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2021 Mid-eastern Road Trip Part 3

25 Aug

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 3 – 7/14/2021

This morning I headed northwest out of Mt. Pleasant on I-526/I-26 and US-52 some 50 miles to visit the Berkeley County Museum located In Moncks Corner, SC.  This museum is situated in the Old Santee Canal Park and displays exhibits and memorabilia related to the cultural and natural history of Berkeley County and the surrounding area dating from the Ice Age, and the Revolutionary “Swamp Fox” Francis Marion to the Civil War, semi-submersible torpedo boat CSS David on display.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Continuing north on US-52 about 40 miles I visited the Williamsburg Historical Museum in Kingstree, SC.  This museum displays exhibits and artifacts which tell the history of Williamsburg County and the immediate area, including tours of the 1749 Thorntree Plantation House.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

It was just 15 miles north on US-52 to where I visited the Ronald E. McNair Memorial Park located in Lake City, SC.   Ronald McNair was one of the seven Astronauts who tragically lost their lives in the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986.  The memorial honors the life and the many accomplishments of Dr. Ronald E. McNair who was a native of Lake City.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Continuing north another 25 miles on US-52 I visited the War Between the States Museum located in Florence, SC.  This museum is housed in the 1923 home of former Confederate soldier R. Frank McKain and displays mostly Civil War artifacts and memorabilia dating from 1850 to 1900.  There is also a model of the Florence Stockade, which also served as a Prison Camp for some 400 captured Union soldiers during the Civil War.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Ten miles northwest of Florence, on US-52, I visited the Darlington Speedway Museum located at the Darlington Speedway in Darlington, SC.  Being a NASCAR enthusiast, I enjoyed reading about the history of how the speedway was built by Harold Brasington in 1950.  The 1.3 mile oval track is the home of the “Southern 500” and has become known as “The Track Too Tough to Tame” by many of the race drivers.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After that exciting adventure, I headed northeast 50 miles on I-95 thru Mallory, Dillon, and across the border to visit the Robertson County History Museum located in Lumberton, NC but they were closed.  So, I got back on I-95 and drove another 35 miles north to visit the Fayetteville Transportation Museum located in Fayetteville, NC.  This museum is housed in the restored 1898 Cape Fear & Yadkin Valley RR Depot, and displays exhibits related to the history of the railroad in the area thru the early 20thcentury.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

While I was in Fayetteville, I wanted to visit the Airborne & Special Operations Museum, but they were closed.  Bummer!  Then I tried to visit the 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum located on Fort Bragg, but that museum is closed to the public without a special pass because of Covid-19.  Double Bummer!!

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

So I just headed for the motel there in Fayetteville.  Once I got checked in and got all my things into my room, I heated up my Melvin’s BBQ pork ribs dinner and enjoyed that wonderful meal again.  WOW that was good!

Photo Credit: https://melvinsbbq.com/pages/menu

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 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.

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

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2021 Mid-eastern Road Trip Part 2

18 Aug

A Slice of LIfe

Bill Lites

Day 2 – 7/13/2021

Heading north out of Savannah, on US-17 this morning, I picked up I-95 in Hardeeville, and continued north thru Ridgeland, Coosawhatchie, and Yemassee to visit the Tuskegee Airman Memorial Park located at the Walterboro Army Airfield in Walterboro, SC.  This memorial park commemorates the valiant men who trained as pilots at this airfield during WWII.  The Tuskegee Airmen and the Doolittle Raiders are among the many pilots trained at this airfield during WWII.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

I headed northeast about 15 miles on US-17 to visit Bee City located in Cottageville, SC but they were closed, so I continued another 20 miles to the Dorchester Museum located in Summerville, SC.  This small museum is housed in the old 1923 Police Station and displays artifacts and memorabilia related to the history of Summerville and the surrounding area from 1913 to the present.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

It was only about 15 miles to where I visited the North Charleston Fire Museum.  This museum displays over 20 completely restored fire- fighting equipment vehicles dating from the 1780s.  

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

It was only seven miles east to the banks of the Cooper River where I planned to visit the Friends of the Hunley Museum.  I was looking forward to seeing the CSS Hunley, the first combat submarine to sink a warship (USS Housatonic) on February 17, 1864 during the Civil War.  See Wikipedia for the full story of the CSS Hunley.  Unfortunately, the museum was only open on the weekends, and I will have to visit this famous relic another time.  Bummer!

