We ended our tour at Wodies on the Wharf in Santa Cruz where our family came down and we crammed into our hotel room and had a blast! We even had sun!!! I even finally got sunburned! My legs finally have a color other than WHITE!!! YEA!!!!!
We had a special place on the wharf for the cars that traveled the US and they did a little interview of the travelers. Thanks Roland, and Santa Cruz Woodies for making the end of our trip so special....
Well, its here....the end of the trip..... tomorrow I go back to work....
That month flew by and the one thing I learned on this trip is that I can't wait to retire!!! Three more years, yes Gary, that's TH R E E and I will retire.... :o) :o)
This trip was amazing! Gar and I saw and did so many things and a little (ok, alot) of rain didn't stop us at all. We met great people along the way (you know who you are!) and the people that traveled with us were awesome, and I hope will be life long friends. Ralph, Marie, Mark, Nance, Wayne and MaryJane were great traveling companions and we couldn't have asked for a friendlier group. Considering we all met that day in Washington (and Rapid City) without knowing each other, I feel like we are old friends....
Again I say, if you have a chance to visit these wonderful United States, do it. It will renew your faith in this country and its wonderful people. I know I've said it before in this blog, but the people we met along the way who stopped and chatted in parking lots and gas stations all had a story about their Dad or Uncle's Woody car and they remember it fondly and with a smile. That was one of the totally cool things that happened on the trip, the stories from folks who just stopped to say hi! Oh crazy people yelled at us and homeless people gave us the thumbs up sign too... It was way cool....
Thanks to all who followed us on our adventure and especially to Bill and Laurel who loaned us their laptop so I could blog my way across the US....
Oh Yeah, Did I mention I met "The Ace of Cakes" ?
Bye till the next trip....
Ter :o)
Monday, June 29, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
End of the road........
We made it!!!!! We left San Ramon this morning, crossed the Bay Bridge and then all traversed the crooked part of Lombard Street and passed through Golden Gate Park which opened up on the glorious Pacific Ocean. A quick drive down the coast and we pulled into the Ocean Pacific Lodge!
Ralph was sick last night so he and Marie stayed in bed for a few hours before leaving for Santa Cruz. They rolled into town while James and I were at the car wash getting rid of 4000 miles of bugs and grime. Wayne and Mary Jayne went to visit their daughter in SF and arrived just as we were leaving the car wash. Nance and Mark wanted to find their own way to Santa Cruz and had arrived late in the evening.
Tomorrow our group is going to be the toast of the town at the wharf with a special parking place for the tourers....more after the show. Gotta get up early.........
Ralph was sick last night so he and Marie stayed in bed for a few hours before leaving for Santa Cruz. They rolled into town while James and I were at the car wash getting rid of 4000 miles of bugs and grime. Wayne and Mary Jayne went to visit their daughter in SF and arrived just as we were leaving the car wash. Nance and Mark wanted to find their own way to Santa Cruz and had arrived late in the evening.
Tomorrow our group is going to be the toast of the town at the wharf with a special parking place for the tourers....more after the show. Gotta get up early.........
Thursday, June 25, 2009
On the eve of the conclusion of this cross country tour, I am amazed by how quickly it passed by. I am also amazed by how close the tourers have become, even though we were all strangers a month ago. I am amazed by the generosity of strangers who wanted to be a part of the tour by hosting us for a dinner, a cruise or a party. I am amazed by the reliability of the four cars...every morning they started right up and drove the 100, 200, 300 or 400 plus miles each day with just a few very minor hickups.
It has been a great time!
It has been a great time!
Reno, Danvile and on to SF and Santa Cruz
We left Reno today after I won all the money there! HA! Just kidding, Ok, I love gambling, and let me say that this trip made me love it more! That sentence will scare Gary! :o)
We drove thru Carson City,and then to Lake Tahoe and on to Danvile to the Blackhawk Museum. Now I have said that I am car'd out, but I love this museum as it truly gives the wonderful cars in it the respect they deserve. A beautiful building with low lighting and black floors. If you get the chance to go there, do. For $10.00 you will definitely get your money's worth and more....
We are leaving tomorrow to head to SF to go down Lombard St, Coit Tower and Golden Gate Park, down Hwy 1 to Santa Cruz....
More on the Great event Woody's on the Wharf tomorrow..........
Ter :o)
We drove thru Carson City,and then to Lake Tahoe and on to Danvile to the Blackhawk Museum. Now I have said that I am car'd out, but I love this museum as it truly gives the wonderful cars in it the respect they deserve. A beautiful building with low lighting and black floors. If you get the chance to go there, do. For $10.00 you will definitely get your money's worth and more....
We are leaving tomorrow to head to SF to go down Lombard St, Coit Tower and Golden Gate Park, down Hwy 1 to Santa Cruz....
More on the Great event Woody's on the Wharf tomorrow..........
Ter :o)
WED. Reno.....
A nice relaxing day in Reno. We all went different directions...Mark and Nance went kayaking,
Wayne, Ralph and I went to the National Automobile Museum, Terry and Mary Jayne hit the slots
and Marie spent the day at the pool. Wayne, Mary Jayne, Terry and I ate dinner together and then
Wayne and I headed for a local car show. We then went on a quest to find some Reno stickers
to no avail.
Terry was very successful on the slot machines (I'll let her tell you tomorrow)
We'll be back in the Bay Area tomorrow visitin the Blackhawk Museum in Danville, and then
ending our tour in Santa Cruz Friday....already?????
Wayne, Ralph and I went to the National Automobile Museum, Terry and Mary Jayne hit the slots
and Marie spent the day at the pool. Wayne, Mary Jayne, Terry and I ate dinner together and then
Wayne and I headed for a local car show. We then went on a quest to find some Reno stickers
to no avail.
Terry was very successful on the slot machines (I'll let her tell you tomorrow)
We'll be back in the Bay Area tomorrow visitin the Blackhawk Museum in Danville, and then
ending our tour in Santa Cruz Friday....already?????
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
A bad day and a great day......
Yesterday was an awful 'car' day. It could have been a lot worse but it was very frustrating. I suddenly had an engine miss again and I tried to fix it on the road but it wasn't to be. The plug wire which got burned in Lincoln had deteriorated to the point that it wouldn't light the plug. We limped along at 60 or so for a hundred miles or so with Mark and Nancy and Wayne cruising with us to be sure we arrived at the hotel. Also during the drive I noticed my hood ornament 'flame' flopping about so I stopped to check it and it came off in my hand! Glad I checked.....
Despite their denials, I was getting heat from my trip-mates for the initial looks of the motel in Winnemucca but it turned out to be the favorite of the trip, a true step back in time to the 40's and 50's. The rooms have been very well maintained, keeping their originality intact. Scott Shady Court in Winnemucca ...too cool for words.
On the way into town I noticed a hot rod shop at the east end of town and since we planned to leave late I hoped that I'd have time to visit.
This morning I found an auto parts store where I was able to buy one plug wire (who'd a thunk it?) and reattach the flame and we were 'ret-ta-go'!
On the way back, I stopped back at the hot rod shop and peered in the window.....there were three Ed Roth cars sitting there in front of me!!!!!! The Rodar, Mysterion and Druid Princess!!! Now, if you don't follow this stuff it won't mean much but to a car guy it was unbelieveable ..... these milestone cars!!! In Winnemucca!!!! A young guy working there came to the door and invited me in to look around. I was amazed but that was just the beginning of this hidden treasure trove. He pointed to a '32 roadster which in 1944 was the first car to beat a horse in a drag race and setting 1/4 mile as the length universally used for the last 60 years. I was flabbergasted by the history sitting in this garage. Then he said "We have a few more cars in a back building ..... would you like to see them?" "Ummmmm.....YEAH!!!" We walked across a gravel parking lot to a non descript white building, but there was a box truck with "Ohio George Montgomery" on the cab....hmmmmm. When he opened the door, I almost fainted. There, double stacked before me, was Ray Farner's pick up and 'Boot Hill Express', Al Teague's Land Speed Record holder, Boyd Coddington's first roadster, Tony Nancy's 22Jr roadster, Von Dutch's van, Larry Watsons first panel paint job on a '58 T-Bird, two Jungle Jim Lieberman funny cars, Harry Westergarrd's first custom, the 'Big T', Ohio George Mongomery's last gasser, the '60 Ranchero he won that year with less than 10,000 miles on it, The Alexander Bros. Adonnis custom and their '32 Ford 'shop truck', the first 'rat rod' pick up, one of the cars which raced in the first 'legal' drag race in the '40s, a tank lakester and a variety of less famous but equally beautiful cars. I asked if I could return with my camera and some friends and he said "Sure", chuckling at my state of shock. When we all showed up, the care taker, Mike, told us the story of each car. We were in there for about an hour..... I was in 'car guy' heaven. So many of the cars I remember from the magazines I read as a kid, right there in front of me.
We walked back to the main shop and spoke to another employee who asked "Did you get to see this garage?"....WHAT???? MORE?????? He opened the door and there sat the Deora, a custom truck built by the Alexander Bros in the '60s, which, in my opinion, is the most beautiful custom car ever built. Terry made sure I was still breathing and we walked out the door and back to our cars. Our host thanked us for stopping by and gave us some stickers from their shop. I could barely believe what I had seen.
We hit the road and our cars were all running great again. It was an uneventful trip until our group was 'buzzed' by a military jet, not 200 feet above us!!! He roared over us, 'waved' the wings back and forth and then disappeared!! It was exhilarating!!!!!!
We all eventually got to the hotel, had dinner with our newest tourer, Wayne's wife MaryJane, did a bit of gambling and finally are ready to hit the sack.
I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow!!!!!!
Despite their denials, I was getting heat from my trip-mates for the initial looks of the motel in Winnemucca but it turned out to be the favorite of the trip, a true step back in time to the 40's and 50's. The rooms have been very well maintained, keeping their originality intact. Scott Shady Court in Winnemucca ...too cool for words.
On the way into town I noticed a hot rod shop at the east end of town and since we planned to leave late I hoped that I'd have time to visit.
This morning I found an auto parts store where I was able to buy one plug wire (who'd a thunk it?) and reattach the flame and we were 'ret-ta-go'!
