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Memory Lane Road Trip~Part 15

10 Oct

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites



Day 15 – Tuesday 5/1/2018

I headed south on I-40 this morning to visit the Flying Tigers Heritage Park located just outside Alexandria, LA.  This is a park situated just outside the entrance to, what was until 1992, the England Air Force Base.  Now known as England Airpark & Community, it is a thriving residential neighborhood and the air base has been transformed to serve as the Alexandria International Airport.  I was only interested in getting photos of their static displayed airplanes, and then I was on my way.

I continued south on I-40, and then took a short side trip down U.S.-167/SR-13 to visit the Cajun Music Hall of Fame located in Eunice, LA.  All along U.S.-167 and SR-13 I kept seeing these large, flooded fields with some kind of a device evenly spaced over the entire field.  I had no idea what I was seeing until I arrived at the museum, and asked the curator.  

She said they were crawfish traps, and showed me one she had there in the museum.  I asked her what they used for bait, and she said, “Any kind of meat scraps will do, but most farmers use processed crawfish bait which is made up of concentrated fish parts.” When I mentioned how shallow the water looked, she informed me that they plant rice in those fields, and then after the rice crop is harvested, they flood the fields, seed the crawfish, and put out their crawfish traps.  Check YouTube for “Crawfish Trap Videos” to see how they do it.

I learn some of the most interesting things on these trips!  The museum is located in a small building and displays some Cajun Music memorabilia, but is filled mostly with early 1800s Louisiana artifacts from the surrounding area. 

Next door was the equally small Eunice Depot Museum, which was closed, so I headed east on U.S.-190 to pick up I-40 and head south again towards Layfette, LA.  Friends had told me that if I was ever in the Layfette area, I needed to stop at “Prejeans Cajun Restaurant” located on I-40 just north of Layfette for a meal.  Well, it was lunch time wasn’t it?  So of course I stopped in to give them a try.  

Everything on the menu looked great, but I settled on a bowl of Seafood Gumbo to start.  Then it was their “Blackened Shrimp Skillet Creole” with red beans and rice.  Yummm! It was all pretty spicy, to my taste, and I needed two glasses of ice tea to keep my mouth cooled down!

After that delicious meal, I was ready to head south on I-40 again to visit the Acadian Village located a few miles southwest of Lafayette.  This is a 1800s living Cajun village, with relocated and restored authentic buildings, including houses, a church, a meeting house, and a blacksmith shop. The village is set around a small bayou and the dwellings are easily accessible from a paved walkway.

A few miles east of the Acadian Village I visited the Vermillionville Historic Village located on 23 acres adjacent to the Bayou Vermillion.  This living history museum and folk-life park is another frontier village type attraction, with some of their buildings dating from the late 1700s.  The seven relocated buildings have been restored, filled with period furnishings, and hosted by tour guides dressed in period costumes who will answer all your questions.

Now it was time to head for the motel and get settled in, so I could relax and enjoy my leftover Blackened Shrimp with red beans and rice from Prejeans.  Yummm again!  Of course I didn’t have the ice tea to cool down my mouth this time, so I had to be satisfied with a can of Mountain Dew from the motel’s drink machine.

                                           —–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 61 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing. He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville. Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

Bill

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Memory Lane Road Trip~Part 14

3 Oct

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 14 – Monday 4/30/2018 

My original plan was to head north this morning to visit a couple of smaller museums, and then turn around and head south to meet another of my cousins in Many, LA for lunch. However, I was getting off to a late start, and there was a good chance the museums wouldn’t be open, and I didn’t want to be late for our meeting.  So after breakfast I packed up and headed south on US-171 to visit the Fort Jesup Historic Site located about six miles northeast of Many.

The site was closed, but Wikipedia tells me the fort was built in1822 to protect the U.S. border with New Spain, and to return order to the Neutral Strip (1806-1821).  The fort was active until after the Mexican war, in 1846, when it was closed.  The only building that remains of the fort now, is the Enlisted Barracks 4, which was restored and is currently being maintained by a private organization in Many.

Now I continued about six miles southwest on SR-6, from Fort Jesup into Many.  My cousin Jimmy had said he couldn’t meet my other cousin Alfice and me for lunch.  I thought maybe I’d drive over and see where his office was anyway.  It was only 10 o’clock, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do for the next two hours.