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now I headed southwest just a few miles to visit the Charles Towne Landing Historic Site, located adjacent to the Ashley River, there in Charleston.  This site preserves the original 1670 site of the first permanent English settlement as a Carolina colony.  The 17th century sailing ship replica, Adventure, can be toured as part of the park’s offering to show visitors the method by which those early settlers traveled to America.

Photo Credit: https://archaeologysc.org/2020/10/30/

Next in drove several miles to visit the Old Slave Mart Museum located in historic downtown Charleston.  The building (built in 1859) was originally called Ryan’s Slave Mart (a private slave auction gallery), and houses the museum, which is said to be the location of the oldest, and last, antebellum slave auction gallery in South Carolina.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

The next museum on today’s list was some 20 miles east, across the Ashley River and Cooper Rivers, to visit the Patriots Point Naval & Marine Museum located in Mt. Pleasant, SC.  This is an unusual museum in that it consists of retired U.S. Navy ships, each of which have been turned into a living museum of its own.  There is the USS Yorktown (CV-10) , the USS Laffey (DD-724) and the USS Clamagore (SS-343) which make up the main features of this attraction.  I not sure about parents, but I know young kids would enjoy camping overnight on the Yorktown.  What a story they would have to tell their friends. 

Image Credit: https://www.facebook.com/PatriotsPoint.org/

For the last museum on today’s list, I stopped by the Boone Hall Plantation there in Mt. Pleasant, but they were closed.  Wikipedia has a lot of historical information on the Plantation.  As the story goes, the 470 acres of land, which today is called the Boone Hall Plantation, was deeded by Theophilus Patey to his daughter, Elizabeth, as a wedding present when she married the Englishman Major John Boone in 1681.  John and Elizabeth began the development of the plantation which is one of the oldest operating plantations in America, having been continually producing agricultural crops for over 320 years.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Before I checked in at my motel this evening, I stopped and had a great meal of Pork Spareribs with Baked Beans, Golden Onion Rings, and some of the best cornbread I’ve ever had anywhere, at Melvin’s BBQ there in Mt. Pleasant.  It was wonderful!! 

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 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.

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

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2021 Mid-Eastern Road Trip Part 1

11 Aug

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Preface:  Because I love to travel, and because the Covid-19 scare has restricted much of the travel within our nation for the last eighteen months, I was determined to get at least one two-week road trip under my belt in 2021.  The main motivation for this road trip was that, even though I had visited the entire eastern seaboard in the past, I had not visited much of the northeastern portions of the U.S.  Since the planned route would take me as far north as Lake Ontario, I needed to plan the road trip before it began getting cold in that area.  With all this in mind, I loaded up my van and set out to see as much of the stated region as I could in the time available.

Photo credit: Bill Lites

Day 1 – 7/12/2021

This morning I headed north on I-95 toward my first objective, the Daytona 500 Museum and Motorsports Hall of Fame, located in Daytona Beach, FL.  I had tried to visit this museum once before, but the museum was closed for remodeling.  I was hoping for better luck this time.  The museum’s exhibits focus mainly on the NASCAR and motorcycle racing histories at Daytona Beach, from its beginning in 1936, to the present. 

Photo credit: Bill Lites

As I headed north on I-95 I was looking forward to visiting the Classic Car Museum located in St. Augustine, FL.  This museum displays some 80 beautifully restored vintage cars dating from 1895 to the 1980s.  

Photo Credit: https://www./ classic-car-museum-st-augustine 

I by-passed Jacksonville, FL as I continued north on I-95, since I would visit the Jacksonville museums at the end of this road trip.  I had also visited the St. Mary’s Submarine Museum on a previous road trip, so headed for the Mary Ross Park, located in Brunswick, GA.  This Park is a tribute to the 99 ‘Liberty Ships’ that were built, as a part of the war effort, by the Brunswick Shipyards during WWII.  

