Movers and Shakers

It appeared to have rained a bit overnight but naturally the morning dawned blue and beautiful again for our intrepid group of Model A tourers. We had a nice breakfast at the Holiday Inn and we we off again this time with Doug and Nan in the lead.

We headed towards the FASNY Museum of Firefighting in Hudson, New York. It turned out to be a very interesting take with fire apparatus dating from the 18th century to the present day. Many exhibited fire engines were interactive allowing you to sit on board and pretend you were a firefighter! There were hand operated pumpers, steam operated pumpers, ladder trucks and all sorts of fire fighting accessories like axes and hooks (as in hook and ladder). There was even a Model T fire truck (see photo). We bought tee shirts for grandchildren, dog biscuits for Tucker and other stuff we could not live without.

From Hudson, NY we then headed to the Shaker Village in Hancock, MA. Since we arrived just before noontime, we decided to have lunch before starting our look-see of the place. The lunch was very good (I had the tuna wrap) and after eating we were ready to walk off some of those lunchtime calories. The last Shakers to live at Hancock sold the place in 1960 (I think) to a not for profit group that eventually became Hancock Shaker Village. The round stone barn is world famous and still houses farm animals including turkeys, pigs, cows and goats. The village consists of more than 20 buildings.

After spending a couple of hours looking at the Shaker village we were on our way east again through small western Massachusetts towns and over big Massachusetts hills on route 9 east. Going through Dalton, MA we passed Crane Paper Company the manufacturer of all paper used in the printing of United States currency.

We reached Barre, MA and the start of old familiar route 62 and realized that we would soon be home if we could only navigate the worst stretch of state owned roadway in the Commonwealth. I remember going this way a few years ago and the roadway still hasn't been fixed. It is just plain awful! We survived crappy route 62 and finally made our way home to the Merrimack Valley by early evening.

More stats later but I do know we travelled 1900+ miles without any on the road breakdowns. We had one flat tire and a worn fan belt that was replaced.

Day Nine and We're Headin' East

Some of us slept in a little at the wonderful Sherwood Inn and consequently missed a thunderstorm which passed through in the early morning. Soon afterwards, the sun broke through and it was another sunny day awaiting our group.

We had the usual great breakfast at the inn including cereals, muffins, scones, croissants, scrambled eggs, fruits and more. They even serve fresh squeezed orange juice. Shortly after 9:00 AM the ladies walked uptown to checkout the "sidewalk sale" that the merchants were having and the men tended to the cars.

By 11:00 AM most of the shopping was over and we went to a scenic cruise of Lake Skaneateles on the Judge Ben Wiles which has been plying the waters of the lake since the mid-1980s. We learned the boat has a 250 hp Detroit Diesel engine and can hold 100 passengers and crew. The "two hour cruise" was great with view of all of the "camps" along the lakeshore. Some of those camps had boathouses that looked like they had 5 bedrooms and three full baths!

We disembarked at 1:00 PM and went back to the inn to have a scrumptious lunch in the dining room. That lunch, being so filling, would hold us for the rest of the day it turned out.

We got the cars all packed up and hit the road about 2:15 PM bound for a Holiday Inn Express in Schoharie, New York. We were now really into the hills of central New York state and each upgrade and downgrade was a good test for the ol' Model As but they were equal to the task. We have passed more ice cream stands and Subway sandwich shops on this trip than you can imagine. We've bought lunch at Subway more than a few times but we haven't stopped for ice cream even once. We'll have to remedy that soon! Arrived at our hotel about 6:30 PM, "watered the horses" and hit the sack.

Skaneateles, New York

On the road by 7:00 AM this morning and looking forward to a full day of driving with our destination being Skaneateles, NY and the Sherwood Inn. In the course of our travels we went through three (3) states - Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. We rode along Lake Erie for quite some time and actually got glimpses of the lake from time to time.