On the way back, I stopped back at the hot rod shop and peered in the window.....there were three Ed Roth cars sitting there in front of me!!!!!! The Rodar, Mysterion and Druid Princess!!! Now, if you don't follow this stuff it won't mean much but to a car guy it was unbelieveable ..... these milestone cars!!! In Winnemucca!!!! A young guy working there came to the door and invited me in to look around. I was amazed but that was just the beginning of this hidden treasure trove. He pointed to a '32 roadster which in 1944 was the first car to beat a horse in a drag race and setting 1/4 mile as the length universally used for the last 60 years. I was flabbergasted by the history sitting in this garage. Then he said "We have a few more cars in a back building ..... would you like to see them?" "Ummmmm.....YEAH!!!" We walked across a gravel parking lot to a non descript white building, but there was a box truck with "Ohio George Montgomery" on the cab....hmmmmm. When he opened the door, I almost fainted. There, double stacked before me, was Ray Farner's pick up and 'Boot Hill Express', Al Teague's Land Speed Record holder, Boyd Coddington's first roadster, Tony Nancy's 22Jr roadster, Von Dutch's van, Larry Watsons first panel paint job on a '58 T-Bird, two Jungle Jim Lieberman funny cars, Harry Westergarrd's first custom, the 'Big T', Ohio George Mongomery's last gasser, the '60 Ranchero he won that year with less than 10,000 miles on it, The Alexander Bros. Adonnis custom and their '32 Ford 'shop truck', the first 'rat rod' pick up, one of the cars which raced in the first 'legal' drag race in the '40s, a tank lakester and a variety of less famous but equally beautiful cars. I asked if I could return with my camera and some friends and he said "Sure", chuckling at my state of shock. When we all showed up, the care taker, Mike, told us the story of each car. We were in there for about an hour..... I was in 'car guy' heaven. So many of the cars I remember from the magazines I read as a kid, right there in front of me.
We walked back to the main shop and spoke to another employee who asked "Did you get to see this garage?"....WHAT???? MORE?????? He opened the door and there sat the Deora, a custom truck built by the Alexander Bros in the '60s, which, in my opinion, is the most beautiful custom car ever built. Terry made sure I was still breathing and we walked out the door and back to our cars. Our host thanked us for stopping by and gave us some stickers from their shop. I could barely believe what I had seen.
We hit the road and our cars were all running great again. It was an uneventful trip until our group was 'buzzed' by a military jet, not 200 feet above us!!! He roared over us, 'waved' the wings back and forth and then disappeared!! It was exhilarating!!!!!!
We all eventually got to the hotel, had dinner with our newest tourer, Wayne's wife MaryJane, did a bit of gambling and finally are ready to hit the sack.
I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow!!!!!!
Shady Court & some town we passed thru with a giant cowboy... Photo Op!!!!
Winnamucca & Reno
Hello All,
Well, we survived Scott Shady Court and actually, I think it was everyone's favorite! It was a whopping $38 dollars a night and we had these adorable little cabin like things all in a row. I'll post a pic so you can see what I mean. It was very 50's and the woman at the desk was third generation... Her grandparents started it as a campground in 1928. I think everyone loved it! We all were next to each other in a row and we had our room doors open and were chatting . It was Great! We had some great Basque food there at the Martin Hotel in town. We were there till 10pm chatting and eating! Yikes! Eating at 10:00pm!
We headed out at 10:30am and Gary found some hidden gem car place for us to see some Ed Roth cars and a bunch of other cool cars... I am a bit car'd out, but this was cool. On to Reno and the fabulous Atlantis Resort and Spa.... Beautiful rooms and a great dinner with Wayne's wife MaryJane and her Brother Jim....Welcome MaryJane, we are happy to have you with us for the rest of the trip! :o)
Tomorrow some of the guys are going to the National Auto Museum, Marie and I are not...I'm going to try to get in some sort of relaxing spa service and I think Marie was gonna hit the pool. We will all try to connect again for dinner... Of course I am doing a bit of gambling and those of you that know me, know I love the Wheel of Fortune machines...There are not that many of them here so I have only had one chance so far today. I won $40.00 tonight so that was fun!
Gar and I may got a show tomorrow night so that should be fun. We are off on Thursday to the Blackhawk museum and then Friday (Happy Birthday Ian!!!) thru San Francisco to Santa Cruz. I can't believe the trip is so close to ending! But......I am looking forward to seeing my family at Santa Cruz. Can't wait for us all to cram into our hotel room! Can't wait to see you Karen, James, Dominic, Derek, Mom and Ian! Can that many people fit into one room? You bet! This is our yearly tradition, and Gary and I look forward to spending this time with our family. We will miss Mikey and Ian spending the night this year, but alas my boys are growing up and having lives and jobs of their own... Where did the time go??
Well, I'll probably skip blogging tomorrow as I don't think you all will want to hear about my spa treatment and my relaxing! Ha!
Talk to you all on Thursday night....
Ter :o)
Well, we survived Scott Shady Court and actually, I think it was everyone's favorite! It was a whopping $38 dollars a night and we had these adorable little cabin like things all in a row. I'll post a pic so you can see what I mean. It was very 50's and the woman at the desk was third generation... Her grandparents started it as a campground in 1928. I think everyone loved it! We all were next to each other in a row and we had our room doors open and were chatting . It was Great! We had some great Basque food there at the Martin Hotel in town. We were there till 10pm chatting and eating! Yikes! Eating at 10:00pm!
We headed out at 10:30am and Gary found some hidden gem car place for us to see some Ed Roth cars and a bunch of other cool cars... I am a bit car'd out, but this was cool. On to Reno and the fabulous Atlantis Resort and Spa.... Beautiful rooms and a great dinner with Wayne's wife MaryJane and her Brother Jim....Welcome MaryJane, we are happy to have you with us for the rest of the trip! :o)
Tomorrow some of the guys are going to the National Auto Museum, Marie and I are not...I'm going to try to get in some sort of relaxing spa service and I think Marie was gonna hit the pool. We will all try to connect again for dinner... Of course I am doing a bit of gambling and those of you that know me, know I love the Wheel of Fortune machines...There are not that many of them here so I have only had one chance so far today. I won $40.00 tonight so that was fun!
Gar and I may got a show tomorrow night so that should be fun. We are off on Thursday to the Blackhawk museum and then Friday (Happy Birthday Ian!!!) thru San Francisco to Santa Cruz. I can't believe the trip is so close to ending! But......I am looking forward to seeing my family at Santa Cruz. Can't wait for us all to cram into our hotel room! Can't wait to see you Karen, James, Dominic, Derek, Mom and Ian! Can that many people fit into one room? You bet! This is our yearly tradition, and Gary and I look forward to spending this time with our family. We will miss Mikey and Ian spending the night this year, but alas my boys are growing up and having lives and jobs of their own... Where did the time go??
Well, I'll probably skip blogging tomorrow as I don't think you all will want to hear about my spa treatment and my relaxing! Ha!
Talk to you all on Thursday night....
Ter :o)
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Gary......
Just so our record stays intact, it rained for a few minutes while we were in Walmart, but it's been very nice otherwise. Wayne Yada says it's gonna be nice all the way to Santa Cruz....hope he's right!
Our time in SLC has been relaxing, no rush anywhere, no schedule to meet. A quart of oil, a little TLC and we're ready for the final push to the coast. I can't believe we've come all this way and there is so little time left =-( It has been a whirlwind tour and there are lots of places I want to go back to.....next time!
Wayne has changed his pic site a bit.....new addy....
Our time in SLC has been relaxing, no rush anywhere, no schedule to meet. A quart of oil, a little TLC and we're ready for the final push to the coast. I can't believe we've come all this way and there is so little time left =-( It has been a whirlwind tour and there are lots of places I want to go back to.....next time!
Wayne has changed his pic site a bit.....new addy....
SLC
Hello All,
Today was a really relaxing day with a late start and everyone doing whatever they wanted... Gar and I slept late and then went out to lunch. We drove around SLC for about 45 minutes trying to find a place to eat, but this town is shut down on Sunday. The chain restaurants were open, but we like to try and get a little of the local feel in each town, but this town was shut down today... We then saw the Temple Square area and then were off to Barnes & Noble to get a few copies of the July issue of Popular Science as Gary's RC car is in there along with a little bit about Gar and his winning car. That is pretty cool! We are excited about that.... :o)
Gary tried to work this afternoon and then worked on cleaning up the car a bit before heading out tomorrow to Winnemucca. We will hopefully have a photo shoot at the Bonneville Salt Flats and then a 3 to 4 hr drive.
No Internet at our next hotel, Scott's Shady Acres or some such name...For$38 bucks a night I hope I don't have to share a bed with more than just Gary! I'm a little bit scared of this hotel, but my husband tells me its part of the adventure..... Ahhh I'll let ya know how much of an adventure it is when we get to Reno. Where by the way, we are staying at the fabulous Atlantis resort (can you guess that I picked it! And its not that far off from $38 bucks a night either!!)
So stay tuned for Tuesday's blog, and Happy Father's Day to all you Dad's out there!
Ter :o)
Today was a really relaxing day with a late start and everyone doing whatever they wanted... Gar and I slept late and then went out to lunch. We drove around SLC for about 45 minutes trying to find a place to eat, but this town is shut down on Sunday. The chain restaurants were open, but we like to try and get a little of the local feel in each town, but this town was shut down today... We then saw the Temple Square area and then were off to Barnes & Noble to get a few copies of the July issue of Popular Science as Gary's RC car is in there along with a little bit about Gar and his winning car. That is pretty cool! We are excited about that.... :o)
Gary tried to work this afternoon and then worked on cleaning up the car a bit before heading out tomorrow to Winnemucca. We will hopefully have a photo shoot at the Bonneville Salt Flats and then a 3 to 4 hr drive.
No Internet at our next hotel, Scott's Shady Acres or some such name...For$38 bucks a night I hope I don't have to share a bed with more than just Gary! I'm a little bit scared of this hotel, but my husband tells me its part of the adventure..... Ahhh I'll let ya know how much of an adventure it is when we get to Reno. Where by the way, we are staying at the fabulous Atlantis resort (can you guess that I picked it! And its not that far off from $38 bucks a night either!!)
So stay tuned for Tuesday's blog, and Happy Father's Day to all you Dad's out there!
Ter :o)
Saturday, June 20, 2009
I forgot to share this with y'all..... Wayne Yada (Yay-dah), the red '50 Ford owner/driver, has a great photo site giving another view on our trip. His site is
http://www.pbase.com/wayneyada/woodietrek2
Bill Gerrard and his friend Shawn took some pics in the rain and when I get the info for them I'll post it here.
http://www.pbase.com/wayneyada/woodietrek2
Bill Gerrard and his friend Shawn took some pics in the rain and when I get the info for them I'll post it here.
