♫ OYEZ OYEZ OYEZ ♫.....  On this date ... May 8th 2011... Officially know as Mother's Day... The BRITISH CAR CLUB of CAPE BRETON Has commenced on a journey inland... Inland on our fair island to Iona, to the land of the Highland Village, Rankin Memorial High School and the Iona Legion. The "Highland Heart" of Nova Scotia is the phrase used to describe this area. and how fitting is the phrase. The Iona Peninsula is located in the centre of Cape Breton Island, almost completely surrounded by the Cape Breton's rolling mountains and the magnificent Bras d'Or Lakes, Canada's Only Inland Sea. Our reason to visit this area is because the staff and students of Rankin put on a very tasteful Roast Beef dinner in support of their Safe Grad Program and we of the BCCCB make a point of trying to support as much as we can of all Cape Breton Activities. This is today's story.

Leaving Bras D`or to meet up with the BCCCB crew in Sydney, the sky's were gray. The closer to Sydney we got the heavier the mist got but we weren't about to rite off this day yet, so what if it's a roof up kind of day, there's more to a BCCCB outing then driving around with your roof down, it's about fun, laughter and enjoying your car and also enjoying Cape Breton. Everyone is here so lets hit the road to meet up with Norm and Joan and their perfect 1980 MGB back in Bras D`or. Approaching the lights beside Tim Horton's in Bras D`or, I noticed that the Parking lot was pretty full but off to the side you couldn't help but see their pagent blue MGB, I am sure their beautiful car was getting lots of looks. The gangs all here, lets go !

Yes lets go! The Mother's Day Run signifies the start of the British Car Club of Cape Breton's driving season. We had a great turnout today despite the fact that Mother Nature denied us the sun, she must have been having a spa day for Mother's Day.  Above you see the roof up and the side curtain on Joe and Jean's Bugeye Sprite. This is a first for me to see as Joe sure loves having his roof down but that didn't spoil the look of the car as you can see in the pic of us crossing the Seal Island Bridge. Today's run included a few first timers. Today with us we had Norm and Joan with their 1980 MGB. Now Joan and Norm did attend a few functions with the club, but this truly is their first run with the group, I hope we lived up to their expectations. Also with us today is Alfred Dinaut and his freshly painted 1976 MGB and again I hope we all lived up to his expectations.

today's trek to Iona took us over Kelly's Mountain and into Baddeck where we hooked up with Sandy and Peter at their lovely home. Sandy and Peter were waiting in their car for us but it didn't take long after we got out of our cars to greet them that Peter opened his garage door up.

One will never get tired of looking at Peter's Play Room. Sitting Proudly on her perch rests their beautiful Morgan, what a prize. Peter's play room also houses their two great looking Jags as well, I am sure there will be plenty of pictures of these cars in the stories to come. We stayed and chatted for about 15 minutes and then headed off to the Highland Heart, Iona.

Next stop, the cable ferry that crosses the St. Patrick's channel at Little Narrows. This is one quiet spot, I have never seen the waters rough here and as for sounds, mostly all you hear is the gentle rumble of the engine of the ferry, Caolas Silis (Gaelic for Julia's Strait). I no sooner stopped my car and took the next photo when my cell phone rang, Don Peters name appeared, the tale gunner. Don always looks after the pack, watching to see if there is any trouble and I knew exactly what this call was about as we were missing a couple of cars at this point.

Alfred`s car quit Don said. Oh man, Alfred's first run. This car runs like a deer so I am sure this can't be a big problem. I suggested that the rest wait at the ferry and give us 5 minutes to see what the problem was. By the time I got back to where Alf's car was, Don and Peter had him up and running again, just a wire off. I am sure we all dealt with these little things before and that is the beauty of travelling with the club.... if one breaks down we are all there to pitch in to get things rolling again. It doesn't matter if you don't know a spark plug from a universal at first... you will over time, if you continue to drive a British Car. Moving on past Alfred's little dilemma, returning to the ferry, it was already in and loading. Everyone fired up and moved down the ramp but Bobby wasn't in his car, he took a nature call. We seen Bobby running back to is car and we were almost all on the ferry when we seen Bobby with the hood up on his great looking Midget... Oh man, not again!  Again a loose wire but it was to late to make the ferry, Bobby and Anita had to cross the channel on the next boat.

We pretty much filled the boat and once again,, I could see the captain looking down from the bridge admiring the cars.... I love this stuff. Arriving on the other side wee pulled over to wait for Bobby and Anita. No one gets left behind. The wait was short and we all took in the scenery. This part of the day was nice, very nice. We could have used a few more degrees but it wasn't raining and a few of us milled around a bit taking pictures as we waiting for Bobby.

All the ducks are in a row as we head on the final leg of our journey to Iona. The roads have a bit to be desired but the scenery along the way makes up for this. Arriving at the Legion, again there is no parking left so once again the front lawn served as a great alternative. I didn't see as many cars as other years but as you will soon see, this is one popular event.

We couldn't sit together as usual but once again we did get the last free tables. The last number of years they served turkey but this year it was roast beef and what a feed of roast beef it was. Our plates were full, there was a bottomless cup of coffee and apple crisp for desert, all for $10, a no better deal will you find. A no better deal will you find.... that's right and many knew this, as the sign sold out was being taped on the door as we were leaving.

After our fabulous meal it was decided to take the route through Boisdale towards home. Above you see the gang crossing the bridge over Grand Narrows and next negotiating the curves of Barrachois Mountain, bringing the end of a great day near.. The sun could have shone and it could have been a tad warmer but you know...... I think we all agree that it was a perfect day, A perfect day and a perfect first run for those who ventured out on our ``Mother's Day Run``. Again, as like the ending of most of our stories, If you weren't there you missed it. Come along next time.