Connecticut Trip Blog:  Most recent days are at the top, scroll down for previous entries. Last Update:  Friday June 17, 2005.

Yes, you can see from the map that we have made it all the way home. Once the home stable seemed reachable, we picked up a little energy.  We made it to our door exhausted around 9:30 PM June 15, 2005 after driving over 610 miles, by far the longest single day mileage of  the trip.     Total trip length:  6378 miles.  Fuel used:  505.4 Gallons.  Mileage: 12.6 MPG.

Our dogs, Duncan and Lady did the usual dog thing on our arrival -- they treated us like arriving royalty, they were too busy jumping for joy to notice that we had abandoned them for weeks.  They were very well cared for by son David, who also took great care of the house.  Cat Alex was not so gracious, he has been hiding and has decided to make us wonder where he is before he makes an appearance. 

Thanks to all for joining us on this tour through this blog.  We are delighted to be home, but this trip and the blog will be out there to help us remember just how special an experience this was.   Thanks to all our friends and family we managed to contact on this trip.  All the personal visits, even the shortest ones, were the best treasures.  Thanks for being there for us, and we look forward to seeing all of you on the road before too long.

Friday, June 10 to Wednesday, June 14:  Headed for home again.

LaSalle update:

The LaSalle continues to provide a comfortable ride and outstanding service.  We now have a little bit of experience with heat.  The temperatures have been over 90 F for some of our trip home.  We even got caught in a very long traffic jam that had us idling during the hottest part of the day for over an hour.  Unlike the passengers, the LaSalle's engine kept cool, with the temperature gauge staying comfortably below the mid-point.  There are no temperature indications on the gauge (just C to H), but Bill determined that the center of the gauge is about 220 F .  This car used to overheat routinely, but since the rings and pistons were changed last year, it has run a lot cooler.  We did not spend a lot of time nervously monitoring the temperature gauge like we do with most of our old cars.

After leaving Washington DC, the engine developed an exhaust manifold leak.  The leak started with a mild but unpleasant chugging sound under acceleration.  Suddenly, the noise got MUCH louder and our LaSalle sounded like a jalopy.  We had a spare gasket but did not really want to spend the couple of hours needed to change it. We had decided just to motor on and ignore the noise. Good news, though, the next day Bill found the remains of the blown out corner of the gasket sitting right on the engine.  By loosening the manifold, he was able to slide the fractured, brittle remains of the gasket back in. Remarkably, it held for all of Tuesday's drive.

On Tuesday afternoon, Bill noticed some bearing noise coming from the rear axle.  Is it real or just nervous imagination as we approach the end of this trip?  It is very easy to hear new sounds when you spend hours in an antique car.  We will keep you posted.

Friday, June 10 

It was hard to leave the very comfortable Interlaken Inn and all our friends from the Heritage tour.  But we knew we were over 2000 miles from home and the time had come to move on.  Our first stop was in Southern Maryland to visit our friends Molly McCarty and Jeff Buyer, Allegra and Robin and their dogs.   Nance worked hard to find a route south from Lakeville that we could deal with.  The problem here is the incredible population density of the north-south  corridor adjacent to NYC - Philadelphia -Wilmington - Baltimore - Washington DC.  Nance came up with a route that worked very well all the way through New Jersey.  We took the Taconic Parkway south to the Newburg-Beacon bridge over the Hudson, followed by a bit on I-87 south to I-287 that took us to central New Jersey.  From there we took rural roads to find and visit Nance's parents' grave in Cokesbury, NJ.  This was the first visit since her Mom's ashes were placed there in April, 2000.  The area is full of wildflowers, especially fragrant white wild roses.  And wild strawberries were ripe for the picking!  Since Mom was famous for her wild strawberry jam. we thought this a delightful blessing.

Our plan was to keep ourselves well west of Philadelphia.  Unfortunately, we were not far enough west:  the traffic pretty much stopped at 3 pm on the I-476 beltway for Friday afternoon rush hour.  This gave is plenty of time to relax and bake.  We  learned how to feather the clutch to keep the LaSalle from bucking along at speeds below 1 mph.   Bill thought about how unfriendly this area is for old cars.  How could anyone drive around here with this absurd amount of traffic?  No doubt, the locals have their methods to deal with the situation.  Mostly, they probably just get used to it.  For us, it was very hard to take. All Nance could think of was "Beam me up, Scottie!" and wish for the empty spaces in New Mexico.

After about and hour of this, we were thinking about having to cancel our visit to Molly McCarty's in Maryland.  , the traffic finally started to clear and we realized we might be able to make it to Molly's after all.  We found the brand new rural McCarty home on a very dark narrow road in Southern Maryland.  The weak headlamps of the LaSalle were not much help. Cell phones were.  We dragged ourselves into their beautiful, welcoming home, exhausted after about 450 miles of very stressful urban driving.  Molly and Jeff were out walking the dogs so Allegra and Robin gave us the house tour and showed us to our basement accommodations, complete with piano, drum set and the new house smell of fresh paint.

Saturday, June 11

We left rural Maryland to get in more traffic around Washington DC.  Our goal was to visit Bill's lifelong friends Les and Mary Jackson in Arlington, VA.  The good news was that traffic is slightly lighter on weekends.  We did manage to find some modest congestion in Alexandria, VA, but nothing like our Philadelphia experience. We met Les and Mary around 1 PM, just in time for lunch. 

We sure enjoyed talking about old times and admiring Les' work on his '55 T-bird and other automotive projects.  Mary and Les graciously offered to let us stay at their home, but we wanted to get out of the congestion of DC and get started for home.  Les suggested a great route that had us leaving VA on I-66 to US 29 for Charlottesville. This worked very well, and we encountered minimal traffic all the way to Charlottesville.  US 29 is a lovely rural road, mostly four lanes.   We were tired, after only 177 miles of driving from Maryland.  We found that UVA was having some kids athletic tournaments this weekend, so hotel rooms were hard to find.  We found an expensive Comfort Inn and decided to look no further.

Sunday, June 12

We got up early hoping for a big travel day with no major stops planned.  This was hard for Nance, who wanted to tour Monticello, a Jefersonian architectural icon right nearby in Charlottesville.  But  we know from experience that such visits take at least half a day.  Move on! 

We continued south on US 29 following Les' advice to avoid the highly congested I-81 that runs parallel to the Blue Ridge mountains. We picked up US 60 about 30 miles south of Charlottesville and went west, directly over the Blue Ridge Mountains.  We dealt with occasional rain, but conditions were clear enough to enjoy the heavily forested Blue Ridge.  This is a sharp Appalachian notch that cuts diagonally across the country, more or less parallel to the VA- WVA border.  The roads across the ridge are impressively severe, even for those who are used to western mountain roads.  The population density is low, much of the land is federal and building conditions are not the best.  The LaSalle enjoyed these roads, the engine had no problem keeping us up to speed, usually in high gear.  The brakes on the downgrades were another matter, we used lower gears often to keep the brakes from overheating and fading. 

Our travel on US 60 ended with a fairly long stretch (100 miles or so) of I-64.  As you have heard, we are not fond of interstates.  But this section of road was an exception.  It had great views and minimal congestion.  We took I-64 and planned to peel off to US 60 through coal mining country  SE of Charleston.  Unfortunately, we missed the turn and found ourselves merged with I-77, a bustling toll road.  We decided to get off and took a series of rural state roads (WV 99, 85, and 3, primarily) up the Coal River.   Driving this road was challenging (two lanes, no shoulders, many, many turns) but picturesque.  The coal mining industry is WVA is surviving if not thriving.  We went through many company towns that were densely built with small but attractive homes.  The only problem with this section was the heat.  The western sun was heating up the front seat of the LaSalle and the humidity was most uncomfortable. It was also slow, it took a long time to cover these miles.  But it was well worth it.

