Tag Archives: #American Museum Tour

2023 Road Trip-Part 17

10 Jan

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 17 – July 31:  

After breakfast this morning, I packed up my things and headed southeast for 35 miles on US-431 to Gadsden, AL where I turned east on US-278 for another 45 miles, across the border into Georgia, to visit the Cocoa Cola Museum located in Cedartown, GA but they were closed.  So, now I headed east 30 miles on SR-113 and tried to visit the Savoy Automobile Museum located in Cartersville, GA but they seemed to also be closed.  As I was driving around the building looking for the entrance, this guy, John, came out and told me they were closed.  When I told him I was on a road trip from Florida he said, “Well, I guess I could show you around some.”

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

This is a really great museum!   With 75+ beautifully restored unique cars and trucks of all types and models (many on a rotation basis), in five galleries, this museum tells the story of the varied aspects of the automobile’s evolution from its inception (the 1901 Oldsmobile Curved Dash Runabout is said to be the first mass produced car in the US-Wikipedia) to the present.  John was very kind to act as my personal tour guide as the other workers were in the process of rearranging the museum’s five galleries for the next event.  I thanked him for allowing me to see the museum’s collection and was on my way to the next museum on my list for today.

                                    1901 Oldsmobile Curved Dash Runabout  

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

From the Savoy Museum, I headed southeast 25 miles on I-75 to visit the Marietta Fire Museum located in Marietta, GA.  This museum is housed in the original 1886 Fire Station #1 building and displays many antique fire engines, pieces of firefighting equipment, and firefighting artifacts, used by the Marietta Fire Department from as early as 1854.  The museum’s centerpiece is their 1879 horse-drawn ‘Silsby Steamer’ steam-powered pumper.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

While I was in Marietta, I wanted to visit the Aviation History & Technology Center, but they were closed.  Not to be discouraged, I tried to visit the Lockheed-Martin Aviation Museum but discovered it was within the company gated complex not open to the public.  So, now I headed the short 15 miles northeast on SR-120 (not so short in traffic) to visit the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth, Ga just north of downtown Atlanta.  This museum is said to have the largest collection of rolling stock in Georgia, with 21 locomotives, including the ‘General II’ 4-4-0 Steam Locomotive, and 31 pullman, freight, and caboose cars dating from 1911 in their inventory.  Rides in their restored Pullman car train are offered daily and during Special Events.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Several months ago, our son, Billy, had mentioned how someday he would like to join me on one of my road trips.  I really didn’t think he would like the fast-paced type road trip I typically planned.  So, this time I recommended that he meet me in Atlanta, where his daughter (our Granddaughter) lived, and ride with me the last three days of this trip.  He thought that was a great idea, so he and his wife, Lisa, drove to Atlanta a few days before I was planned to arrive, to visit with their daughter, Lacey.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After my visit to the Southeastern Railway Museum, there in Duluth, I called Billy, and we linked up at the El Rinconcito Mexican Restaurant for dinner.  I had the Chili Relleno, Beef Enchilada and Beef Taco plate with yellow rice and refried beans that was delicious.  We had a great visit at the restaurant, and then went to Lacey’s apartment for some more reminiscing about family, jobs, and my road trip experiences.  Lacey introduced me to her new dog, Russet, and then showed us her ‘garden plot’.  After we were all talked out, I said my good-nights and headed for my motel a short distance away in Norcross for the night.  Greta (My Garmin) found the motel without any problem, and after I got my things into my room, I recorded my day’s activities and tried to watch some TV.  Nothing interested me, so I just went to bed with a full tummy.

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;chili+relleno+enchilada+taco+plate

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 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: , , , , ,

2023 Road Trip-Part 16

3 Jan

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 16 – July 30: 

 This morning, after breakfast, I headed east about 30 minutes on US-72 to visit the Apron Museum located on Main Street in downtown Iuka, MS.  The only thing moving this early on a Sunday morning were the big 18-wheel trucks rumbling thru town on their way somewhere.  Of course, the small street-front museum was closed, but the beautiful First Baptist Church of Iuka across the street was very busy!  A few blocks from the Apron Museum, I tried to visit the Old Courthouse Museum, but it was also closed.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

It didn’t look like I was going to have much luck finding museums open today.  That was okay, since my plan was to visit friends later today, and wanted to spend as much time as possible with them.  So, now I continued east on US-72 for another 30 minutes, across the border into Alabama, to visit the Rattlesnake Saloon Restaurant where I was hoping to have lunch.  I had visited this ‘unique’ restaurant on another Road Trip, and wanted to enjoy that unusual dining experience again.  However, they wouldn’t open for another hour, so I just took a photo and headed for my next museum.