Just as I was pulling into town my cousin James Alfice called me to let me know he had to come to town early to run some errands.  What a serendipity!  We met at the local Burger King and as he got out of his car he said, “You must be Billy.”  I shook his hand and said, “And you must be Alfice.”  I got in his car and we started what turned out to be the very best four hour family history tour I have ever had.  Alfice is four years older than me, and has lived a very active life there in the Many area.  He and his family grew up and lived there, as has my family.  At one time he was the police Chief of Many for several years, and later he was Sherriff of Sabine County, Louisiana for a number of years.

He knew everything there was to know about our family background, as well as, everything there was to know about what had gone on in Many and Sabine county over the years. He drove me around every part of Many, pointing out which of my relatives had lived in, or still lived in this or that house.  He would point out which criminal had lived in some house, or the very spot in the woods where he and his deputies had turned the dogs loose on another criminal. Then he took me to the Mount Zion Baptist Church.  According to Alfice, his grandfather and my grandfather were both instrumental in starting that church sometime around the late 1800s or early 1900s.  That is the church my family attended those times we visited my relatives when I was a youngster.  Most of my relatives who live in the Many area still attend there.

Next to the church is the Mount Zion Cemetery, where many of Alfice and my relatives are buried.  This is a beautiful cemetery that dates back to the early 1800s, and has been kept up by the church families over the years. I found the grave of my grandfather (T.J. Lites) and grandmother (Mattie Lites) who started populating the area in and around Many with their 13 children.

We stopped for lunch at Alfice’s favorite restaurant, Fisherman’s Galley, located on the banks of Toledo Bend Lake.  I had a plate of their Grilled Catfish with Sweet Potatoe Fries.  The food was really great, and lots of it.  While I was eating, I had this picture in my mind of two little black kids, sitting on a pier, fishing in the lake for catfish for the restaurant.  As soon as they hooked one, they would run it up to the restaurant cook, and the next thing you know, there it was on my plate, fresh out of the lake.  The catfish was that good!

Alfice continued the tour for a while after lunch, but then he told me he had to get his car back for his wife.  We exchanged contact information and said our goodbyes, with promises to stay in touch. Then I went looking for my cousin Jimmy’s asphalt business, so I could take a photo of their sign. Jimmy had told me he was starting a new job in another town that day, and I assumed his whole crew would be on that job with him.   As luck would have it, the gate was open, so I drove in to see who might be there.  I was surprised when the mechanic told me that two of my cousins, Danny and Tracy, were in the office.  They came out and we had a great impromptu visit.

After I said my goodbyes to cousins Danny and Tracy, I drove back into Many to check out The Robert Gentry Museum, there on San Antonio Avenue.  I had seen this museum as I first drove into Many, and hoped I had time now to visit before they closed.  But I found out the museum had closed and all that was left in the building was a pawn shop.

Now it was time for Greta to take me to tonight’s motel in Natchitoches, LA which was about 30 miles east of Many.  After I checked in, I warmed up my delicious leftover catfish, for another delightful supper.  As usual, there was nothing worth watching on the TV, so I recorded my notes for the day and then it was early to bed for me.

—–To Be Continued—–

 

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 61 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

Bill

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Memory Lane Road Trip~ Part 12

19 Sep

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 12 – Saturday 4/28/2018

This morning I headed southwest on US-61 to visit the Delta Blues Museum located in Clarksdale, MS. This museum is housed in what was originally the Clarksdale Passenger Depot, which was built in 1926.  The Passenger depot was used by the Central Illinois Railroad, and others, until 1965 when passenger service at the depot was discontinued.  After years of abandonment, the depot was restored, and the museum moved in.  The museum displays many artifacts and memorabilia related to the history of Blues Music in the Mid-South.

One of the artists that legend credits with helping birth the blues, in this area, is McKinley Morganfield, better known in the blues music world as “Muddy Waters.”  The museum honors “The King of Chicago Blues” with a wax figure of the artist strumming his guitar in the rebuilt portion of his slave shack.  The shack is where he spent most of his first 30 years.  It was moved to the museum, from its original location, on the Stovall Plantation, near Clarksdale in 1996.

Now I continued south on US-289/US-82 to visit the Greenville Air Force Base Museum located at the Mid-Delta Regional Airport in Greenville, MS.  This small museum turned out to be housed on the mezzanine of the airport terminal building.  The museum displays memorabilia related to the history of the Greenville Army Airfield operations (1940-1946), and the U.S. Airforce Training Center (1950-1966).

