Harvey Soicher, photographed here last weekend outside his Kitsilano home, embarked on a cross-country adventure a few days ago in his brand new and all-electric Audi e-tron 55 quattro Technik. The 20,000-km journey is a tribute to his wife Mary Ann, who passed away from cancer just over a year ago.Andrew McCredie Keep busy. Thats the best advice to give someone grieving the loss of a loved one.Harvey Soicher lost the love of his live and wife of 27 years Mary Ann just over a year ago to cancer, and on Tuesday embarked on a two-month adventure that should keep him very busy indeed. The Vancouver man is driving his brand new Audi e-tron 55 quattro Technik across Canada and then back home through the States as both tribute to his beloved and as tonic to his broken heart.Now, many people drive across the continent and back in the course of an epic summer road trip. Its a right of passage, in fact. But very few would ever consider covering those 20,000 kilometres in an all-electric vehicle. The logistics alone are daunting, particularly with the northern route Harvey has chosen, where electric charging infrastructure is by no means established. But with the helpful assistance of plugshare.com, hes mapped out a route that hes confident will keep him charging forward.I know it sounds strange but I really feel like a pioneer of sorts, he said last weekend during final preparations of the trip, having just taken delivery of his e-tron a few days earlier. Im sure in a few years it wont be a big deal at allto drive an EV across the countrybut right now it still seems pretty adventurous. ‘Mary Ann’s Epic Journey of Love’It was April of 2017 when Harvey put in his notice for retirement with ONeill wetsuits, a company that hed worked as a travelling sales rep for nearly three decades. The plan was that he and Mary Ann would do a long talked-about road trip to Newfoundland. A week later Mary Ann discovered a lump on her neck, that turned out to be malignant.Then everything changes, Harvey says with a catch in his breath.An aggressive schedule of chemo treatments led to what he says was an amazing recovery, like nothing was wrong with her. They almost thought she was cancer free. We really thought there was a future.The couple enjoyed a trip to Banff with friends, a five-day trip to Chicago and a business conference in Montreal. Then in December of 2017 Mary Ann felt some pain in her hip, which got worse. The cancer had come back and had spread to her bones.It was metastatic bone cancer. Very painful, and she ended up in wheelchair, Harvey said very quietly, then pausing for some time before, It was brutal.When she passed away Harveywho describes himself as a road warriordrove his wifes ashes in her Audi Q5 from Vancouver to her hometown of Port Credit, Ontario. He called the trip Mary Anns Epic Journey of Love.I visited friends of hers along the way to talk about her and to visit with them, he said, adding that he told one of them he was thinking about writing little stories about whom he met along the way and what friends had to say about Mary Ann. And she said Do It!And so a blog was born.My brother is driving and Im on my laptop writing out some of the stories Id heard the day before, Harvey continued. I had an email group list set up from when I was sending out news about Mary Anns treatments and how she was doing, so I just used that to send out the stories.The response was overwhelming, and the entire experience helped pave the way for the sequel to Mary Anns Epic Journey of Love. Its called Mary Anns Electric Drive.Harvey Goes ElectricIve always been an alternative fuel guy, Harvey said. About 30 years ago I had a van and I had it converted to propane. Then I wanted a diesel so I got the VW Touraeg. Loved the power and the fuel economy, the durability and the look of it. Just loved it. Its not just the best car I ever had it is the best purchase I ever made.But then came the day in 2015 he watched the documentary The Revenge of the Electric Car. Before the end credits had finished hed decided he was going to get a Tesla and went online to the companys website.I became a huge Elon Musk fan, he said. I read his biography and was so enthralled I told Mary Ann I wanted to work for Tesla. She said to me, Harvey, I didnt sign up to marry you for you to become a car salesman. If that happens, Im outta here.Okay, but that didnt mean he couldnt buy a one. Only problem was he wanted an SUV, not a sedan, but the Tesla Model X was too expensive. He also didnt like the fact its gullwing rear doors meant you couldnt put a roof rack on it for a surfboard or skis. But then the Tesla Model 3 was announced and he put down a deposit for one, a day before the Model 3 was even revealed.I was number 80 in Vancouver on the wait list, he recalled, then laughed at his devotion to the brand. I went online to the Tesla store and bought a Tesla ball cap and some Tesla golf balls.At the time Mary Ann had an Audi Q5 and Harvey
Origin: Mary Ann’s Electric Drive