A Few Afterwords

We arrived home safely from Manchester, Vermont in the late afternoon on a bright and sunny day. 

My initial estimate is we covered just over two thousand (2000) miles during our trip.  I'm in the process of totaling up the number of gallons of gasoline used to try to come up the miles per gallon statistic.  I think we averaged more than twenty (20) miles per gallon.  That's quite good for an eighty four (84) year old Ford Model A.

We had virtually no problems with the two cars.  Jack did get a flat tire one day but that was about it.  The valve job we did on Thelma this past spring really paid off and resulted in improved power on the hills and maybe even contributed to better fuel economy.

A Milestone and We Arrive in Vermont

We scheduled an easy day today pulling out of Johnstown at about 9:00 AM and onto route 29 east.  We had to deal with some Monday morning commuter traffic but were soon enjoying the open road and warming temperatures.  By 11 AM we were into Vermont.  Our little coupe Thelma turned 50,000 miles on the odometer!

 Turning south down route 30 through Dorset and into Manchester.  The ladies did some shopping at the outlets.  Afterwards Jack and Jo bid us adieu and headed home and we decided to stay in Manchester for the night.

Buffalo, NY and beyond

We left our hotel in Dearborn, MI at 8:00 AM bound for the Niagara Falls area.  We had decided to take the bridge over to Windsor, Ontario and then continue on along route 3 in Ontario to the Niagara area.  We've been on this road before and it's a pretty straight shot along the lake.  What we didn't remember is how boring the ride is/was especially in the rain.  It was a somewhat cold and dreary run for mile after mile.  This probably is the fastest way to Niagara but in a steady drizzle it was quite a test of our patience.

It took an hour from the time we left our hotel until we found the bridge to Canada and got through customs.  The signage in Detroit is challenging and in many cases just missing.

So we were finally off and running and with the crappy weather, some road construction and endless pavement it became obvious a trip to the Falls was not going to happen this time.  Jo made hotel reservations at a Hampton Inn near the Buffalo airport.  By the time we got to the USA border it was about 5:30 PM and traffic was heavy.  We seemed to be in the slowest moving line and then just as we were almost ready to cross, Jack's car conked out completely.  He quickly determined a fuse had blown and I gave him a replacement that I had in my door pocket.  Potential disaster was avoided and we both got through customs OK.

We arrived around 7:00 PM and had a late dinner at a Famous Dave's BBQ next door.  I have to say the the meal was outstanding and we had some great ribs.  Crashed around 9:00 PM and agreed to depart the next morning around 8:30 AM.

Skies were still dreary as we pulled out of Buffalo on a quiet Sunday morning.  We got rolling on route 20 east with our destination being Skaneateles, NY for lunch at the Sherwood Inn.  The weather improved and by the time we reached the little town on one of the Finger Lakes it was bright and sunny.  There was a lot of "action" in town and everyone was out and about.  We had a late lunch in the tavern...Cookie and I shared a turkey sandwich that was very good even with the cranberry mayonnaise.

So, after leaving the Finger Lakes it was on to our hotel du jour in Johnstown, NY.  We traveled a long way east on route 15 along the Eire Canal.  About 280 miles and a well deserved rest at the end of the day.

Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford

We purchased discount tickets in the hotel lobby here in Dearborn and we were off at 9:15 AM to Greenfield Village.  In fact, we were just about to leave the hotel parking lot when two police cars pulled in with blue lights blazing.  Turns out the "Pinto Stampede" people had arranged for a police escort over to the village and museum.  We waited until the last Pinto pulled out of the lot and then we joined the group just in front of the last police vehicle!  It was a quick ride after that with the police holding back traffic at red lights and intersections.  Thanks Pinto People.

We spent the next 7+ hours looking at all of the sights and buildings at Greenfield Village and touring the museum.  We took a ride in a 2008 Model T Ford.  Ford made six of these reproduction 1908 T's to celebrate their 100th anniversary.  You can't tell the difference between these six cars and the originals.  They have 16 Model T's in their "fleet" and 30 drivers drive them around the grounds.  There were many staff members dressed in period clothing.  They also did the presentations inside many of the buildings and were very well versed.

Detoured to Detroit

We left Marshall, MI at 8:45 AM as planned.  It had rained overnight and I got out early and wiped the car down.  This was a good thing because I also wiped off some road grime that had accumulated over the last few days.  Jack's repaired tire held up overnight again so I guess its officially fixed.

Everything was going well despite the cold temperatures until we hit a detour and had to get on the interstate for a few exits.  The roadway was cement and had small groves in the surface that kind of grabbed the narrow Model A tires.  It was a little bit of work keeping the cars running straight.

We went through Albion, MI and then on to Jackson where the roads turned really ugly.  Michigan must spend their money on college football and not roadwork.

So speaking of roadwork it didn't get any better when we got to Ann Arbor and the bumpy roads continued.  What a workout for our little A's.

