Anyone with experience with old VWs knows that even when operating in top condition, the defroster and heater were notoriously bad. So when the blower motor blew out last week, leaving us with no defroster, heater or ventilation, we had to seek immediate mechanical attention.

It being the week before Labor Day, our trusted mechanics were all jammed up, and the new blower motor had to be ordered from the West Coast anyway. With an estimated potential departure almost six days later, our entire itinerary  —- keyed to arriving in West Glacier, MT in time for a September 12 wedding, was also blown out. Wahhh.  The point was not to drive 10 hours a day in a marathon sprint across the US, so on Friday we called off the trip.

But, that’s only the western section of US 2, so we turn our eyes to the East, and now have plans to leave September 5 and drive to the eastern terminus of US 2, which is the US-Canada border crossing at Houlton, ME.  We’ll then continue on for a few days visiting the geological wonders of Saint John and the Bay of Fundy (22 foot tides, for a start), toddle on south and catch US 1, hole up at Acadia National Park/Mt Desert Island for a week of hiking and biking and lobstah rolls.

Not a bad Plan B…  And that gives us an extra week right now to do some more garden work, and a week at the end of September to wrap up more harvesting. Posts to follow.