Tag Archives: Travel

A 2016 Dawn Patrol Rendezvous Trip~Part 13

29 Mar

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

 

Day 13 (Tuesday Oct.11, 2016)
This busy day started out with a visit to the MAPS Air Museum located in North Canton, OH. This museum reminded me a lot of the Valiant Air Command Museum in Titusville. They had many of the same airplanes, engines, and military vehicles that the VAC has.

 

 

The big difference between the two museums, is that all but two of the VAC’s aircraft are beautifully restored and hangered, whereas many of the MAPS aircraft are permanently displayed outside, and are the worse for wear by constant exposure to the weather. Three of the more interesting aircraft at this museum, as far as I was concerned, were their 1908 Martin Glider, their Sopwith Triplane, and their B-26 Marauder.

 


Down the road a few miles I visited the William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum located in Canton, OH. I was amazed at the extent this city has gone to, in honoring their hometown man, William McKinley.

 

There is a huge memorial edifice, as well as the large presidential library. The museum is beautifully laid out on three levels, and shows many different examples of McKinley’s life and his time as President.


Next on the list was a visit to the Canton Classic Car Museum, also located there in Canton. This museum displays some 40+ beautifully restored rare and unusual classic/special interest cars, as well as a large variety of historical automotive memorabilia.

 

 

While I was in Canton, I had Greta direct me to the First Ladies National Historical Site (Museum). I didn’t realize, until informed by the tour guide, that this museum was physically located in the original restored 1841 McKinley residence.

 

 

I was truly impressed with the story of the saving and restoration, of the residence, and all of the information displayed about the First Ladies of our American Presidents. I think DiVoran, or any woman would have enjoyed the tour much more than I did. The decor of the residence and the styles of the time period displayed and referred to, during the tour, I think would be of great interest to most any woman.

 


Heading south on I-77, I was planning to make a short visit at the Schoenbrunn Village, located in New, Philadelphia OH. But when I got there, this early American village looked too spread out, and would have taken way too much time to see it all. I learned from their web site, that the Schoenbrunn Village is a reconstruction of the early Delaware Moravian Village that was started by David Zeisberger in 1772. The current village consists of 17 reconstructed buildings, including Zeisberger’s cabin, his church, and the first village schoolhouse.

 

 

A few miles to the southeast I visited the Dennison Railroad Depot Museum located in Denison, Ohio. This was a very small museum, with local railroad memorabilia and some very nicely restored rolling stock. The museum is one of the only remaining examples, in the nation, of a railroad canteen that reflects its WWII heritage. I learned from their website that the Dennison Depot was built in 1873, and became an important central rail hub for many years.

 

 

During WWII the “Dennison Depot Salvation Army Servicemen’s Canteen” (operating 24/7 from 1942-1946 by some 4000 volunteers), served millions of military service personnel free food and coffee, which eventually earned it the nickname, “Dreamsville, Ohio.”

 

 

My next stop was to visit the Hopalong Cassidy Museum located in Cambridge, Ohio. I had talked to the curator of this museum a few weeks ago, to find out what their hours of operation were. So, I was completely surprised when Greta informed me that I had arrived at the museum location, only to see a burned-out two story building! I asked a lady on the street if that was the museum location, and she informed me that it was, and that the museum had been destroyed by fire just two weeks ago. What a bummer for everyone!

 

 

Next on my list was the National Museum of Cambridge Glass, also located there in Cambridge. The museum displays over 6000 pieces of beautiful classic glassware creations by the Cambridge Glass Company from 1902-1958. There is also a small interpretive area where visitors can see how glass was made; from the gathering and shaping of the glass, to the etching and engraving of the final product.

 

 

Now I headed south a few more miles, to check out the Byesville Coal Mine & Train Museum located in Byesville, Ohio. This was a very small museum (part of the M&P Railway system in 1871), with local railroad memorabilia and a few items of restored rolling stock.

 

 

There was also a monument and memorial to the many Ohio coal miners of the early 1900s to mid-1900s, who filled the coal cars of “The Route of the Black Diamond” trains, and helped put this area of Ohio on the map.