We stopped for lunch at a Subway shop in a small town that was under some heavy road construction. It looked like they were replacing water and sewer pipes all along the main street. While going through town, we saw a Model T with a wooden body of some sort clipping right along in front of us. He stopped a block ahead of the sandwich shop and while we were eating lunch, ran back up the main street in the other direction.

More beautiful roads got us into the Sherwood Inn in plenty of time for some shopping and then a fabulous dinner at the Inn overlooking Lake Skaneateles followed by a leisurely stroll through town to walk off the calories. We had the last three rooms in the Inn and called it a day about 10 pm. No baseball meant we all got a little more sleep.

On the Road Again

It was another early start as we bade farewell to Dearborn, Michigan and started heading back to New England. We decided to turn south towards Ohio and go around Lake Erie travelling through Toledo and Cleveland on out way to our next night on the road in Ashtabula, OH.

Another beautiful morning and a great drive through more wonderful country towns with many farms whizzing by. We arrived in Toledo and drove right past the ballpark where the Toledo Mud Hens play their home games. It is an absolutely beautiful facility and I wanted to stop to maybe buy a Mud Hens hat but the souvenir shop was closed. It was then up and over a big bridge and onward towards Cleveland.

We stopped for sandwiches and then a little further down the road found a great lakeside park in Lorain, Ohio. The park had a sandy beach and some people were actually in swimming. The park also had a stunning rose garden, rest rooms and clean picnic tables...what a novel idea! And, it was FREE!

We managed to get around Cleveland via the interstate and drove past the ballpark where the Indians play baseball (in the distance - downtown) and the big stadium where the Cleveland Browns play football. The football stadium is right between the highway and the interstate and looms rather large as you drive by. Cookie missed this part because she was somehow taking a nap in the car despite all of the road and traffic noise.

We eventually go off the highway and made our way to our hotel. A rather long day of driving but much to see along the lake. We had a nice dinner at a Chop House (Doug and I had the 1/2 rack of delicious ribs!) and the crashed for the night.

Off to Skaneateles, NY and the Sherwood Inn tomorrow.

The Rouge Assembly Plant and Greenfield Village

The plan was to catch the first bus to that would take us to the F-150 assembly plant on the Rouge River in Detroit. At 9:20 AM we boarded the bus outside of the Henry Ford Museum and began our plant tour. It was a short ride to the visitor center where we were greeted by a Ford Motor Company tour guide who talked about the history of the Rouge Assembly Plant (built in 1917) and emphasized how "green" the current plant was with it's actual grass roof and water reclamation systems.

In the immense lobby area, the Twenty Millionth Model A Ford was on display along with a 1949 Ford, a 1956 Thunderbird and a '65 Mustang convertible. We took an elevator to the walkway that took us to the visitor gallery on the 2nd floor. The plant was already buzzing with the assembly line moving along at a good clip. I was surprised at how fast the line moved and how quickly the workers (and robots) installed parts onto the truck cabs and beds. The windshields were installed by a special machine - very interesting. You can also see how important it is to have the parts delivered to the various assembly stations on time and as needed. Anything that would stop the process would be a disaster I'm sure.

Greenfield Village

After a quick lunch, we followed a path that took us to the homes of many historically significant individuals, which included, just to name a few, Henry Ford’s boyhood home, the Wright brother’s Bicycle Shop, and Thomas Edison’s Laboratory. Thomas Edison even came out to talk to us about his recent experiments with the electric light bulb. He suggested we visit the rooming home of Sarah Jordan across the street from his lab where some of his employees completely electrified the home.

The visit to the railroad round house was especially interesting as we could explore the underneath of one of the classic steam engines. Walking under the belly of one of these beasts was quite an experience. We were happy to see a few items from our home state on display; the Spofford Saw Mill from Groveland and the Rocks Village toll booth of Haverhill. One of the activities that really added to the atmosphere were the Model T Fords that cruised the property giving visitors rides. We spent all afternoon here and we still only saw a small portion of the entire village. This is definitely a place where we will have to have a return visit.