3

Next I headed southeast on US-61/US-149 to visit the Canton Railroad Museum located in Canton, MS.  This museum is located in the restored 1852 Canton Railroad Depot building, and displays artifacts and memorabilia related to the railroad’s influence, from the mid-1800s to the late 1970s, in and around the Canton area.

4

Now I headed south on I-55 to visit the City of Jackson Fire Museum located in Jackson, MS.  This museum is housed in a portion of the active Fire House #10.  The museum was closed by the time I got there, but Wikipedia tells me the museum displays artifacts and memorabilia about the Jackson Fire Department Safety programs.  There are also several beautifully restored pieces of firefighting equipment/engines dating from 1904 displayed within the museum.

5

As I was driving thru downtown Jackson, I stopped to take a photo of the Old Mississippi State Capital Building (1839-1903). Wikipedia states that this building has been renovated several times since 1903, the last being in 1961, after which it was designated the Mississippi State Historical Museum.   The museum was closed by the time I got there, and that was OK with me.  I expected it would have taken hours to see three floors full of memorabilia, artifacts, and exhibits related to the full history of Mississippi.

6

On the way to the motel, I happened upon the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, and stopped by to get a photo.  Wikipedia tells me that the museum was opened in 2017, and displays artifacts and memorabilia covering the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. (especially Mississippi) from 1945 to 1970.  This museum was also closed, so I turned my attention to where I was going to stay tonight. By now it was time for Greta to take me to the motel (which actually ended up being in Clinton, MS located just west of Jackson) so I could get checked in and find some place to eat.

7

After I got checked in at the motel, I asked the desk clerk for his recommendation about a good place to eat and he said, “The Froghead Grill just down the street is pretty good.”  I put my things in the room and walked about 1½ blocks to see what they had to offer.  As you might expect, the Froghead Grill had a very unique menu.  I selected their “Zydeco Wrap” which was Alligator sausage and Crawfish with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and Scooter Sauce.  Boy was that different and delicious!  With a full tummy, I headed back to the motel for a good night’s sleep.

8

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 61 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

Bill

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Memory Lane Road Trip~Part 11

12 Sep

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

 

 

Day 11 – Friday 4/27/2018

 

After a great complimentary breakfast at the motel this morning, I headed east on I-40 to visit the Fire Museum of Memphis located just as I crossed the Mississippi River in west Memphis, TN.  This museum is located in the 1910 Fire House No.1, where they display several beautifully restored early 1900s fire engines.  Other fire station artifacts and memorabilia displayed in the museum, tell the story of the Memphis Fire Department as far back as the late 1800s.

 

 

As I headed for my next museum, I passed a Historical Marker relating the story of the Memphis slave trade. I parked so I could get out to read about the history and get some photos.  I was not aware that Memphis was, in around 1855, considered a regional hub for the slave trade.  This turned out to be the exact corner where Nathan Forrest established his slave auction block (circle) in 1854.

 

 

He continued his lucrative business there (owner of some 3000 slaves himself) until 1860 when he moved his auction center one block north.  When Tennessee seceded from the Union in June of 1861, Forrest joined the Confederate Army.  Distinguishing himself during the Civil War, General Forrest left the Army at the end of the war in 1865.  Wikipedia states that in 1866 Forrest joined the KKK, and was later voted the first “Grand Wizard” of the KKK in 1867.

 

Now I headed a few blocks south to visit the Cotton Museum located in the Cotton Exchange building, at #65 Union Avenue there in Memphis.  This museum tells the story of how the cotton industry influenced the lives and economic growth of the area in and around Memphis from the mid-1800s.

 

 

The Memphis Cotton Exchange was founded in1874 to handle the growing cotton market in the area.  Once established, the Memphis Cotton Exchange was connected with the New York and New Orleans Cotton Exchanges to regulate standards for the buying and pricing of cotton in the Memphis area and the mid-south.

 

 

It was only another few blocks south to visit the Memphis Rock ‘N’ Soul Museum.  I never did find that museum in the maze of “Jazz Joints” there on Beale Street.  They all advertised to be the original source, location, and very best of Memphis “Jazz”/”Blues”/”Soul” music.

 

 

Then there was the “Orpheum Theater”, that advertised to have the very best entertainment in town.   They had listings for all kinds of modern day performers that I had never heard of.   And of course, Elvis is still a big name anywhere you go in Memphis.

 

 

The Orpheum Theater was built on this corner in 1928, to replace the original “Grand Opera House” of 1890.  That structure had burned down in 1923.  They had their own “Walk of Fame” on their sidewalks, around the theater, that included some of the big names in the entertainment business down thru the years.

