Tag Archives: #Road Trip

2023 Road Trip-Part 18

17 Jan

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 18 – August 1

 After breakfast this morning, I packed up my things and called my son, Billy, to let him know I was on my way to pick him up.  We said our goodbyes to Lacey (she had to go to work) and Lisa (she was driving their car back to Florida) and Billy and I headed south 25 miles, thru morning rush-hour traffic, on I-85 & I-285 to visit the Waffle House Museum located in Decatur, GA.  This small museum is located on the site where Joe Rogers and Tom Forkner opened their first Waffle House Restaurant in 1955. Since we didn’t have a tour appointment, we just took photos and headed for our next museum on today’s list.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now it was only 15 miles southwest on I-20 & I-85 (more morning traffic) to visit the Hapeville Depot Museum located in Hapeville, GA but it was closed.  So, we continued south another 10 miles on I-75 to visit the Old Train Depot Museum located in Jonesboro, GA.  This museum is situated in the old 1867 M&W Railroad depot that replaced the original 1846 M&W depot and was restored in 1880.  The museum displays early 1800s railroad artifacts and memorabilia, as well as being the home of the ‘Road to Tara’ Museum, which has a collection of ‘Gone with the Wind’ artifacts, costumes, and movie memorabilia.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After that interesting museum visit, it was only about 15 miles south on US-41 where we tried to visit the Army Aviation Museum located adjacent to the Clayton County Airport in Hampton, GA.  We had no trouble finding the airport, and the sign for the museum.  We followed the arrow on the sign, over some really rough roads and behinds some airplane hangars, but we just couldn’t find the museum anywhere.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

So, we gave up on finding that museum and continued south about 100 miles to visit the Georgia Rural Telephone Museum located in Leslie, GA.  For some reason Greta (my Garmin) took us over many back roads on a circuitous route (supposedly on US-19) to get us to this museum.  We finally arrived at the museum and found it to be one of the largest and most interesting museums we have visited on this road trip.  There were literally thousands of telephones, arranged in pretty much chronological order, dating from that instrument’s inception, in 1875 by Alexander Graham Bell, to the present.  This is a very impressive museum!  It was worth the trouble we went thru to find it.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After that amazing tour of the Telephone Museum, we discovered we had ended up almost 20 miles west of I-75 (the reason for all those back roads to get to Leslie).  Now we needed to head back east on US-280 to visit the Cordele Rail Museum located in Cordele, GA but found that it was closed when we got there.  So, we continued south another 40 miles on I-75 where we visited the Tifton Terminal Railway Museum located in Tifton, GA. This museum is situated in the old restored 1910 Atlantic Coast Line (ACL) depot and displays antique railroad exhibits, artifacts, and memorabilia dating from the mid-1800s.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

By now we were getting hungry, and I gave Greta (my Garmin) the address of the motel 50 miles south, in Valdosta, GA and she took us right to it.  I had told Billy the night before that I had a leftover Pork Chop dinner from the night before, so Lisa had made him some ham and cheese sandwiches for his dinner in the motel tonight.  He told me that he was tired and was going to head to bed after we finished our dinner, so I warmed up my leftover Pork Chop plate and enjoyed that delicious meal again.  What a treat that was.  As usual I couldn’t find anything on TV to hold my interest, so I just recorded the day’s activities and went to bed.

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/pork+chops+greenbean+cassarole+potatos+gravy

—–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

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2023 Road Trip-Part 13 A

13 Dec

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 13 – July 27:  Continued:  