We returned to I-64 near Huntington, WVA and stayed on it all the way to Lexington, KY.  In Lexington, we were getting very tired, but decided to keep onto the Blue Grass turnpike and find accommodations away from the congestion of Lexington.  There were no hotels to be found.  Finally we diverted to Frankfort and found a reasonable micro-hotel.  This was enough driving for us, we quit after our longest driving day so far,  507 miles.

Monday, June 13. 

We returned to the Blue Grass turnpike and continued across Kentucky.  This is a very direct route, but not particularly scenic.  The trees obscured most of the surrounding country, and we found ourselves seeing little but the four lanes before us.  Bill noticed that the route would take us near Paducah, KY.  He remembered a friend Jim Wurtz had retired in Paducah.  Jim used to work at Sandia Labs but had left in the 70's to get his law degree.  We had kept in touch via infrequent visits on business trips, ski vacations, or funerals of mutual friends. On a whim, Bill called information and found Jim's number.  Jim was home and would love to see us.  The bad news was he needed to leave very shortly to go to a reception in Tennessee, so we only had a few minutes.  He took us to his spectacular farm home on the outskirts of Kentucky.  There we found horses, a pond, a border collie, a large beautiful home, and enough bluegrass to feed 25 premium grade John Deere lawn tractors.   The visit was way too brief, but Nance and I can see that Jim looks great and his golf scores are very low.  Thank you Jim, for being so accommodating.

We left Paducah on US 62 and proceed to the Mississippi River. We crossed at Cairo, KY over an unusual double bridge the landed us briefly on an island in the river. We stopped there to enjoy a children's playground and watch barge traffic on the river.  We also met a Ford Model A on the bridge.  Somehow, a picture was taken amid the flurry of waving and honking. 

We joined US 60 in Missouri and continued west to Poplar Bluff, MO.  The main problem here was the blowout of the LaSalle's exhaust gasket turned up the volume of our trip considerably.  Bill did not care for the loud, cranky sound of the blown gasket, it was not in character with the car.  We pulled in to rest at a nice new hotel in Poplar Bluff (high speed internet access, but WIFI -- we don't have WIFI on this old computer).  In the morning, Bill fixed the LaSalle exhaust, so we were quiet again the next day.  Total miles:  480.

Tuesday, June 14.

US 60 is an excellent road and we enjoyed traveling through Missouri on it.  A cold front had come through and broken the heat so we were doing some cool cruising.  We went near Branson and through Springfield, both destinations on the 2004 Glidden Tour.  We knew that Albuquerque was just 800 miles from Springfield. 

Nance noticed that US160 runs a bit north of US 60 and might be a bit less congested. We switched to 160 west of Springfield and learned that it was an early alignment of Route 66.  We enjoyed finding architectural remnants of cafes, motels, and gas stations from the Mother Road.  There were a few,  but as with Route 66 in NM, most of the buildings are gone.

We slipped into southern Kansas on US 160 and found the scenery outstanding.  US 160 was wonderful, its only flaw the sudden 90 degree turns it takes to snake through misaligned agricultural  sections here and there.  The miles rolled by but we were ready to quit at Wellington, near I-35.  Here we found a comfortable motel complete with several friendly cats guarding the front desk.  Total distance this day, 452 miles.

Wednesday, June 15

We were reasonably sure this would be our last day on the road.  The distance home from here was over 600 miles.  We were sure that the pull of home would give us the energy to make the distance.  And driving at night on familiar roads near home would not be so difficult.  We thought the LaSalle was up to it.  It was running great and even its fractured exhaust gasket was holding up fine. 

Once we reached Meade, KS, we followed the route Bill took out, so no need to repeat that here.  It started to warm up as we approached Tucumcari, but a few late afternoon showers sprinkled with lightening cooled us off.  A lovely New Mexico sunset welcomed us.  We realized that we hadn't seen one for all of this trip.

We made it to the house around 10 PM.  Home at last.  It was great to see the dogs and David.  The LaSalle seemed to sign and gurgle as she cooled off in the driveway.  It may be a long time before she accumulates so many miles at once like this.  But we will not forget the fine service and comfort she provided. 

See you on the road soon!

Bill Sullivan and Nance Crow, June, 2005

Sunday, June 5 through Thursday, June 9 in Lakeville, CT:  The VMCCA Heritage Tour.

Since the start of this vacation, our LaSalle saw few cars of her vintage on the road.  This changed at the Interlaken Inn in Lakeville, CT when over 50 vintage cars showed up for the Veteran Motor Car Club of America Heritage Tour. We pulled into the parking lot at the Interlaken Inn and enjoyed meeting up with new and old friends who enjoy touring with their old cars.  We immediately spotted another 1940 LaSalle, a friendly looking black four door sedan from Maryland.  Jim and Emily Scheidel, a couple we met at the VMCCA's annual meeting in Albuquerque. Turns out this fun couple were from Canton and Canaan, CT and that Jim's brother went to high school with Nance's sister. 

The Interlaken has grounds many botanic gardens and nature centers would envy.  After parking, a painted turtle slowed our progress unloading.  Rabbits abound and daily birdsong and nightly frog chorus made it hard to leave the place.  Striking sculptures by Denis Curtiss stomp, stretch and graze on the grass.  Car guys and gals agreed that Denis sure can weld steel.

This tour included two early 30's Rolls Royces.  Both were green, as if they were disguising their royal elegance in the abundant foliage .  It didn't work.  These huge cars gathered a crowd wherever they went.  There were 16 Model A and T Fords. These durable old Fords are stalwarts of most driving tours.  A very rare original 1935 Studebaker Dictator also got plenty of attention.  Chevrolets, Chryslers, Dodges, Buicks and Packards rounded out a diverse field of collectable pre-1949 cars that delighted both the public and participants. And a determined 1950 Jeepster joined the pack.  Her owners, John and Kay Webster have nearly completed their mission of driving her in all 50 states and Canada's provinces.

The VMCCA is known as the "touring club", an antique car club that specializes in driving tours. The Heritage series is a new group of tours centered around presidential libraries.  The first tour of the series was last year in Texas and featured the Johnson and Bush I libraries.  This tour features the FDR library and mansion on the Hudson river in Hyde Park, New York.  Next year's tour will be in Springfield, Illinois for the Lincoln library.

An opening reception on the cool and glassy Lake Wononscopomuc next to the Interlaken Inn let us meet, greet and eat. The children on tour discovered that Interlaken guests could use the canoes with adults onboard, so talk was short and paddling began for several adults.  Coming from water starved New Mexico, we enjoyed seeing others on the Lake and paddling our own canoe.