Photo Credit: tripadvisor.com/Mary_Ross_Waterfront_Park-Brunswick, Ga

I diverted a few miles northwest on US-17 to stop at the Geechee Kunda Culture Museum in Riceboro, GA but they were closed.  We have always been interested in the history of the Geechee islanders and their influence on the early Georgian culture.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

It was only another 5 miles north on US-17 to where I visited the Midway Museum located in Midway, GA.  This museum is housed in a replica of an 18th century ‘Coastal Cottage’ and displays exhibits and materials dating from that era.  The Midway Historic District also includes the Midway Church which was built in 1792 to replace the original Midway Church built in 1736.


Photo Credit: mapquest.com/us/georgia/midway-museum-303794678

Heading northeast another 30 miles I visited the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum located in Savannah, GA.  This museum is housed in the William Scarbrough house (President of the Savannah Steamship Company) and exhibits model ships, paintings, and maritime antiques from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

It was just a few blocks to the Georgia State Railroad Museum there in Savannah, located in the Tricentennial Park area and is a part of the historic Central of Georgia Railway complex which was constructed in 1853.   This museum includes parts of the Central of Georgia Railway, Savannah Shops, Roundhouse, and Terminal Facilities.  The museum displays restored steam locomotives and passenger cars from the 19th and 20thcenturies, as well as steam locomotive train rides.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

My next stop was to visit the Old Fort Jackson located on the banks of the Savannah River, just one mile east of historic downtown Savannah.  The fort was built between 1808-1812 to protect Savannah from attack by sea.  The fully restored fort offers daily cannon firings (which I missed) performed by Confederate reenactors, and also houses the Fort Jackson Maritime Museum.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After this productive day of travel, I treated myself to a Steamed Shrimp Dinner at Fiddler’s Crab House & Oyster Bar, located on River Street in historic downtown Savannah, overlooking the Savannah River.  Yummm!

Photo Credit: savannah-ga/mip/fiddlers-crab-house-2867404

 

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 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.

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

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I Love to Travel Part 2

4 Aug

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

So now, this is an example of how I plan one of my road trips.   I select a specific Aviation Museum (the target museum), from the Guide Book to visit.  I preferably like it to be in an area of the country where I haven’t been before.  Using the guide book, I research the other Aviation Museums in the states surrounding the target museum.  Then I use Wikipedia (“Museums in Colorado”) to find all the different types of museums in the target state and the states surrounding the target state, that interest me.  I locate the museums, using MapQuest, to establish a route, in those states, and that becomes my itinerary.  I find a major city, nearest my route, with the best airline rates, and my itinerary starts there.  I usually fly Southwest Airlines because I can fly free with my Reward Miles with them.

Photo: https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/08/19/southwest-airlines-says-it-wont-take-coronavirus-g/

My direction of travel does not depend on moving clockwise or counterclockwise, as long as the big two-week itinerary circle brings me back to the same airport.  That way I can pick-up and return my rental car at the same location without any additional drop-off charges.  The rental car costs, gas, food, and the museum admissions are usually my only our-of-pocket expenses I have (unless there are tour fees or special tickets. etc.) for one of these two-week trips.  I have my own Accident Insurance, but I’m not always sure if my Auto Insurance will cover everything on the rental car, so I usually purchase Travel Insurance that covers anything that could happen to me or the rental car during the trip.

Photo: https://aloharents.com/

I figure a day’s travel miles (as close as possible) where my itinerary will place me at a location where I can get good motel rates (larger cities generally have more motels to choose from, and their rates are usually lower).  I make advanced motel reservations (usually free with credit card points), so I don’t have to do that on the road.  All of this planning can sometimes take me weeks to arrange, but once it’s all arranged, and I have conformations for everything, I’m ready to go.  

Photo: https://www.qualityinnsarasotafl.com/

I like to print out a copy of all my conformation notices for airline, rental car, and motels.  Then I Google each museum and make a copy of the description of it, which includes name, address, phone number and days & hours of operation.  I arrange the museum sheets in the order I have decided on for my itinerary, so I will have them at hand in the car as I go.  That way, all I have to do is plug-in the address on my Garmin (Greta), and off I go.  This also gives me a record of everything I might need in case Greta or I get lost, or any other type of problem I might run into.  Sometimes Greta, will take me to the wrong address, or not be able to locate the address.  If that happens, I can refer to the information sheet, for the place I’m heading, and call to ask for directions.  Those sorts of things have happened more than once on my trips in the past.