Not to be discouraged there in Kansas City, I tried the National WWII Museum, but it was also closed.  Not having the best day finding museums to visit today, am I?  So, I gave up on the Kansas City museums and headed south for about 30-minutes on I-35 to visit the Belton-Grandview Railroad Museum located in Belton, MO.  This small museum displays antique railroad artifacts and rolling stock dating from the early 1920s, and gives 5-mile (45-minute) weekend excursion rides in their restored 1923 Pullman car thru Old Towne Belton, MO and the surrounding area for passenger enjoyment.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now it was another 20-minutes south on I-35 to Harrisonville, MO where I picked up SR-7 for another 40 minutes southeast to visit the Henry County Museum in Clinton, MO.  This museum is situated in the old restored 1886 Anheuser-Busch building and displays antique artifacts, an original preserved 1856 Dog Trot Log House, a one-room schoolhouse, along with memorabilia related to the history of the city of Clinton and the surrounding Henry County area dating from the early 1800s.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Before leaving Clinton, I drove by the Clinton Railroad Depot and only was able to get a photo, as they were closed.  So, I gave up on museums for the day.  From Clinton I continued east on SR-7 for another 30-minutes to visit my friends Hank and Lois in Lincoln, MO.  Lois is DiVoran’s cousin, and they have kept in touch with each other over the years.  Hank is a big game hunter, and misses the Colorado mountains where they lived for years.  We had a very pleasant visit reminiscing about our many visits to see them and DiVoran’s grandparents in Canon City, CO over the years.  They showed me their garden where I ate a hand-full of some of the most delicious, falling-off-the-vine-ripe blackberries I have ever eaten.  They live not far from nearby Timber Line Lake where Hank spends a lot of his time fishing for Sunfish, Catfish, and Largemouth Bass.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After that great visit, I said my goodbyes, and gave Greta (My Garmin) the address for my hotel for tonight in Sedalia, MO and we were on our way.  Greta took me to the hotel in Sedalia without any problem, and I got my things into my room.  I was impressed with the beautifully carpeted grand stairway in the lobby of the hotel that reminded me of the foyer of a turn-of-the-century Victorian mansion.   It was called the Truman Inn, and I never did find out why it had that name.  There were pictures of President Harry S. Truman in some of the downstairs rooms (and one on each side of the stairway).  It is my guess that President Truman stayed in this hotel at some point in time, and that the owner of the hotel (at that time) was so impressed with Truman that he named the hotel in honor of the President.  That’s a pretty wild guess on my part.  What do you think?

I asked the desk clerk about good restaurants in town.  He said, “If you like Bar-B-Q, you will like Bandana’s BBQ Restaurant over on Broadway Boulevard.”  So, I gave it a try.  I had their BBQ Spareribs plate with coleslaw and sweet potato fries.  It was a wonderful meal.  Yummmm!  There was enough left over for another meal tomorrow.  So, with a full tummy I went back to the hotel and looked for something to watch on TV.  Of course, I couldn’t find anything I liked, so I recorded the day’s activities, and went to bed.

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/spareribs+sweet+potatoe+fries+coleslaw+Bandana’s+BBQ+Restaurant+sedalia+mo/

—–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

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2023 Road Trip-Part 13

6 Dec

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 13 – July 27:

  After Breakfast this morning, as I was heading for the interstate, this unusual scene of an airplane caught my eye, and I had to stop to see what it was all about.  This CRAZY scene was at the Pizza Shack Restaurant there in Lamoni, and I just had to have a photo of it.  I’m not sure what this scene is supposed to reflect, as the Pizza Shack wasn’t open yet, and I couldn’t ask about it, but I would guess it has something to do with survivors of a plane crash.  What a Hoot!

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now I continued south about an hour on I-35, crossed the border into Missouri, to visit the Crossroads Quilting Museum in Cameron, MO.  However, I had plans to visit friends in Lincoln, MO this evening, so, I only stopped in Cameron for a bathroom break, passed up the Quilting Museum, and continued another 40 minutes south on I-35 to visit the Jesse James Birthplace & Museum located in Kearney, MO.  This museum is located on the 40-acre James farm where Jesse and his family lived in their original 1845 log cabin.  The museum chronicles the history of the James family with original family artifacts, miniature dioramas, and a 20-minute film depicting the life and times of outlaws Frank and Jesse James.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

A short walk, up the hill from the museum, I toured the original 1845 restored James home where decades of visitors have been allowed to walk thru the rooms of the house, guided by members of the James family, beginning as early as 1882, when Zerelda James (Jesse’s Mother) first opened her house to visitors for 50 cents per person.  Just a few yards from the James house is the original grave site of Jesse James (1847-1882).