Day 1 brought us to Hyde Park and the Roosevelt mansion overlooking the Hudson.  We were already admirers of FDR, but here we found even more to like about the man. This home and the 80 beautiful acres of forest and fields surrounding it were acquired by FDR's parents and grandparents in the mid 1800's.  FDR himself played quite a role in its development.  He had interest in architecture and designed many of the buildings on the estate.  As a young man he was a self taught naturalist, learning about all the species of birds on the estate and carefully surveying plants and trees of the area.  FDR was quite vigorous physically until struck by polio in his mid thirties.  He fought the progression of the disease and built upper body strength by crutching himself for miles around the estate. This and more was documented by tour guides and thousands of pictures and exhibits in the Roosevelt library.  Seeing the elegant estate surrounded by our old cars of FDR's vintage was quite a treat for all.

Nance and I dwelled here so long that we had to skip a scheduled tour of the Vanderbilt mansion down the street.  We did make it to Val-Kill next door.  Val-Kill the much smaller home that Eleanor Roosevelt moved into after FDR's death.  The home was filled with photographs of visiting heads of state, dignitaries and other celebrities coming to see Eleanor during her long career as a philanthropist and civil rights activist. This was all presented to us by  a charismatic black women who knew Mrs. Roosevelt personally.  The tour and the day ended suddenly when a violent thunderstorm burst above us.  We ran to the LaSalle, (windshield still leaking), and slithered back to the Interlaken Inn.  Our planned side trip to the Lime Rock sports car track for a few hot laps was cancelled by the weather.  But pizzas and concert from the unofficial VMCCA make up band was not.  We all cooled off from the day with good food and entertainment.

Day 2 took us into Massachusetts.  We gathered first at the Norman Rockwell Museum near Stockbridge.  Next, we cruised on the tight and steep roads around Tanglewood.   This ended high in the Berkshire mountains at the Apple Tree Inn for a buffet lunch.  We enjoyed another fine meal.  The influence of the nearby Culinary Institute of America on restaurants in this area is evident.

The afternoon brought us through Great Barrington.  The concluding attraction was the Hancock Shaker Village.  This was a thriving Shaker community, established in the 1850's until it was shuttered in the early 1960's.  It is in original condition and remains protected by a museum foundation.  Bill was amazed to learn about this monastic community, devoted to prayer, work, and innovation.  The Shakers are remembered for their simple, durable furniture, but their interests were far broader, dealing with innovations in manufacturing, medicine, agriculture, architecture and communal living.  Most of the Shakers are gone now, but this museum is doing a lot to preserve their legacy. We were again the last to leave and would love to come back and stay longer.

We followed Oscar Wuerstlin and family in their Model T touring car, one of the last cars to leave Hancock Village.  The T struggled with some of the hills, but delighted many locals with its antiquated style, eclectic horns and  rickety mechanical sounds and smells.  We finally made it back to the hotel near 7PM, ending a long day.

We were met by Joe Thomas and Marion Arkin, our friends from Washington DC.  They met us on the Buick trip in 2003.   They came to visit the Rhinebeck Aerodrome for the antique airplane show scheduled on day three.

Day 3  started early with a full LaSalle taking passengers Joe and Marion.  We talked about old times on our way to Kingston NY to meet the Rip Van Winkle t for a boat ride on the Hudson River.  After struggling with stalled construction traffic way too high over the river on the new Kingston Bridge, we arrived on the west side of the Hudson at the gentrified waterfront in downtown Kingston.  The Rip Van Winkle was a very large and well maintained vessel, with room for more than 150 tourists.  The VMCCA tour did a pretty good job filling it up. 

The cruise lasts about two hours and was well narrated by Captain Bill.  We heard about most of the new and old mansions on the both sides of the Hudson.  The Vanderbuilts, Astors, Roosevelts and many others are part of this history.  He included stories about commerce and shipping--including whaling--on this famous estuary. Best of all, the weather was perfect.   The river was glassy and reflective, the breezes were cool.  We wanted to take this cruise right into Manhattan, but we turned back to Kingston..  The Rip Van Winkle nudged back into its slip, passing by a a rusting display of antique tugboats, collection that hopes to see rebirth in a planned tugboat museum.

Our next stop took us back across the river to the Rhinebeck NY Aerodrome.  What a place!  This is one of those secret treasures, a dusty, disorganized museum with endless supplies of mechanical antiquity.  I never saw so many antique airplanes in one place.  Many were reproductions of the very earliest aircraft:  these spindly, diaphanous dragonflies looked far too delicate to support flight, yet they did.  Nesting with these creatures were many unusual automobiles, including long forgotten makes like Saxon, Brush, and Overland.  Most of this was the creation of Cole Palen, an antique aircraft enthusiast who spent his life on this endeavor.   He died in 1993.  The museum has probably seen better days, but the quality and depth of the collection shined through the dust easily.  Don't miss it!

We quickly signed up  for a flight on their 1937 Standard biplane.  This large radial engined eagle was designed to create revenue for barnstormers by giving them a vehicle for passenger rides.   It was certainly an attractive  

commodity, many of the tourists who saw and heard it fly clamored up to the booth to sign up for rides.  We spent a long afternoon waiting for our flight.  As with modern aviation, our flight was delayed and delayed and delayed.  Finally, at 6 PM, Nance and I climbed into the spacious front cockpit.  It was noisy inside, but we were protected with goggles and our Rocky and Friends leather flight hats issued by the concession.  The blast of hot air from the propeller was heated by the "Continental 220"  nine cylinder radial engine.  The plane vibrated and rocked joyfully as it accelerated along the hilly and not particularly straight grass runway of the Aerodrome.  Fortunately, it left the ground at about 30 mph and we were on our way.  Once above the trees, we could see the Hudson valley from a completely new perspective.  The plane seemed to stop as it gently circled about 1000 feet above the tree tops.

Day 3 could not top the aerodrome experience, but it was still most interesting.  It began with a tour of the Harney Tea Company, a 20 year old local company that started blending a few teas and now ships tons of the brew worldwide.  As soon as you enter the factory, your nasal passages realize that Lipton leaves something out.  The fragrance of fresh tea and herbs, in the hands of master blenders, in sensual extravagance.  Harney is to tea what Tiffany is to jewelry.  Nance is not on the sales staff but recommends that  folks check out www.harney.com    Bill enjoyed watching the automated Italian tea bagging machines.  These polished steel devices took buckets of tea and paper and turned them into thousands of neatly packaged and boxed retail units.  They worked well, but needed human supervision for the occasional error.  Bill did see a few massive jams that quickly created a huge collision of wrinkled teabags, boxes, and wrappers.  Once the operator did corrective surgery to remove the mess, the machine resumed its normal cadence, producing hundreds of teabags each minute.

The last stop a machinery museum near Kent.  This well kept museum included steam engines, stationary gasoline engines, farm and construction equipment.  It was well labeled and presented.  Among our  favorites were old unrestored shovels and cranes that Bill discovered still had unfrozen engines.  Most of the engines were set up to operate.  Who on earth creates these museums?  Mostly volunteers who just simply care and have great determination and skill.  We are certainly in debt to them.

Our tour ended with a delicious banquet.  It was hard to say good by, we all knew we had experienced something very special with this tour.  Thanks to all the tour volunteers, especially Lillian and Gene Elliot, tour directors. Their thoughtful touches built community with education, challenge, and way too much great food and fun.

Saturday, June 4 visiting cousins in Hudson, NY

We are  back to blog again, after a break for a few days.!