Photo: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/garmin-drive-52-5-gps-black

At the end of each day’s travels, while relaxing at the motel, I record the hi-lights of the day’s activities on my cell phone and email it to my computer at home.  When I get home I use the emails, and the internet, to thoroughly research each museum for any special or historical data I can find.  It’s amazing how much more interesting my blogs can become with that expanded information.  I arrange the museum’s information in sequence, for that day, and that becomes a short blog (500-700 words).  Then I post one blog per week on the “Old Things R New” website.  This allows others to enjoy my trips (vicariously) if they like that sort of thing, and maybe learn a little something new at the same time.  Writing up these blogs also allows me to re-live the fun memories of the trip again.

Image: https://www.kissclipart.com/computer-working-png-clipart-computer-web-browser-4tl976/

I hope you have enjoyed this quick look at the reason “I Love to Travel” and how I go about choosing, researching, arranging, and reporting a two-week “Bucket List” road trip.  These trips are so relaxing, enjoyable and freeing for me.  I can really recommend travel.  Just getting away from the every-day mundane things of life, and hitting the road to somewhere.  It doesn’t have to be a BIG trip.  Just get out and go.

  We have a big country out there, and there is a large variety of very interesting and beautiful places and things to see.  So enjoy it.  If you are ever interested in some of the places and things I’ve encountered on my past trips, you can find my travel blogs at www.oldthingsrnew.com.  Enter the Title & Part # (if any) of the blog you would like to read in the search box, at the top of the opening screen.  Press “Search” and that should take you to the blog you are looking for (by Bill Lites).  I wish each and every one of you Happy Traveling and enjoyable reading.

Image: https://www.pinclipart.com/pindetail/ibJbmim_ltv-driver-jobs-in-pakistansrc-https-cartoons-driving/

—–The End—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 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.

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

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I Love to Travel Part 1

28 Jul

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

I guess I must have gotten my “Travel Genes” from my father as he was on the road a lot, for his work, when I was growing up.  Then as a teenager I worried my parents when I made several long trips on my motorcycle.  When I joined the U.S. Navy they took me all over the world, and by the time I got out, I was hooked on travel.  After my wife, DiVoran, and I were married, and I was going to college in California, it didn’t bother me a bit to travel across the “Great American Desert” to visit my parents living in Albuquerque, NM or to drive to northern California to visit DiVoran’s parents in Livermore, CA.

Image: https://pngimg.com/image/3146

After I finished college we moved to Florida for my work on the Apollo Manned Space program.  Over the years I ended up working for several of the major aerospace companies and traveled quite a lot for those jobs.  I had been shuffled around various areas of the country during all that time and I was ready for a change.  I was working for Lockheed (LSOC), in Florida, when NASA decided to change their Space Shuttle processing contractor.  I was going to have to change who I was working for again, and that was the last straw for me.  I retired from the Manned Space program in 1996, after 35-years, as what I called myself, “An Aerospace Nomad.”   I was just 58 years-old when I retired, and  I felt like the “Aerospace Hassle” had made an old man of me before my time.  I was ready for a rest from the fast pace and constant pressure from the NASA schedulers.

Image: https://favpng.com/png_view/design-cartoon-computer-download-png/Wr40rMyb

I’m sure my first year of retirement was like a lot of men; wondering if I could adjust to all that time with nothing in particular to do.  I also wondered if I would be called back to the job like many men I knew had been.  If that happened, what would I do?  I would just have to wait and see how I felt about that, if and when I was called back.  As it turned out, I was able to adjust fairly well.  It took a while to take care of all the repairs around the house (Honey Do’s), but I managed.  A couple of years later I started volunteering, one morning a week, to help at the Car Care Ministry at our church.

Image: https://www.pinclipart.com/pindetail/iTmRm_clip-royalty-free-download-car-repair-shop-clipart/

A year or so after that, a friend talked me into volunteering, as a Tour Guide, at the Warbird Air Museum here in Titusville one morning a week (that wasn’t hard).  I am interested in all kinds of airplanes, and this allows me to keep up with the warbird community as well as the on-going evolution of the aviation industry.  I love the time and the comradery I get to spent with the friends, I have made over the years, at both of these weekly volunteer occasions.