We ended up taking a detour and driving down a couple of dirt roads due to a bridge being out.  So much for the clean car!

We arrived in Dearborn at our hotel at 12:30PM and were able to check in early.  There is some sort of Ford Pinto Stampede at our hotel here and they are expecting 45 Pintos here today.  Some had arrived early and I saw one with a 302 V8 engine.

We also visited the Ford Piquette Assembly Plant in downtown Detroit and took the tour. Henry Ford first started making automobiles in 1905 at this location. Studebaker bought the plant after Ford moved to Highland Park. Ford's first cars the model B, C, F, K, N, R, S and the first Ts were made in this plant.

A Full Day at the Gilmore Museum

A light drizzle greeted us as we loaded up the cars and got ready to drive to the Gilmore Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan.  We stopped at Tractor Supply to pickup some supplies (tire patches, tools) and then met Dick and Mazie at the museum.

We spent a good seven hours visiting Gilmore today.  Did the Ford (MAFFI) museum today as well as the Pierce Arrow, CCCA, Franklin and the main Gilmore museums.  Saw the pedal car (really) museum and had lunch at the classic 1930s diner on the grounds.  What a wonderful day!

Finally at 4 PM we bid the Gilmore adieu and headed east to our hotel in Marshall, Michigan.

 Nice dinner at Broadway Grille downtown.

We Arrive at Hickory Corners, Michigan and the Gilmore Museum

We woke up to quite a different morning this morning with temperatures of 62 degrees and a steady westerly wind blowing to further cool things down.  I put a sweatshirt on to try to keep warm.  We had a relatively "easy day" planning about 150 miles to our destination near Kalamazoo, Michigan.

We continued driving west on route 20 and within about 30 minutes we were in Indiana.  More rolling farmland greeted us with corn, soybeans and wheat being the primary crops.  Turning north we headed for Michigan and the clouds started getting darker!  We went through a little bit of a rainstorm but it was no big deal.  Stopped for a gas fill up around 10:30 AM and saw another Amish buggy go by the gas station.  We've seen many horse drawn Amish buggies, wagons and plows on this trip.

We arrived at the Gilmore Museum in Hickory Corners, MI at approximately 11:30 AM and saw a few other Model A Fords in the parking lot.  These were the very first Model A's we have seen since leaving Massachusetts.  The museum is absolutely fantastic - the buildings and the automobiles are all first class and well executed.

We had a chance to repair the punctured inner tube from Jack's car when the management allowed to us to use their garage.  They had everything we needed and we were able patch the inner tube and put the repaired tire back on the car in about 30 minutes.

We have more to see tomorrow because we had to leave by 5 PM.

We are staying at a Comfort Inn in Kalamazoo and had a great italian dinner at a restaurant right across the street with Dick and Mazie Stitt.  They had been visiting their son, daughter-in-law and grand daughter in Cincinatti. they drove to "Kzoo" today and will go to the museum tomorrow also.

Holy Toledo!

We hit the road by 9:15 AM on a somewhat overcast morning headed for Cleveland, Ohio and , hopefully, beyond.  We made good time on some back roads but realized to really bypass Cleveland we'd have to ride on an interstate highway for a few miles.

The interstate we ended up on was I480 which runs a few miles south of Cleveland.  There were many heavy trucks and moderate traffic to contend with and more than one seemingly crazed driver.  We finally left 480 and cruised onto Route 20 west.  It was a much better road with much less traffic.

Eventually, we stopped in Norwalk, OH for lunch.  When we pulled into the parking lot a guy in a truck said to Cookie that Jack's car had a flat tire!

We changed the tire in about 30 minutes and were on our way.

From the flat tire it was on to Toledo and a visit to the Toledo Mud Hens ballpark in the downtown area.  On our last visit here the souvenir shop was closed but not this time!  We even got to go out onto the field for some photos - how about that?  The Mud Hens are the AAA affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.

We got to our Holiday Inn Express in Wauseon, OH about 6:30 PM and then had a nice dinner at Sullivan's restaurant in town.  Had a good meal!  Off to Michigan in the morning.

Day two and day one …we arrive in Pennsylvania

We didn't leave on Friday as planned but instead stayed the night in Sudbury.  We were waiting in Littleton, MA for Jack and Jo when we received a call on the cellphone that Jack was having trouble seeing out of his left eye.  They headed back home and then went into Boston to Mass. Eye and Ear.  Cookie and I went to Sudbury to wait at the house.  After seven hours, Jack was finally seen by a doctor and all is OK.   He will have to see a specialist in 4 - 6 weeks when he returns.

So, we left Massachusetts on Saturday morning heading out on route 2 west on a beautiful morning.  We made excellent time and spent our first night in Johnson City, NY.  It was a long 320 mile day but we traveled on some great back roads.

Day One leaving Massachusetts

I was "wheels up" at 9:15 AM and our first stop in Littleton to meet Jack and Jo.