LaSalle update

She continues to run very well with only a few issues.  The rear brake drums are attached to the axles with a tapered joint.  They have been coming loose.  There is an enormous nut that holds the two parts together.  Normally, they are fused together and the only problem is separating them.  On this trip, one side is tending to loosen.  Symptom?  A squeak from the rear at low speed.  Bill had a large pipe wrench and used it twice to tighten these nuts.  After the second tightening, they were holding fast. He has been checking them daily.  If the nut came off, so would the drum and wheel!  It the nuts are loose, there could be damage to the tapered axle and/or hub of the drum from the relative motion between the parts.

There is now an occasional miss or two when lugging the engine.  This is probably warn plugs or points -- the units in the car have well over 6000 miles on them.  This is just an annoyance for now, but we do not have spare plugs. LaSalle uses 10mm plugs which are not common but can usually found at large metropolitan auto parts stores.

The weather finally became seasonal around here, with most days are up in the high eighties or low nineties.  The engine has been running cool and oil consumption minimal.  The mystery noise from the engine still comes and goes.

We left brother Rick and Mary today after enjoying quite a few days of their hospitality.  Our main contribution was dog sitting their son's German Shepard cross Sara.  It was great duty, a win-win situation.  Happy dog and happy house guests.  This was a relaxing visit for us, we were rested but managed to squeeze in a little touring of the area.  Highlight was the Hill-Stead museum in Farmington. This museum is a preserved New England mansion designed by the daughter of a wealthy family from Cleveland.  It was built in the early 1900's.  The family collected impressionist art from Europe around that time.  There are several paintings by Monet, Manet, and Cassatt plus other collectable antiquities.  Although Bill (not exactly a connoisseur)  recognized few of the pieces, anyone could appreciate the beauty of the building and the treasures inside.

We took a short visit to our cousins Marty and Noel who live near Hudson, NY.  We met Noel and his wife Mary who were ending a retail day at their sporting goods store on Warren Street in downtown Hudson.  This was a repeat of a visit we made in 1998.  There was a new vibrancy in downtown Hudson.  There was plenty of walking traffic.  This old commercial center was remodeled and restored with new boutique type stores.  Antiques were a major theme.  Nearby homes near the Hudson River were being bought up and "This Old House'd."  It was a big improvement over the depressed condition of this waterfront in the past.  Go for it Hudson!

Cousin Marty and Linda live a few miles away near Claverack, NY.  They have a country home built with a lot of sweat equity.  It has an endless view of the rolling, forested hills of the Hudson River valley. Here we were greeted by two lively Brittany spaniels  Nelly and Lucy.  These were professional Spaniels, following all the norms for instant affection and joy. 

Marty quickly popped out his Austin Healey 100-6 two-seater. He and Bill left for a spin while Nance and Linda caught up on the exploits of their live children.  The Healey ran as nice as it looked.  And of course the children are all well above average. 

Marty prepared home hunted barbequed pheasant for dinner.  It was delicious.  The dinner and time was really too short to cover the seven or eight years it had been since our last visit, but we gave it a good try.

Monday, May 30 through Wednesday, June 1 in New Hampshire and Vermont.

We have been off the air for a few days.  There was a major family reunion over memorial day weekend to celebrate my mother's 90th birthday.  My brother and his wife Mary hosted the event.  Most of our cousins and mom's surviving relatives from New Haven came by.  Lots of fun and reminiscing, as many brought old pictures to review and argue about who is who in the tiny black and white prints. Rick and Mary provided fabulous food, a long standing family tradition, but we're all certain we laughed away any extra calories!  Mom had a great time and is safely back in Florida.

Nance and I enjoyed a reunion ourselves as she returned from New Zealand Friday, the 27th.  It was great to see her and share our stories about our respective journeys.

Monday, May 30

Monday was finally a free day and we decided to relive a childhood trip and climb Mount Monadnock  in southern New Hampshire.  Brother Rick joined us for this part of our journey.  This is about a two hour drive from Hartford, going north through western Massachusetts in I-91.  It turns rural in New Hampshire, going through Northfield, Winchester, and other small New England towns.  This is a land of dense forests, meadows, white colonial homes, town squares, and full service gas stations.  It was also a land of gathering storms.  We were concerned as the clouds converged around Mount Monadnock.  The rain finally came down, hard enough to start all those annoying leaks around the LaSalle's windshield.  Bill vowed that he was going to find some sealant and take another crack at solving this persistent problem.

We wound through the small town of Jaffrey and up the narrow, bumpy access road to Monadnock.  There, we were met by rangers who advised us that it was too dangerous for any hike up the mountain.  Good news, really, we had very little rain gear and no lightening protection.  After a damp picnic Rick returned to Burlington, CT (the green and tree filled town he actually lives in some 20 miles from Connecticut's capitol city of Hartford).  We continued on to Keene and Granite Lake, where we met cousins Noel and Mary Dardani at their cottage on the lake. 

Granite Lake was a boyhood retreat for Bill.  He spent several summers here with his Aunt Lucy, Uncle Bert and cousins at the lake cabin.  The original cabin  burned to the ground many years ago, but its replacement  retains most of the charm of the original.  All that is missing is the old memorabilia. Memorabilia now on walls and shelves is mostly post-Bill's days on Granite.

Tuesday, May 31

The spirit and beauty of this small lake is as strong as ever.  Population has grown, but only moderately.  Our drive around the lake found it much the same as it was 45 years ago, with just a few new palatial cabins.  We enjoyed an evening reminiscing and soaking in the views.  Nance and I slept well here, it was cool and comfortable in the loft.  Morning brought us a visit from a loon who enjoyed taunting the Dardani's yellow lab Bob.  Bob would dive off the dock swimming towards the loon, only to have the submersible bird disappear and surface far away.  The dog is an impressive swimmer, but no match for the submarine tactics of the loon.

We left in light rain and stopped in Keene to stock up on clear silicone to try and stem the tide of windshield leaks.  There was a short break in the rain down the road and Bill put a new ring of silicone around the gasket -- about the fifth ugly layer of this stuff, each layer having a different age and patina.  This time, however, Bill added a line underneath the trim, where forward motion at the LaSalle's lightning speeds may be forcing water up and into the dash. Can't be sure if it worked -- it never rained very heavily afterwards.  Time will tell, it does not look like the rain is over around here.

Traveling to Burlington took a lot longer than we thought it would.  Our drive took us through central Vermont, through the picturesque towns of Brattleboro, Rutland, Weston, and many more.  Nance has listened to the uplifting music of the monks at Weston Priory for years and wanted to visit their monastery.  Bill even found the place delightful and Nance found CD's to replace our old vinyl records in the gift shop .  Mary Dardani recommended stopping at the Weston Country Store where Nance discovered a Vermont made Habanero Cheddar that was a fix for any chile addict!

We drove up VT 30 along the West River to VT 100 along  the Green Mountain National Forest and finally to US 7 which brought us into Burlington.   We enjoyed watching ferries on Lake Champlain and eating a seafood dinner on the waterfront.  We walked through the waterfront and realized we did not have nearly enough time to do the locale justice.  It was already time to return south.  Nance stopped at the Democracy for America office, the activist group evolved from the Dean presidential campaign. It was after hours and quiet, nothing like the raucous Dean days only a couple of years ago.  We moved on to a pleasant, small AAA approved motel in Shelburne, just a few miles south of Burlington.