Trains, rockets and cars and RAIN!
Salt Lake City ...
Today we left at 8:30 from Cody and after an hour or so, it started to rain.... I have to say that I am pretty sick of rain.. I have been wearing capri pants and flip flops for23 days and I am not tan at all! Not even a little bit! What the heck! When you go on vacation you are supposed to get tan not soaking wet everyday! But again, I digress......
We went to Promontory Point today to see where the last spike was put in the ground to connect the railroad across the U.S. Pretty cool. Way the heck in the middle of nowhere, but pretty cool. They do a little reenactment in period clothes and have a movie and talk.. Of course it was raining and windy, but still cool... We met Bill Gerrard and his son Jordan there and he took us to someplace where they had rockets so we took pics of the cars in the pouring rain with the rockets then on to an old style drive in where he took pics of the cars and we had lunch... We then drove to an ice cream shop where we met a friend of Bill's and they took pics of the cars there while we had some ice cream.. it was still raining like a mother when we headed to SLC..It was a little hairy on the freeway today with quite a few accidents and the pouring rain, but we all made it safe and sound to the hotel. Ralph and Marie are here too after their jaunt away from the group, so it is great to see them! We all went to a Benni hanna" style restaurant for dinner and caught up on what we have all been doing... Great dinner and even better company...
Tomorrow we will try to go to Temple Square and see some of the sights of SLC.... Gary has some work to do for work, (the county surveyor has to work on his vacation) so it will be a restful day for us. Hopefully no rain! At least our hotel has covered parking so the cars are dry..
Ter :o)
We went to Promontory Point today to see where the last spike was put in the ground to connect the railroad across the U.S. Pretty cool. Way the heck in the middle of nowhere, but pretty cool. They do a little reenactment in period clothes and have a movie and talk.. Of course it was raining and windy, but still cool... We met Bill Gerrard and his son Jordan there and he took us to someplace where they had rockets so we took pics of the cars in the pouring rain with the rockets then on to an old style drive in where he took pics of the cars and we had lunch... We then drove to an ice cream shop where we met a friend of Bill's and they took pics of the cars there while we had some ice cream.. it was still raining like a mother when we headed to SLC..It was a little hairy on the freeway today with quite a few accidents and the pouring rain, but we all made it safe and sound to the hotel. Ralph and Marie are here too after their jaunt away from the group, so it is great to see them! We all went to a Benni hanna" style restaurant for dinner and caught up on what we have all been doing... Great dinner and even better company...
Tomorrow we will try to go to Temple Square and see some of the sights of SLC.... Gary has some work to do for work, (the county surveyor has to work on his vacation) so it will be a restful day for us. Hopefully no rain! At least our hotel has covered parking so the cars are dry..
Ter :o)
Friday, June 19, 2009
Ter's comments for the day....
Great day no rain, changed my hair color, it's a lovely orange now...Yes, it is a mistake, but since its 11:30pm it will have to stay this way for the photo shoot tomorrow... Great!! Maybe they will just take the cars and no people! HA! I'm sure it won't look that bad in the morning! Fingers crossed..
I know you men don't care about my hair color, but my "SISTA'S" will understand!
Beautiful scenery today, breathtaking views and old faithful! I was thinking as we were driving, that there are people who have never seen what I saw today and maybe never will. What a shame, as it is an amazing country we live in...Just beautiful.... The people have been so great to us all through this country and it well...makes you proud to be an American. So I encourage you all to get out and see these great United States, you will not be disappointed..
America the Beautiful.
The last two days have been the most awe inspiring days of he trip. When we left Rapid City, Nancy, Mark and Wayne wanted to go see Devil's Tower (the rock formation from Close Encounters) but Terry and I wanted to get to Cody to see the Buffalo Bill Cody museum.
US 90 gets us going west and then north, right in the path of.....all together now.....torrential rain. We didn't leak TOO bad (most of the leaks are on Terry's side) and the wipers got a workout. The further north we went the less it rained until it finally quit. I guess one day without rain was enough!
From 90, Route 14 is the quickest way to Cody, but there are two 14's, regular and alternate. We decided to take the alternate since is was marked 'scenic' on the map.....'scenic' doesn't come close to describing that road. As we started crossing a mountain, a huge rock formation pushing out of the earth looks almost prehistoric and then Terry spotted a moose in a bog. The road was very nice, traffic non-existent. We even hit snow!!!
Coming down a 10% grade (ten miles of that gets STEEP!!) we came upon the Big Horn Basin.....the colors and shapes in the basin way below us took our breath away. It looked like a backdrop painted by an artist with streaks of red and pink which were to big to be visible at ground level later. It was spectacular!!!
We got to town in time to visit the museum, a history of what was probably the first man to take advantage of every communication method available to promote himself and his Wild West show. Hundreds of personal items, from guns to medals to furniture, were nicely displayed. The museum was closing so we headed to our motel, but of course it was pouring yet again as I tried to get the bags out of the car.
This morning it was sunny as we hit the road at 7:30, wanting to beat the crowds to Yellowstone. At the entrance they had a buffalo statue out in the field right next to the road and we commented on how life-like it looked when it suddenly moved!!! Here was a huge male buffalo, separated from us by a simple log fence!! However, he seemed more interested in the grass in the field.
Our route through Yellowstone had to be shortened because of road construction but we still got to see Old Faithful blow twice and visit some other pools. Overall, it was a bit disappointing because the fires in '88 and '06 killed thousands of acres of trees. They're starting to come back but it's going to be decades before its all green again.
What awaited us in Grand Teton National Park more than made up for burned trees. It is truly spectacular, huge peaks covered in snow framing lush green plains below. It all went by so quickly since we had to get to our next stop, Idaho Falls.
Just out side town we were stopped by road construction, long enough that people got out of their cars. The driver of a semi in front of us started telling us that a big group of woodies was coming to Idaho Falls tonight..... I mentioned that we were the only woodies touring the country to my knowledge but he was sure it was a big group......okaaayyyyyy. He was interested in the Hunter's '48 since he has a '47 coupe.
We got to town, went to dinner and returned to our motel and were covering the car when a couple in a PT Cruiser drove up, determined to find the big woodie group he heard was visiting town. I told him I'd been told the same thing by the semi driver.We came to the conclusion that our three cars were the 'big group' and while chatting the PT guy, it turned out he knew the semi driver who was the one passing the rumor about the big group. Small world!!!
Tomorrow we're off to Utah to visit the Golden Spike site, then Ogden for a photo shoot with a photography group which has never SEEN a woodie ending up in Salt Lake City. See ya then!
US 90 gets us going west and then north, right in the path of.....all together now.....torrential rain. We didn't leak TOO bad (most of the leaks are on Terry's side) and the wipers got a workout. The further north we went the less it rained until it finally quit. I guess one day without rain was enough!
From 90, Route 14 is the quickest way to Cody, but there are two 14's, regular and alternate. We decided to take the alternate since is was marked 'scenic' on the map.....'scenic' doesn't come close to describing that road. As we started crossing a mountain, a huge rock formation pushing out of the earth looks almost prehistoric and then Terry spotted a moose in a bog. The road was very nice, traffic non-existent. We even hit snow!!!
Coming down a 10% grade (ten miles of that gets STEEP!!) we came upon the Big Horn Basin.....the colors and shapes in the basin way below us took our breath away. It looked like a backdrop painted by an artist with streaks of red and pink which were to big to be visible at ground level later. It was spectacular!!!
We got to town in time to visit the museum, a history of what was probably the first man to take advantage of every communication method available to promote himself and his Wild West show. Hundreds of personal items, from guns to medals to furniture, were nicely displayed. The museum was closing so we headed to our motel, but of course it was pouring yet again as I tried to get the bags out of the car.
This morning it was sunny as we hit the road at 7:30, wanting to beat the crowds to Yellowstone. At the entrance they had a buffalo statue out in the field right next to the road and we commented on how life-like it looked when it suddenly moved!!! Here was a huge male buffalo, separated from us by a simple log fence!! However, he seemed more interested in the grass in the field.
Our route through Yellowstone had to be shortened because of road construction but we still got to see Old Faithful blow twice and visit some other pools. Overall, it was a bit disappointing because the fires in '88 and '06 killed thousands of acres of trees. They're starting to come back but it's going to be decades before its all green again.
What awaited us in Grand Teton National Park more than made up for burned trees. It is truly spectacular, huge peaks covered in snow framing lush green plains below. It all went by so quickly since we had to get to our next stop, Idaho Falls.
Just out side town we were stopped by road construction, long enough that people got out of their cars. The driver of a semi in front of us started telling us that a big group of woodies was coming to Idaho Falls tonight..... I mentioned that we were the only woodies touring the country to my knowledge but he was sure it was a big group......okaaayyyyyy. He was interested in the Hunter's '48 since he has a '47 coupe.
We got to town, went to dinner and returned to our motel and were covering the car when a couple in a PT Cruiser drove up, determined to find the big woodie group he heard was visiting town. I told him I'd been told the same thing by the semi driver.We came to the conclusion that our three cars were the 'big group' and while chatting the PT guy, it turned out he knew the semi driver who was the one passing the rumor about the big group. Small world!!!
Tomorrow we're off to Utah to visit the Golden Spike site, then Ogden for a photo shoot with a photography group which has never SEEN a woodie ending up in Salt Lake City. See ya then!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Cody Wy.......
Hello Blog Watchers I'm a bit less tired tonight so we will start off with this new day of adventure.
AIS was 7:30 this morning for breakfast at a diner called Arnold's in Rapid City. Great place, great food, but S L O W.......We didn't get out of there until 8:35 ... We started on our way to Cody and about 60 miles into the trip the others decided to see Devil's peak (or some such name??) You know, the mountain, butte, or rock formation that was in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".... I didn't need any aliens or devils with me today so we passed on that and Gar and I went on a beautiful scenic route on Hwy 14 A ("A" Stands for alternate...which I learned can be good or bad!)
Ok, I think Wyoming means "Big sky that rains on woody cars all day long", but to be fair there was snow too! Yes, snow! Not on the road, but next to it and it was cold! I am in capri's and flip flops, not exactly snow attire... Who knew there would still be snow? It's the middle of June...Maybe they don't use the same calendar we do?? HA!