Fair Lane and Edsel Ford's home

Another beautiful start to the day here in the Detroit area. Temperatures have been a bit crisp here at night and in the early morning but by 10:00 AM it was in the 70s.

We got to Henry and Clara Ford's home - Fair Lane - about an hour before they opened but this allowed us time to take some pictures in front of the house. Construction was started on the home and grounds in 1915 and the project was budgeted at $500,000. It was essentially completed two years later and after a few cost overruns ($2,000,000) the Ford's moved in. There is a hydroelectric power plant attached to a big garage housing many of Mr. Ford's automobiles. Mrs. Ford preferred driving electric cars and her battery powered car is also in the garage. We took the tour and saw many of the 45 rooms in the house. The property was originally approximately 1200 acres. http://www.henryfordestate.org/

After lunch, we headed over to Grosse Pointe Shores and Edsel Ford's (Henry's son) home. Naturally, we took the guided tour and our tour guide was just great. Edsel and Eleanor Ford raised their family on this incredible estate built on a point of land (87 acres) jutting out into a huge lake. We got permission to drive the As onto the property and take a few pictures in front of the mansion. What a great day!

Tomorrow we go to the big Ford assembly plant on the Rouge River in Detroit. It is simply called The Rouge. After that we'll tour Greenfield Village.

The Henry Ford Museum

After a good breakfast at the Hampton Inn, we set out for the Henry Ford Museum that is visible from our hotel room window. Unfortunately, Jack discovered that sometime during the night his left rear tire had gone flat. In the middle of a 20 minute rain shower he changed the tire with the help of Doug and me. We will look at it later on.

We arrived at the museum and I found a parking space right up front. We bought tickets just after the museum opened and eagerly hit the exhibit floor. This was my first time at "The Henry" and it is quite a place. They have a locomotive in there that is an Allegheny Class steam engine. It is immense and to get in into the exhibit hall they mounted permanent rails into the floor! There are many, many cars, airplanes, railroad apparatus, tractors and all kinds of "stuff". They have a Model T that they take apart and then reassemble every day. They have the biggest steam driven power generator that I have ever seen. It was from the Ford Highland plant and the building was more or less built around it.

Well, we had lunch at the museum and didn't leave until after 4:00 PM. On the way home we stopped at a gas station and Jack filled up the flat tire with some fresh air. Later, we'd check the pressure to see if it was still leaking (it was). When we got back to the hotel a group of five (5) Model As had just arrived from Indiana. There was a '31 Fordor SW sedan, a '30 Tudor, a '29 Roadster, a '30 Cabriolet and another Fordor.

Niagara Falls to Dearborn, Michigan

Last night I received a call from our friends Dave and Peggy Gill of Sacramento, California. They are the couple who are travelling across America in their 1929 Model A Tudor sedan. We met them when they were in eastern Massachusetts last week. They have touched three of the four corners of the USA having just headed west from the coast of Maine. Surprisingly, they were also in Niagara Falls and staying on the New York side. We agreed to meet for breakfast Friday morning at our hotel and our small group really enjoyed meeting Dave and Peggy. They said they will view the falls from the Canadian side today and then meet family in Buffalo, NY tomorrow.

The sun was shining brightly as we headed west for Dearborn. Our trip took us along the banks of the Niagara River where we saw beautiful homes, water skiers on the river and morning joggers. Our day took us on Ontario route 3 that runs along the western side on Lake Eire. It's obvious that we were out of any hilly country and in the flat now as we buzzed westward. We made excellent time travelling at about 50 - 54 MPH (80 KM) on our way to the border crossing in Detroit. We had a quick lunch in Simcoe, ON and when we were ready to go Doug's starter Bendix got a little hung up on the flywheel. We did a quick rocking of the car in third gear and it popped back and all was well.