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

It took me a while to get back to I-35, and then another 15-minute drive to where I had planned to visit the Historic Liberty Jail Museum located in Liberty, MO.  I was surprised to find a large modern building at the address Greta (My Garmin) took me to.  Inside, I was informed that a church organization had bought the property and built a church on top of the Liberty Jail.  That was hard for me to understand, but it seems to be another case of one generation building on top of another.  I didn’t take the tour, as I would have had to wait for a group to arrive.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

From Liberty, it was only a short 15-minute drive to visit the Arabia Steamboat Museum located on Grand Boulevard, adjacent to the Missouri River, in Kansas City, MO.  This large museum is filled with one of the largest collections of Civil War era artifacts recovered from the remains of the steamboat Aribia that sank in 1856 on its way to Kansas City with over 200 tons of cargo on board (the Arabia was one of 400 steamboats to sink on the 2500-mile-long segment of the Missouri River between the 1820s and the 1870s).   The museum was overflowing with visitors today, and because of my time crunch, I decided to see this great attraction on another road trip.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Before leaving downtown Kansas City, I stopped at the WWI Memorial for a photo.  This is another museum I will have to visit on another road trip, as it was very busy with visitors today.  I passed up the Clendening Medicine Museum and the Boot Hill Museum (that I had visited on other road trips) so I could visit the TWA Museum and the Airline History Museum, both located adjacent to the Charles B. Willard Downtown Airport.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

I had tried to visit these two museums on a previous road trip, but they were both closed on the day I arrived.  So, I was really looking forward to visiting them on this trip.  Today there happened to be a lot of road construction all around the Charles B. Willard Downtown Airport and neither Greta (My Garmin) nor I could ever access the TWA Museum.  So, I gave up and we tried to find the Airline History Museum there in the same general area.  After a confused back and forth around the airport construction, I finally arrived at the Airline History Museum, only to find it permanently closed.  Bummer!

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.

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2023 Road Trip-Part 10

15 Nov

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 10 – July 24:

After Breakfast this morning, when I tried to flush the toilet, in my “Hotel” room, the handle wouldn’t move.  I had to remove the lid from the tank and lift the float bar to activate the flush.  I told the desk clerk about the problem, and that the bedside lamp (bulb) fixture was laying loose in the socket (wires exposed) but he didn’t seem to be concerned about either problem.  Boy, was I ever glad to get out of that “Hotel.”  I headed south out of Winnipeg for a couple of hours, mostly thru featureless Canadian countryside on Canada #75.  At Emerson, I crossed the border into North Dakota, USA. Customs at this border crossing was a breeze, thank goodness.

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/Border+crossing/Welcome+to+the+USA

It was another 1-1/2 hours south on I-29 to my first stop this morning, which was to be the Grand Forks Historical Museum located in Grand Forks, ND but they were closed.  After a potty break, I didn’t even stop to consider checking out the River City Speedway, there in Grand Forks, as I was sure there was nothing going on there this early on a Monday morning.  It was another hour south on I-29 to where I visited the Fargo Air Museum located adjacent to the Hector International Airport in Fargo, ND.  This large one-hanger museum displays 12+ (mostly) flyable aircraft, including their beautifully restored C-47 Skytrain “Duggy” along with other WWII artifacts and memorabilia.  I was impressed with their ½ -scale flying model of a German FW-190A Shrike.  I would loved to have seen it fly.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

From Fargo, it only took Greta (My Garmin) ½ -hour to find the World’s Largest Catfish (Wahpeton’s Wahpper) located in the local Kidder Recreation Area Park in Wahpeton, ND.   At 52-feet long and weighing in at 5000 lbs. I’d have to say that is “The Largest Catfish I’ve ever seen!”  Since I didn’t have time to stop and go fishing, there in the Red River that was close, I just took this photo (I wanted someone to be in the photo for prospective, but there was nobody handy) and was on my way, crossing the Red River, to find my next museum.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now, I crossed the border into Minnesota, and headed southeast for another hour on SR-9 to visit the Stevens County Historical Museum located in Morris, MN.  This small museum is situated in the original 1905 Carnegie Library building and displays artifacts and memorabilia describing the early history of the city of Morris and the surrounding Stevens County, dating from the early 1900s.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Continuing southeast another ½-hour on SR-9, I tried to visit the Swift County History Museum located in Benson, MN but they were closed.  