 

 

About three miles south of Beale Street I visited the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, there in Memphis.  I didn’t know until I got home and Googled the Stax Museum, that the building is actually a “replica” of the old Capital Theater, which Stax Records (1957-1976) used as their recording studio.  Known as one of America’s original promoters of Southern Soul music, this is where many early artists cut their famous record albums.  Stax also released many gospel, jazz, and blues recordings from this studio over the years.

 

 

Now I headed north, back toward downtown, to visit the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum.  This museum is housed in a small 1849 clapboard house built by Jacob Burkle, who was at the time, a well-known livestock trader.   The museum is filled with exhibits and artifacts that tell the story of the system known as the “underground railroad” in this part of Tennessee during the mid-1850s.

 

 

Next I headed east a few miles to visit the “Pink Palace Museum” located adjacent to the Memphis Lake and Chickasaw Garden Park. This turned out to be a huge “Family of Museums” that included a museum, displaying artifacts and memorabilia related to the history of the Memphis area, a Giant CTI 3-D theater, and the Sharpe Planetarium.  Since I wanted to get to my next museum before they closed, I opted not to spend the time in this “Museum.”

 

 

Now I headed for the Elvis Presley Auto Museum (at least that’s where I thought I was going) located in the Bluebird Estates area of Memphis.  The Internet listing indicated the Auto Museum was a separate museum.  Having never been to Graceland, I thought I could view Elvis’s cars and airplanes separately.  Silly me!  Of course all the collections are together, and everyone just HAS to go thru his mansion. So I ended up paying for the whole works, when I only wanted to see the autos and airplanes.  What a scam!

 

 

His 30+ cars, motorcycles, boats, and off-road vehicle collection is impressive, but really not worth the price I had to pay for admission (including getting to see his famous pink Cadillac).  And I had often wondered where all the Convair 990 aircraft ended up.  I have to admit the Elvis mansion is beautiful, and his family lived in opulent splendor.  But here again, what do you expect of people who have more money than they know what to do with?

 

After I finished with that impressive attraction, I ask Greta to take me to the motel, there in Memphis, so I could relax and enjoy my leftover Mexican Dinner from Papito’s Mexican Grill.  Yummm!

 

—–To Be Continued—–

 

 

 

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 61 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

 

Bill

 

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Memory Lane Road Trip~Part 10

5 Sep

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

 

Day 10 – Thursday 4/26/2018

 

This morning I headed north on I-40 to visit the Arkansas Air & Military Museum, located at Drake Field just south of Fayetteville, AR.  This is a good size museum, filled with aviation and military artifacts and memorabilia.  Their nicely restored aircraft date from the Golden Age of Aviation to the jet age.   They have several aircraft displayed outside that could use a little TLC.  The museum also has military artifacts and memorabilia from WW2 thru current conflicts and restored military equipment of all types.

 

 

Now I headed southeast on SR-23 & I-40 to visit the Museum of Automobiles located in Morrilton, AR. Once I got off I-40 and headed south to find the museum, I thought Greta had lost her satellite contact.  The roads got smaller and the forest around me got denser and darker, and I just knew we were lost.  Then as I rounded a bend in the road, Greta announced, “Arriving at your destination on the right.”  Well, what do you know; she knew where she was all the time.

 

 

This turned out to be an amazing museum, out in the middle of nowhere.  The museum has around 50+ beautifully restored automobiles dating from 1904 to 1967, six motorcycles dating from 1913 and a large license plate collection. There were also antique arcade machines, antique player pianos, and an antique gun collection, all beautifully restored and in working condition.

 

 

We really did get lost as we tried to find our way back to civilization.  Greta was so confused that I had to turn her off, and stop to ask directions, once I came across a small general store.  Then we were on our way southeast, on I-40 again, to visit the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum located in North Littlerock, AR.  This “museum” turned out to be a WW2 tugboat, the Hoga (YT-146), and a WW2 submarine, the USS Razorback (SS-394), which gives visitors an idea of what it would be like to live and work on a submarine during WW2.

 

 

There were also two memorials to submariners: one for the USS Snook (SS-279) and one for the USS Scorpion (SSN-589).  This is all outdoors and situated at the North Shore Riverwalk Park there on the Arkansas River.