Rain was the word of the day and I think it rained for 4 of the 7 hours we drove today. But again, it wasn't raining when we hit the snow! Enough of the weather though, we saw some amazing things! A moose, just hanging out and eating on the side of the road, beautiful buttes and rock formations some from a billion years ago. (There was a sign saying that!) We took some awesome pictures and some funny ones of us with the wind whipping us and our hair flying, in shorts and flipflops..It was windy up on that mountain with the moose.. :o) We made it to Cody at 4:15 and went to the Buffalo Bill Museum which was way cool as I had just seen a documentary on him before we left for the trip. They had alot of pictures, memorabilia, and personal items so we really enjoyed it. We found our hotel in the pouring rain, yes....it was raining again, and then the rest of our group made it in and we all went out to Mexican food and then walked a bit of Cody... Nice town, really enjoyed it. :o)
Tomorrow we are leaving at 7:30am to go thru Yellowstone and on to Idaho Falls. About 400 miles of driving... Not sure if our hotel "The Western Inn" has internet (don't think so since Gar had to call them for reservations!HA!) But I'll be back with more stories to tell in a couple of days...
Ter :o)
AIS was 7:30 this morning for breakfast at a diner called Arnold's in Rapid City. Great place, great food, but S L O W.......We didn't get out of there until 8:35 ... We started on our way to Cody and about 60 miles into the trip the others decided to see Devil's peak (or some such name??) You know, the mountain, butte, or rock formation that was in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".... I didn't need any aliens or devils with me today so we passed on that and Gar and I went on a beautiful scenic route on Hwy 14 A ("A" Stands for alternate...which I learned can be good or bad!)
Ok, I think Wyoming means "Big sky that rains on woody cars all day long", but to be fair there was snow too! Yes, snow! Not on the road, but next to it and it was cold! I am in capri's and flip flops, not exactly snow attire... Who knew there would still be snow? It's the middle of June...Maybe they don't use the same calendar we do?? HA!
Rain was the word of the day and I think it rained for 4 of the 7 hours we drove today. But again, it wasn't raining when we hit the snow! Enough of the weather though, we saw some amazing things! A moose, just hanging out and eating on the side of the road, beautiful buttes and rock formations some from a billion years ago. (There was a sign saying that!) We took some awesome pictures and some funny ones of us with the wind whipping us and our hair flying, in shorts and flipflops..It was windy up on that mountain with the moose.. :o) We made it to Cody at 4:15 and went to the Buffalo Bill Museum which was way cool as I had just seen a documentary on him before we left for the trip. They had alot of pictures, memorabilia, and personal items so we really enjoyed it. We found our hotel in the pouring rain, yes....it was raining again, and then the rest of our group made it in and we all went out to Mexican food and then walked a bit of Cody... Nice town, really enjoyed it. :o)
Tomorrow we are leaving at 7:30am to go thru Yellowstone and on to Idaho Falls. About 400 miles of driving... Not sure if our hotel "The Western Inn" has internet (don't think so since Gar had to call them for reservations!HA!) But I'll be back with more stories to tell in a couple of days...
Ter :o)
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Seall is a touristy town
Terry is too tired to blog so I will try to stand in for her......
The destination for the day was Wall, SD, home to the infamous Wall Drug. We were on the road by 8:30 with Wayne riding with Nance and Mark in their '48 for the 50 mile trip. The freeway passes by Elldridge (?) Air Force Base and there were B-2 bombers flying out on a regular basis. I saw at least five during our stay. They're easy to pick out with their thin wings and bodies and VERY loud engines.
Wall is a very touristy town, all centered around the 'drug' store. There is more crap in that store than you can shake a stick at but they did have several window 'state' stickers I was missing. We did a little gift shopping and then headed to the "South Dakota Gold" store across the street where Terry bought a few piece of jewelry.....I got a $10 metal woodie sign.
We returned to Rapid City while Mark, Nancy and Wayne headed for the Badlands, then Sturgis and Deadwood.
I tried to find someone to weld my broken tail pipe clamp but no one seemed to be willing to make the repair so I bought a $3 clamp/mount and fixed it myself. Then Terry and I ate lunch at Arnold's, a 50's style diner and then headed back to our room. Terry took he chance to relax while I did some maintenance on the car. We planned on heading to Mt. Rushmore at night to see it under the lights
Right after I finished there was a 'ping pong ball sized' hail alert, yet when I looked out the window it was sunny! I stepped outside and noticed the sky to the north was black and headed our way. The rain poured for about 30 minutes and stopped, fortunately without hail. When the other travelers returned we went to dinner but it ran too late to return to Rushmore for the lights.....not sure we really wanted to with such changeable weather. They were underwhelmed with Deadwood and said the bikers must bring Sturgis' draw since they didn't see it.....glad we skipped it.
Tomorrow's stop is Cody, WY, to tour the Buffalo Bill Museum and set up for our drive through Yellowstone on Friday (I think...the days are running together!)
The destination for the day was Wall, SD, home to the infamous Wall Drug. We were on the road by 8:30 with Wayne riding with Nance and Mark in their '48 for the 50 mile trip. The freeway passes by Elldridge (?) Air Force Base and there were B-2 bombers flying out on a regular basis. I saw at least five during our stay. They're easy to pick out with their thin wings and bodies and VERY loud engines.
Wall is a very touristy town, all centered around the 'drug' store. There is more crap in that store than you can shake a stick at but they did have several window 'state' stickers I was missing. We did a little gift shopping and then headed to the "South Dakota Gold" store across the street where Terry bought a few piece of jewelry.....I got a $10 metal woodie sign.
We returned to Rapid City while Mark, Nancy and Wayne headed for the Badlands, then Sturgis and Deadwood.
I tried to find someone to weld my broken tail pipe clamp but no one seemed to be willing to make the repair so I bought a $3 clamp/mount and fixed it myself. Then Terry and I ate lunch at Arnold's, a 50's style diner and then headed back to our room. Terry took he chance to relax while I did some maintenance on the car. We planned on heading to Mt. Rushmore at night to see it under the lights
Right after I finished there was a 'ping pong ball sized' hail alert, yet when I looked out the window it was sunny! I stepped outside and noticed the sky to the north was black and headed our way. The rain poured for about 30 minutes and stopped, fortunately without hail. When the other travelers returned we went to dinner but it ran too late to return to Rushmore for the lights.....not sure we really wanted to with such changeable weather. They were underwhelmed with Deadwood and said the bikers must bring Sturgis' draw since they didn't see it.....glad we skipped it.
Tomorrow's stop is Cody, WY, to tour the Buffalo Bill Museum and set up for our drive through Yellowstone on Friday (I think...the days are running together!)
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Gary.....The first day of the trip with no rain. Now it hasn't poured every day but it has, in one way or another, at one time or another, rained but everyone has dealt with it well.
I was hoping to see a few buffalo on this trip, but I wasn't expecting to see them a few feet away! We were stopped on a two lane road and there were several buffalo at the edge of the pavement of the other lane....they were about 12 feet away!!!! There were a lot of calves so I was hoping I wouldn't get between a mom and calf but they all seemed very calm around the cars. We saw a few herds with 70 or 80 animals...it's hard to imagine a herd described by a hunter in the 1800's as " 20 miles wide and unknown how long, like a black cloud moving over the plains."
The Crazy Horse monument is impressive by itself, but what amazes me more is the fact that the sculptor had been working on it for 40 years and knew he'd never see it finished and now 7 of his 10 kids are working on it and it's probable that THEY won't see it finished!!!!! I have a hard time imagining working on something that I won't see finished. I remember reading about this in a magazine in the 60's.
We have driven about 2500 trouble free miles with three 60 +/- year old cars. I am truly amazed by their reliability. We added a fourth today but it will likely be as reliable as the rest. Sure, they leak a little in the rain but the smiles and waves we get along the way make up for that. I have a little maintenance to do tomorrow(repair a tailpipe mount and replace a radio fuse) and then we're on our way to the last third of the trip. We have an easy day tomorrow but the next two will be about 350 miles each.
The time is flying by................
I was hoping to see a few buffalo on this trip, but I wasn't expecting to see them a few feet away! We were stopped on a two lane road and there were several buffalo at the edge of the pavement of the other lane....they were about 12 feet away!!!! There were a lot of calves so I was hoping I wouldn't get between a mom and calf but they all seemed very calm around the cars. We saw a few herds with 70 or 80 animals...it's hard to imagine a herd described by a hunter in the 1800's as " 20 miles wide and unknown how long, like a black cloud moving over the plains."
The Crazy Horse monument is impressive by itself, but what amazes me more is the fact that the sculptor had been working on it for 40 years and knew he'd never see it finished and now 7 of his 10 kids are working on it and it's probable that THEY won't see it finished!!!!! I have a hard time imagining working on something that I won't see finished. I remember reading about this in a magazine in the 60's.
We have driven about 2500 trouble free miles with three 60 +/- year old cars. I am truly amazed by their reliability. We added a fourth today but it will likely be as reliable as the rest. Sure, they leak a little in the rain but the smiles and waves we get along the way make up for that. I have a little maintenance to do tomorrow(repair a tailpipe mount and replace a radio fuse) and then we're on our way to the last third of the trip. We have an easy day tomorrow but the next two will be about 350 miles each.
The time is flying by................
Rapid City
Today AIS was 9:00am and we were off to the 1880 train... We put the address in our trusty GPS and it said 34 minutes so we had lots of time to make the 10:00 train... Ahhhhh no... We did have a beautiful route there but it was really an hour drive.... We arrived to find the train pulling out and Wayne Yada there thinking we were on the train already! Luckily he didn't buy his ticket... He has come to meet us from Visalia Ca. and drive back with us. We are happy to have another "shoebox" on the trip with us, along with Wayne of course, so welcome Wayne!
Since we missed the morning train we decided to go to the Crazy Horse Monument. WOW! That is impressive ! It was started in the 1940's and is totally funded by private donations. It is an amazing story that is way to long to go into, but if you ask me I'll tell ya all about it when I get back...
We then went back to the train and had a great ride! After the Steam Train, we went to Mt. Rushmore. Oh you just can't describe it. You have seen pictures your whole life, in school and on TV, but it's not like being there.... It is awe inspiring! Majestic! Totally Amazing! I'll post a pic or two....