 


Now as I headed west, my next stop was to visit the John & Annie Glenn Historical Site located in new Concorde, Ohio. This small museum consisted of memorabilia from the lives of John & Annie Glenn, displayed in their former residence there in Concorde.

 


After putting all those miles on the rental car today, I finally headed for tonight’s motel located in Zanesville, Ohio. Dinner tonight at the local Cracker Barrel Restaurant, was a serving of their delicious Grilled Rainbow Trout with corn, green beans, and one of their famous buttermilk biscuits, with butter and honey for dessert. Yummm!

 

—–To Be Continued—–

 

 

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Mingus Mill

28 Mar

A Time to Live

Melody Hendrix

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Mingus Creek Trail, Cherokee, NC

A half-mile north of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center is Mingus Mill. Built in 1886, this historic grist mill uses a water-powered turbine instead of a water wheel to power all of the machinery in the building. Located at its original site, Mingus Mill stands as a tribute to the test of time.

The fairly large building is powered by the water that rushes into the “millrace” from a diversion upstream.  The path leads all the way to where this diversion occurs.  As you walk up the millrace you’ll notice how the wooden planks that makeup the siding have remained firmly in place over the years. Although it was rehabilitated in 1968 by the National Park service, it is still an impressive sight to see.

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Memories of New Mexico~Part 5

26 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

 

 

So many memories returning to my mind….where do I start?

Okay, let’s start with some of my first memories – and pictures of our time in New Mexico. Daddy had gone ahead of us (we were living in Dallas, Texas at the time), and purchased a house. Mother had never seen it until we arrived in Albuquerque. I thought it was a neat house, but then that’s all I had known. I never knew what Mother thought about it. But she made it her own, and it was comfortable.

Here I am, with my Mother, in front of our new house,

 

and the house itself.

 

 

From records, it was built in 1940, and we purchased it in 1945. It all looks a bit rugged at that point in time, but my parents worked it well, and it became a thing of beauty.

See that screened-in front porch? My brother and I spent many a summer afternoon out there with our friends. And then we set up cots to sleep on during the summer nights. It was great! I especially remember my best friend coming over and we would play Monopoly all day long, sleep at night out there, then start up the next day. That went on for days….and days…..and days! But it was summer, and we were kids.

Here’s a picture of Bill and me in front of one of the Pampas Grass bushes that grew there.

 

 

Daddy tamed that bush and it prospered beautifully. I especially want you to notice the flagstone sidewalk. I really loved that sidewalk. It was curvy, and really unique. Unfortunately, the city decided each house had to have a concrete sidewalk from the house to a running sidewalk that ran along the street. The city poured that sidewalk, but Daddy had to pay to have the flagstones removed and the straight walk from the house poured. It just wasn’t the same!

 

 

In the background of this picture is a house on the corner. Those of you old enough to remember the Lawrence Welk show on TV, might also remember that he had a dancer, Bobby. I don’t remember the name of his first partner, but his second dance partner, the cute little blond – Cissy – grew up in that house on the corner. Her family owned a dance studio, and all the children were later involved in it. Her brother, John, and I were close in age. So that’s my claim to fame!

Also in the background, behind us in this picture, you can see some fairly flat ground with some spindly trees. That was the start of Bataan Memorial Park, in honor of those from New Mexico who were involved in the Bataan Death March and the battle of Corregidor in World War 2.

Credit Google Search

Google Search

Credit Google Search

 

Unfortunately, back then, it was just a place to go and play. I didn’t understand the significance of it until many years later. The names of those involved are engraved on stones within the park.

 

 

It’s a lush, beautiful park now, and is the site of many gatherings, weddings, etc. It played a bit of a part in our family, as it was where my brother, Bill, took his model airplanes he had built, to fly. Frequently I would accompany him, watch him fly his planes, watch them crash, then he would take them home and fix them up. I think I helped him repair them, but I may have been more of a hindrance than help. At least I don’t remember him chasing me away!