 

 

While visiting my cousin Milton in Arlington, he had mentioned another relative contact in Little Rock.  I gave him a call while I was there in the Little Rock area.  He told me one of his sons was into genealogy, and had a lot of information on the Lites family tree.  He couldn’t meet me today, but I made arrangements to contact him again after he had had a chance to talk to his son.  I was thrilled to come across another relative (no matter how distant) who might help me track down our roots.

 

 

Now I headed northeast a few miles, on US-167, to visit the Arkansas Military History Museum located in Jacksonville, AR.  This is a small museum with displays and exhibits that include memorabilia and artifacts related to the military influence, in and around the Jacksonville, Arkansas area from Civil War days up to the present time.

 

 

Next I wanted to check out the Little Rock Air Force Base Museum, which was just a few miles north of the Jacksonville Museum of Military History, but was informed at the gate that their museum was not open to the public.  So I took a couple photos of their C-130 Gate Guard and headed for the motel there in Jacksonville.

 

 

After I got checked in at the motel, I ask the clerk for restaurant recommendations and she said her favorite was Papito’s Mexican Grill.  That sounded good to me, so I gave Greta the address and said, “Go Girl.”  I had a Papito’s Special Dinner, which included one each: Chalupa, Taco, Tamale, Enchilada, and Chili Relleno with rice and beans.  Of course you’re right!  I couldn’t eat all of that at one sitting, but I had planned to take half back to the motel for tomorrow’s dinner.

 

 

 

—–To Be Continued—–

 

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Memory Lane Road Trip~Part 9

29 Aug

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

 

Day 9 – Wednesday 4/25/2018

 

After another great breakfast, in the breakfast room, with my cousins George, Gerry, and Delois, I said my “Goodbyes” to them and headed northeast to start my day by visiting the Cavanaugh Flight Museum located in Addison, TX.  This museum has four hangers full of beautifully restored aircraft dating from WWI, and most of them fly. It is very unusual to find a museum that takes such good care of their aircraft.  As a plus, the museum has several aircraft that you can get a ride in, if you have the money.  I was told that when not on tour, “FIFI” one of only two flying B-29’s in the world, is maintained there at the Addison Airport.

 

 

Next I headed a few miles east to visit the North Texas Auto Museum located in Richardson, TX.  When I got there, the door was locked and I saw a guy walking around inside so I stood outside, knocking, until he came and opened the door.  I told him I was there to see the museum’s cars.  He said the facility had been converted into an indoor go-cart race track, and that the museum’s car collection was only available to be seen during special events, being held there at their “Wedding & Event Center.” You will have to read the reviews on their website to get the whole story.

 

 

Now I headed a few miles north to visit the Interurban Railway Museum located in Plano, TX. This museum turned out to be in a restored 1901 electric railway car that wasn’t open yet.  I read up on the Texas Electric Railway, on a Historical Marker there at the site, and learned that the railway system was established in 1917. This provided local rail service to the growing rural communities around the Dallas area.  The rail service continued to serve the outlying rural businesses and commuters until the end of 1948.

 

 

While I was in Plano, I checked out the Auto Source of Texas, only to find out it wasn’t the auto museum I thought it was, but a used car dealer with borderline Internet advertising.  So I headed north on US-75 to Melissa, TX where I picked up SR-121, northeast thru Westminster and Trenton to Bonham, where I turned east on US-82.  I followed US-82 east all the way to Petty, Texas where I started looking for Brookston.  I had two addresses for the Flying Tigers Airport (abandoned), one in Brookston, TX and one in Paris, TX.  Greta and I checked out both addresses, but didn’t find any remnants of an airport at either address.  So I just kept going northeast on US-82 to visit the Fort Smith Trolley Museum located in Fort Smith, AR.  This small museum gives rides on a 1926 Heritage Streetcar (Trolley) on their ¾ mile long track.  The museum also has three early 1900s streetcars, three steam locomotives, and several other pieces of rolling stock in various stages of restoration.

 

 

Next I drove into downtown Fort Smith to visit the U.S. Marshals Museum.  This small museum displays memorabilia and artifacts, that tells the story of, and honors, the U.S. Marshals Service from its inception, with the Judiciary Act of 1789 to the present.

 

 

Just a few miles southeast of downtown, I visited the Fort Smith Air Museum.  Greta took me to the Fort Smith Reginal Airport, but I couldn’t see a museum.  I circled the area twice, and finally stopped and went in to ask someone about the museum, and was told it was right there inside the terminal.  The museum turned out to be artifacts and memorabilia housed in several Plexiglas display cases, to honor pioneer and military airmen from the Fort Smith area.