Ok, the next thing was the "Flying T Chuck Wagon and Show" Now I really wasn't into this, but Gar wanted to go, so I went and it was so fun! We had a Cowboy type dinner (Gar had Buffalo!) and then a show. The band was Great! We had a blast and I'm so happy Gary thought up this fun time for us... Thanks Honey!
Tomorrow we are off to Wall Drug and the town of Keystone, then back to Mt. Rushmore tomorrow night for the lighting ceremony. Can't wait to see it at night!
More tomorrow!
Ter :o)
Since we missed the morning train we decided to go to the Crazy Horse Monument. WOW! That is impressive ! It was started in the 1940's and is totally funded by private donations. It is an amazing story that is way to long to go into, but if you ask me I'll tell ya all about it when I get back...
We then went back to the train and had a great ride! After the Steam Train, we went to Mt. Rushmore. Oh you just can't describe it. You have seen pictures your whole life, in school and on TV, but it's not like being there.... It is awe inspiring! Majestic! Totally Amazing! I'll post a pic or two....
Ok, the next thing was the "Flying T Chuck Wagon and Show" Now I really wasn't into this, but Gar wanted to go, so I went and it was so fun! We had a Cowboy type dinner (Gar had Buffalo!) and then a show. The band was Great! We had a blast and I'm so happy Gary thought up this fun time for us... Thanks Honey!
Tomorrow we are off to Wall Drug and the town of Keystone, then back to Mt. Rushmore tomorrow night for the lighting ceremony. Can't wait to see it at night!
More tomorrow!
Ter :o)
Monday, June 15, 2009
Rapid City South Dakota
Today the time to have "AIS "was 8:30am...We left Alliance in beautiful weather and headed to Rapid City... We decided to go thru wind caves and then to Custer State Park so we could see some Buffalo. Well, we sure did! They were on the road, crossing the road, next to the road and right next to the car They are H U G E !!!. We saw lots of mommies and babies and have some cool pics of them all.. We saw prairie dogs, donkeys and antelope as well. Those darn donkeys were putting there heads into the cars and blocked traffic for about 10 minutes! Too funny! We had the most beautiful weather and everything is super green here, the clouds are fluffy like big pieces of pop corn, they look like the clouds from the opening of the Simpson's... It is windy here though, and ya know how I love the wind! :o) We went through 3 tunnels and some pig tale bridges. When you came out of one of the tunnels you had a gorgeous view of Mt. Rushmore. It was so beautiful!
Tomorrow we will go to the base of Mt. Rushmore for a more up close and personal view of Rushmore and explore the town around there, which has a lot going on with caves, rides and panning for gold... We are here for 3 nights and two full days as there is so much to do around here...
Tomorrow we will go to the base of Mt. Rushmore for a more up close and personal view of Rushmore and explore the town around there, which has a lot going on with caves, rides and panning for gold... We are here for 3 nights and two full days as there is so much to do around here...
Sunday, June 14, 2009
As Terry said we were sad to leave Lincoln...a wonderful town with wonderful people. As soon as we couldwe got on the Lincoln Highway, US 30 which stretches from Philly to SF. Its A great old road winding through lots of nostalgic America still able to be seen.....old motels and gas stations, small towns struggling to remain alive. We drove US 30 for a couple hundred miles, finally returning to Interstate 80 to find somewhere for a quick bite for lunch.....the freeway seemed so sterile, void of personality, life and history.
We then headed north on US 26, another two lane road, not quite as smooth, interesting or well maintained as 30, but it paralleled some main Union Pacific tracls and there was a constant stream of 100 car trains full of coal heading for power plants throughout the west. I was told there were 100 trains a day....that's 10,000 cars of coal a day!!! We caught 385 and very soon were in Alliance.
After visiting Carhenge we returned to Dave Ocken's home for conversation and a very tasty dinner of brots. Dave told us that his brother-in-law had suffered a heart attack that afternoon and died yet he still wanted to prepare our dinner and visit. He said there would be time for mourning later and rather than sit around his house moping, he felt better spending time with our group. He and his wife Linda had prepared delicious baked beans and fresh fruit and wanted us to enjoy our time in Alliance. We certainly did and please keep Dave, Linda and their family in your prayers. Thank you Dave and Linda.
While we were chatting on the Ocken's back porch an tremendous storm brewed outside and suddenly there was a loud crack....a huge branch of the neighbor's tree had broken off the trunk. walked out front and it had fallen on my car!!!! A FREAKING TREE FELL ON MY CAR!!!!!! Fortunately it fell slowly and draped across the right fender and hood and there was no obvious damage but it was dark so I'll make a closer inspection tomorrow....I can't believe it!
Today was yet another example of perfect strangers putting aside their own lives for a while making sure other perfect strangers have a reat time. Woodie folks are the best.
We then headed north on US 26, another two lane road, not quite as smooth, interesting or well maintained as 30, but it paralleled some main Union Pacific tracls and there was a constant stream of 100 car trains full of coal heading for power plants throughout the west. I was told there were 100 trains a day....that's 10,000 cars of coal a day!!! We caught 385 and very soon were in Alliance.
After visiting Carhenge we returned to Dave Ocken's home for conversation and a very tasty dinner of brots. Dave told us that his brother-in-law had suffered a heart attack that afternoon and died yet he still wanted to prepare our dinner and visit. He said there would be time for mourning later and rather than sit around his house moping, he felt better spending time with our group. He and his wife Linda had prepared delicious baked beans and fresh fruit and wanted us to enjoy our time in Alliance. We certainly did and please keep Dave, Linda and their family in your prayers. Thank you Dave and Linda.
While we were chatting on the Ocken's back porch an tremendous storm brewed outside and suddenly there was a loud crack....a huge branch of the neighbor's tree had broken off the trunk. walked out front and it had fallen on my car!!!! A FREAKING TREE FELL ON MY CAR!!!!!! Fortunately it fell slowly and draped across the right fender and hood and there was no obvious damage but it was dark so I'll make a closer inspection tomorrow....I can't believe it!
Today was yet another example of perfect strangers putting aside their own lives for a while making sure other perfect strangers have a reat time. Woodie folks are the best.
Our Hosts John & Martha
Sunday the 14th........
Well the day started off at 8am with us saying goodbye to our fantastic hosts John and Martha. I was sad to go as we had such a great time with them. Thank you both again for all of your hospitality.... We were off to Alliance NE, alone..... First time this trip that we had no buddies with us. We went along on Hwy 30 and went through towns that were super small and super OLD! We got some great shots of some old cars in a junk yard with the weeds all grown up around them...Very cool.... The weather was great he clouds so lo you could touch them and the sun out... It was an uneventful trip until we were almost to Alliance. We were driving into town and coming towards us was a Woody! It was Dave Ocken, the only Woody in Alliance! He met us to take us to Carhenge. Nance and Mark met up with us and we were off to CarHenge....Ok, it started raining...then thunder.....then lightning.... By the time we got there it was really raining and lots of lightning...Let's see...out in a field surrounded by tall metal objects, lots of lightning, well I took a couple of pictures and headed to the car, yes, I'm terrified of lightning. :o) Gar, Dave, Mark and Nancy braved the lightning and stayed out there while I was nice and dry in the car, I got my pictures... Dave then took us to his house where he made us a wonderful dinner and entertained us with great woody stories. Thanks Dave for such a great evening. We had a Great time. You are a doll. :o)
Tomorrow we are off to Rapid City for three nights. Our longest stay anywhere on the trip. So much to see and do.
More tomorrow....
Ter :o)
Tomorrow we are off to Rapid City for three nights. Our longest stay anywhere on the trip. So much to see and do.
More tomorrow....
Ter :o)
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Gary.....Even with rain (far beyond the five days I had set for the limit for a good trip) the last two days were fantastic.
We left Kansas city Friday morning , heading north to Lincoln NE through the corner of Iowa. We arrived in time for a priate tour of Bill "Speedy' Smith's collection of old race cars, racing engines, hot rods, pedal cars, toys, lunch boxes, record albums, guitars.......EVERYTHING!!!!!! It was three floors of beautifully restored (if needed) and displayed STUFF and there is allegedly several buildings of stuff around the city.....sensory overload.
After that tour it was off to Culver's, a local drive in/car show where the three woodies got together again (after being separated during the day on different rouyes/interests) Terry and I were invited to stay at the home of John Lee and his charming bride Martha while we were here and they were wonderful hosts for all of the tourers, arranging visits to special collections. On Saturday we went to a private collection of muscle cars, funny cars, hot rods, classics and old Indy cars...another spectacular morning. Lunch was served a a local rodders shop where about 25 other woodie owners gathered for a first class meal of brats and BBQ..... DANG that was good! Thanks Perry! Local legends Paul & Arla Mae Hansen brought a 1938 Marmon Harrington (4wd) woodie that he bought in 1954 for $85. He's been all over the country in it, putting we AC equipped whiners to shame. Earlier in the day we met Paul's grandson, Jordan, and he is a real hoot! We had a blast with him and he is one of the most confident, funny, charming and overall coolest 17 year olds you will ever get the chance to meet (except my own boys of course!) Anyone who says the next generation is lost has never met this guy. He could definitely be whatever he wants to be and he's a gearhead too!
Perry also had parting gifts for the tourers of Woodie music snow globes, shirts, chocolates for the ladies and cans of beans for the guy.....in case we run out of gas. Thanks again for a wonderful stay in Lincoln.
Later this evening John and Martha took us to a local theater for some music put on by one of Martha's best friends who was part of an Andrews Sisters style trio....fantastic music and a lot of original and funny lyrics.
On the car side of things, the engine suddenly developed a miss (one dead cylinder) but it came on so quickly I was sure it was a plug wire. A quick glance found a wire melted onto the header pipe and moving it brought the cylinder back to life....I don't think that's a real repair yet, is it Art?
Tomorrow Terry and I are on our own. Ralph and Marie have been through Rapid City and will be rejoining us in Salt Lake City. Mark and Nance are taking a different route to Alliance NE so we'll be traveling alone for the day....that'll be different not seeing woodies in my rear view mirror.
What a trip this has been. The generosity and hospitality of perfect strangers has been overwhelming....Gotta get some sleep....we have 400 miles to cover tomorrow!
We left Kansas city Friday morning , heading north to Lincoln NE through the corner of Iowa. We arrived in time for a priate tour of Bill "Speedy' Smith's collection of old race cars, racing engines, hot rods, pedal cars, toys, lunch boxes, record albums, guitars.......EVERYTHING!!!!!! It was three floors of beautifully restored (if needed) and displayed STUFF and there is allegedly several buildings of stuff around the city.....sensory overload.