Wednesday, June 1

We realized that we needed to keep moving to make it back to Hartford at a reasonable hour the next day.  Nance picked out a western route south on VT 22A, a rural road that clings to Lake Champlain and eventually passes into New York.  Bill felt this road was one of the prettiest on the entire trip.  It had rolling hills, long vistas, and low population density, relative to the rest of New England.  This is four star country with water, rock, tree, meadow and mountain. It's Holstein dairy country, too, with even buildings here and there painted in the familiar black and white of these high producing cows.  But it must be brutally cold in the winter.  There are ski areas everywhere, and Nance noted full and fragrant lilacs were weeks behind the growth in southern New England.

We cruised through the slate mining country near Granville, NY,  avoiding buying the much more expensive Empire State gas.  Our route returned to Vermont in Bennington where we made the obligatory stop at Hemmings Motor News.  They have a great free car museum there, and we enjoyed talking to its friendly caretakers.  Bill immediately found work helping the guys move cars around, but he had the camera in his pocket so you'll just have to take Nance's word for it.  The guys kept telling him to "go upstairs and fill out an application" in good spirited fun.  Most of them came out of their garage to take a look at the LaSalle.  LaSalle was looking pretty proud and clean after almost 3000 miles on the road since Albuquerque.  And she continues to run beautifully, save for  windshield leaks.  Also in Bennington is the Moose on Main Street project , similar to New Mexico's Painted Ponies and Chicago's cows.  Nance particularly liked the "Metamorph-o-Moose," with its caterpillar legs and Monarch body.

We returned to Burlington, CT the back way, via US 7 through western Massachusetts and the Berkshire mountains.  Here we found still more ski areas and lovely scenery.  But the gravity of Springfield, Hartford and points south is very strong here -- traffic and congestion began to take its toll on us.  Nance spent her first 20 years in this country--when it still was.  The fields, dairies and horse farms she pointed out are now strip malls and yuppies shopping "villages."  Traffic was so bad that we couldn't make a left turn to her family's old home in Avon. 

When we finally made it to Burlington around 7 PM, we had just enough energy to enjoy brother Rick's company and relay our experiences to him.  As we got ready for bed, a raucous raccoon that frequents Rick's barbecue for evening grease-licking appeared on the deck.  Threatening it only made it amble leisurely under the deck.  Cleaning the grill takes place again after this varmint feeds.

Tomorrow is another day, see you on the road soon. 

Sunday, May 22 through Wednesday, May 25 in Hartford and West Point, NY

Sunday was a full day.  I gave LaSalle a rest and went modern for congested city driving around Hartford and New Haven.  The day opened with a service at niece Kristen's small United Methodist church in Kensington, CT.  She is acting pastor there, a part time position she serves while completing requirements for her ordination. This small church has a wonderful choir, featuring nephew Michael Sullivan.  Even the heathen spy in the sanctuary enjoyed the service. The sermon was especially good, comparing to all the different ways folks worship their god with dancing.

From there we hustled off to Yale Divinity School to attend Kristen's graduation service.  She worked hard over the last three years to earn a Master's of Divinity degree.  Although I have spent time in New Haven, I have never visited Yale.  I looked forward to seeing it. 

The Divinity school is off to the side from the main, urban campus.  It has the usual array of elegant, brick academic buildings with groomed surrounds.  The cold weather, winds, and persistent threat of rain didn't matter here, the school's architecture and history shined right through it.  The ceremony, in the form of a Sunday service, was entertaining and inspirational.  The main sermon gave none of the usual drivel about a commencement being a "beginning".  Rather, Prof. David Baldwin spoke that there are times when one simply needs to move on.  The job is not finished, the game is not over, yet there should be no delay as we move towards the next event.

Michael and Kristen somehow moved on enough to host a delicious multi-course dinner at their small parsonage home for the 10 relatives in town for the graduation.  Congratulations to Kristen for her academic conquest and to all for putting together a very memorable day.

We managed a short diversion to 409 Fountain Street in New Haven.  This multi-family home was once owned by my grandparents, the Fucci's. Our family spent several summer vacations here in the early 50's.  Rick amazed me with his working knowledge of all the intricate streets in this big city (he makes some sales calls here).  Mom was fascinated with all the changes and similarities she saw in her old neighborhood.  We found the house, it still stands and is reasonably well maintained.  Of course, it is smaller than we remember it, but that scale effect is common.  We were much smaller back then. 

With our New Haven tour behind us, it was time to move on to West Point.  There we would join Pam and Tom for the 65th reunion of  Dad's class of 1940.  We decided to load Rick, Mom and me into the LaSalle for the trip.  Some reorganization of the space inside the car was needed.  Taking three adults and their luggage in LaSalle is a bit more challenging than transporting me across the country.  I moved some unneeded stuff into Rick's garage and carefully wedged in Rick and Mom's voluminous luggage.  After a few iterations, it all fit.  Later on I discovered that I forgot my own suitcase.  This was a big mistake and cost me plenty when I discovered it.  Otherwise, all got packed in and we were on our way.

The drive to West Point was uneventful except for the extraordinary beauty of the Catskill mountains surrounding the school and the ever present  Hudson River.  This place exudes important traditions and history through its residents, architecture, and monuments.  We began our visit with a tearful memorial service at the Cadet chapel.  Dad is buried outside this chapel along with thousands of other West Point graduates.  The singing of the West Point Alma Mater and the poetic psalms at the service reminded us all of Dad.  We knew he was here but wished we could talk directly to him.  This was such a holy place, even cynics like myself are deeply touched by just being here.  We visited Dad's grave quietly.

I learned some of the statistics about the class of 1940 here.  409 members of the class graduated and received commissions in the army.  35 were killed in WWII, with about 20 or those from hostile action and 15 from training accidents.  100 survive today.  There were 40 at this 65th reunion at West Point.

I enjoyed meeting many of  Dad's classmates at this reunion.  I had the good fortune to escort Dad and Mom to their 60th reunion in 2000, and met many of these folks then.  I also heard of others through family stories that were told during our lives growing up in a military family.

Best of all, Mom was obviously delighted with the reunion.  I was not sure how she would feel about attending such a thing without her cadet at her side.  She obviously missed Dad, but was able to enjoy the company of their friends and the warmth of the memories from their time at West Point..

There was so much more.  We enjoyed having sister Pam and her husband Tom join us for all this.  An inspiring march of the reunion classes of 1930, 35, 40, 45, 50 and 55 -- along with the current Corps of Cadets and the West Point marching band.  Lunch at the enormous cadet mess hall that seats 1400 and feeds them all within a half hour.  Walks all around this historical place.  It was hard to leave.

Saturday, May 21 in Hartford CT

Distance Traveled 364 miles, Total distance from Albuquerque: 2416 miles.

The last day of the trip to Hartford was on with Route 17 and I-86, called the Southern Tier Expressway.  Major NY towns along this route include Binghamton, Ithaca, Corning and Newburgh.  This is one beautiful road, it winds, climbs and falls gently but is straight enough to make a steady 60 MPH with the LaSalle.  Traffic was generally light until I left 17 near Newburg and joined I-84. 

The only problem with this route was the poor condition of the road surface. LaSalle took a pounding along most of New York's roads.   Big potholes.  Deep ruts.  Bad joints.  High taxes here too, gas inside the NY state lines was typically $2.20 or more.  I know, the weather in NY is bad with frost heaves and all -- but don't they have winter in Ohio and Indiana?  Why are their roads so much better?

I took a short coffee rest at the small town of Owego lying along the Susquehanna River.  This major stream looked too shallow for much boating, but fishermen were enjoying wading it.  The backs of the preserved Main Street shops overlooked the river, along with many older homes.  It was a very attractive setting, especially this time of the year. There were many flowers in bloom, and the town was well landscaped. 