It was getting late in the day, and I was ‘Road Weary,’ so I gave Greta (My Garmin) the address of the motel for this evening, and we headed off to find it.  It took us a while, but we finally found the motel over in Ortonville, MN.  After I got settled in my room at the motel, I warmed up my leftover Fish & Onion Rings from Smitty’s and enjoyed that wonderful meal again.  The meal didn’t look quite as good tonight as it did last night at Smitty’s, but believe me, it was delicious.  Once I was finished with dinner, I looked for something of interest on the TV, but wasn’t able to find anything that would keep me awake.  So, I recorded my day’s activities and went to bed.

https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/Fish+Onion+Rings+Smitty’s+Restaurant+&+Lounge+Winnipeg

—–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

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2023 Road Trip-Part 9A

8 Nov

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 9 – July 23: Continued:

It wasn’t far from the Manitoba Museum to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights located at the “Forks” where the Red River & the Assiniboine River meet, which is also considered the birthplace of the Metis (indigenous peoples).  The museum’s amazing architecture (and I thought the Canadian Mint Building was unique), with its wrap- around exterior ‘Dove Wings’ and its eight interior Alabaster walkways that take you up, from gallery to gallery, is all breath taking.  Each walkway leads you to where the various aspects of the history of human rights are displayed.  I had to stop and think about ‘The Stuart Clark Garden of Contemplation’ (What are all those short basalt rock columns all about?).  The 360-degree view from the 328-foot-high Israel Asper Tower of Hope gives a person a truly magnificent look at the city of Winnipeg and the surrounding area to appreciate its scope and beauty.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now I headed a few miles out of town to try to visit the Prairie Dog Central Railway Museum located at the Inkster Junction Railway Station.  This turned out not to be a museum as much as a scenic railway system situated in the old restored 1905 Canadian National Railway Station.  This railway offers 1-hour train rides in their restored early 1900s Pullman train cars pulled by a restored 1882 (4-4-0) stream locomotive (Old No. 3) to Grosse Isle and return.  These train rides give passengers an idea of what it was like to ride the train in the Winnipeg/Manitoba area at the turn of the century.  I had missed the scheduled Sunday train ride to Grosse Isle and headed back toward town to check out another museum.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

On my way back downtown, to the “Hotel” for the evening, I stopped to visit the Winnipeg Railway Museum, located in the beautiful old 1911 Union Station building, but it was closed.  So, a few blocks from the Union Station I tried to visit the Fort Gary Horse Museum located in the old 1912 Armory building that was originally used by the 34thCanadian Army Calvery Regiment during WWI, but that museum was also closed.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

By this time, I was getting hungry, and started looking for some place to eat (I didn’t want to have to resort to KFC again).  I spotted Smitty’s Restaurant & Lounge and decided to stop in for my evening meal.  I had their Fish & Chips plate (with Onion Rings instead of chips).  The Cod was deep-fried with an excellent batter and was wonderful, but the onion rings were absolutely the best I have ever had.  Yummm!  There was way too much food for me to eat at one sitting, so, I would be able to enjoy this leftover meal again tomorrow evening.  After that incredible meal, Greata (My Garmin) took me back to the “Hotel” and I was surprised, and pleased, that there was no hollering and banging of doors tonight.  There was no TV in the room, so I recorded my day’s activities and went to bed.  I had a surprisingly good night’s sleep.

https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/Fish+Onion+Rings+Smitty’s+Restaurant+&+Lounge+Winnipeg

—–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

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2023 Road Trip-Part 9

1 Nov

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 9 – July 23:

Remember Doug, who visited the Valiant Air Command Museum earlier this year, and told me to contact him when I arrived in Winnipeg for a tour of the city?  Well, he never returned my calls when I called him to let him know I was in Winnipeg.  So, I headed out after breakfast this morning, to visit the museums I had planned to visit on my own.  It was Sunday, and I wasn’t sure how many museums would be open, but I had to try.  My first stop was the Royal Canadian Mint, with its very unique building design, but they were closed.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

As I was heading for the next museum, I saw the GWWD Railway Station and stopped to take a photo.  At the time, I had no idea what GWWD stood for, but the word “Railway Station” on the end of the building let me know it had something to do with trains.  Later, I Googled it and found out it was the Greater Winnipeg Water District railway station that was built in 1935 as part of the freshwater aqueduct system to supply fresh water to the surrounding cities of Winnipeg and St.  Boniface

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

My next stop was to visit the St. Boniface Cathedral, located adjacent to the Verendrye Park in the St. Boniface area.  The original log chapel on this site was built by the Rev. Norbert Provencher in 1818 and served the St. Boniface community until 1832 when a larger building (cathedral) replaced it.  A fire destroyed that cathedral in 1860 and a second cathedral was built in 1868.  That cathedral was expanded in 1906, but another fire in 1968 destroyed most of that structure.  In 1972 a new cathedral was built behind the facade of the much larger and more beautiful 1906 cathedral, leaving what we see in the photo below.  You can just barely see the top of the 1972 cathedral roof at the bottom of the opening of the 1906 cathedral front window opening (once the beautiful stained-glass window of the 1906 cathedral).

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Just a few miles away I tried to visit the Electrical Museum, but it was closed.  Now I headed for the Canadian Aviation Museum (one of the main destinations for this road trip) located adjacent to the Winnipeg International Airport.  This museum’s new facility has only been open since 2021 and displays 30+ beautifully restored static (mostly early Canadian) aircraft, including a full-size Vickers VC2 Viscount.  Most of the museum’s aircraft date from the early 1900s to the 1980s.  The majority of these airplanes were used by bush pilots during the ever-expanding development of the Ontario/Manitoba wilderness.  The museum also has several WWII era aircraft that have been restored to flying condition and are parked on the tarmac outside the museum.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

As I was heading for the next museum, I passed the Manitoba Legislative Building and stopped to take a photo of that impressive structure (I am always on the lookout for any unusual or impressive building structures to photograph).  It was closed today, so I just continued on my way to visit the Manitoba Museum, which was crowded with weekend visitors today.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

The Manitoba Museum is an impressive multi-level, multi-purpose museum that chronicles the history of man and his surrounding natural habitat, in the Manitoba region, dating from the early ice age to the present.  The museum also has a planetarium and a science gallery with hands-on interactive learning stations that all ages can enjoy.

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

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2023 Road Trip-Part 8

18 Oct

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 8 – July 22:

This morning after breakfast, I headed back across the John A. Blatnik Bridge into Superior, WI to visit the Richard I. Bong Museum which was one of the main reasons for this trip.  Richard Bong was the highest scoring U.S. Army Air Force fighter pilot in the Pacific Theater during WWII.  I had followed his exploits and wanted to visit his museum for years.  This small museum is filled with artifacts and memorabilia following the history of Bong and his fellow fighter pilots as they fought the mighty Japanese war machine in the pacific.  Their beautifully restored P-38, representing Bong’s personal airplane, is the centerpiece of the museum.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Before leaving Superior, I wanted to visit The Old Firehouse & Police Museum situated in the old 1898 restored Fire Hall #1, which had used five horse-drawn fire fighting rigs, and I’m sure would have had a lot of beautifully restored antique fire fighting artifacts and memorabilia, but it didn’t open until noon today.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