 Photo Credit: Bill Lites

It was another 15 miles from the Rattlesnake Saloon to where I wanted to visit the Helen Keller Birthplace, located in Tuscumbia, AL but here again they were closed.  Well, I’m batting 1000 today finding anyplace to visit!  Next, while I was in Tuscumbia, I tried to visit the Tuscumbia Railroad Depot Museum, but guess what?  You guessed it.  They were closed.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now it was only about 10 miles east on US-72 and then north on US-43, across the Tennessee River, where I wanted to visit the William C. Handy Museum located in Florence, AL but they were closed.  This is really becoming a habit today.  While in Florence, next I tried the Indian Mound Museum, but it was also closed.  This was too much.  I’ve never had a 100% museum failure day on any of my Road Trips before.  Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

I chucked the ‘Museum’ idea for today and got back on US-72 heading east and then north on SR-99 for about 45 minutes to visit my friends Terry and Mary, who live out in the boonies near Lester, AL.  I had worked with Terry on the Apollo Manned Lunar Landing program, and our families had been church members at the same church back in the 1960s.  Our children were friends and had grown up together, so I try to visit them every chance I get.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

We had a great visit, talking about our families (children), their families (grandchildren), friends, and my road trip adventures.  Then we headed to Monrovia for a delicious meal at one of Terry’s favorite BBQ restaurants, Jim ‘N Nike’s BBQ Restaurant.  I had their Baby Back Rib Plate with baked beans and cold slaw.  Yummm!  For dessert, I had a slice of their ‘To-Die-For’ cornbread with butter and honey.  My tummy was about to bust by the time I finished all of that, and I still had enough left over, in a dogy-bag, for another meal tomorrow.

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;baby+back+rib+plate

Back at the house, we reminisced about ‘The Good Old Days’ until we couldn’t think of anything else to talk about.  I said my goodbye, and headed to the motel, a good hour southeast, in Guntersville, Al for the night.  By the time I got to the motel, put my things in the room, and recorded my ‘LACK OF’ museum visitations today, I was ready to relax and watch some TV.  But as usual, there wasn’t anything to hold my attention, so I just went to bed and enjoyed another good night’s sleep.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 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: , , , , , , ,

2023 Road Trip-Part 4

6 Sep

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 4 – July 18:  After breakfast with Max and Anita this morning, I packed up my things and headed west on I-64 to visit the Kentucky Derby Museum located at the famous Churchill Downs Racecourse in Louisville, KY.  This museum was established in 1875 as part of the annual Kentucky Derby race and displays a variety of artifacts, trophies, sculptures, photographs, and paintings that follow the history of the famous Kentucky Derby race from its inception.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

While I was there in Louisville, I visited the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory located in downtown Louisville.  I had visited this museum once before several years ago on another Road Trip and wanted to go thru this interesting museum/factory again.  I am not a baseball fan, but I find this factory fascinating.  The tour takes a person thru the various stages of how a baseball bat is made; from how a tree is selected and the wood is treated (aged), to how the wood is sculpted into a bat (per each ball player’s specifications), and how the bat is sanded and finished with paint or varnish.  The huge 120-foot bat outside the front of the museum/factory is made of steel, weighs 68,000 pounds (34 tons) and is an exact scale replica of Babe Ruth’s 34” Louisville Slugger Bat.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After that interesting tour, I headed north on I-65 out of Louisville, and across the border into Indiana to visit the Freeman Army Airfield Museum located in Seymore, IN.  I knew the U.S. had captured many enemy aircraft during WWII and brought them back to Wright Field in Dayton, OH for evaluation and testing, but I had never heard of the Freeman Army Airfield.  I was surprised to learn that many German, Japanese and Italian aircraft were evaluated and tested here at the Freeman Field, and that after the war many of those airplanes were donated to museums across the country.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Continuing north on I-65 I next visited the Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum located adjacent to the Columbus Municipal Airport in Columbus, IN. This large museum displays artifacts and memorabilia related to the history of mostly those airmen who served in the U. S. Armed Forces during the period from 1941 to 1970.   Also on display are large models of many of the aircraft flown by those brave airmen.  There are stories, photos, and artifacts of glider pilots, Tuskegee Airmen, Special Operation Forces, and many others from WWII to the Vietnam era.  The museum’s restored C-119 Flying Boxcar (City of Columbus) gate guard is very impressive and commemorates Bakalar’s participation with the U. S. Air Force 434th Tactical Airlift Wing.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