 

 

It was getting late, so I asked Greta to take me to the motel.  She took me across the Arkansas River, just a few miles outside of Fort Smith, to the motel located in Van Buran, AR.  After I got checked in, I warmed up my leftover Jambo’s BBQ Ribs again. I always love a good BBQ Rib plate after a long day on the road.  Don’t you?

 

 

—–To Be Continued—–

 

 

 

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 61 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

 

Bill

 

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

Memory Lane Road Trip Part 8

22 Aug

A Slice of Life
Bill Lites

 

Day 8 – Tuesday 4/24/2018

 

After a great breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, a biscuit and gravy, with Gerry and her husband, George, and Delois, there at the retirement center, I headed over to Grand Prairie, TX to visit my other cousin, Milton, and his wife Nannette.  This turned out to be a great time, reminiscing about our childhood experiences, when our family visited their family at our grandmother’s house in central Louisiana near Many, Louisiana.

 

 

Milton had to get ready for a class he teaches there at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, so I headed for Fort Worth to visit the Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame.  This is an impressive building, filled with memorabilia and old photographs related to the history of some 200+ women of the American West who have been known by, and are honored for, their pioneering fortitude and extraordinary courage.

 

 

As I was leaving the Fort Worth area, I stopped to take a photo of the entrance to the Fort Worth Stock Yards.  This brought back fond memories of a Lites family reunion trip DiVoran and I made to this area in 2000.  One of the most fun things we did on that trip was a visit to the Fort Worth Stock Yards, strolling thru all the shops, the stock yards, and watching (up close and personal) the longhorn cattle drive down East Exchange Avenue.

 

 

On the corner of North Main Street, where I parked to take the above photo, was the famous Cattlemen’s Steak House.  I would have popped in for lunch, but they weren’t open yet.  The sidewalks in the Stock Yards area feature the “Texas Trail of Fame” stars.  The stars honor many of the individuals who have, over the years, made a significant contribution to the Western way of life.

 

 

Next I headed northwest on US-287 to check out the Texas Aircraft Restorations and Fox Aviation, both allegedly  located in Rhome, TX just to see what they might be working on.  The Internet address I was using turned out to be a private home.  Even though the very nice man was a pilot, and was in the middle of building a hanger for his airplane, he said he didn’t know anything about either of the outfits I was looking for.  He did, however, refer me to the Hicks Airfield, which was not far from there, located just west of Haslet, TX.  When I got there, no one at the airport or the airport cafe knew anything about either one of these organizations.  Oh well, I’ll just have to chalk these two up to “No Shows.”

 

 

Wanting to get back to Arlington in time for a 5:00 supper with my cousins, I headed back southeast on SR-114/SR-121, thru Roanoke and Southlake, to try and miss some of the afternoon traffic on the Interstates around Fort Worth.  Supper at the Retirement Center was delicious, and the four of us had a wonderful time reminiscing, that carried on after supper, in George and Gerry’s apartment for hours.  I finally said, “Goodnight” to them and retired to my guest room for a good night’s sleep.

 

 

 

—–To Be Continued—–

 

 

 

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 61 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

 

Bill

 

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Memory Lane Trip~Part 7 (Continued)

15 Aug

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

 

 

Day 7 – Monday 4/23/2018

 

As you might have guessed by now, this was turning out to be a really busy day.  Next on my list, there in Dallas, was a visit to the Frontier of Flight Museum a few miles north of downtown Dallas, located at the Dallas Love Field Airport.  This is the best aviation museum I have visited on this trip so far.  This is a large museum with two large display areas and 30+ beautifully restored airplanes.

 

 

One of the museum’s most unique displays is their complete Boeing 737 airliner. The nose section of the airplane is inside the building and the passenger section is outside the building.  Visitors can access the airplane from inside the building and examine the entire complete interior at their leisure.

 

 

One of my favorite TV series of late, is “Fast N’ Loud” which follows the exploits of hot rod hunter, Richard Rawlings, and his Gas Monkey Garage crew, located there in northwest Dallas.  I’m constantly amazed by the crew’s talents, as they transform “barn finds” or a “basket case” car into some of the most beautiful and unusual road machines ever. Since I was in Dallas, I decided to stop in at the Gas Monkey Garage and see what was happening.