We passed many farms growing cherries, wheat, corn, tobacco and apples. There were very few gas stations along the way and by the time I filled up I only had about a gallon left in the tank. We got to Windsor around 6:00 PM and went into a tunnel that took us under the Detroit River. Traffic (Friday afternoon!) was all backed up and it was very warm inside the tunnel. We were all thankful that we got our air conditioners recharged before the trip -- not! So, after 25 minutes we got to US Customs, breezed through and we were on our way to our hotel via downtown Detroit.



We went right near Comerica Park where the Detroit Tigers play and then up Michigan Avenue past the old Tiger Stadium which is being torn down. Speaking of being torn down that whole section of Detroit looks like it is in almost torn down condition. Passing the Star Motel we saw what I'll call a "business transaction" being negotiated. Jeesh! Thankfully, our hotel in Dearborn is well past all of that depressed and run down part of Detroit.



Arrived at the Hampton Inn and checked in with no problems. Tomorrow we're off to the Henry Ford Museum which is a few blocks from here.

Cazenovia, NY to Niagara Falls, Ontario

After breakfast at the Brewster Inn we headed west towards our next destination: Niagara Falls, Ontario. On the advice of the innkeeper at the Brewster Inn, we took route 92 west around the big hills on route 20. We rejoined route 20 near Skaneateles, New York. We went right by the beautiful Sherwood Inn (where we had stayed in 2007) and through the beautiful "downtown" area.

We had great views of bucolic upstate NY farms and got wonderful glimpses of the Finger Lakes. We were on route 20/5 on the top of the Finger Lakes and decided to get a sandwich at a Subway in Caledonia, NY. While at the Subway (we got the Buffalo chicken sandwich) we met the Chief of Police. We asked about a good place in town to have a picnic lunch and he told us about a park in town that would be a good spot. So, under sunny skies we enjoyed a great lunch.

Rolling hills, great scenery and a fine day for Model Aing followed. We had no problems clearing customs after crossing the Rainbow Bridge into Canada and after "minimal delays" we settled into our hotel - The Sheraton on the Falls - in Niagara Falls, Ontario. We all had "falls facing" views of the American and Canadian "Horseshoe" Falls. Slowly we turned and step by step we all enjoyed the fabulous view and snacks from our sky high rooms!

At 6:30 PM we walked along Falls Boulevard all the way up to the Horseshoe Falls where the power of Niagara mesmerized us while we got soaked by the mist coming up from thundering water.

Off to upstate New York

It was "wheels up" at 6:30 AM and we were on our way to Cazenovia, NY. We made our way to route 2 west in occasional light rain in moderate rush hour traffic. We went through Orange, Turner's Fall and across the Connecticut River making excellent time and we were in the Albany, New York area before noontime. After some road construction and "stop and go" traffic in Troy and Schenectady, NY we stopped for lunch in Ft. Johnson, NY along route 5.

Lunch was shortened somewhat by some rainfall (what else?) and we were once again on our way to points west. The cars ran fine over the hilly terrain and by travelling on NY route 5 and NY route 80 we avoided any serious traffic. These were great Model A roads! Arriving in Cooperstown, NY we gassed up the cars at a Stewart's gas station/convenience mart. Cooperstown itself was very busy with baseball fans visiting the Hall of Fame and buying tee shirts (!). The sun was out now and there is nothing like the scenery of Upstate New York on a sunny afternoon. Just outside of Cooperstown, a big deer ran right in front of Jack and Jo's car - almost a direct hit. Behind us, Doug and Nan said they saw a fawn run across the road in front of their car. Yikes!


After a full day of travel, we arrived at the Brewster Inn in Cazenovia, NY. A quick check of Jack's GPS unit indicated that we had travelled 300 miles for the day. The inn is located on Cazenovia Lake and was once the summer home of a Mr. Benjamin Brewster who was a partner of John D. Rockerfeller in Standard Oil Company.

After checking the cars (I replaced a fan belt) we enjoyed some time on the veranda overlooking the lake and then went went to the dining room for some good food and conversation. It's off to Niagara Falls in the morning.