A few blocks from the Old Firehouse Museum, I tried to visit the World of Accordions, but they didn’t open until 3:00 today, so, I gave up on the museums there in Superior and headed north, back across the John A. Blatnik Bridge, into Duluth to visit the Historic Union Depot.  This huge structure, built in 1898, is actually the second railroad station to be built on the site, replacing the 1st old 1869 wooden depot.  The building (known as the St. Louis County Depot) now houses the Superior Railroad Museum, the Duluth Art Institute, and the St. Louis County Historical Society Museum, as well as being the departure point for the North Shore Scenic Railroad 1-hour & 6-hour train rides along the Lake Superior shoreline.  The station provided railroad passenger service to and from the Duluth and Superior areas until passenger service was terminated in 1985.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Heading northwest out of Duluth on US-53, I drove for hours thru the beautiful Superior National Forest, stopping in Virginia, MN and Gheen, MN (we have good friends named Gheen) for potty breaks and to rest my bottom, before finally arriving at the Koochiching County Historical Museum located in International Falls, MN.  This 2-gallery museum displays exhibits and artifacts covering the 10,000 years of local native American history and culture, the early fur traders, and settlers to the area, which includes the development of the lumber and natural resources industries.  The second gallery is devoted to the life and career of the 1930s football legend & Football Hall of Fame inductee, Bronko Nagurski who was born and raised in International Falls.

Photo Credit: https://www.exploreminnesota.com/profile/koochiching-county-historical-society-museums/

I was a little apprehensive about crossing the border into Canada, as the van I had purchased in Wisconsin only had a “Temporary Tag” and I wasn’t sure how that would play with the Border Officials.  However, the temporary tag was not the problem at the border crossing.  There was construction going on at the crossing lanes and only two of the four lanes were open to cars.  It took me 1-½ hours to crawl along the approximately ¼-mile line of cars waiting to cross.  What a MESS and big waste of time that was!   Once it was my turn to show my Passport and temporary Wisconsin Auto Registration, my papers were checked, and I was passed right on with no problems.

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 7

11 Oct

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 7 – July 21: This morning after an early breakfast, I headed north in my rented pickup truck, for 6 miles to meet Glenn at the Chrysler Dealership in Wausau, WI.  I wanted to see what kind of used vans he had available.  Glenn met me at the door and already had a red 2013 Chrysler Town & Country van out front for me to inspect.  We took it for a test drive, and I was satisfied that this van would suit my needs.  We settled in his office to do the necessary paperwork and he told me they had just recently received the van in a trade and had processed it thru their service shop with everything for resale, except it had not yet been detailed.  Since that would usually take about two days (for the carpets to dry) he would take $600 off the price for that not being done.  I was okay with that!

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/chrysler+town+%26+countryntry+touring

I told Glenn that Clayton (the mechanic) had told me he might be interested in buying my 2006 Dodge van if I decided to sell it.  I told him I wanted to add that money as a down payment on the 2013 van.    I called Clayton and we struck a deal for him to buy my van.  Then I said, “Okay Clayton, now you have my van, and you have the money for my van, how do I get the money to Glenn for my down payment? “  He said, “Let me talk to Glenn.”  He told Glenn, “I’m out hunting this weekend, but you know I’m good for it (friends for 25 years), I’ll bring the money to your office Monday morning.”  Well, Glenn was okay with that (I was amazed!) and he said, “Well that settles that, you are good to go.  All we need to do now is run this by the financial office.”  

image Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/auto+sale+with+dealer

That done, Glenn said, “The final paperwork will take a while to put together, so why don’t you return your rental truck and then we’ll drive this van up to Clayton’s shop and I’ll help you transfer everything from your 2006 van to this 2013 van so you will be ready to continue your road trip as soon as possible.”  That worked for me.  He followed me the 8 miles to the Mosinee Airport, where I returned the pickup truck to the National Car Rental office.  When the agent handed me the receipt, he said, “I don’t understand this, but you only owe $2.53 for your rental.”  I was shocked!  And I said, “How can that be?”  He said, “I don’t know, but that is what it says here on your receipt.”  I told him I wanted a paper receipt showing the balance of the $750 I had paid for the week’s truck rental had been credited back to my credit card account.  He did that, and I was happy with that.  All I could say was, “Thank you Lord, for the miracles you work in our lives every day!”