Photo: Bill Lites

Then in 2012, in addition to the volunteer work, I took up a new hobby – Travel (one of my favorite things to do) and blog writing.  While browsing thru the gift shop at our Warbird Air Museum, one volunteer day, I happened upon a book titled “GUIDE TO OVER 900 AIRCRAFT MUSEUMS.”  This guide book covers museums in the U.S. and Canada.  I thought, “WOW!  This is just what I need to help me find aviation museums to visit.”  As you might have guessed, I have developed a love of going to museums.  All kinds of museums.  Airplane Museums, Auto Museum, Train Museums, Maritime Museums, or any other kinds of museums I happen to come across.

Photo: http://www.aircraftmuseums.com/28book/pasteditions.htm

Photo: http://www.aircraftmuseums.com/28book/pasteditions.htm

Using that guide book, I have established a method for my travel plans.  I usually try to make one (two week) trip in the spring and one (two week) trip in the fall of each year.  My 2020 and 2021 trips have been interrupted by a hernia surgery and a shoulder replacement surgery and Covid-19.  I have had to postpone one of this year’s trips, because of Covid-19 travel restrictions, but I am determined to get at least one two-week trip in before the end of the year, in spite of the ridiculous, ongoing national phrase of….

Image: https://www.123rf.com/photo_143981557_stock-vector-stay-home-stay-safe-lettering-with-family-wearing-protective-medical-mask-at-home-.html

—– To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 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.

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

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Our Trip to St. Kitts Part 2

21 Jul

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

On the next day of our trip to St. Kitts we took a long stroll along the beach, picked up a few shells, and did some exploring of some of the old ruins not too far from the hotel.  We learned that St. Kitts has the oldest written history of any island in the Caribbean, and that Sir Christopher Columbus was the first European to see the islands and the Island Caribs (natives) during his second voyage (1493) to this area.  He named St. Kitts San Jorge (Saint George) and Nevis San Martin (St. Martin) and claimed the islands for Spain (see Wikipedia for island name changes).  We stopped to take a picture beside a small submersible of some kind that was just sitting there on the beach.  There was no one around, to ask what it was used for and why it was just sitting there.  Later that day we visited the hotel’s garden area and ran into some of the other folks from our group and went to dinner with them.

Photo by DiVoran Lites

The next day we rented a car and took a drive around the island.  It only took us about two hours to do the whole island, and we were amazed at the difference between the resort area where we were staying, and the way the island people lived.  At the time, the majority of the island was devoted to the raising and processing of sugar cane.  There were cane fields everywhere we looked, and the method for harvesting all that sugar cane seemed very primitive.  

Photo by Bill Lites

The road was very narrow and cluttered with all manner of animals, children, and trash.  We saw open communal toilets alongside the road, and people carrying water jugs to collect (what we assumed was) drinking water running from a pipe that came out of the side of the hill, right there on the side of the road.

Photo by Bill Lites

Once we left town, we were not sure we had made the right choice to drive around the island by ourselves.  We didn’t have a map and were concerned about what we might run into if we got off the main road.  However, all the locals we encountered during our little trip were friendly and willing to help us whenever we took a wrong turn.  

Photo by DiVoran Lites

Back at the hotel we had a nap and then walked the hotel property, collecting a few more souvenirs, before heading back to the hotel for dinner.  I’m sure we did more relaxing and pleasurable things on that trip, but the details escape me now.  Overall, we enjoyed the restful atmosphere, and it was a memorable trip.  The flight back to Orlando was uneventful and after we got home and unpacking we were ready to head back to work on Monday. That trip to St. Kitts was one of the most enjoyable adventures we had experienced in some time, and it left us with some wonderful lifelong memories. 

Photo by DiVoran Lites

Epilog:  My creative artist wife, DiVoran, took many of the souvenirs we collected, during our trip to St. Kitts, and arranged them in a beautiful collage that hangs in our studio to continually remind us of our one and only ‘Caribbean Island Adventure’ all those many years ago.

Collage & paintings by DiVoran Lites

—–The End—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 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.

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

Tags: , , ,

Our trip to St. Kitts Part 1

14 Jul

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

As I remember, the year was 1987 and my wife, DiVoran, and I signed up with a group from work for an ‘All-Inclusive’ vacation week to the resort island of St. Kitts, located southeast of Puerto Rico between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.  We had only been on cruise ship vacations in the Caribbean, and I was not sure what to expect.  However, my friends told me not to worry, and assured me that we would have a great time.  When the day of departure arrived, we were excited about the prospects of our ‘Caribbean Island Adventure’ as we packed our bags and waited for our daughter and son-in-law to drive us to the airport.

