By Deb & Dan Donovan

Photos by John Rowntree, Gene Durso, and Dave Pratt

Hey, Florence — is that your best price? While our southern Alfisti may have been preparing for Hurricane Florence on Saturday, September 15th, we all enjoyed the benefits of a wonderful fall day. We'll keep them in our thoughts as they recover this week.

We had record participation in this year's Wachusett Run with 20 cars and 36 participants. For the second year in a row, we nearly had representation of all six New England states, with only the great state of Maine missing. We did, however, make it up with representation from the great state of Alaska!

We met at the Mount Wachusett Visitor Center. Our excellent turnout combined with a beautiful hiking day resulted in competition for parking. Triple-parking our Alfas didn't quite do the trick, so we'll need a different plan next year. We enjoyed pre tour camaraderie over biscotti, donuts, and coffee before we were hastened on our way by the ranger.

As always, the Wachusett Run organizers tried to add a few surprises and new elements. The modified route brought us from Westminster through Princeton and Holden centers, to a ride along one of Worcester's reservoirs and into its Tatnuck Square neighborhood, and then on to Paxton center. After a brief pit stop at "Four Corners" in the geographic center of the Commonwealth (aka Rutland), we made our way through Oakham and Barre to Petersham for a photo stop and buying spree. This year, we shared the Common with a tag sale (that means "yard sale" for you eastern-Mass folks). While the organizers had worried that it would ruin the nice calendar photo ops, the attendees' concern was that there wasn't more time to shop.

With our purchases safely tucked away, we headed back into the woods, only to emerge a few minutes later at an intersection in the middle of nowhere known as "The Barre Cross", a 200-foot-long, 25-foot-wide cross paved on a swath of land cleared next to the owner's 240-year-old farmhouse and carefully manicured shrubbery. Definitely not your typical New England farmhouse panorama.

After a few more twists and turns, we eventually came to our well-earned rest in "Chair City" (aka Gardner) and our lunch spot, The Gardner Ale House.

Thanks to all who attended! Looking forward to seeing many of you at our upcoming AONE events!

[And thanks to the Donovans and Dursos, who again planned and perfectly executed a great early-autumn event! —Ed.]

2018 Wachusett Tour Participants

Jim and Patti DeWaele - 1973 GTV
Dan and Deb Donovan - 1988 Spider
Steve and Nancy Perry - 1978 Spider
John and Roberta Rowntree - 1987 Spider
John and Lauren DeWaele - 1972 GTV
Peter Walker and Meg Anderson - 1977 Spider
Frank La Sala and Mary Demers - 2018 Stelvio
Gene, Judy, Irene Durso & Christine Gonn - 2017 Giulia Quadrifoglio
Larry LoPresti & Michelle Dextraze - 1978 Spider
Bob Rupp & Barbara Smith - 1984 Spider
Jay & Suzanne Woodruff - 1986 Spider
Roger Carlson - 1959 2000 Touring
Ted Keon & Paul Rosenberg - 1974 GTV
Robert Rook - 2017 Giulia Ti
Scott Weiner - 1982 Spider
Tom Freiberger - 1974 Spider
Dave Pratt - 2017 Giulia Ti
Thomas & Liane Brooks - 1986 Spider
Frank Anigbo - Maserati Mexico (Very Nice Lesser? Car)
Carey Casaboom & Jennie Rowntree - 2018 Corvette (Very Nice Lesser? Car)

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See the original event announcement