After that tour it was off to Culver's, a local drive in/car show where the three woodies got together again (after being separated during the day on different rouyes/interests) Terry and I were invited to stay at the home of John Lee and his charming bride Martha while we were here and they were wonderful hosts for all of the tourers, arranging visits to special collections. On Saturday we went to a private collection of muscle cars, funny cars, hot rods, classics and old Indy cars...another spectacular morning. Lunch was served a a local rodders shop where about 25 other woodie owners gathered for a first class meal of brats and BBQ..... DANG that was good! Thanks Perry! Local legends Paul & Arla Mae Hansen brought a 1938 Marmon Harrington (4wd) woodie that he bought in 1954 for $85. He's been all over the country in it, putting we AC equipped whiners to shame. Earlier in the day we met Paul's grandson, Jordan, and he is a real hoot! We had a blast with him and he is one of the most confident, funny, charming and overall coolest 17 year olds you will ever get the chance to meet (except my own boys of course!) Anyone who says the next generation is lost has never met this guy. He could definitely be whatever he wants to be and he's a gearhead too!
Perry also had parting gifts for the tourers of Woodie music snow globes, shirts, chocolates for the ladies and cans of beans for the guy.....in case we run out of gas. Thanks again for a wonderful stay in Lincoln.
Later this evening John and Martha took us to a local theater for some music put on by one of Martha's best friends who was part of an Andrews Sisters style trio....fantastic music and a lot of original and funny lyrics.
On the car side of things, the engine suddenly developed a miss (one dead cylinder) but it came on so quickly I was sure it was a plug wire. A quick glance found a wire melted onto the header pipe and moving it brought the cylinder back to life....I don't think that's a real repair yet, is it Art?
Tomorrow Terry and I are on our own. Ralph and Marie have been through Rapid City and will be rejoining us in Salt Lake City. Mark and Nance are taking a different route to Alliance NE so we'll be traveling alone for the day....that'll be different not seeing woodies in my rear view mirror.
What a trip this has been. The generosity and hospitality of perfect strangers has been overwhelming....Gotta get some sleep....we have 400 miles to cover tomorrow!
Friday the 12th... and part of Sat.........
Sorry I had to take a night off of the blog, but it was too late last night to start blogging....
Friday we drove to Lincoln Nebraska and met up wth the editor of the Woody Times, John Lee and his wife Martha. We met at Speedway motor parts headquarters and went through the speedway museum there. WOW!! What a place! He has everything car there is in the world and more. Display cases of spark plugs, row after row of engines and cars! He has a Tucker, hello, a Tucker...and it was like number 29! First floor was Indy cars, sprint cars, engines and cars.. Second floor was cars, engines, engines and more engines! Some super old cars, nice presentations on cars with cool back drops and stories about the cars... Third floor was....well, COOL! On the way up the stairs was the lunchbox collection... Every lunchbox ever made was on display! I saw the Monkees lunch box that I had in grade school..Hey Hey with the Monkees! Oh I loved Davy Jones and was sure he was coming to my door to make me "Mrs. Davey Jones"....I was 12 and really couldn't marry him, but that didn't matter! But I digress....
When you get to the 3rd floor there is Mrs. Speedway's collection of everything Yellow Cab! Amazing....Then the whole floor is pedal cars and cases of model cars.... unbelievable...They had Gary's pedal car there too! So much stuff.... After that we went to Carvel's drive in for a car show, and had dinner at Ruby Tuesday's (yes Ian we have now eaten there!) Of couse we had to have frozen custard at Carvel's and then off to the Lee's house as they had graciously invited us to stay with them while we are in Lincoln. Thank you John ad Martha you have a lovely home and we feel so comfy in it instead of a hotel...
It's 4pm on Saturday and this morning Martha and I went to the International Quilt Museum. She thought I might enjoy something that was not cars and she was right! The museum was great and they have a special room where you can record your quilt story, and listen to other stories. Martha and I enjoyed seeing and hearing the stories along with all the beautiful quilts that were on display from the 1800's. Now I am a car girl and love my cars, but I needed Not to go to the car museum that Gary and John and the rest of our group went to this morning. Some members of the Woody club here also joined them at the museum. We all met back at a shop of one of the members and everyone had made a great bar b q lunch for us and we met lots of car people and had a great time. Thanks Perry and all of the others that helped to put that on for us. We sat around talking cars and our new friend Jordan entertained us with stories of his life. For a 17 year old this young man has it together... Jordan we were so happy to meet you and you will hold a special place in our hearts.. Everyone has been so wonderful to us on our trip so far and we can't thank you all enough for all the kindness and willingness to go out of your way for our little group, we so appreciate it.
Tonight we are off to see an Andrew's Sister" like group sing so we are excited about that.
I'll hopefully blog more tomorrow night. We are off to Alliance tomorrow to see Car Henge....???
Ter :o)
Friday we drove to Lincoln Nebraska and met up wth the editor of the Woody Times, John Lee and his wife Martha. We met at Speedway motor parts headquarters and went through the speedway museum there. WOW!! What a place! He has everything car there is in the world and more. Display cases of spark plugs, row after row of engines and cars! He has a Tucker, hello, a Tucker...and it was like number 29! First floor was Indy cars, sprint cars, engines and cars.. Second floor was cars, engines, engines and more engines! Some super old cars, nice presentations on cars with cool back drops and stories about the cars... Third floor was....well, COOL! On the way up the stairs was the lunchbox collection... Every lunchbox ever made was on display! I saw the Monkees lunch box that I had in grade school..Hey Hey with the Monkees! Oh I loved Davy Jones and was sure he was coming to my door to make me "Mrs. Davey Jones"....I was 12 and really couldn't marry him, but that didn't matter! But I digress....
When you get to the 3rd floor there is Mrs. Speedway's collection of everything Yellow Cab! Amazing....Then the whole floor is pedal cars and cases of model cars.... unbelievable...They had Gary's pedal car there too! So much stuff.... After that we went to Carvel's drive in for a car show, and had dinner at Ruby Tuesday's (yes Ian we have now eaten there!) Of couse we had to have frozen custard at Carvel's and then off to the Lee's house as they had graciously invited us to stay with them while we are in Lincoln. Thank you John ad Martha you have a lovely home and we feel so comfy in it instead of a hotel...
It's 4pm on Saturday and this morning Martha and I went to the International Quilt Museum. She thought I might enjoy something that was not cars and she was right! The museum was great and they have a special room where you can record your quilt story, and listen to other stories. Martha and I enjoyed seeing and hearing the stories along with all the beautiful quilts that were on display from the 1800's. Now I am a car girl and love my cars, but I needed Not to go to the car museum that Gary and John and the rest of our group went to this morning. Some members of the Woody club here also joined them at the museum. We all met back at a shop of one of the members and everyone had made a great bar b q lunch for us and we met lots of car people and had a great time. Thanks Perry and all of the others that helped to put that on for us. We sat around talking cars and our new friend Jordan entertained us with stories of his life. For a 17 year old this young man has it together... Jordan we were so happy to meet you and you will hold a special place in our hearts.. Everyone has been so wonderful to us on our trip so far and we can't thank you all enough for all the kindness and willingness to go out of your way for our little group, we so appreciate it.
Tonight we are off to see an Andrew's Sister" like group sing so we are excited about that.
I'll hopefully blog more tomorrow night. We are off to Alliance tomorrow to see Car Henge....???
Ter :o)
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Gar at Harley Plant
Kansas
Gary.....Good drive, decent weather, great dinner (Thanks Jack!), good friends and new ones in Kansas City) but today was a day of contemplation. First was thoughts of the attack on the Holocaust Museum ...we were there a week ago, probably spoke to the guard who was killed but I don't remember him specifically. It just shows how quickly your life can change. He had every intention to go home to his family that night......
Another was a walk through the Union Station in Kansas City, a huge empty train station beautifully maintained/restored giving us a glimpse of travel before the time of four hour coast to coast plane trips. Polished marble floors, plaster moldings on the walls and painted ceilings make it easy to imagine hundreds of people hurrying to catch trains, the train names and destinations echoing off the walls and red caps pushing carts overloaded with baggage. It is truly a thing of beauty, the likes of which will never be built again. The station is the center of a debate between Amtrack and the city of Kansas City as to who is responsible for its upkeep....it deserves to be appreciated, but most importantly, used as it was intended.
Lastly, our tour of the National World War One Museum revealed that no one really knows what caused WWI, only that it seemed the world was ready for a war.....what?????
Tomorrow is a nice drive to Lincoln for FUN stuff!
Ter :o)
We had another busy day with a trip to the Harley plant but alas no tour as they were shut down this week. We managed to visit the gft shop though... :o) On to the WWI Museum where everyone enjoyed the museum, but I opted to try and nap in the car....15 days on the road are taking there toll on me... I guess I'm not as young as I used to be.... We met up with Penny & Jack Boyle for dinner (thank you Jack & Penny that was so kind of you!) We took a walk to the beautiful KC Union Station and you could feel the spirits of days gone by in there. It was beautiful and I wll put up some pics of it along with others from today...
One more thing.... if yo want to check out an article on us that was done in pontiac. It appeared in today's paper. Check it out at www.pontiacdailyleder.com
More tomorrow, we are off to Lincoln Nebraska.....
Another was a walk through the Union Station in Kansas City, a huge empty train station beautifully maintained/restored giving us a glimpse of travel before the time of four hour coast to coast plane trips. Polished marble floors, plaster moldings on the walls and painted ceilings make it easy to imagine hundreds of people hurrying to catch trains, the train names and destinations echoing off the walls and red caps pushing carts overloaded with baggage. It is truly a thing of beauty, the likes of which will never be built again. The station is the center of a debate between Amtrack and the city of Kansas City as to who is responsible for its upkeep....it deserves to be appreciated, but most importantly, used as it was intended.
Lastly, our tour of the National World War One Museum revealed that no one really knows what caused WWI, only that it seemed the world was ready for a war.....what?????
Tomorrow is a nice drive to Lincoln for FUN stuff!
Ter :o)
We had another busy day with a trip to the Harley plant but alas no tour as they were shut down this week. We managed to visit the gft shop though... :o) On to the WWI Museum where everyone enjoyed the museum, but I opted to try and nap in the car....15 days on the road are taking there toll on me... I guess I'm not as young as I used to be.... We met up with Penny & Jack Boyle for dinner (thank you Jack & Penny that was so kind of you!) We took a walk to the beautiful KC Union Station and you could feel the spirits of days gone by in there. It was beautiful and I wll put up some pics of it along with others from today...
