Day 44 – We Made It – Almost

OK, today was going to be the last day of our adventure that started 6 weeks ago. We left Albany and continued on RT 20 through the city without any trouble other than a few turns that weren’t marked very well. The GPS got us over the river and past the hustle and bustle of the city.

The Model A’s were running well and we were just enjoying the drive. The weather forecast was for temperatures in the 90’s and as it got later in the morning we could tell it was getting hotter. The miles ticked away and soon we crossed back into Massachusetts. We stopped to take a picture as we crossed the border but the sign was pretty boring. I guess the sign with more glitz was probably on the Mass Pike. But, we are now back on home ground.

The western part of RT 20 through the Berkshires to me is one of the nicest drives in the state. The road follows the Housatonic and West Rivers with high rock walls in many places. It was in this area the Dick had to remind me we were passing through Blandford, where my troubles started on the first day of our journey. We were about to get on the bypass around Springfield when I hit a pothole while braking and I heard something break and then a scraping sound. Dick was already on the bypass when I radioed that I had to pull over. A quick look showed that the left front brake rod had broken and the scraping noise was the broken piece, which got bent, dragging on the ground. I pulled the two clevis pins and was ready to go by the time Dick circled back to me. A test of the three brakes remaining seemed to be fine, no pulling noticeable. Nan also commented that we now knew which brake was making the squealing noise, because it was now gone.

Our lunch stop was at the Steaming Tender (http://www.steamingtender.com/) in Palmer. The restored old train station looked great and while we were eating an AMTRAK passenger train went roaring by which startled many of us.

The CB crackled with Dick saying he needed to check a rear tire. We pulled into a gas station and sure enough it was low. A little air and we went another 10 miles before Dick radioed that the tire was going low again. We pulled into a parking lot and put on the spare. Good thing Dick fixed that tire a few days ago.

It wasn’t long before Nan & I turned off to head home. It seemed strange to break away from Dick & Barbara as both of us went our separate ways. The good thing is that we would both be going home after an unbelievable Model A adventure.

We pulled into our driveway and got a reception from our neighbors, our daughter and grandkids who gave us huge hugs. Ah…it’s good to be home.