Image: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/caribbean/saint-kitts-and-nevis 

The trip started with a three-hour chartered flight, on a Boeing 727, that flew us non-stop from Orlando, FL directly to what was then called the Golden Rock Airport on St. Kitts.  This was a pleasant flight and we landed in the afternoon in time to be transported to a luxurious hotel where we could relax some before our evening meal.  The local weather on the island was similar to our Central Florida weather, with warm humid days and a steady breeze off the ocean.

Photo by Bill Lites

One of the best things of this trip, for me, was the food.  It was much like being on a cruise ship, with your choice of delicious ‘all you could eat’ entrees and desserts three times each day.  The days were filled with a myriad of activities including golf, archery, hiking, swimming, boating, snorkeling, scuba diving, and exploring, all included as part of our package.  The other thing that was nice was being treated like royalty everywhere we went.  The staff couldn’t do enough for us, and we really enjoyed the special around-the-clock treatment.

Photo by DiVoran Lites

We spent some of the first morning swimming and snorkeling in the beautiful clear waters near the hotel.  The abundance of colorful fish was amazing.  I had always wanted to learn to scuba dive, so we signed up for the lessons for the next morning.  After lunch and a nap, we spent a restful time strolling the hotel grounds, where we found all kinds of colorful parrot feathers.  Then we moved on to the courtyard where we met some friends and spent some time talking about what all we were going to do while there.  

Photo By DiVoran Lites

The next morning, we spent several hours in the hotel pool with the local dive instructors learning what we needed to know about scuba diving.  That was a fairly intense time, and we were ready for some lunch and a nap for sure.  We met our dining friends for dinner that evening and had a wonderful time discussing our activities.

Photo by Bill Lites

The next morning, we took the dive instructor’s boat to a ship wreck site and began our first guided dive.  The instructors ran thru all the safety rules with us and helped us into our equipment.  By the time they got DiVoran’s equipment on her, and with the rocking of the boat, she could hardly walk.  Finally, two men helped her to the side of the boat and dropped her into the water.  She remembers, “I told them there was too much weight, but they said I needed all of it.  I sank to the bottom, and it was all I could do to keep from getting cut on the coral.”

Image: https://www.canstockphoto.com/illustration/scuba.html

There was an instructor with the two of us, guiding and helping us to and around the wreck.  I was having a good time, but DiVoran was having trouble with her mask fogging up and trying to stay upright.  She finally indicated to the instructor that she wanted to go up.  The instructor went up to the boat with DiVoran, while I looked around the wreck.  We weren’t that deep, so I could see that DiVoran was at the boat and okay.  I enjoyed the dive and was ready to do it again the next day, but DiVoran said she had had enough.  Needless to say we were ready for a rest and a delicious meal by the end of that day.  Looking back now on that whole scuba diving activity and the way it was handled, I’m not sure how adequate the pool instructions were, and if the dive itself was the safest.   But hey, we all had a good time (except maybe for DiVoran) and we all survive. 

Photo by Bill Lites

—–To Be Continued—-

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 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.

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

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The Engine Overhaul Part 2

7 Jul

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

The Engine Overhaul Part 2

By Bill Lites

Note: 

 At this point I need to remind you that this story takes place around 1972, and I was working on an original 1960 Chevy 6-cylinder 235 CID engine.  With my memory what it is today, I may stray with some of the exact details from time to time, so please bear with me. 

Photo: http://topclassiccarsforsale.com/chevrolet/171302-beautiful-1960-chevy-bel-air-4dr-two-tone-biscayne-impala.html

That said, and with my car in my garage, I researched my handy Chilton’s Auto Repair Manual, and discovered that this engine had a ‘timing gear’ instead of a ‘timing chain’.  So, when I removed the timing gear cover, I saw that some of the teeth on the phenolic timing gear had sheared off (why would anyone design a phenolic gear to mesh with a metal gear?)  The timing gear was pressed onto the end of the cam shaft, and the only way to remove the cam shaft was to remove the engine; or to disassemble the grill and remove the radiator to provide straight-on access to the cam shaft.  I had no provisions in my garage for removing the engine, so the latter option was really the only way I could go. 

