After all of the preparation, all the logistics and all the work, it was hard to believe that Brio was going home. How could this be? After all, it took a month and a half to get to Rimouski. It was really a world away: a different culture, a different language, harsher weather by the time we reached October. Mountains separated her from where she was going. Miles of road, winding and narrow as well as superhighways. She would have company. There would be two escort cars, one in front with a pole whose top matched Brio's 15-foot height above the road. New Hampshire and Massachusetts would require state police cars in front and behind. Brio had grown accustomed to attention, but this was unusual.
A flashing light! Blue! Red! Yellow! All in a day's work for Brio.
Once everything was packed up, Brio's crew headed south. We didn't leave until about 4:30 pm and we finally arrived in Portsmouth, NH around 1:30 am. Dave slept in his truck for the night and left early the next morning. The crane crew also spent the night in Rimouski before heading back to Montreal. Charlie Murphy, the engineer, also packed up his truck and spent the night in Rimouski before heading back to Bridgewater, Massachusetts though Vermont.
The "straight shot" from Quebec City to Providence, RI is the flight path if you were to fly the nearly 5 hours to get to southern New England. The blue route is how we went, stopping at the blue dot for the night before driving the rest of the way to Cape Cod and Marion. This is also how Dave Kopriva went with his escorts and Brio. The grey route is how Charlie Murphy went. It's a little flatter and used less fuel.
Here's Dave at the end of the first day. He arrived in Agusta, Maine. Remember? The state capital? You can see how well strapped down Brio is. The little Whaler is perched over the trailer gooseneck, heading forward while Brio is "facing" backward.
The next day, at the New Hampshire border, Brio picked up her first "statie" police escort. The two NH state police cars were replaced by Massachusetts state police escorts at the Massachuetts line.
Dave took the outer circumferential highway around Boston, I-495. Due to construction, he was forced to take two-lane roads through Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Finally, he turned off I-495 and on to I-195 just 10 miles north of Marion and drove south to the exit for State Route 105 and Marion. That's where he encountered the tree branches and limbs. They were thin enough to not do any damage, but he had been tree-free for the previous 600+ miles.
You can see one of the escort cars behind Brio, at the end of the trailer. This is just after Brio entered the parking lot at Burr Brothers Boats in Marion, Massachusetts. The State Police escorts had already peeled off.
Dave drove Brio around the corner, deeper into the yard where he could unload her.
Dave was happy. He hoped to reach the New York State line that night where he would sleep before heading back to Ontario the next day.
And a few days later, Charlie Murphy came back and began to re-install the electronics and equipment stored in Brio's salon back up on her roof.
Now, that begins to look better! No more scalped top!
It will take months of work through the winter months to get Brio back in shape. She will be stored in the shed behind her in this picture. Bit by bit, she'll regain fighting trim and be ready for whatever is thrown her way next summer. But right now, it's time to take stock and lay plans for repair and recovery.
All Brio can say is:
Cheers!
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