What Happens on the Road...

gets on the blog,

Our stay in Marietta, OH was brief, but we were glad we were able to stop there because it is such a special place to Dick & Mazie.  A very pleasent college city that still seemed to be growing and vibrant.

The weather was again very pleasant this morning, sunny and mild.  We crossed over the Muskingum River and could see some of the old river boats, including an old stern wheeler.  We traveled RT 7 which followed the Ohio River where we saw some large barges being pushed up river.  It's kind of amazing that the river is still such a viable way of transporting goods.

One thing we noticed was the size of power plants we were seeing.  They really looked like nuclear plants, so we thought we would take a picture of at one of them.  We stopped to take a picture of the Model As in front, but it wasn't long before the security guard was yelling "no pictures" and then started making a call.  Oh well, I got a picture before we made a hasty exit.

Fortunately, there were no hills to contend with today, the roads were Model A friendly, finally.  Our plan today was to get to Lexington to make sure we were there before the convention registration closed for the day as we needed our tickets for the tour to Louisville tomorrow.

We were cruising right along when Andy radioed that he was hearing a knocking sound and was pulling over.  By the time we walked back to see what the problem was, Andy had already found that the fan belt was failing and falling apart.  The tools came out and before long the old belt was off, thanks to Wayne's knife, and the new one was on.  So another road side seminar was completed succesfully.

Leaving Ohio we got back into West Virginia and we thought we would try the interstate.  I-64 was not too busy, but after 14 miles we decided we would opt for the road less traveled, in this case US 60.  Much better.  We really enjoyed the road and found it much easier for the A's and the drivers.

Making good time, we could see that we were going to be in Lexington in plenty of time,  but the radio came alive again.  This time Andy exclaimed that he was out of gas.  Oops!  I turned around and started to drain some gas from my tank when a beat up pick-up pulled behind us to see if we needed help.  These two young guys were anxious to help and when they found out we needed gas they pulled an old can from the bed and took off to bring back a couple of gallons.  Upon returning they explained that there brother was helped years ago and they always tried to repay the favor.  Thankfully they helped because it wasn't long before the rains came.  Next stop, the gas station.  We all filled up.

We arrived at the hotel a little later than planned and when we pulled up to the hotel door we were greeted by Joop and Marlies.  We got all our registration material and are ready for our tour tomorrow.  With the Model A's parked with the rest of the Model A's we could forget them for a day or two and relax.

Let the convention begin.

It was about 240 miles again today.

Switchback Mountain

It was overcast this morning when we left the hotel.  Our route today would be entirely on RT 50, which would take us over a number of moutain ranges.  We trusted the GPS to get us out of Winchester and on to RT 50.  I'm sure it new what it was doing but we felt as though we were on a tour of the homes of the Rich & Famous as we drove through the upper scaled neighborhood of Winchester.

Once under way, the traffic was very light and we were not holding up things on the road.  Mike had made a request to stop at an auto parts store to get another bottle of sealer for the engine, just in case.  We found one not too far down the road and Mike got his gasket repair in a bottle.

The scenery along the route was very nice, which included farms, mountains and valleys.  We were cruising along enjoying the sights.  I looked ahead and notice a mountain range in front of us, and I mentioned that unless there was a tunnel through the mountain it looked like we had to go over it.  For trhe most part that wasn't a problem, EXCEPT for our first monster hill.  Way worse than the one we experienced yesterday.  This one was 5 miles long and was a 9% incline, with many switchback turns.  Needless to say this was done mostly in second gear.  I tried 2nd overdrive, but that was still too much and had to revert back to regular 2nd.  Well, by the time we got to the scenic overlook at the summit, we had to take time to give the A's a break.  The only one who had an issue was Mike.  The coupe was hot and he lost the top of his recovery tank which let water splash out on to the hood while climbing the mountain.  We let the A's cool off, although Mike was a little too quick to pop the radiator cap and it gave a burp of hot water.  Ouch!

I should mention that the view of the various mountain ranges from the overlook was very picturesque.  I was also surprised to see a huge snowblower here, I guess this area gets some good snowfall.

The other side of the mountain was equally "interesting" with its 9% down grade, its many turns and other side of the guard rail; it was a long way down.  But, the Model A were up to the task and performed flawlessly on the rest of the mountain roads.

After a lunch stop in Grafton, WV we visited the church where Anna Jervis started the first Mothers day in 1908.  The chuch was very modest on the outside, but the stained glass windows looked beautiful from the inside.  Opposite the church was an empty B&O railroad station, long since closed.  But it was clear that this was once a jumping place to be.

We got back on the highway and headed for Marietta, OH where we would spend the night.  We switched off RT 50 to take a less traveled road across the Ohio River and then followed RT 7 along the river to Marietta. 

It was a 230 mile drive today AND we reached an altitude of over 2700 ft crossing over the mountains. 



Doug doing some maintenance



Andy's Tudor at a roadside stop

Road Side Seminar

The day started off with the drivers doing some maintanence of the Model A's.  I changed the oil for my 500 mile interval and then retorqued the head and manifold nuts, fortunately they were fine.  Since the tools were out Mike retorqued his Coupe's head nuts as well.  A few needed to be tightened.  Wayne was having a little trouble with his starter so he replaced the switch.  Andy was fine and cleaned his windshield.