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/national-car-rental

We drove the van over to Clayton’s Auto Repair shop there in Mosinee, and the transfer of my things, that would have taken me 2-3 hours, only took about 30 minutes with Glenn’s help.  That was a huge thing for him to do for me!  That done, I left my key and vehicle registration to the 2006 van in Clayton’s drop box with a note promising to send the van title to him as soon as I returned to Florida.  Another example of small-town trust on Clayton’s part.  By the time we got back to the dealership in Wausau, all the paperwork was ready for my signature.  That didn’t take long.  I thanked everyone for helping me through one of the most intense 24-hours I could remember.  I said my goodbyes and was on my way north on I-39 in new wheels by 1:00 pm.

Image Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/leaving+in+car+on+trip

In order to arrive at this evening’s destination without losing my room reservation, I had to pass up the Chippewa Falls Museum, the Thorp Telephone Museum, the Wisconsin Logging Museum, and the Wisconsin Canoe Museum.  I’ll just have to visit them on another one of my road trips.  It was late by the time I arrived in Superior, WI and all the museums were closed.  I drove across the John A. Blatnik Bridge into Duluth, MN and Greta (my Garmin) took me to the motel there.  After I checked into the motel, I asked the desk clerk for a good place to eat, and he said he liked the Buffalo House Restaurant not far from the motel.  I found it and had their Seafood Enchiladas plate (Never had that dish before) and they were wonderful.  After that delicious meal, it was back to the motel, and right to bed for me.  As you might imagine, I was a tired puppy and the bed felt great.

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

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2023 Road Trip-Part 6B

3 Oct

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 6 – July 20 Continued: 

 Here I was almost 1500 miles from home, with a disabled vehicle, only 6-days into a 20-day Road Trip with few options.  I asked Clayton, the mechanic at the auto repair shop, about rental cars and he told me he could have his helper run me over to the local airport where I could rent a car.  He also told me that he had a good friend (of 25 years) who worked at the Chrysler Dealership in the next town who might be able to help me with a car if I was interested.  I told him yes, and to give his friend a call and see if he had any vans available.  He called his friend, Glen, and he said he had a couple of vans, and I made an appointment to see him the next morning (Friday) at 8:00 am.

Image Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/mecanic/clipart

Then Clayton had his helper take me to the local airport to rent a car.  He dropped me off at the rental car office and I was surprised to see only two agents in the office.  With both showed big smiles, the first one asked me if he could help me.  I said, “Yes, I would like to rent a car.”  He said, “I’m sorry, but we don’t have any cars.”  I said, “No cars?”  And he said, “Not until late tomorrow at the earliest.”   I looked at the other agent and said, “How about you?”  And she said, “We don’t have any cars either.”  I said, “What is going on here?”  He told me something about a big annual reunion or something like that and all their cars had been rented for the week.  So, I asked him, ”What DO you have that I can rent?”  He said, “We have pickup trucks.”  So, I asked him about the estimated cost of renting a pickup truck from him and dropping it off in Florida (I was considering renting a pickup truck and a car dolly to take my van back home).  He said it would run somewhere in the neighborhood of $1000-$1200 for that scenario.  It never dawned on me that National Car Rental didn’t put trailer hitches on their pickup trucks or cars because they don’t allow people to pull a trailer or trailered car with their vehicles.  Duh!  I really wasn’t thinking straight by this time in the evening.

Image credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/car+dolly

When I added that to the cost of repairing the engine ($1500 estimate from Clayton the mechanic), I was looking at as much as $2500-$3000 to get my 17-year-old van running again.  And then there was the problem of having to cancel the rest of my Road Trip.  Bummer!  So, I decided to wait and check out the vans at the Chrysler Dealership in the morning before committing to anything right now.  I rented one of National’s pickup trucks for a week (cheaper than by the day) and headed for my motel, which luckily, was just 8 miles north on I-39 in Rothschild, WI.