~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

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A 2016 Dawn Patrol Rendezvous~Trip Part 12

22 Mar

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

 

Day 12 (Monday Oct.10, 2016)
I awoke to another brisk Ohio fall morning of 36° with a high expected today of 60°. I bundled up, and headed southeast to visit my first museum of the day, which was the National Packard Museum located in Warren, OH. I have discovered that quite a few museums are open on Saturdays, but closed Sundays and Mondays. This was the case for this museum. I was not too disappointed about missing a visit to this museum, as I had visited the American Packard Museum in Dayton on the second day of this trip. That’s not to say I would not have enjoyed viewing more beautifully restored early Packard automobiles at this museum.

 

 

Next on the list for today, was a visit to the Ernie Hall Aviation Museum, also located there in Warren. This turned out to be a relatively small museum founded by Ernie C. Hall in the early 1900s. Information on an Ohio Historical Marker indicates that Ernie Hall was a good friend of the Wright Brothers and other early aviation notables.

 

 

His web site says that Ernie Hall holds the distinction of being actively involved in all aspects of aviation longer than any person in the world. What an honor!! His website also says that as a member of the exclusive Early Bird Club, Ernie was one of the many early aviation enthusiasts that helped birth the American aviation industry. He established the Hall Flying School in 1915, and during WWI joined the Army Signal Corps as a flight instructor. It was during this time that Ernie trained many well-known aviation greats, such as Jimmy Doolittle and others, to fly.

 

As I headed back east toward Akron, Ohio I stopped at the Kent University to visit the memorial to the May 4, 1970 shooting of students, by members of the Ohio National Guard. The students were protesting the Nixon Administration’s “Cambodian Campaign” there on campus, when the Guardsmen opened fire, killing 4 students and wounding 9 others.

 

 

Down the road a ways, my plan was to visit the Hale Farm & Village Museum located in Bath, OH. This farm and museum was closed, so it was difficult for me to find out what their main emphasis was. However, I did find out from an Ohio Historical Marker, that the Hale family settled in this area in the early 1800s, and was instrumental in the founding of the Bath Township, also considered part of the “Firelands” (Northwest Territory).

 

 

 

Now I headed south, to visit the Bethlehem Cave & Nativity Museum, located in the Nativity of the Lord Jesus Catholic Church in Akron, OH. A very friendly escort informed me that Father David Halaiko had created the Bethlehem Cave from photographs, and collected many of the memorabilia items on display. Also a number of Father Halaiko’s parishioners had brought back memorabilia items, from their trips to countries all over the world, to add to his display.

 


Next I checked out the Cuyahoga Valley Railroad Station located on the north side of Akron, OH. This is part of the Cuyahoga Valley Railroad Scenic Railroad System that stretches from Independence, OH, through the center of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, to Akron with seven stops at smaller stations along the way.

 

 

 

While researching for this trip on the Internet, under a “List of things to do in Akron Ohio,” the Glendale Cemetery was listed. I wanted to see what was so interesting about this cemetery, so I drove through and took some pictures of some of the stately mausoleums.

 

 

 

This cemetery dates from 1839, and I was amazed at the size and complexity of some of the structures. Many of the mausoleums are modeled after Egyptian, Greek and Roman temples or Gothic churches.

 

 

On the way to the motel, due to road construction, Greta kept directing me in a figure eight of exits/ramps trying to get me on I-77 north. That was really frustrating! I finally stopped, got out my Ohio map, and worked out a way to get to the motel area, without taking the route that Greta was insisting upon. That made for an extremely long day, before I could stop, relax, and call DiVoran, to tell her about the adventures of my day.

 

(This cartoon from the Internet expresses just how I felt!)

By then it was way past time to heat up the leftover Baby Back Ribs, sweet potato, and green beans for another delicious Applebee’s dinner. Yummm again!

 

—–To Be Continued—–

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Memories of New Mexico~Part 4

19 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

 

Back to Albuquerque – way back in my day, the airport was not the big event it is today. The airport (appropriately called the Sunport, since it’s over 5300 feet in altitude) shared the runway with Kirtland Air Force Base. The airport building itself was quite different than it is today; quite primitive, but unique. Here is a picture of it, taken with my grandmother. It will give you an idea of the “Southwest” look it had.