Photo: https://www.amazon.com/Chiltons-Auto-Repair-Manual-1968/dp/B000JZUKFG

However, in order to remove the cam shaft, I would also need to disassemble the top-end of the engine for access to the pushrods and hydraulic lifters. Then there was always the possibility that when the timing gear teeth sheared, with the engine running at high RPM (the loud clattering noise I heard) for the instant before I could get my foot on the clutch, there might have been some damage to internal parts of the engine.  If so, I would need to remove the oil pan to check for metal particles.  That normally simple task, on this car, required raising the front of the engine enough for the oil pan to clear the cross member under the front of the pan.  Are you beginning to get an idea of where this story is headed?  It seems that most of my simple ‘Do It Yourself’ (DIY) projects turn out to be major undertakings before they are over. 

Photo: http://victorylibrary.com/235BK.htm

So, I bit the bullet, and waded into the project with both hands.  It took time but I finally got everything disassembled without too much trouble.  Then I removed the camshaft, with the help of my wife, DiVoran, (that extra pair of hands).  I had to take the cam shaft to a friend who had a press to remove the damaged timing gear and install a new one for me.  When I got the oil pan off and checked, there were no signs of damaged engine parts in the bottom of the pan.  That was a big relief!  I have always found that it is a lot easier to disassemble something, than it is to reassemble that same something.  This timing gear replacement project was no different.

Image: https://www.facebook.com/ShadeTreeMobileMechanic/

After cleaning and inspecting all the removed parts, I reassembled the engine, again, with a lot of help from Mr. Chilton’s wonderful book and from DiVoran, who didn’t like handling car parts, especially when leaning over the fender of the car.  Then I reinstalled the radiator and reassembled the grill, and topped off the water and oil.  I held my breath as I turned the engine over for the first time, but there was no hesitation.  The engine fired right up and settled into a quiet purr.  The car was ready for the road again.  As amazing as it might sound, that 1960 Chevy served us and others for many years after that incident.

I’m sorry to have to say, they don’t build cars like that anymore.

Photo by Bill Lites

—–The End—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 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.

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

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The Engine Overhaul Part 1

30 Jun

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

In a recent post about camping, I mentioned our first small tent camper and the following story takes place around 1972, not long after we bought that camper.  It all started with what was supposed to be a family camping trip, with friends, for a fun weekend in the Everglades National Park, located at the southern tip of Florida.  On the first day, as we were heading south on I-95 from Titusville, FL we were all excited about the little four-day ‘mini-vacation’ we had planned.  We had both cars packed full of all the food and camping equipment we thought we would need, to ‘rough-it’ for the trip, along with our canoes and our tent camper.  

Photo by Bill Lites

As we approached the exit for Melbourne, FL (only 35 miles from home) our 1960 Chevrolet Biscayne sedan suddenly made a loud rattling sound from the engine, and the car began to slow down.  I immediately put the car in neutral, and coasted onto the emergency lane, where the car came to  a stop.  There was no indication on the dashboard instruments that there was anything wrong, but the car would not run.  My friend Dwayne pulled in behind me, and we tried to assess the situation.  The starter would turn the engine over, but it would not run.  We finally decided it was probably something to do with the timing and we needed to get my car off I-95.  

Photo: https://www.google.com/search

Luckily, I had an emergency tow-strap and Dwayne was able to tow my car and camper off I-95.  There just happened to be a campground next to I-95, where we could hold up long enough to make some new plans.  We decided to transfer the camper to Dwayne’s car, but he didn’t have a trailer hitch on his car.  It was a holiday weekend, and we had no idea where to go for a trailer hitch.  We borrowed a phone book (no cellphones) from the campground owner and finally found an auto parts store that was not too far from us.  By the time we found the store, bought a trailer hitch, and got it installed on Dwayne’s car, we were all tired, and realized it was too late to make it all the way to the Everglades Park (200 miles)  before they closed for the night.  So, we paid for and spent the night there at the friendly campground and were glad to be able to take a shower after all the day’s hectic activities.

