Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

12/21/11: It's holiday time at Firedance and we're buttoned up for the cold weather. We're still getting guests and making friends, of course, as we're open year round. December's been warmer than most in the past and this is welcome as heating oil is over $1 per liter! We've got the gasifying wood "boiler" running with hardwood and anthracite so heating costs aren't too onerous. Fred and Jie just got their winter baths. Took a photo of them in a recent storm (attached). It doesn't take much wind for Fred the coonhound's ears to blow but it's near gale when Jie's go into flying position!

Hope that everyone has a great holiday season and a super new year. We've got a special for the Hockey Day in Canada for February (first time on PEI) so come by for a winter visit!!

Autumn Idyll

10/29/11 It's been a while for posting; our apologies! September and October were a lot busier than normal and things are just settling down now. Had several steam tests with the boat but never had a chance to put her in the water so that will be another project for next spring. We're going down to Maine and New Hampshire in a couple of weeks then will do some heavy cleaning inside (too cold to do much outside except hang Christmas lights!) We've updated our Facebook page with a new app have some GREAT rates for the winter (give us a call). Will try to post monthly during the off season. Fred and Jie expressed their relief with the end of summer by a little jam session - take a look at this video: http://youtu.be/yZbPgIkbdOM

Busy Times

8/22/11: Things have really been hopping this summer at Firedance! The various promotions we've run have been successful; it's taking a lot more innovation to sell space than in the past. Come on by for Fall Colors and the Island's Fall Flavours - we'd love to see you! (Photo is of Wei picking wild blueberries for our signature blueberry pancake breakfast).

Summer News

Firedance

Country

Inn News

SUMMER 2011

7/16/11

It’s a busy summer here at Firedance Country Inn, PEI, Canada. Lots of things are happening. Ye returned after almost 3 months in China, just in time for the rush season. She brought supplies of hot & sour soup mix and low cost generic medicine. An Inns of Distinction photographer came by recently to take professional shots of the inn:

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and we’re very happy with the way they turned out. You can see more of them on our website and some of the promotions were doing. Speaking of promotions we’re working with Booking.com and marketing some of our inventory with them: http://www.booking.com/hotel/ca/firedance-country-inn.html?sid=5836ed9a228ab506e119082c367f7a54 . Perhaps even more importantly, we’re offering an Escape Deal on LivingSocial during the week of 7/20-26 (http://escapes.livingsocial.com/deals). Our deal will extend from 9/25/11 until 6/15/12 and the price will be a real bargain. Perhaps you have friends or family that might want to come visit us this off season? Be sure to check out LivingSocial’s website next Wednesday if you’re interested.

Wei and I are doing well and the hounds are fine (and making lots of friends with this season’s guests). Most of the parts needed for the steamboat have arrived and plumbing them in will start late this month. With any luck there will be a big steam-up late this summer. The recent visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge gave the tourist industry a needed boost; coincidentally the weather is finally warming up! Hope this note finds everyone in good health; we’d love to see you on PEI again soon.

John & Wei

Summer is Here!

It's been a busy spring but high season's here and the fun really begins. SS Firedance is back on site and we just finished modifying its trailer so that it can be launched. Feedwater equipment is on order from Beckmann's Boatshop in Rhode Island (yes, the boat was supposed to be fully operable when purchased - oh well) on its installation we'll be able to have a big steamup.

Meantime we've got the inn all spruced up for our guests and the weather is finally summer-like. We're planning some promotions with LivingSocial and Booking.com so check with us for good deals in lodging. Until the next time...

End of May

Long time, no blog entry!! My messed up knee has slowed me down a little but we've been really busy too. SS Firedance was brought out of storage; we took delivery of a ton of anthracite and we're already mowing the lawn twice a week. Turns out we have several cords of un-sawed wood on our 5 acres so we're going to be working on that too. Heating oil's gone way up in price so we'll be using the wood and anthracite for the coldest months next winter. The steamboat needs to have its trailer modified (for the 2nd time) and installation of a feedwater system (partially missing). With any luck it will be running before the end of the summer. Fred and Jie got their first outside baths today (in winter we use our downstairs shower) and it was only mildly traumatic. Fred's an ex hunting dog (he's a Treeing Walker Coonhound) and has been taught to follow coons thru streams and the like but he still hates bath time - go figure. Some nice folk from France checked in today so I get a chance to practice my schoolboy French. Anyway, the weather's great, we're hopping with business and things are looking good. Hope to see more of our alumni guests from the past so give us a call! We always give return customers a discount!

Mayday

5/1/11 It's Mayday but just a nice spring day on PEI. Forty years ago the govt. took over the passenger trains in the US; 40 years later the system is still vestigial and for the most part poorly run - too bad. Meanwhile at Firedance we've got lots of deals and specials for our guests. Google "Kick Gas b&b" for our fuel rebate! For American guests we're offering a 5% discount if they pay cash in American dollars. How about 2% off for all guests that pay their deposit and balance with a debit card; it doesn't get any better than this! Last the Spring Special goes on until 5/30 - give us a call or email today.

