We are at (you guessed it) an Elks lodge, this time in Concord, Massachusetts (map). Yes, that Concord, the one where, along with neighboring Lexington, the first engagements of the Revolutionary War occurred, where British Regulars had to fall back in the face of the Minutemen.
Nearby is the North Bridge, where Emerson famously wrote in his Concord Hymn that the "shot heard 'round the world" was fired. Speaking of Emerson, this area is generally recognized as the cradle of Transcendentalism. Also near here is Walden Pond and Thoreau's cabin. While we have not done the whole tourist ritual here, we did pass all these places on our way here.
We arrived yesterday in just enough time to unload the scooters and head over to our friends' house, in a wooded area where once Emerson and Thoreau no doubt walked. We had a wonderful afternoon with them, including lunch at 99 restaurant and a nice walk in those same woods. They had a previous engagement for the evening, so we returned to Odyssey for a dinner of various leftovers we'd collected from restaurant meals in the last few days.
We stowed the scooters immediately upon our return in anticipation of rain, and sure enough, it has been raining since we awoke this morning. All of the forecasts and radar images tell us that it will rain the entire day, and, with no working wipers, we are basically pinned down here in Concord until tomorrow. In hindsight, we should have ridden into town last night, just to see it and maybe have dinner, and saved the leftovers for today.
From here we will head back to the coast and out onto Cape Cod. We'd made arrangements to visit some friends in the lower cape tomorrow, but we may have to push that back a bit depending on when we can actually start driving. I will sure be glad to have working wipers again; at this writing, we have parts coming to Connecticut on Tuesday to maybe get them working, and we'll intersect with those parts on Thursday or Friday depending on weather. And a distributor in North Carolina might be getting some brand new motors in on Thursday; if we determine those will fit, we will find a way to have one of those shipped to us as well.
Photo by Darwin Bell, used under a Creative Commons license.
Where in Connecticut are you going to be?
ReplyDeleteHi there,
ReplyDeleteGlad your making progress, albeit slow. Every time I see it raining, I think of the wipers not working.
Sounds like everything is well, Louise's Dad, sight seeing, height restrictions etc. I hope the Wiper motor works. I should have checked the city bus yard when you were here. Maybe they would have worked eh?
Will keep checking in. Stay in touch, and safe roads...
Hugs,
David
Portland, ME
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ReplyDeleteok I have to add the link too...LOL
ReplyDeletehttp://maine.craigslist.org/aos/1428058289.html
Might someone like this be able to rebuild the wiper motor and fix the head of it for a spare at least?
@Frank: We'll start out on the coast, coming in from Newport, RI, then angle up towards Hartford where we have friends (who will be receiving the wiper parts), then continuing northwest out of the state through the corner of Vermont and into NY.
ReplyDelete@NatureDudeME: The problem with the wiper is not a motor problem, per se, which is what could be fixed by a rebuilder. The gearbox housing is cracked and can not be repaired, it needs to be replaced.
Awww Dang it, I did not know if they would have some way of repairing it. Hopefully the one being sent to CT will fix it eh...
ReplyDeleteGlad you made it to the Cape...... Great weather today and tomorrow for your trip ti RI ........ I'll be waving as you pass over the Bourne Bridge ------ in spirit anyway Michael
ReplyDelete