June, Cross Country Drive

Alfa Romeo National Convention, Alfa Deco, Tulsa Oklahoma

It seems to be turning into a tradition now, for the third year in a row I've brought an Alfa cross country from California to Mass, the last two years stopping along the way to attend the National Convention.

I've done this cross country drive many, many times now, however this one was the first time when I failed to make it the entire distance.  The car, a 3.0 GTV6, drove like a champ the entire way, including through the Mojave Desert and the South Western United States, the Grand Canyon, and on to Tulsa Oklahoma, where two drivers thrashed it in pretty much every event (well ok. it wasn't exactly thrashed in the concours, but you get the point).  It was on the way home that the water pump gave out.  It started to go on the wrong side of Pennsylvania, we nursed it to the right side of Pennsylvania, but just shy of the New York border it seized and brought the drive to a long, slow, screeching halt.

We toyed with the idea of renting something, then returning with either a new water pump or my truck and trailer, but in the end AAA found a driver who was crazy enough to flat bed the Alfa 249 miles to Boxborough.  So, 249 miles and $521.50 later, the Alfa made it to Boxborough.

Even with the trouble at the end, it was a very enjoyable trip, and the car drove like a champ all the way.

<2006_06_10> Mojave California, plane graveyard

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