One more thing.... if yo want to check out an article on us that was done in pontiac. It appeared in today's paper. Check it out at www.pontiacdailyleder.com
More tomorrow, we are off to Lincoln Nebraska.....
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
St. Louis.....
As I'm typing this there is thunder and lightening...So much lightning!!!! I am sooooooo scared of lightning!! Did I say there was lightning???
It is about 86 degrees and 90% humidity at 9 at night...Ahhhhh St. Louis! The day started off hot and humid with a trip to the arch... We parked in a lot next to a church that said no parking for the arch, church parking only....We all went into the church, just so we wouldn't get towed.... The church was beautiful inside, and I gave thanks for a safe trip. Then off to the arch. The arch is
H U G E!! You can go up inside it in a tiny elevator car that seats 4..There is a picture of me in the tiny car, but that is as far as I got! It is soooooooooo high up, there was no way I was going up there.... Got some cool shots of the car there and then we were off to the Budweiser tour (Free beer at the end!!) The tour was an hour long and we saw all aspects of the plant. Interesting, and informative, but a long time to wait for free beer! HA! Clydesdale horses were housed there and their barn was amazing! There was a Dalmatian there too... Made me miss my Pee Wee boy!
We then had lunch and came back to our hotel and did laundry (you only have so many pair of underware!) The others did whatever they wanted (ballpark, river cruise) and then we met for dinner... We ate at the "Trainwreck" and it was good ... I had a chicken breast dipped in Louisianna Hot Sauce and then it had a blue cheese dressing on top of it...Yummy! Gar of course had ribs...
Tomorrow we are leaving at 7am to go to Kansas City for a tour of the Harley Davidson plant, a personal tour of the WWI museum, and then some KC Bar b que...
Hopefully it will stop with the thunder and lightening by tomorrow and we will have a dry and safe trip. Oh that lightning is still going!!!!
Ter :0)
Gary...... A lightning storm!!! How cool!!! I haven't seen any like this since I lived in Detroit. Lots of flashes and rumbling! Unfortunately it's also pouring.......=-( ....but they think it'll be gone tomorrow morning.
We're leaving very early (for this group!) for the four hour trip to KC.
It is about 86 degrees and 90% humidity at 9 at night...Ahhhhh St. Louis! The day started off hot and humid with a trip to the arch... We parked in a lot next to a church that said no parking for the arch, church parking only....We all went into the church, just so we wouldn't get towed.... The church was beautiful inside, and I gave thanks for a safe trip. Then off to the arch. The arch is
H U G E!! You can go up inside it in a tiny elevator car that seats 4..There is a picture of me in the tiny car, but that is as far as I got! It is soooooooooo high up, there was no way I was going up there.... Got some cool shots of the car there and then we were off to the Budweiser tour (Free beer at the end!!) The tour was an hour long and we saw all aspects of the plant. Interesting, and informative, but a long time to wait for free beer! HA! Clydesdale horses were housed there and their barn was amazing! There was a Dalmatian there too... Made me miss my Pee Wee boy!
We then had lunch and came back to our hotel and did laundry (you only have so many pair of underware!) The others did whatever they wanted (ballpark, river cruise) and then we met for dinner... We ate at the "Trainwreck" and it was good ... I had a chicken breast dipped in Louisianna Hot Sauce and then it had a blue cheese dressing on top of it...Yummy! Gar of course had ribs...
Tomorrow we are leaving at 7am to go to Kansas City for a tour of the Harley Davidson plant, a personal tour of the WWI museum, and then some KC Bar b que...
Hopefully it will stop with the thunder and lightening by tomorrow and we will have a dry and safe trip. Oh that lightning is still going!!!!
Ter :0)
Gary...... A lightning storm!!! How cool!!! I haven't seen any like this since I lived in Detroit. Lots of flashes and rumbling! Unfortunately it's also pouring.......=-( ....but they think it'll be gone tomorrow morning.
We're leaving very early (for this group!) for the four hour trip to KC.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Gar's Comments
Gary.....As Terry said, the day started out at Lincoln's home and the neighborhood around it. They have restored several of the homes around it....It is pretty unreal to stand on the porch of the house across the street and imagine Abe walking down the front stairs of his home, looking at the same furniture in the same house...quite sobering.
The Lincoln Museum was full of articles, letters and personal effects of the president. It covered the deaths of three of his four children, his personal torment over the Civil War and his subsequent assassination. Again very sobering.
We had lunch at the Cozy Drive In, a Rt. 66 highlight, where the corn dog was invented. Hitting the road again, we managed to spend a majority of the drive (probably 75 of 100 miles) on the "Mother Road". It was well marked and in good shape, winding through a dozen small towns along the way. Driving our wagon down Rt.66, the exhaust pipes burbling, I was, as my friend Chris says (although sarcastically), 'living he dream'. Just as we got on the freeway for the last few miles to get to our motel it began to rain moderately and continued to do so as we crossed the Mississippi River in to Missouri.
The car is still running beautifully, much to my relief. Tomorrow will be an easy day, just driving around St. Louis.
The Lincoln Museum was full of articles, letters and personal effects of the president. It covered the deaths of three of his four children, his personal torment over the Civil War and his subsequent assassination. Again very sobering.
We had lunch at the Cozy Drive In, a Rt. 66 highlight, where the corn dog was invented. Hitting the road again, we managed to spend a majority of the drive (probably 75 of 100 miles) on the "Mother Road". It was well marked and in good shape, winding through a dozen small towns along the way. Driving our wagon down Rt.66, the exhaust pipes burbling, I was, as my friend Chris says (although sarcastically), 'living he dream'. Just as we got on the freeway for the last few miles to get to our motel it began to rain moderately and continued to do so as we crossed the Mississippi River in to Missouri.
The car is still running beautifully, much to my relief. Tomorrow will be an easy day, just driving around St. Louis.
Sprinfield IL.....
Hello All,
Today we went to Abe Lincoln's home in Springfield. That was interesting because it had the orignal banister still in the home, so as we went up the stairs we all touched the banister... Ok try to wrap your head around that I touched the same banister as ABE LINCOLN! What? That is amazing isn't it?
Next we went to the Lincoln Museum, which was so interesting. They had lots of artifacts, plus a couple of movies and lots of info about Abe's rise to power and his family. We then went over to the Cozy Dog which is an original place to eat on Route 66.... Ok, it was super yummy! Corn dogs, hot dogs, chili dogs, a dog anyway you could want it, they had it.... You can see that Gary was enjoying his cozy dog and I had one too. (Karen this is the food part for you!)
But our traveling companion Marie (the first woman on the left in the pic above) ate 3, yes 3 hot dogs there! She was a better man than any of the men with us! You go Marie!! How does she stay so slim???I hate Marie....... just kidding! :o)
We drove for about 60 miles on Route 66 today through small towns and open space. It was totally cool.. Made it to St. Louis, here for two nights....
Tomorrow we are off to take pictures of the cars at the arch and a tour of the Budweiser plant.
More tomorrow.... Ter :o)
Monday, June 8, 2009
Route 66 The Mother Road.....
Here we are at the Route 66 Museum. They have this cool mural painted on the back of the building and you can drive your car up there and take a pic.... Very Cool! We had an easy drive today and all met up at an old gas station owned by Phil Becker and his wife. they were there with Steve Hayes and his wife Gisella (sorry if I spelled that wrong). We all went to the Route 66 diner and had a great lunch, Thanks Phil that was so nice of you!We then headed to the museum, hitting a few sections of the original Mother Road... After the museum we headed to Springfield IL and had a great dinner and Frozen custard for dessert. Yummy!
Tomorrow we are off to see "Lincoln Stuff" and then are heading to St. Louis, hopefully hitting more sections of Route 66. It's really cool to ride on the first road that went across the US.
Ter :o)
Gary....... Ugh.....rain. It apparently rained during the night with thunder and lightning but I slept through it. After a quick breakfast I went out and rolled up the wet car cover during a sprinkle and put it in the back of the car on a couple towels. By the time we left the rain had stopped and we headed for US 55 which has bits and pieces of Old Rt. 66 intertwined with it. The first section of 66 was rather boring with strip malls and road repairs but became very obvious why the old highway was bypassed.
We tried another stretch of Rt. 66 from Gardner to Dwight, a very nice two-lane highway ending in down town Dwight. As Terry said we were treated to a very nice lunch at a local diner and then returned to Phil's gas station for some more yakkin' and picture taking. We said our goodby's and hit Old Rt.66 again to Pontiac. 66 is pretty bad between Pontiac and Springfield so we stayed on US 55 for the remainder of the day's drive. The only driving problem is gusting cross winds and with tall cars it makes for exciting driving.
Tomorrow we're off to a new Abraham Lincoln museum and then lunch at Cozy Dog, where the corn dog was invented ending up in St Louis where bad weather awaits us.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
CHICAGO....
Today started with a great breakfast at our great hotel... I love the Hyatt and want to stay here a few more days..... But I digress.... We took the train into Chicago this morning at 8:40 and arrived at 9:50... we had to then take a bus to downtown to Macy's to pick up our Go cards to get into all the things we wanted to see today. We got them and headed by bus to the Field Museum to see Sue, the most complete skeleton of a T-Rex.. That is a pic of Sue on the left. We saw a 3-D movie about finding dino bones which was totally cool! We toured a bit more of the museum and then on to two busses and a free trolley to get to the Navy Pier. It was a cool (naw...COLD) day and the wind off of the lake was pretty cold...We of course decided to take a boat cruise to see the architecture of Chicago.That's us on the boat on the right! It was FREEZING, but fun. We enjoyed seeing all of the buildings from the boat. Then we walked the pier and had our anniversary dinner at Riva. We had a window seat overlooking the lake and the skyline and the food was awesome! Very nice..Thanks Honey!
We caught a bus to Union Station and then the train and shuttle to our hotel.... A full day to say the least. Tomorrow we start Route 66 to Springfield IL! If my hotel there has internet I will report on the day.... Gary booked some "Old Style" hotels along the way so if I miss a day, its because of no WIFI... Talk to you soon!
Ter :o)
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Here are some pics!