With breakfast out of the way we headed off for the second leg of our journey that would see us end up Winchester, VA.  The weather forecast was for clouds early, then clearing and warm in the afternoon.  Guess what?  They were correct this time.

Traveling on RT209 we were happy that Saturday traffic was very light.  We switched over to RT443 and the traffic was even lighter.  Very good for the Model As.

We stopped for a break at huge Sheetz Fuel plaza and bought some supplies.  Wayne experienced more problem with the starter switch.  The new switch was inoperable, it seemed to be frozen.  Wayne got a spare (old original) and it worked just fine.  Problem solved and back on the road.

Travel was going smoothly until we reached a detour in the road.  No big deal, just follow the signs.  Following one of the turns, which took us over a bare patch of bumpy ground,  Mike called out for us to stop.  He was getting a loud knocking from the front of the engine.  Once we could hear the noise, it sounded really bad.  With us listening to the noise Wayne was able to see the problem.  The front motor mount bolt had fallen out and when we went over the big bump it dislodged the mount from the front of the timing cover and the mount was now hitting the crankshaft pulley.  Fortunately that fix was pretty easy.  Mike replaced the bolt and then tightened the other bolt which was loose.

Mike's other problem wasn't going to be as easy to fix, his head gasket leaking.  It seams the gasket was squeezing out between the head and the block and it finally let go.  Wayne had some block sealer and he poured it into the radiator and by gosh in a few minutes it had stopped leaking.  Being that we were in the middle of no where, Mike said to keep going.  Unfortunatley, we soon hit a monster hill and we think that extra strain was too much for this fix and the leak started again. 

In spite of the monster hill, our route was taking us towards Harrisburg, but I didn't want to get on the interstate, so we went beyond our turn and let the GPS get us back to RT22.  The plan worked perfectly as we traveled through some very pastoral farm land.

After stopping for lunch, in one of our Hershey eateries, we stopped at an auto parts store so Mike could buy some heavy duty stop leak.  The stuff Mike bought said that if this didn't work the next step was a engine repair.  Mike lucked out again as this stuff did work and it held up fine the rest of the day.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful.  We did travel through Amish country and marveled at how fast the horses were going as they pulled the buggies.  Our route took us through a lot of towns which made for a slow trip.  But, we evetually made it to Winchester, VA and the Hampton Inn.  A Ruby Tuesday restaurant was within walking distance which was nice as we really didn't want to drive anywhere.  Besides, we wanted to get back to hotel to watch the Bruins hockey game.

On the Road Again

The Group

 Today was the day. After installing my new engine, FYI Engine #1 from our Vancouver trip(see http://boston-to-alaska.blogspot.com/) and putting on 250 break-in miles on it in three days, it was time to meet Mike & Grace Doyle, Wayne & Sue Champagne and Andy Adams for our trip to the beautiful horse country of Lexington, Kentucky to attend the MARC National Convention..



Dick & Barbara

 Much to our surprise, we were happy to be greated by Dick & Barbara O'Brien at our starting point in Northborough.  Sadly, the O'Briens had to cancel out of this trip due to Barbara's injury.  We bid them good bye and the 4 Model A's headed out on the first leg of our travels, which will take us to Stroudsburg, PA.

The weather couldn't have been better, sunny and, at the start, cool temperatures.  Traffic on RT 20 was not bad.  I was in the lead and that was good since I still wanted to maintain a conservative speed with the engine still being so new.  45 MPH seemed to be a good speed for me while keeping traffic from building up behind us.

Our route was to keep off major highways so we took RT 20 out to Brimfield, where we turned off on to a secondary road to Monson.  I must tell you that the damage caused by the tornado 2 years ago is still very evident.  Much tree work is still being done as well as reconstruction of homes.  I noticed lots of new roofs too.  We all agreed that that must have been a harrowing experience.

We planned to have a picnic lunch and as luck would have it we found a nice spot for our picnic in Lakeville, CT.  The picnic table was by the spillway of the lake which was sort of a relaxing back ground noise. 

Back on the road, we headed to the Rhinebeck, NY area to cross the over the Hudson River on the Rip Van Winkle Bridge.  The river looked pretty muddy, maybe from all the rain we've had?  We stayed on RT 209 and follwed it the rest of the day.  A little later, in honor of Mr. O'Brien, Sue suggested a stop for ice cream.  I eventually found a spot.

We crossed into PA and continued down 209 through the Delaware Water Gap area.  This section of RT209 is very scenic and the ride was especially enjoyable.  We decided that it was time for a little break so we stopped to enjoy the sights at Dingman's Falls.  What a great little spot.  We followed the boardwalk to Silverthread Falls, a very tall but narrow falls.  It was very pretty.  But, the real falls was further along the trail.  Dingmans Fall was much more impressive, especially so because of all our recent rain.  We

all agreed this was a great stop for a little relaxation from our driving.

It was getting late so we headed to A's back on to RT 209 and fortunately it was only a relatively short drive to Stroudsburg and the Hampton Inn.  Dinner was at a local pub, Grace O'Malley's Irish Pub.  Good food and best yet, the Yuengling Beer was only $2.

Nice finish to a fun day of touring in our Model As.

P.S.  I forgot to mention the incredible sound that millions of Cicadas make.  We were in Rhienbeck, NY and driving through the woods the noise from these buggers was very VERY loud.  I sure hope we don't have to put up with this back home.