 

 

No jetways then – one had to climb a set of stairs to get into the airplane.

There was a “wall” made out of New Mexico stone, that was really beautiful. And after I was old enough to drive, my girlfriends and I would drive to the airport, sit on that wall, and watch the airplanes take off and land. It made for very inexpensive but wonderful evening entertainment. I’m not even sure the wall is still there. And since 2001 and 9/11, I suspect security wouldn’t let anyone sit on that wall and watch the airplanes come and go anymore. Pity.

As a kid – and then a teenager – we used to enjoy driving from Albuquerque up to the mountains, sometimes to Sandia Crest (tops out at 10,678 feet in altitude). It was a bit harrowing at times – the road was quite twisty and curvy, and it wasn’t such a great road back in that day. Today it is a lovely road – still some twists and curves, but not as nerve-wracking as it was then. And even in July, the temperature up there can be as low as 28º in the daytime! Take a jacket!

 

 

After Fred and I married and moved away, a fish restaurant was built along the way up the mountain. My mother and family/friends would drive up there for a Sunday meal after church. When Fred and I visited, we were able to go with them to Bella Vista Fish Restaurant. Granted it was fried fish, but it was an all-you-can-eat place, and we most certainly ate our way through the meal! It was great!   Unfortunately, it is no more. The original owners died, the children took over, but made it into a sports bar – and the patrons just didn’t take to it that well. So it went under. We were sorry to see it go.

Just one more memory. I’ve mentioned before that my father had one lone peach tree in our back yard that he babied. He would wrap it in cheesecloth each year, so the birds couldn’t get to the fruit. It produced some of the biggest, sweetest peaches I’ve ever eaten! Mother would cut some up, freeze them for pies later, or make fresh-frozen jam out of them. Delicious!   But one other type of pies she would make were cherry pies – and they were the best! We would drive out to the North Valley to Bosque Farms to pick our own cherries. I remember doing that a number of times. We would pick what we wanted, and probably paid by the pound or basket. Mother had a cherry “picker” in that it would dig out the seed as one turned the handle. So we would de-seed the cherries, mother would freeze some them for pies later on, and then would make a pie. Daddy loved it. Especially with hand-packed, home made ice cream from Fitzgerald’s on Central Avenue! We stopped every Sunday for the ice cream to go with the pie mother had made. WOW!!

Oh my, what memories those are for me. This is such a fun trip down memory lane for me.

See you next time.

 

 

 

 

 

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A 2016 Dawn Patrol Rendezvous Trip~Part 11

15 Mar

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

 

Day 11 (Sunday Oct.9, 2016)
Weather Note: The temperature this morning when I awoke was 38° with a high forecast for today of 60° at 3:00 pm. I’m sure glad I brought jeans, heavy long sleeved shirts and a windbreaker on this trip. They sure will come in handy for the next few days.

 

My first stop this morning was to visit the Liberty Aviation Museum located in Port Clinton, OH. This was a small museum, with only about eight beautifully restored airplanes. They also had a variety of nicely restored military vehicles as part of their collection, and this was the home of the Art Deco styled Tin Goose Diner.

 

 

Next, I headed east for a visit to the Sandusky Maritime Museum located in Sandusky, OH. This was another very small museum, consisting of local maritime memorabilia and a couple of outside boat exhibits. I didn’t spend a lot of time at this museum.

 

 

Down the road a ways, I visited the Mad River Railroad Museum located in Bellevue, OH. Here again, this was a very small museum consisting of local railroad memorabilia. However, they did have several nicely restored pieces of rolling stock. I have been amazed to discover, how much railroad activity there was in Ohio during the steam engine hey-day of the 1920s through the 1950s.

 


Across the street from the Mad River Railroad Museum, was a large beautiful church that I just had to get a picture of. Its architecture reminded me of many smaller castles had seen in Europe.