Gar w/his White Castle Gar, Ter & BruceMom there is your picture of Bruce...... :o)
Gar & Ter at Indy
Indy Speedway.....
Here we are are the Indy Speedway!It was a great ride up there with beautiful sunshine all the way.
We had booked a tour on line before we left and we were glad we did as it was a busy day at the Speedway... Our tour included a lap of the track, the media center where all the TV and radio stations sit on race days and the museum. We had asked if the woodies could take a lap of the track and they said sure for a $1000.00 Ins. fee...We passed on that and enjoyed our lap in the little mini tour bus. :o) They did however, let us take a picture of our cars in the tour bus lane so we were thankful for that and it is the pic included on the left. We are now in Chicago and have an amazing room at the Hyatt about 18 miles from downtown Chicago. Tomorrow we are taking the metro to downtown to see the Sears Tower, John Hancock Building, Navy Pier, with maybe a lunch cruise of the lake and my anniversary gift of dinner at Rivo's which has a view of the lake. Busy day tomorrow, I'm going to have to rest when I get back home, everyday is up early and to bed late! Having a great time! I'll talk to you all tomorrow....Ter :o)
Gary.....
It was definitely a 'car guy' day.... started out with a late breakfast, lunch at White Castle, a couple hours at the speedway and a lovely 200 mile cruise to Chicago. The only down side is the awful roads that they charge you to drive on.....they were seriously the worst roads of the trip and we were charged eighty cents every few miles.
Tomorrow the cars get to rest since we're taking a train to the city, then Monday we drive Rt. 66!!!
Pictures for last nights blog.........
ok these are the pictures I couldn't get loaded on there last night. This is Tom and one of his many cars.
The pic on the right is a corvette that he changed over to electric... He is one amazing guy!Click on them to get a better look...
Ter :o)
Friday, June 5, 2009
On To Indy..
Hello Blog Watchers!
We woke to Beautiful weather and it just got better from there! We started the day by going to Tom Sutphen's Fire Truck Plant just outside of Columbus....Now you might think this would be a bit of a snooze, but let me tell you that it was Amazing.... Tom is 84 years old and adorable. His grandfather started the company and it has been in the family ever since. It is a multi million dollar business and it was cool to see the fire trucks and how each part was made...Tom has many "toys"(CARS!!!) there and he told us a story about each one. The picture is of Tom and one of his many cars... He has a car that Mae West supposedly owned and told us the footprints on the ceiling of the car were Clark Gabel's! HA!He was so cute with each car, and so knowledgeable... I enjoyed his tour so much, so thank you Dave for introducing us to Tom, he is a doll! Dave Goss (A Native Ohioan) also told us about the National Air Force Museum, so we went there on our way to Indy. That too was amazing! We spent two hours going through there and ya know I'm not much for plane museums, but this place had everything! After that we made it to Indy and tomorrow we will be taking the tour of the Speedway.
Gary.... What a great day on the open road. Sunshine, smooth roads, light traffic and once again, no car trouble with 60 year old cars. It's funny to see passing traffic slow to take a look at each of the cars and then zoom away. We get smiles and waves from the most unlikely spectators.
The brakes are still working perfectly and the only repair I've had to make is replace a fuse for the brake lights that I apparently popped while trying to fix the brakes before the trip started so that doesn't count as a repair, Art!
I just talked to a guy near Chicago who told me to prepare for some more rain.....gonna have to recaulk a couple places on the windshield!
We woke to Beautiful weather and it just got better from there! We started the day by going to Tom Sutphen's Fire Truck Plant just outside of Columbus....Now you might think this would be a bit of a snooze, but let me tell you that it was Amazing.... Tom is 84 years old and adorable. His grandfather started the company and it has been in the family ever since. It is a multi million dollar business and it was cool to see the fire trucks and how each part was made...Tom has many "toys"(CARS!!!) there and he told us a story about each one. The picture is of Tom and one of his many cars... He has a car that Mae West supposedly owned and told us the footprints on the ceiling of the car were Clark Gabel's! HA!He was so cute with each car, and so knowledgeable... I enjoyed his tour so much, so thank you Dave for introducing us to Tom, he is a doll! Dave Goss (A Native Ohioan) also told us about the National Air Force Museum, so we went there on our way to Indy. That too was amazing! We spent two hours going through there and ya know I'm not much for plane museums, but this place had everything! After that we made it to Indy and tomorrow we will be taking the tour of the Speedway.
Gary.... What a great day on the open road. Sunshine, smooth roads, light traffic and once again, no car trouble with 60 year old cars. It's funny to see passing traffic slow to take a look at each of the cars and then zoom away. We get smiles and waves from the most unlikely spectators.
The brakes are still working perfectly and the only repair I've had to make is replace a fuse for the brake lights that I apparently popped while trying to fix the brakes before the trip started so that doesn't count as a repair, Art!
I just talked to a guy near Chicago who told me to prepare for some more rain.....gonna have to recaulk a couple places on the windshield!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Hershey and beyond........
Well here is a picture of the intrepid travelers (click to get a better look) We had a wild weather day today as we woke up to rain and it continued until we got to Ohio..The morning started off with us taking a quick (and I mean QUICK) trip to Hershey World for a 30 minute shopping spree...It was like that old TV show Supermarket Sweep where the person has 1 minute to fill their cart.... I was like that... :o) I got what I wanted and we had just enough time for one picture and we were meeting the others and starting on our way... It was raining and we had 7 hours of driving ahead to get to Columbus Ohio.... Let me just say that you see weird road side signs like World of pigeons...(really?? Who would go there?) and The Biggest Fireworks Store in the Universe (the Universe?? Really? That is pretty big!) along the highway. The rain was really bad and our little car was getting sooo wet, but we made it here and met up with Tom and his daughter Audrey and their Buick Woody and they took us to German town to a great German restaurant(See picture above of Hans (Gary) and Hilda(Ter) and then a quick tour of downtown Columbus. Thanks Tom, that was so nice of you to meet us and show us your town... Tomorrow we are going to Indy and I am looking forward to our tour of the speeday (Ya know I love my race'n!)
Gary:
What a day....it seems like everyday is what a day! Our fellow travelers are Mark and Nancy from San Diego in their '48 Ford (the blue car) and Ralph and Marie from Atlanta, GA, in their very red '50 Plymouth towing a little teardrop camper. All the cars demonstrated today that they are REAL cars. We awoke to wet cars but at least it had stopped raining.....short lived. The trip had barely started when the rains started again. We drove 400 very hard miles today and it truly a test of our cars. They withstood driving rains and crazy drivers. I was passing a truck and looked in the rear view to see the red '50 a very short distance behind me. I looked forward again and some motion caused me to look in the rear view again and all I saw was the grill of a semi which could not have been more than 10 feet off my bumper. I accelerated to get past the other truck and the bumper rider accelerated too! I was at 75 mph when I was finally able to get back in the other lane.
Tonight is dry and I'm hopeful that we've seen the last of the rain for a while....didn't I say that yesterday?
The Tour begins......
The last couple days have been really weird. The roads in DC have potholes you can lose your car in
and unfortunately I hit a big one last night. Immediately the first half of the brake pedal had no resistance.
It got progressively worse yesterday and I painfully decided that we wouldn't be at the start, instead
spending the day getting it repaired.
I found a British repair shop and made plans to go there first thing in the morning after limping over to the start
site to meet everyone. As we drove along the pedal began to regain it's feel and before long I had full brakes again.
We decided to do the first day of the tour and things went well, having brakes all day (that's a good thing!). We had
seven woodies driving to the Gettysburg Visitor Center, a bit of a rolling car show.
The air conditioning has, thankfully, been working spectacularly, making the drive very pleasant. Even in stop & go traffic the car never overheated and we were cool.
It's raining tonight and our car is getting wet for the first time and the wipers were also getting their initial
work out. I'm praying for no more rain!
From Ter :
Hello Blog Followers!!
Today has been cool, meeting those that will be going the distance with us... Everyone is super nice and I know our trip will be fun!
Thanks to Helen and Ken for the great tour from DC to Gettysburg and on to Hershey. What a great route with a stop at a cool covered bridge (The photo above)
Since the trama with the car somehow got fixed (I say thanks Dad! We asked you for help and I think you somehow fixed it for us!)The rain is kind of a bummer as the
windshield is steamy and we have to keep wiping it with a rag. Oh the joys of a 58 year old car.
Tomorrow morning we will head to the "World of Hershey" for about an hour or so as we have a 7 hr drive ahead to Columbus Ohio...
I will try to write tomorrow night as well as this "Bates Motel" (I mean that in the nicest way!) we are in doesn't have internet access.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Hello Blog Followers,
Anyone who knows me knows the only thing I wanted to see in Baltimore was Charm City Cakes which is the bakery for the Food Network show Ace of Cakes.... So yesterday we got up early, picked up the Woody Car from the car dealership that was holding it for us (such a nice guy! Thanks so much for receiving our "baby"and keeping it safe!) then we headed to Baltimore, first stop Charm City Cakes.... Ok, the roads in Baltimore are horrible! Huge yes Sista, H u g e !!!! pot holes everywhere. We find Charm City in one of the worst areas! Bad roads, bad neighborhood.... So I say to Gar, "Just drop Ian and I off for a pic in front of the building and then drive back and get us" OK, Ian and I jump out and ther is a guy chaining up his Moped at the corner in a jersey and shorts with helmet still on... Could that be Duff??? Naw..... We take our pictures, Gar comes back around and as I look back at CC before I get in the car, there is Duff...It was him ! He sees the car and says Hi from accross the street... I point at him like an idiot and say Hi! He comes over and Gary jumps out of the car! OMG!! I am talking to Duff! He shakes our hands, does his cute laugh and starts talking cars... He has a corvette from his Dad's 2nd mid life crisis he says and he loves Woodies! We chat a while he takes a picture with us and then shakes our hands again and says he has to go to work... He is super nice and just like he is on the show... I don't know how it happened, but it did....I met Duff Goldman!
The rest of yesterday was spent staring at the picture in the camera of me and Duff...... Oh yeah, Ian is in the picture too! HA!
We then drove to New Jersey to meet Gary's friend Bruce who drove down from New York. We met at an Applebee's and spent 5 hous talking... I think Gar had a good visit with Bruce as did Ian and I ! What a great guy he is and it only took me 28 years to meet him! think we have him convinced to visi Calif. soon....
Anyway..... Here is the pic of us with Duff.... See it did really happen!
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