2.00 for each walk event! Traditionally at our BBQ we provide hot dogs, hamburgers and soft drinks for $1.00 each; complimentary coffee, tea, water and a juice with homemade sandwiches and sweets are available as well. All Books will be stamped after the Walk Event at the picnic site.

Early Sunday morning on the 22 August, registration will begin at 08:30am; the walk begins at 09:00am. The registration and Start Point will be near the Visitors Information Area, our CBIH banner and other signs will indicate our location and for those who have been on our fortress walks in the past, please do not go to the traditional Start Point, you must turn right into the fortress Visitors Information area. This adventure into the fortress will be unlike any we have done in the past, there will be other visitors roaming the streets of the fortress as well as costumed historical characters, cannon and musket firing, children dancing in the streets.

We will try to stay together as a group but once we enter the main portion of the fortress your excitement will soar and you will want to see everything that is going on all a once, but remember this is an all day affair, we will complete the walk and by prior arrangements the transit system located at the Visitors Centre will “beam us back in time “to the site. Brochures and visitors passes will be available to return and enjoy the day. Do to the inherit problems that will more then likely happen we will stamp your books as quickly as possible so that you can enjoy the rest of the day. Please note that there is no group dinner for this event, there is traditional style restaurants on site plus a souvenir shop.

A registration form for this great walking experience is available by contacting your executive or Rollie Coombes at 902-849-0747 or email: bretonhoppers@hotmail.com and please register before July 20th 2004.

Stay tuned for details on our newest project with the Celtic Colours International Music Festival and the 1st Annual Celtic Fall Colours Walk Events to be held between 8-16 Oct.2004.



Come Put Your Heel and Toe on Our Island, for Fun Fitness and Friendship!




Our Bus Tour to New Brunswick's Fundy National Park:

Tour Date: September 3, 4, 5 and 6, 2004

There will be a special meeting of all those who want to attend the Fundy
National Park Walk Events with the Dartmouth Volksmarch Club and who would
like to travel with the TOUR BUS.

All members of the club are encouraged to attend this meeting as you may get
caught up in the excitement and decide to go with us.

MEETING will take place at: SOBEY'S COMMUNITY ROOM, Reserve Street, GLACE BAY

TIME: 2.00pm, Saturday, 20th of MARCH

We must confirm that we are going as a group NOW as the Sept Long weekend is
a very busy time for Bus Charters, hotels and the tourist industry as a
whole--We should have been working on this project sooner!!

Please be prepared to make a DEPOSIT for each participant to confirm your
Seat and Room, All cost will be detailed as much as possible at this
meeting.

Please contact myself or Elsie Buck if you want to go on this tour, but
cannot make it to this meeting, for special arrangements on your behalf.

We will briefly outline the schedule for the trip, cost, rooms required- you
will have to know whom you are going to room with before the meeting.

I will not deal with cost or personal type of arrangements through this
medium.


Details and question will be dealt with at the meeting on the 20th of March.

Bring a friend along who maybe just interested in Fundy Park and/or our walk
events.




GREAT NEWS ABOUT THE GLACE BAY YRE!

To All of our Volkssport friends I am very pleased to announce that the Cape Breton Island Hoppers Volkssport Club have a new friend and partner.

Tom Whiting of CO-OP Atlantic has agreed to allowing our club to use the Co-Op Gas Bar at 99 Reserve St. as our Start Point for our Year Round Event (YRE) in Glace Bay.

Starting the 15 March 2004

I have assured Tom that all Volkssporters using this facility, will respect the daily operations of the gas bar and will not be a hinderance to his staff and in fact will be contributing to the local economy/ tourist trade in our own modest way.

Any questions about the trail/walk the facilities, problems are to be directed to me and not the staff; we have had an excellent 6 year relationship with the Staff at Frasers Deli and I am sure it will be so at our new location.

New directions for the Start Point and a Brief Description of the trail can be found below:

GLACE BAY YRE-W CVF04/192 1/1/2004 - 12/31/2004 10, 12 km 2B
Cape Breton Island Hoppers Volkssport Club
Rollie Coombes 902-849-0747 rajcoombes@ns.sympatico.ca

CO-OP Gas Bar

99 Reserve Street

Glace Bay, NS


[1] From the Trans Canada Highway (Route 105) take Exit 20E to Route 125, following the directions to Sydney, Louisbourg and Glace Bay.

[2] If coming from Rte 4, take Exit 6E onto Rte 125 [Sydney bypass, following signs to Glace Bay.

[3] Follow Exit 9E to the right [last Exit on Rte 125] onto Rte 4 and follow signs to Glace Bay.

[4] Rte 4 is a four lane hwy that narrows to two lanes through the community of Reserve Mines and enters Glace Bay as Reserve St.

[5] The CO-OP Gas Bar is located on the right handside of Reserve St., just before the Glace Bay Fire Hall.

[6] Please Park at the former CO-OP Store next door to the Gas Bar.

08:00 - 18:30 Ask for the Walk Box for self-registration and please use the picnic table outside to register and stamp your books.

[a] A moderately easy walk with few hills along the Glace Bay harbour, a wonderful view of the Atlantic Ocean, a walk through parks with a chance to see the Glace Bay Miners' [coal] Museum, contrasting with the new 'high tech' areas developing in this 'old town' and a new redeveloped downtown core.

[b] The alternate route has been discontinued. Walkers can still continue to get 12Kms by using the additional trail behind the Miners' Museums - a walk through the harbour area and along a coastal trail to 'Big Glace Bay Beach' and a bird sanctuary.