My next stop was for lunch at a small family cafe and used car dealer in Liberty NY.  I spotted a very clean '53 Packard in the lot.  The cafe owner came out to greet the LaSalle with an array of questions.  He told me the Packard was going up on E-bay soon.  This car is very complete and original, even down to the Packard floor mats, carpets and factory radio.  I could not read the mileage, but it had to be low.  I could see no rust on this car,  unbelievable for this part of the country.  I suspect the car came from some other part of the country, though it had several years of NY state inspection stickers on the windshield. 

Inside, the cafe had several old car nuts who told car stories and asked about some of mine.  "That LaSalle sure is a beauty, doesn't it have a V-12?"   "Did you drive that car all the way from New Mexico?" "Where is the car show you're headed too", and so on.  I ordered a hamburger and was surprised to find it was not very good.  No problem, it was a relaxing lunch and we all enjoyed the stories.

From this point on until Hartford, the impact of New York City was evident.  Traffic was thick and aggressive.  I crossed the Newburg-Beacon Bridge on I-84 and headed for Danbury and other points in Connecticut.  This was the worse part of the trip. Construction on I-84 tightened it up to two narrow lanes constrained by Jersey bounce barriers.  I felt like I was shooting down a logging flume with a very full load of logs.  There were  frightening S turns as the constrained highway snaked from one side of the right of way to the other.  The LaSalle did OK, but the drive took its toll on my serenity.  I was glad to finally exit this mess well south of Hartford to find my brother's home in Burlington, CT.

Rick and Mary came out to greet me and we talked about our busy schedule for the rest of the week.  It was then off to the airport to pick up my mother who was flying in from Florida. Tomorrow would be a full day with festivities surrounding my nephew's wife Kristen's graduation from Yale Divinity School.

Bill, from Burlington.

Friday, May 20, Hornell, NY

Distance Traveled 456, Gas used 35 gal, Oil TBD

The Best Western in Napoleon was new, comfortable and loved that high speed internet service. I slept so well that leaving at 8:30 AM was quite an accomplishment. 

I started off on US 20 but soon diverted to US 6 to keep south of Toledo.  Ohio is very flat here with cornfields like the rest of the breadbasket.  Just as winds were picking up, I drove by a small four unit wind farm.  Although this trip has been a very windy one with lots of open space, this was the first wind farm I'd seen. Only one of the four units was turning, odd because the winds were brisk.

US 6 joined US 20 after Toledo and took me into Cleveland.  There, US 20 melts into local city streets.  I did not want to brave the endless surface street traffic of Cleveland, so I used I-480 and I-271 to skirt the city.

The contrast of driving a major rural highway like US 20 to a beltway network is substantial.  The beltway traffic is so aggressive, at times I felt like cars and trucks were converging as if to purge me as a hazard to commerce.  Driving the LaSalle in the summer is always a windows down operation.  The engine and tire noise from all the trucks and cars is deafening.  In this hostile environment, there is a need for constant lane changes, merges, and unmerges.  This lane ends, that lane exits only, these are for car pools.  Try to do this while glancing over at your road atlas to see how to get out of this hell. I really miss Nance, she is a good navigator.

I never saw much of Cleveland (it has a great waterfront on Lake Erie), but I sure felt it for close to 50 miles.  The beltway finally quieted down and turned into I-90 along Lake Erie.  I was going to get back onto US 20 on the shore of Lake Erie, but I decided to take a side trip to one of my former homes in Fredonia, NY.  This was a bit out of the way, so gain some time I stuck with I-90 through the rest of Ohio and that small northern corner of Pennsylvania.

At the New York border, I dismounted to US 20, to take in scenery along Lake Erie.  The gray skies had burned off and Lake Erie was an unbelievable blue.  Brisk winds blew off the lake, they were very cold.  New York's wine and Champaign industry is here, there were acres of vines along the shore.  I cruised through Westfield and Dunkirk, both towns decorated with American flags.  The many Victorian homes were surrounded with peace and quiet.  What a contrast from I-90.

From Dunkirk I tried to drive to my former college home in Fredonia by memory.  My weakness for recall of geography is well known and it delivered once again.  I not only lost the house, I missed the entire town.  After a U turn with backtracking, I spotted a small sign for SUNY at Fredonia.  Then, there it was, the old Victorian house I lived in with about 20 other students in 1963.  It was still standing, now the office of admissions.  I feared it was torn down, it was in pretty rough shape in 1963.  I took a picture and went on my way.

I decided to go to Hartford via US 17, a winding road (now I-86) that goes through the Allegheny mountains and the southern finger lakes region of NY.  Although I lived in New York for five years in the 60's, I have never driven this route.

It is beautiful.  Travelers enjoy many different views of the Allegheny river as the freeway crosses it again and again.  The road is in very bad shape, though.  It was the roughest road I have driven on this trip.  The LaSalle and I took a pounding for miles.  The day finally took its toll, and I saw a comfortable looking Days Inn in Hornell, NY and called it a day.

LaSalle report:  She is running very strong.  The engine still tricky to start when hot, but I have procedures that get it going every time.  There is that occasional noise from the front that comes and goes.  I saw a small puddle below the water pump on one stop.  Perhaps the noise is coming from there?  Lots of power at sea level.  Keep it up LaSalle!

Thursday, May 19, Napoleon, OH

Distance Traveled:  350 miles. Gas used 30 Gal, Oil none.

I slept a bit late at the Welk-um Inn (I am not making the name up) and had to tend to the LaSalle's loose fan belt.  Belt repairs took a half hour, but was fairly easy to handle with a cool engine. 

Because of the late start, I took some interstates to gain time.  I went east to Bloomington on 1-74, then turned to the north east on I-55.  This put me back on US 24 in the town of Meadows.  As is usual with interstates, I passed through Bloomington without seeing much of anything.  I had not been there.  I only know of the town from insurance ads and the annual Corvette convention there.  I suppose that Corvettes are or were built in Bloomington.

It had rained a lot the previous night and this created a foggy haze that made me miss New Mexico.  There was nary a tinge of blue in the sky, just gray.  This part of Illinois is very flat, so there was not much to excite the senses here. 

This is serious ag land, I was impressed with the soil.  It was really black, and miles and miles of tiny seedlings were just starting to come up.  I guessed it was corn, demanded so much by the ethanol industry.  Nance would have known for sure.  There is so much uniformity in the planting, the rows are true and all the seedlings appear to grow at exactly the same rate.  "No seedling left behind", I thought. No irrigation either, those huge mechanized sprinklers we love in the west are no where to be seen.  Instead, there are many big John Deere dealers around here, with rows of gigantic harvesting machines and tractors.  Ag is a major industry, no doubt about it.

It felt good to be back on US 24, this is a nice road and the LaSalle can make good time on it.  The pauses every 10 or 15 miles for a town are refreshing.  We took some of this road on our Buick trip in 2003.  It was good to see it again.

Indiana appeared soon.  The flatness that started in Illinois started to develop a few waves as I approached Logansport in central Indiana.  There, I crossed the enormous Wabash River, and from that point on, it was lush hills, valleys and trees for the rest of the day.  Although the hazy skies remained, this scenery was too much of a feast to ignore.