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;national+car+rental+pickup+truck

On the way to my motel, I saw a Denny’s Restaurant and decided to stop for one of their 3-egg breakfast plates with hashbrowns, link sausage, and a biscuit.  I love a breakfast meal any time of the day, especially when I can get a hot cup of Earl Gray tea to go along with it.  After that delicious meal, Greata (my Garmin) took me to my motel for the night.  After I got checked in, and got my things in my room (not much tonight as everything was still in my van in Mosinee), I didn’t even look for anything to watch on TV, but just recorded as many of the details of today’s events as I could remember, and went to bed.  I was tired and had no trouble going to sleep tonight.

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/dennys/2-egg+breakfast+link+sausage+hash+browns

—–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

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2023 Road Trip -Part 6a

28 Sep

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 6 – July 20 Continued:  As I mentioned last week, I was heading north on I-39 just north of Knowlton, WI when I heard “ding-ding-ding” and I glanced at my dashboard, to see my water temperature gage pegged on “HOT.”  I started to slow down and pull over, but before I could get to the shoulder of the road, the temperature gage went back to “NORMAL.”  “What was that all about?” I wondered.  I went back on the highway and proceeded on my way for another few minutes.  Then the “ding-ding-ding” sounded again, and the temperature gage was once again pegged on “HOT.”  This time I quickly made it to the shoulder and slowed down before the temperature gage went back to “Normal.”

Image Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/ overheated+car+engine

I stopped and called my friend Ray (auto mechanic) to get his advice on the problem.  He said it sounded like a faulty temperature sensor, and to have a mechanic check it out the first chance I had.  So, I thanked him and continued on my way for another few minutes before I heard the “ding-ding-ding” again.  This time I stopped under an overpass, opened the hood, and was greeted with steam from the radiator.  “Oh Boy!”  I thought, “I have a really bad situation here.  What am I going to do now?”

Image Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/overheated+car+engine

First, I needed to call my Roadside Emergency people for a tow to the nearest auto repair shop, but I hadn’t noticed any mileage markers before I stopped.  Then I checked both sides of the overpass for a road I.D. but there were none.  Then I remembered the gallon of water I had brought for just such an occasion.  After the engine had cooled enough to remove the radiator cap, I added the gallon of water and prayed it would be enough to get me to the next exit so I would be able to tell the Roadside Emergency people where to come pick me up.

mage Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/24-hr-roadside-assistance

I found the next exit and pulled off to call for a tow.  While I was sitting there looking up the number this “Angle” on a motorcycle pulled up beside me and said, “Do you need help?”  I told him my problem and he said, “Well, my name is Steve, and I own a small trucking company near here and know a little bit about engines, can I take a look?”  I said, “Sure” and popped the hood.

Photo Credit: CanStockPhoto.Com

He looked it over and said, “It looks like you may have a radiator leak.  Do you have any water?”  I showed him the case of bottled water I had brought along for my trip, and he didn’t say a word, just emptied the whole case of bottled water into the radiator.  Then he said, “That should be enough to get you to the small ‘Stop-N-Go’ store just up the road a short distance. Follow me and we’ll see what they have to get you on your way.”

Image Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/stop+n+go+store

At the Stop-N-Go store, Steve refilled my Emergency Water jug and found a couple of different kinds of ‘Stop Leak’ while I was in the restroom.  We added the Stop Leak, topped off the radiator with water and he told me about an excellent auto repair mechanic in the town at the next exit up I-39 to see about my problem.  I thanked him and told him how much I appreciated his help and headed for Mosinee, WI.  I found the repair shop and told Clyton, the mechanic, my problem.  He removed the radiator cap and asked me to start the engine.  He immediately told me to shut it off and said, “You have a blown head gasket.”  I said, “Great.  What does that mean to me?”  he said, “I’m booked up with work and wouldn’t be able to get to your engine for at least a month.  I can call other auto shops in town, but I doubt any of them could repair your engine in less than a week.”  So, “Now what was I going to do?” I wondered.

Image Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;man+with+car+trouble

—–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

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