 

 

Surprise!!  The episodes of the TV series I have seen are mostly confined to the garage area, as seen in the photo above, with Richard’s office cubical in the back of the garage.  So imagine my surprise to find that Richard has expanded his Gas Monkey complex to include Corporate Offices, and the “Merch” store, which is an apparel store feathering “Trending Threads” and Gas Monkey souvenirs.

 

 

As luck would have it, the Discovery film crew was working on another episode, and access to the garage area was restricted.  I was disappointed not to be able to meet any of the “Monkeys” to tell them how much I enjoy the series and the wonderful work they do.

 

 

One of Richard’s ventures, since the series started, was the opening of the Gas Monkey Bar & Grill, located just a few miles north of the Garage, on I-35E.  I stopped by to check out this beautiful restaurant, but things were very quiet, as the dinner crowd had not started showing up, so I headed west on I-30 to meet my cousins in Arlington, TX.

 

 

I had made arrangements to meet three of my first cousins in Arlington for dinner and some reminiscing. These cousins were from my father’s side of the family, and I hadn’t seen any of them in almost 20 years.  Our family had made several visits to see them, in central Louisiana, when I was 6 or 8 years old.  Milton is my age, so we ran around with each other during those visits.  Gerry and Delois were Milton’s older sisters, and as you can imagine, we had lots to talk about.  Well, as luck would have it, we had a communications breakdown, and we missed each other at the restaurant.  After driving around a while trying to connect with them, I finally gave up and stopped to enjoy some really delicious St. Louis Ribs with baked beans and cold slaw at Jambo’s BBQ Shack there in Arlington.

 

 

With the help of my cousin, Gerry, I had made reservations, before I started this trip, for a room at the Texas Masonic Retirement Center, where Gerry and her husband George live. This was a great arrangement for the two nights I planned to stay in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, as it included three meals each day if I so elected.  And, I would be right there in the same building with two of my cousins.  Later, when we finally did find each other, there at the center, we had a wonderful time going over some of our family history. Gerry’s sister, Delois, also lives in the Masonic Retirement Center, and she joined us in Gerry’s apartment for the festivities.

—–To Be Continued—–

 

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 61 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

 

Bill

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Memory Lane Road Trip~Part 7

8 Aug

A Slice of Life

Bill LItes

 

Day 7 – Monday 4/23/2018

 

I knew this was going to be another full day, so after a quick breakfast of blueberries and yogurt in my room, I grabbed a glass of orange juice from the motel breakfast room and headed north, on I-35, to visit the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame & Museum located in Waco, TX.  This museum displays artifacts and memorabilia related to the history of the Texas Rangers Law Enforcement Agency which dates as far back as 1823, when the west was wild, and the unit was originally formed by Steven F. Austin.

 

 

I continued north on I-35 again to visit the Hill County Cell Block Museum located in Hillsboro, TX. It doesn’t look much like a prison or even a cell block to me.  Built in 1893, the building housed the prison cell block, sheriff’s office and living quarters for the sheriff and his family.  The prison was in use until 1983, when it was closed and became the Cell Block Museum.  Now you tell me if that looks like a prison to you.

 

 

Just north of Hillsboro, I picked up I-35E and headed northeast to visit the Cold War Air Museum and the Dallas Squadron of the CAF located at the Lancaster Regional Airport just southeast of Lancaster, TX.  There was very little activity going on at the airport this morning, and most of the hangers were closed.  I found the CAF hanger, but it was closed.  The Cold War Air Museum is open on Saturday and Sunday only so that turned out to be a pretty much wasted stop.

 

 

I had another CAF museum in this area on my list, so I asked Greta to take me to the Dallas Commemorative Air Force Museum.  This museum is located at the Dallas Executive Airport, which is on the southwest outskirts of Dallas, Texas.  When I got to the museum, I was surprised to see their sign saying it was the CAF National Headquarters.

 

 

I had visited the CAF Headquarters in Midland, TX several years ago, on another trip, and didn’t realize they had moved their headquarters to Dallas.  Of course, their airplanes are all beautifully restored and in flying condition.  The young lady at the desk informed me, that as usual, several of their airplanes were “on the road” at airshows around the country.  I got photos of the airplanes in the hanger, and then I saw a really neat picture, on the wall.  The picture was of a CAF aircraft display showing several of their airplanes, with what I assumed was the Dallas skyline in the background.  I ask the young lady about the photo, and she informed me that it had in fact been taken, there at the Dallas Executive Airport, around 2015.  I asked if I could take a photo of it, and she said, “Help yourself.” So I did.