On a gas stop passed Logansport I met Larry the lanky trucker who came up asking questions about the car.  He noticed my atlas and offered many experienced suggestions about the best ways to get through Indiana and Ohio.  He was 40 something from Wisconsin and had been driving for 20 years.  He was a produce man, he said with that Fargo accent.  "Sick and tired of them folks in Washington with them dad blasted computers!"  "Never driven a truck and don't have the faintest idea how to get produce to market on time."  "Blasted Mothers against Tired Drivers restricting driver's hours."  "Now they want to take apart Social Security, dad gum it".  He was lots of fun and had a very pleasant way about him.  We both enjoyed the break and then got back on the road.

I took a side trip straight north of Ft. Wayne to check out the Auburn Cord Deusenberg Museum in Auburn.  The museum closed at 5 and I got there are 3:30.  It was not enough time to see this historic office building and the cars, but  what I saw was well worth it.  Magnate E. L. Cord controlled a huge empire in his late twenties and early thirties from an office in this very building.  Here he built spectacular luxury cars and industrial equipment.  It all collapsed like Enron around 1937.  There just was not enough demand for luxury products during the depression.

I wanted to make another couple of hundred miles after the museum, but it started to rain.  Not too hard, but enough to prime the leaks in the LaSalle.  It was getting dark too, and navigating a wet road with 65 year old headlamps is not a lot of fun.  Then I saw a sign, Best Western Ahead, Free High Speed Internet.  It was irresistible...

Wednesday, May 18, Peoria, IL

Distance Traveled: 496 Miles.  Gas Used 40 Gal, Oil 1 qt.

Dan and Kathy have a real life with real jobs and this ensured I got an early start.  They have a beautiful new country home built in the hills overlooking Manhattan.  A substantial labyrinth of dirt roads protect the house.  I needed to follow Dan to work or I may have spent many hours finding my way out.  This got me on the road before 8 AM.  Thanks again to Dan and Kathy for their hospitality.  I regretting having to leave so soon. 

I started on US 24, the main EW drag through Manhattan.  Most  think of Kansas as a vast flatland punctuated by Dorothy's Houses serving as tornado targets. This model does not fit the state north of I-70 through towns like Manhattan, Topeka, and Leavenworth.  This corner of Kansas, influenced by the mighty Missouri, has gently rolling hills, valleys, and farms that remind me of Pennsylvania or Ohio.  US 24 east of Manhattan is a generous four lanes, and I was able to keep steady pace around 60 mph and have enough attention left to enjoy the surroundings. 

I vectored to the north east off 24 just past Topeka on Kansas 4 heading toward Atchison and St Joseph, MO.  I made this turn because I wanted to avoid the congestion of Kansas City and could not resist Atchison.  Part of the famous song and railroad, I found myself humming the Irving Berlin (I think) tune as the road wound toward Atchison.  It is a small town that has seen better days, but  it had lots of track and trains evident -- much better than Santa Fe that has nothing more than a seldom used spur.  I crossed the Missouri at Atchison over one of those tall, narrow riveted truss bridges named in memory of Amelia Earhart.  Amelia's home town was Atchison.  Below, lines of barges fed off an army of grain elevators and other rusty industrial monuments.  Congestion was building as I moved into St. Joseph, a very big rust belt city --  the biggest town so far on this journey.  My road turned into a spaghetti of elevated interstate highways that flew over, under around and through abandoned brick factories and portions of the Missouri River.  I made a wrong turn that headed me back to the west.  I recovered quickly, but the anxiety of getting the LaSalle through this interchange was palpable.  I switched here to US 36, a quasi-freeway that took me quickly east into rural Missouri.

I stayed on 36 all the way across Missouri.  This was a repeat of a trip we took with Bill and Joyce Sullivan in 1998.  I recommend this route, it is scenic and the road is excellent.  I made good time for me.

There were big changes in Hannibal, MO.  The old narrow bridge across the Mississippi from downtown Hannibal is gone.  It has been replaced by two four lane monsters carrying 8 lanes of US 36.  This new bridge is several miles north of downtown Hannibal.  I could see no trace of the old bridge.  I wondered what Mark Twain would think of it.

There was some rain today.  It was just enough to show that the LaSalle windshield leaks like a sieve. I worried about my dash  with the instrument needles swimming through little puddles.  The rain stopped and the dash dried up OK.  But there is a forecast for more rain tomorrow.  It was getting dark around Peoria, and clouds were forming.  Good time to stop, and here I am.

LaSalle report:  our work with the distributor seemed to do the job.  Thanks again Bob Agnew for the suggestion.   That howling sound from the engine did happen a few times on this leg, but would stop as the car slowed.  I thought it might be a wheel bearing.  I do not think it is too threatening, but time will tell.  Finally, the setting bolt for one of the fan belts came loose and the belt went very slack.  I will fix that in the morning, it is too hard to work on this part of the engine when it is hot.

Good night!

Tuesday, May 17, Manhattan, KS

Distance Traveled: 330 Miles.  Gas Used 22 Gal, Oil none.

This was not the best day for distance traveled, but I sure enjoyed two brief visits with friends.  I did not get an early start from Meade.  Nance called at around 4 AM and I learned that she was having a great time touring with a group of young folks in New Zealand. What an age, where cell phones can let folks a half a world away talk like neighbors.

I  needed the sleep and did not see the road until 9 AM.  Several Kansans warned that today was going to be windy -- real windy.  I was not disappointed.  The gusty dusty winds out of the southwest blew at 40 mph and more.  The LaSalle and even the large trucks took on a noticeable list.  The LaSalle's vertical nose acted more like sail than keel.  All day the side winds demanded constant steering corrections and adjustments to keep square on the road. It was tiring and relentless.  Dust filled the air and turned those amber waves of ADM into a hazy brown mist.

My first major stop was in South Hutchinson to revisit Terry and Barbara Weigand,  the Buick friends we visited in 2003.  It was great to see both of them and their new Buick -- a mostly original 1920 Buick Coupe.  This lovely car went well with their other Buicks,  a 1916 Touring and 1922 Coupe.  We kicked the dirt, traded a few lies about politics and our carburetors over lunch in S. Hutchinson.  Terry and Barb and making progress with their historic house and their growing business in reproduction automotive signage.  It was great to see both of them, but I had to hit the road pretty quickly.

My next destination was to Manhattan, KS to meet with former Albuquerqueans Dan and Kathy Swenson.  I ran into trouble when US 77, my preferred route north, turned out to have a 35 mile detour from construction.  I started on this detour and nearly ran out of gas as it continued to go almost 20 miles east of where I wanted to be.  I finally had to go still farther east to the small town of Strong City to get gas.  Here I found gas and a surprise:  a local told me of a secondary route to Manhattan through the historic town and of Council Grove. This turned out to be more direct and far more scenic than the route I was detoured off of.

On the way north to Manhattan, the LaSalle began to surge and run poorly.  This was not the usual intermittent failure I described before -- but it was similar in character, just not so severe.  I had talked to Bob Agnew, one of Albuquerque's finest mechanics about this problem on the day before I left.  He suggested that I look carefully at the distributor, that the vacuum advance could cause the ignition to fail at certain throttle settings.  When I met Dan and Kathy in Manhattan, we spent some time adjusting the points.  Removing the vacuum advance line  appeared to stop the surging.  Adjusting the points certainly changed the surging -- although they were very difficult to set to operating properly over all speed ranges. Thank you Bob for this suggestion -- it looks like that may be where the problem lies.  I will be monitoring it for the rest of the trip.