It's Fun at the Fun Factory!

We promised that things would be exciting here and they are: 2 weeks ago I went into the back yard to clean up after the hounds. I walked down the same slope as always but was carrying a shovel (this slope was ice covered recently but is now clear). Slipped, fell and the shovel hit my knee and severed the patella tendon, ouch! After surgery, two weeks of rest and a knee brace I'm ambulatory again - just in time for our tourist season. Lucky break, too, as the Spring Special is bringing in the guests. High point of my convalescence: watched daytime TV for the first time in years and saw a high school literature class in action. When queried about a Shakespeare play, several students felt that Romeo and Juliet killed themselves because they were "asshats". Interesting perspective...

Winter Redux!

3/26: We thought spring was here for good so down came the snow stakes on the road and other winter items. We have a group from Australia staying now (check out today actually); they had rented a car in Moncton that had snow tires. "Won't need those" I said. Then we got snowfalls on succeeding nights! No problem though - it's beautiful today and our guests are riding the OCEAN from Moncton to Québec (wish more guests would ride the train) and temps are on the way up. We might even be able to see the waterfall/fish pond in a few days...

Dog Days of Winter

3/21/11: Spring is officially here but we've still got about 1/3 of our snowpack to melt in the yard. It's -3C right now and there were snow flurries yesterday. A week ago, while the world was watching events unfold in Japan, the two hounds went to the vet for their annual vaccinations. Jie the Harrier (pronounced gee-eh; she was named after Chinese statesman Jiang Jieshi), celebrated by having a seizure at the doctor's, followed by incontinence. Fast forward- a week's worth of working with phenobarbitol dosages fixed the problem (lots of cleaning downstairs too).

Business is picking up with our Spring Promotion. Check it out on our new/old website: www.firedanceinn.ca and come by for a visit soon@

Spring Has Sprung! (sort of...)

3/10/11: Spring has arrived! We're getting days of +32F temps and the snow is melting fast. Got out onto the deck for the first time since January today - the storm door had been completely blocked with snow. The West River ice broke but it refroze last night. The hounds' 3 meter snowbank has also melted. Reservations are moving along well, especially for our Spring Promotion. Check out our new website at our old URL - www.firedanceinn.ca - for details!! SS FIREDANCE will be coming out of inside storage next month for completion of its steam plant and shakedown operation. Stay tuned!!

Other Rooms Sale!

3/4/11: Forgot the other rooms for the sale - the King Suite is available at $99 and the Housekeeping Suite is $110 - good thru 5/30. Give us a call or book online today!

Steam into Spring Promotion

3/4/11: Have a Steamin' Good Stay at Firedance!! From now until May 30 stay with us in a Queen or Twin Suite for only $89.10 + tax! One free day if you stay 7 too! Enjoy our serene, rural location with all services for a great price. Please call or book online - you won't find a better deal anywhere.

New Website! Special Promotion

3/3/11: Our website has been reworked and is better than ever! Check it out at www.firedanceinn.ca and give us any feedback you might have. Standby and check-in with our sites for a new Spring Promotion...

Scotties Tournament

2/22/11: Things are hopping on the Island; the nationwide curling tournament is in session in Charlottetown. We've got a nice family from Ontario occupying much of the inn - three generations. The weather decided to celebrate with a few days of snow; the drift in the hounds' yard is 3 metres deep! Ye got the Jetta stuck in a drift, this afternoon's project will be to dig it out. The wind isn't helping things either but such is life. There's still time for our signature dishes, though; here are Wei's famous blueberry pancakes:

Winter Relaxation

 2/15/11:  Well, it's another stay inside day at Firedance; even the hounds don't feel like going anywhere (although they did check another exit door at the house to make sure it wasn't snowing there). I was going to take the White Elephant pickup to the pharmacy in Cornwall but it didn't want to start (our little garage is almost useless to keep our vehicles out of the snow).  Ye is working on her business courses (UPEI is closed); and I'm trying to get this blog/Facebook thing in sync.  Wei is making noodles - check out the attached photos

Snow!

This is starting to look as if we're in position for a record snow year.  The waterfall is just a snow mountain right now.  We've got trough heaters in the pond for the fish so they're OK; the hard part is trying to find the pond!  As heating oil was fairly low cost in 2010 we didn't stock up on firewood to activate our wood/coal central heating system; the wood we do have is essentially frozen in a solid block!  Hope we get a thaw soon for the snow on the deck and roof...

2/6/11:  Another snowy day at Firedance Inn; the West River is frozen and we've got a couple of 8' drifts in the yard.  Wei's baking her signature sourdough bread and the hound dogs are hunkered downstairs dreaming of chasing foxes and greeting new visitors.  I'm figuring a way to get an up tick on our reservations for the year while also trying to get a handle on finishing the work on SS Firedance, which should be sailing later in '11.