LAWRENCEBURG, Tenn. (WTVF) — When Bill Adams bought a new white tour bus from a man in Vermont, he assumed the inaugural run home would be full of empty seats.
"Buddy of mine had one for sale in Vermont. We made the deal and took off to Vermont," said Bill Adams, the owner of First Class Charter Buses in Lawrenceburg.
Then, while driving it back, something caught his eye while passing through Ohio on the way to Tennessee.
"It had Canada plates on it, and I knew they were in trouble," said Adams.
Bill and his driver saw another broken-down tour bus with 50 travelers from Toronto, Canada waiting outside. Evidently, they were not used to this kind of heat.
"We had some walkers, and they had been broken down for about an hour and a half and no air conditioning," said Adams. "Little bit of desperation, a little insecurity."
For Bill, the decision was easy.
"I told Jeff — our driver — I said, 'we’ve got to help them. Let’s get them on the bus and get them to safety.' And then we found out after they were loaded that they were headed to Nashville," he said.
More specifically, the Canadians were headed to a rhinestone-studded show at the Grand Ole Opry.
Bill's path home passed fairly close by Opryland, so he offered to take the group the rest of the way on their journey, while their original driver made some repairs.
"The motorcoach industry, it’s almost like a brotherhood of being helpful, doing the right thing," said Adams.
We're happy to say, the Canadians made it to the show on time, all thanks to a little southern hospitality.
"There was two or three of them asking, 'where do we buy cowboy boots?'" said Adams with a laugh.
Not to mention, it was certainly a fitting way to break in a brand new bus.
"It was just meant to be, and we were just put in that situation and given that privilege to help," he said.
We're also happy to share that the original bus driver was able to get the needed repairs and that the Canadians are spending their Saturday evening enjoying a river cruise onboard the General Jackson showboat.