 

 

As I headed east, out of Bellevue, I spotted a small sign on the side of the rural road advertising the Historic Lyme Village Museum. I had miles to go today, and didn’t have time to stop to see what the museum was all about. I Googled the museum later, and discovered the Historic Lyme Village and museum depict life in the Firelands (Northwest Territory-1787) of the first settlers (from Connecticut) in the early 1800s.

 

 

Next on the list for today, was a visit to the NASA’s Glenn Research Center located on the west side of Cleveland, Ohio. The guard at the gate informed me that the museum is not open to the public except for monthly one-day tours, which had to be made on the Internet ahead of time.

 

 

As I was leaving the Glenn Research Center, I passed the 100th Bomb Group Restaurant and decided to stop and use their restroom. I wish I’d had time to stay for a meal at this aviation themed restaurant, which salutes World War II heroes, and gives their guests a view of the Cleveland/Hopkins International Airport runway while they eat.

 


I headed east again, to visit the International Women’s Air & Space Museum located, on the shores of Lake Erie, just to the northeast of the city of Cleveland, OH. As it turned out the Browns vs. Patriots football game was being played in the Cleveland Browns Stadium, about a half a mile to the west of the museum. Several of the roads in the area were blocked to traffic, and every parking lot within a ½-mile radius of the stadium was full by the time I got to the museum. They had even closed the museum and locked the building, because of the deluge of after game people, trying to use their restroom that had created horrible problems for the museum in the past. I was disappointed not to be able to visit this museum, as I was curious about how women have been portrayed in the Air & Space rolls by this museum.

 

 

Next I tried to visit the USS Cod (SS-224) Submarine Museum, just down the street from the International Women’s Air & Space Museum, but was again disappointed to find that this museum had also been closed because of the crowds attending the Browns vs. Patriots football game.

 

 

I had noticed a sign for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame Museum, as I was heading for the USS Cod Museum, and thought I would see if I could find it. However, I had made too many turns, on too many streets, and could not find it. I was however, able to find the following photo and (interesting historical marker) on the internet.

 

 

So, I just headed for tonight’s motel located in Warrensville Heights, OH.
After I got checked in at the motel, I headed off in search of a restaurant for dinner tonight. I ended up having Baby Back Ribs, sweet potato, and green beans at the Applebee’s Restaurant down the road a ways, in the little town of Bedford, OH. There was more than enough left over for another meal tomorrow evening. Yummm!

 

—–To Be Continued—–

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Memories of New Mexico~Part 3

12 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

 

I can remember going to Carlsbad Caverns as a family. It was fascinating! I especially remember standing with a large group of tourists in a huge cavern, and the lights were turned off. It was so dark and black that I, literally, could not see my hand in front of my face. I know, because I tried to see it – and couldn’t! And then the guide lit one match, and it was light enough to see everyone in the group. Astounding! My Aunt Jessie had always said that she would never go to the Caverns. Why? Because she was convinced that the day she went – it would cave in! Guess what? She died in 1990 – without ever having gone to the caverns – and the caverns are still standing! She had some funny superstitions.

Another fun memory is that of going to White Sands National Park. It is near Las Cruces, New Mexico, and also near the White Sands Missile Range. It was such fun for my brother and me to romp around in the white sands. The entire area looks like a desert, with the sands shifting and moving around – but the sand is sugar-white, not tan or brown as one usually sees a desert. The sand is made up of gypsum and calcium sulfate, and thus reflects the sun, rather than absorb the heat. And because it is at high elevation, with high evaporation, the sand is cool to the touch. Really a neat thing to see. These are some pictures taken of my grandmother and others back in the 1950’s. I think it’s hilarious to see them dressed up so much – to go walk in the sand dunes!

As an outing, my family would frequently drive around the state, to see what we could see. We would drive to Isleta Pueblo, just 15 miles south of Albuquerque. We crossed the Rio Grande River to get there. It was a fascinating place to see.