Meanwhile, Dan, Kathy and I enjoyed our hurried recollections of old times in Albuquerque.  I wished we had more time dig a little deeper.  Dan is doing well with his business and enjoying learning how to build wooden boats.  Kathy is keeping the Manhattan schools going with her first grade teaching. 

I managed to get a temporary dog fix.  Lucky, the family's hyperactive  broad-band Boston Terrier served admirably.  Lucky made Lady seem like a supreme court justice. She sure was fun, though, I enjoyed a few high speed but genuine doggie kisses.

Alas, this is a cross country trip and now it was time to move on. Dan and Kathy kindly offered me a room at their inn, and I jumped at the chance for something more like home than the usual hotel fare.  Leaving was too quick.  Someday, I will try another travel model:  less distance and more time with friends.  It might be fun to just slowly wear out our welcome rather than eat and run.

Monday, May 16, Meade, KS

Distance traveled: 425 Miles.  Gas used, 30 gal, Oil 1/2 qt.

My weekend was grossly overscheduled and could not get away until 9 AM.  Getting the car packed and the house in order made the morning frenzied and dreadful.  The hardest part was looking at Duncan.  When loading the car starts Duncan understands exactly what is about to happen.  I really had to fight back tears watching him.  I think he was getting used to our bachelor week with Nancy in New Zealand.  Lady was of less concern because she just keeps spinning and not thinking.  She probably still thinks I'm home. 

The trip began on Old Route 66 headed east through Tijeras Canyon.  This route is one of my favorites and provides a tough test for an old car.  The LaSalle topped Sedillo Hill beautifully.  Two years ago, our '27 Buick really struggled here, it was almost the hardest climb of our entire journey to Michigan.  The LaSalle is a much more capable car, the industry learned a lot in that short 13 years.

Canyon is too grand a term to describe the Route 66's passage between the Sandia and Manzano mountains. It is not an enormous geological feature, but it does mark a boundary between the great plains and the western mountains.   I recall our family's drive to California in '52 or '53 on route 66.  I remember how Albuquerque's bright lights popped into view after hiding behind this canyon.   It was an exciting passage for us, it felt like the rest of our journey was about to be entirely different.

Today, the LaSalle is running very well, I am hoping I did enough to keep it alive and thriving on this trip.  So far so good.  The tank is topped in Moriarty to avoid taking on ethanol in Albuquerque, and I pull onto I-40.  Traffic was surprisingly light, I found that cruising at 60 MPH was comfortable.  There was no sense that the muscle trucks that dominate the interstate were massing to purge this obstruction to commerce.  Boy, this LaSalle is sure quiet and smooth!  I tightened up the steering gearbox last week, and she stays true to the road much better now.

I took a break in Santa Rosa and found an old car museum/convenience store.  It  was a well done fifties auto museum.  The owner had the friendly nickname "Bozo" that did not fit his robust body and obvious entrepreneurial  confidence and talent.  We discussed a future local tour to the museum. Loved the engines he had displayed in the lobby -- several flathead Fords, a Chrysler Hemi and a Buick nailhead. 

I was off with the only problem I had this day -- the LaSalle did not want to start after my short stay in the museum.  This is an old problem, and the new carburetor evidently did not fix it.  After several minutes of anxious cranking, the big flathead fired up and belched out some black exhaust until it cleared and ran smoothly as before..  Flooded.

The next stop was Tucumcari, that melodious New Mexico town featured in so many songs.  Here, I got off I-40 to meet US 54 and proceed to the north east towards central Kansas. Tucumcari looked depressed.  It has not done well since the old route 66 left the center of town.  Now those architectural remnants from the mother road are empty and decaying.  There are the usual assortment of big box chain motels clustered near the I-40 exits -- but the heart of the town is not healthy.  I moved on, remembering all those dazzling neon images of Tucumcari in most any Route 66 book.   And all those "Tucumcari Tonight!" billboards.

I made good time on US 54.  It is very well surfaced and it seemed less congested that  it did in 1998 when Nance and I made this trip with Bill and Joyce Sullivan.  We were on our way then to the Glidden Tour in New Hampshire.  I realized that it was not going to be easy to make my goal of 500 miles unless I was willing to drive at night.  The late start and the loss of an hour at the Texas line all worked against me.  I approached a very prosperous looking Liberal, Kansas fighting very strong and gusty SW winds. I wondered if the town was really liberal, here in the heart of Limbaugh country.  There was still light, but I was getting tired.  Finally, Meade Kansas showed up.  There was nary a single big box hotel here, just many small older units.  Then I saw the municipal power plant and remembered that this was the town the we stopped at with Bill and Joyce -- and got a free tour of the power plant as a bonus.  That was the message I needed, I pulled into the Dalton Bedpost Motel.  Named after the famous Dalton Gang.  Look it up on Google...  This tiny hotel is very comfortable, clean and cheap:  $40 with about 99 digital TV channels and a decent phone line for internet access.  Good night!

Day 0:  Car Preparations:

You can probably never do enough to prepare an old car, but with the LaSalle's flakey record for reliability, there is added incentive to be thorough.   Here is the LaSalle getting some pre trip maintenance.

The ignition parts and plugs are fairly new, but I ordered spares and tossed them in the glove compartment.  Routine stuff like changing the oil and greasing the car was completed.

This LaSalle has always had an intermittent problem with the carburetor.  The engine suddenly dies in the mid range part of the throttle.  It runs OK at idle and full throttle, but nothing in between.  Have you ever tried to drive a car running this way?  It is not a pretty sight, and everyone on the road is sure you are drunk or simply crazy.  This problem can go away as quickly as it arrives:  sometimes all on its own, and sometimes after you've cleaned the carburetor several times.  Skilled kibitzer's have offered many suggestions about the problem.  A few think it might be an ignition problem masquerading as bad carburetion.  I doubt this because most ignition components have been replaced on this car, and the failure continues.

I worried that the problem is still out there just waiting to strike again -- probably putting us at the center of a  huge traffic jam.  I decided to try a new carburetor, even though the original Stromberg unit on this car has works fine 99% of the time.   Last year I bought a junk yard dog of a Carter two barrel carb at a garage sale.  It is similar to Carters that were used on these engines in the 30's, though not exactly.  I cleaned it up and put a rebuild kit in it.  It works well on the LaSalle -- the engine is much smoother  and more responsive than with the Stromberg.  I decided to start the trip with the Carter and throw the Stromberg in the trunk as a spare. 

There has been an occasional howl from the engine that sounds like it comes from the water pump, fan, or generator.  The howl stops before I can get the hood open, so I have never identified its source.  Because this may act up, there is a spare water pump, fan bearing, and generator in the trunk. 

A survey under the car revealed a small leak through the rear pinion seal.  A new seal was ordered but I did not have time to install it.  It will be packed just in case it is needed.

The rest of car prep consists of gathering up the tools.  I have a fairly standard list I use, and all the tools I carry fit into a fairly compact toolbox..  I bring a small 6V battery charger because these are hard to find if you need one.  Directories of car club members are always important, especially if you need help on the road.  Don't forget the shop manual..

Nance spends a lot of time packing clothes and stuff, but with her in New Zealand, I will bring barely enough stuff to just get by.  None of it will be color coordinated.  I will bring laundry detergent to clean what little I have.

Fortunately, the LaSalle is a huge car.  Packing it is much easier than it was with the Buick.