Day 11 - October 3, 1998

New York, Across Massachusetts, and Home

We Made it!!!

Our last day on the road turned out to be cool with a mixture of sun and clouds and overall quite pleasant.   (Hey, just like yesterday!)  We motored out of Binghamton, NY, headed out wonderful roads through the Catskills (early enough to beat the New Jersey leaf-peepers), into the Pittsfield, MA area to visit friends, and finally onto the Mass Pike for the last part of the ride home (one of the few times we were on an Interstate highway).

Today's page chronicles events and views of today's travels.  We will, though, after a day's contemplation, be doing one more wrap-up page detailing some of the car's technical performance, some thoughts on routes (taken or not), things we'd take with us next time, some things we'd leave home, etc.  Would we do it again??  Sure!  But maybe a little different - like somehow automating the daily updating of the web page.  More thoughts tomorrow . .

This page chronicles our journey with the Alfa - the route we took, places we stopped (intentionally and otherwise), things we did, and other exploits.  Click on any of the smaller images for a larger view.

This is where we went today

East Branch, Delaware River, Upstate NY
Fly fishing on the Delaware River (which originates in upstate NY), a mecca for local trout fishermen, yielded another beauty.  Since we were so close to home, this one was saved to be part of our homecoming celebration.  Fishing was great the whole trip!

The Catskills, NY
The northeast, famous for its fall colors, is especially beautiful viewed through the windshield of a humming Alfa.  The trees here have just started to change - another week and they will be spectacular!  Alfisti, can you picture the sights, sounds, and smells?

Prattsville, NY
Again, we saw it on the map and had to detour there.  Prattsville, NY, on the edge of the Catskills, was a typical, homey, small upstate New York town.  Check out today's Culture Feature for more Prattsville lore.

Pittsfield, MA
We caught up with longtime friends Bill and Diane Nichols for a quick visit, a cup of coffee, and to use their bathroom.  Their lovely newly-expanded home overlooks a pretty Berkshire mountains lake.  It was good to see them even though they don't own any Alfas (yet).

Home At Last, Dedham, MA
Here's a shot taken if front of Dave's garage - home at last - and the only other Alfas we'd seen all day - HIS!  After a celebratory dinner and trimmings, the red GTV will reside at John's home in Medfield, MA, 8 miles away.

Beer(s) of the Day

Culture Feature

Today's culture feature was a real treat for us - Pratt Rock, the Mount Rushmore of the East!  Zadock Pratt, founder of the town of Prattsville, NY, was a 19th century tanner, banker, congressman, and builder.   Philanderer should also have been added to his achievements.  He managed to have 5 wives, including TWO PAIRS of sisters!  He had Pratt Rock carved for his many loves, one of which was his horse.  The Pratt Rock information kiosk didn't include details on his relationship with his horse, although his horse's gravesite is there but none for any of his wives.  Hmmmmm.  Check out this picture of Pratt Rock:

And then the rock itself:

And finally a detailed view of some relative of Zadock Pratt.  Hmmmm, I wonder what. . .

Alfa Spotting!

We've been keeping track of all the Alfas that we've encountered on the trip (starting from when we left Alfa Parts Exchange back in Hayward, CA), and will be posting the current total, with model names and years, every day!  Here's the current tally:

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