A little farther north on I-65 I stopped to check out the Franklin Depot Railroad Museum located in Franklin, IN.  This small museum is situated in the old 1909 restored Franklin Railroad Depot and displays many antique railroad artifacts and memorabilia.  However, the thing that got my attention when I walked in was the ice cream bar on the back wall of the museum, and I just had to have a cone of their hand-dipped Blueberry Cheesecake ice cream.  Perfect thing to cool me off on a hot afternoon.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Heading north on I-65 again, I had visited many museums and points of interest in Indianapolis, on another Road Trip, but wanted to visit the Stutz Auto Museum located in the old 1912 renovated Stutz auto manufacturing building in downtown Indianapolis.  But the museum was closed by the time I arrived at the location.  I was disappointed to miss seeing their impressive auto collection, so just took this photo and headed out of town.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Heading northwest on I-65, my plan was to visit the Linden Railroad Museum located in Linden, IN but here again, they were closed by the time I arrived.  So, I took a photo of their 1837 Norris 4-2-0 Steam Engine, coal car, and open train car displayed outside.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Since it was getting late, I gave Greta (My Garmin) the address of my motel for the night in Lafayette, IN and we headed for it.  However, as I was driving thru downtown Lafayette, on my way to the motel, I noticed this impressive building and just had to stop and take a photo of it.  As it turned out, it was the Tippecanoe County Courthouse.  Wow!  They spent some really big bucks on that building!

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

When I finally arrived at my motel for the night, I took my things into my room and heated up my leftover Chili Relleno, Enchilada, and refried beans from the other night, and enjoyed that meal again.  The leftovers didn’t look as good tonight as they did in the restaurant, but they tasted wonderful.  With a full tummy, I tried to watch some TV, but couldn’t find anything worth watching. So, I recorded today’s activities and went to bed.  It has been a long day.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 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: , , , , ,

My 2019 Great Lakes Road Trip Part 14A

29 Jan

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 14 – Monday August 5

First thing this morning I headed 25 miles east on I-80 to visit the Grundy County Historical Museum located in Morris, IL. This is a small museum that collects and preserves artifacts, documents, and memorabilia related to the history of Grundy County.  This includes items of a cultural, social, geological and anthropological nature.

Heading northeast on I-80 some 20 miles I visited the Old Joliet Prison located in Joliet, IL.  This Illinois State Penitentiary was opened in 1858 to replace the first, and then aging, 1831 Illinois State Penitentiary located in Alton, IL.   Housing nearly 2000 inmates at its peak of operation, the inmate population continued to grow, and this prison was replaced by a new Illinois State Penitentiary in Crest Hill, IL in 2002.  Now just called the Old Joliet Prison, the museum gives tours of a portion of the site which provides visitors with a historical picture of 19th century prison conditions and methods of incarceration.  This was another one of those “You will have to wait for the next tour, and then the tour takes 1-½ hours.”  I opted to go on to the next museum.

Just a few miles south of the Old Joliet Prison I had planned to visit the Stradale Team, located within the Autobahn Country Club complex.  I had hoped to get to see some radical sports cars in action at their road-racing track.  As it turned out, entry into the shops and track was blocked by a sign on the electric gate that informed me that access to the complex was “For Members Only.”  Rats!!

So, I gave Greta (my Garmin) the address for the Illinois Aviation Museum located about 20 miles north, and we headed out.  The next thing I knew, I was caught up in a huge industrial warehousing complex, with literally hundreds of 16-weelers, of all types, heading in every direction.  That wouldn’t have been so bad, but a lot of them seemed to be heading down the same 2-lane road that Greta had me on, and the backup must have been a mile long.  It took forever to get to the “T” in the road where I thought we could finally make some time.  WRONG!  That 2-lane “T” road was also backed up as bad as the one I just turned off of, IN BOTH DIRECTIONS!  It took me a full hour to finally get to a decent 4-lane road where I could pass some of those trucks and make some time.  Whew!  That was frustrating.

Description: C:\Users\Bill Lites\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail\WLMDSS.tmp\WLM7D8A.tmp\IMG_8424.JPG

I finally arrived at the Illinois Aviation Museum located adjacent to the Bolingbrook International Airport in Bolingbrook, IL expecting a large museum with lots of beautifully restored airplanes.  What I found was an F-80 Shooting Star, a Huey helicopter, and several smaller airplanes, all jammed in one small hanger.  There was no one around, even after I called out “Hello” a couple of times.  So, I strolled onto the hanger, took a few photos of the airplanes, and told Greta, Let’s tray the next museum.

Description: C:\Users\Bill Lites\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail\WLMDSS.tmp\WLM159E.tmp\IMG_8362.JPG

Now I headed northeast about 25 miles on I-55 to visit the Chicago Maritime Museum located in the southern part of Chicago.  This large museum houses exhibits, artifacts and memorabilia related to the history of maritime activities on Lake Michigan, with special interest surrounding the port of Chicago in particular.

As a side note, this museum mentions the two Lake Michigan side-wheeler passenger steam ships that the U.S. Navy converted into aircraft carriers (USS Sable & USS Wolverine) and used to train U.S. Navy carrier pilots during WWII.  As it happens, the museum in Florida, where I volunteer as a tour guide, has on display one of the airplanes that was used to train those pilots on those ships during that time period.

—–This day’s activities will be continued next week—–

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

Tags: , ,