Photo: : https://www.google.com/search

After the campground owner heard our story, he was kind enough to let me leave our car parked there until we got back from our trip.  We packed everything up and headed out early the next morning with four adults and five children in Dwayne’s car (no air conditioning), and with him pulling my camper and both canoes on top of his car.  We finally made it to the park and had a great, if short, ‘Everglades Adventure.’  You can read all about the camping trip in the three-part referenced blogs on this same website (Ref. Bill Lites blog titles “An Everglades Adventure Part 1, 2, & 3 dated 09/24/2014-10/08/2014”) if you care to.  Now, as Paul Harvey would say; for the rest of the story.  After we got home and got everything unloaded, Dwayne drove me back to the campground, in Melbourne, to get my car.  He towed me home and helped me get the car into my garage where I could work on it.

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 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.

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

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Camping Can be Fun Part 2

23 Jun

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Our first family camping trip, with our new/used equipment, was to another one of the nearby Florida freshwater springs.  Now it was wonderful to be able to close up the tent to keep the insects out and have screened windows to let the breeze cool the inside.  The cots allowed us to sleep off the ground, and the awning helped keep the rain out of the tent.  We made many weekend family camping trips to several of the other Florida freshwater springs that year.  On vacation to the Blue Ridge Mountains that summer we were not ready for the colder weather.  We discovered that we needed something between us and the canvas cot to keep us warm.  And, in Florida, when it rains the water just soaked into the sand.  But in the mountains of North Carolina the water doesn’t soak in, and we woke up with two inches of water on the floor of our tent.  We never did discover where the water got into the tent.  That trip was when we decided we wanted a tent camper that would keep us warm and dry.

Photo: https://wildernesstoday.com/best-family-tent/

A friend a work sold us his small pop-up tent camper that was just what we were looking for.  This was an older basic house shaped camper with a 2-burner propane stove, but no electricity. We had to use Coleman lanterns for our lighting and we had a small two-burner Coleman stove in case we wanted to cook outside. The camper had a small freshwater tank, which required a hand-pump to get water into the sink.

Photo by Bill Lites

Everything had to fit within the camper footprint as the tent portion opened straight up to a peak running fore and aft.  The small stove, sink and countertop were on one side, with an office size “ice box” (remember, no electricity) under the counter.  On the other side was a small fold-down table with bench seats for four people.   DiVoran slept on the twin bed that ran across the front with storage under it, and I slept in the other twin bed that ran across the rear with more storage underneath.  A swing-away bunk bed was located over each twin bed, and was pinned into each of the fore and aft upright tent supports and that was where our children slept.  It was a very compact efficient and arrangement.  When folded down, everything was flush with the top sides of the camper, with a canvas cover over the top.  This did not allow for anything to be carried on top of the camper.

Photo by Bill Lites

We continued to enjoy camping at the Florida freshwater springs and spent several summer vacations with that camper in the Blue Ridge Mountains, at the same campground we enjoyed that first year in a tent.  We even managed a to get in a wonderful six-week ‘Across America’ (Florida to California and return) family camping trip one summer.  I was between jobs, and it was an opportunity to show our kids some of the wonders of our beautiful nation, and to visit friends and relatives along the way.

Photo by Bill Lites

Over the years we pretty much ran the wheels off that small camper.  We tried a 6-person Starcraft pop-up camper for a while, but we were looking for something with a little more room and comfort.  We finally sprang for a new Colman Fleetwood 8-person pull-out tent camper with all the bells and whistles.  We now had all the comforts of home (with the exception of toilet and shower).  Running water, lights, four-burner propane stove, refrigerator, electric heater, and air-conditioning.  We were ready for anything with this rig!  Our camping experiences took on a whole new prospective after that.  That camper gave us total year-around comfortable camping no matter where we decided to go.

Photo by Bill Lites

A few years later, after some major surgeries, the rigors of camper setup and teardown began to tell me it was time to leave the camping to the younger generation.  Our son and his family were ready to enjoy some quality camping experiences, so they inherited the Fleetwood.  It gave them several years of wonderful Florida camping, and then they also passed the camper to others to enjoy.  And that my friends, is the short version of our camping experiences.  It was great while it lasted, and I can recommend family camping, anywhere anytime, for quality relaxation and fun.  I had some of my most memorable camping times as a kid in the backyard of my home.  So, it doesn’t have to be fancy, just a weekend away with the family.  Try it.  I think you will like it.

—–The End—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 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.

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

Tags: , ,

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