 

 

Now I headed into downtown Dallas to visit the Old Red Museum located across from Dealey Plaza.  Their website informs me that the building was originally built in 1892 as the Dallas County Courthouse.  At the time the courthouse was designed with 6 courtrooms and a library.  The  Courthouse served Dallas County until 1966, when it was moved to a new building.  The Old Red Courthouse building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and was eventually renovated for use as a landmark museum.  The museum now consists of four floors, where four separate galleries tell the history of Dallas, from the first settlement in 1841, with artifacts and memorabilia. The museum also houses a children’s education center, four mini-theaters, an IMAX theater, and a Great Hall event center with seating for 300 guests.

 

 

 

—–Stay tuned, this day’s activities will be continued next week—–

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Memory Lane Trip~Part 6

1 Aug

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

 

Day 6 – Sunday 4/22/2018

 

After that fabulous visit with my cousins, Pat and Lee, that I mentioned last week I said my  goodbyes and went looking for the Chisholm Trail Park there in Round Rock.  There was not too much information about the park, but Wikipedia informs me that the Chisholm Trail was named for Jesse Chisholm, who laid out the trail, and made it famous in the years after the Civil War.   He was known for driving many herds of cattle from ranches in the Red River and south Texas ranches, to the rail heads in Hays and Kansas City, Kansas.

 

 

The Chisholm Trail passed through this area, marked by the large round rock in the middle of Bushy Creek. That rock located a low water crossing spot for cattle and wagons alike.  The area was known as the “Bushy Creek Crossing at the Round Rock” by cattlemen as well as westward traveling pioneers.

 

 

I headed north on I-35 to visit the Inner Space Cavern located just outside Georgetown, TX.  This natural attraction is a “karst cave” that was discovered in 1963 by the Texas Hiway Department, during the construction of I-35.  According to Wikipedia the cavern’s formation is credited to weather and climate conditions during and after the last Ice Age. Several pre-historic Ice Age animal skeletons have been found in the cavern, suggesting they fell through one of the many surface openings that have been discovered over the years.  I didn’t take the time to go through the cavern since I don’t think it could compare with the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, which I’ve been through twice.

While I was in Georgetown, I stopped at the Visitor Center to get a map, and saw this guy dressed in a Confederate uniform, standing out in front of the court house.  I stopped to get a photo and ask him what was going on. He said he was part of the local re-enactment group who rotated duty each month.  They dress up in their uniforms, and answer questions visitors have about Georgetown, the court house, the Civil War and any other subject the visitors ask them about.  It was pretty warm today, and I hoped he didn’t come down with heat stroke.

 

 

I headed west from Georgetown to take a short side trip to visit the Highland Lakes Squadron Museum of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF), located at the Burnet Municipal Airport in Burnet, TX.  The museum was closed, but the gate and a hanger door were both open, so I walked in to take some photos of their airplanes.

 

 

After I finished with photos of the hangered airplanes, I was taking photos of a couple of airplanes sitting outside the hanger.  While I was standing there, this beautifully restored AT-6 Texan taxied onto the ramp right in front of me.  I couldn’t believe my luck, to see one of the squadron’s planes coming in from a check ride. The two pilots were sitting in the plane doing their post-flight checks.  They didn’t seem to be upset that I was inside the fence, so I took a couple of photos of them in their airplane.  Then I gave them a little wave, and just sauntered out to my car.

 

 

Heading back east, my last stop today was to visit the Railroad Heritage Museum located in Temple, TX. The museum was closed by the time I arrived, but Wikipedia tells me that the museum is housed in the restored 1910 Santa Fe train depot.  The museum includes local historical memorabilia and artifacts related to the railroad’s influence on the Temple area over the years.  There is a restored telegraph room, observation windows overlooking the still active BNAF railway, and model railroad layouts for the kids (and us grownups too).  The museum also has several pieces of restored rolling stock displayed outside.

 

 

Now it was time for Greta to find my motel for the night there in Temple. However I spotted a Cracker Barrel Restaurant, on the way to the motel, and decided to stop in for a wonderful meal of Grilled Trout with collard greens and fried okra.  Then there is always one of their great homemade biscuits with butter and honey for dessert.

 

 

Greta did a good job of getting me to the motel.  Once I was checked in at the motel, it was time to relax and try to find something to watch on TV.  No such luck.  As usual there was nothing on TV, so I just spent a few minutes recording the day’s events before falling asleep.

 

—–To Be Continued—–

 

 

 

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 61 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

 

Bill

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