Credit Google Search

Lots of interesting information on the sign

 

Credit Google Search

 

Or we would drive to the Santo Domingo Pueblo (now Kewa Pueblo), on our way to Santa Fe. It’s about 25 miles southwest of Santa Fe, between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. They had some wonderful turquoise jewelry there and other Native American artifacts. This trading post looks very much like I remember.

 

Credit Google Search and NCPTT

 

Another fascinating place to go and explore was Bandelier National Monument. It is near Los Alamos, New Mexico. I remember climbing up hand-made ladders into some of the dwellings dug out of the cliffs. It was grand fun for a kid like me.

 

 

Credit Google Search and Wikimedia Commons

 

Credit Google Search and YouTube

 

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

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A 2016 Dawn Patrol Rendezvous Trip~Part 10

8 Mar

A Slice of Life

 Bill Lites

 

 

Day 10 (Saturday Oct.8, 2016)
This day did not turn out anything like what I had expected. Here it was another beautiful Saturday morning, when I thought everyone would be out and about, but no, that’s not the way it was.

 

The first stop this morning was to visit the World War II Victory Museum in Swanton, OH. As it turned out, this was the location of the 180th Ohio Air National Guard base, but there was no museum. At least Greta and I couldn’t find one anywhere in the area. Just this sign at the entrance to a closed gate.

 

 

So I headed up the road to visit the Snook’s Dream Cars Museum, located in Bowling Green, OH. As luck would have it, this museum is closed on Saturday and Sunday. I couldn’t believe a classic car museum would be closed on the weekends. Is that out of the ordinary or what? What do YOU think about that!  I was really disappointed!

 

 

But what could I do except head on down the road to visit the Toledo Firefighter’s Museum in downtown Toledo, OH. Now I had made such good time this morning, because I expended no time at the first two museums, so I got to the Fireman’s Museum at 10:30. And, you guessed it! They didn’t open until 12 noon. Well, I wasn’t going to wait around 1-½ hours for them to open, so I got back in the car and headed down the road again.

 

 

Next on my list for today, was the Colonel James Schoonmaker Ship Museum located on the Maumee River, just to the north-east of Toledo. This museum is part of the National Museum of the Great Lakes Maritime Center there in Toledo. It consists of a visitor’s education center, and a tour of the grain and ore carrying ship. The visitor’s education center was quite interesting, with lots of historical maritime memorabilia associated with the Great Lakes shipping industry. I opted out of a tour of the ship, as the access ladder to the visitor’s deck area was WAY more than my troubled knees would have carried me, and there was no elevator.

 

 

Next I headed back into Toledo, to visit the Toledo Police Museum located in the small quiet Ottawa Park.  This was a small, but interesting, museum consisting of historical memorabilia associated with the Toledo Police Department, some of which dates back to the late 1800s.

 

 

When I headed south to visit my next museum, I was surprised when Greta said, “continue 119 miles on I-75 south.” I exited at my first opportunity and checked the location on my Ohio map. I discovered that I had miss-placed this museum entry address, for the WACO Museum on my “Trip Itinerary.” I had actually visited that museum on day 2 of this trip. Dua! I wonder how that happened?

 

As you can see, I spent a lot of time on the road today, but this did not turn out to be a very productive day for museum viewing. So, I gave up any further attempt at sight-seeing, in the Toledo area, and headed for this evening’s motel which was located in Perrysburg, OH. Dinner tonight was leftovers of some of that most delicious Lasagna, from the Four Seasons Family Restaurant last night. Double Yummm!!

 

 

—–To Be Continued—–

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Marti Gras-German Style

5 Mar

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

 Now that the Pre-Easter time is upon us, I want to share a memory with you.

We were blest with being able to live in West Germany for a total of six years. We spent three years in Wiesbaden, then 10 years later, we returned to Germany for another three years in Heidelberg.   Both tours of duty were precious to us. God gave us the opportunity to live in a country that wasn’t our native land, to see the beauty of other parts of the world, and to know another culture. I wish every American citizen could have that experience – to see the United States from the viewpoint of other countries. It certainly helped us to see what a wonderful and free country we live in.

One memory has stayed with us, that is a most fun memory. Our first Easter-time in Heidelberg came, and we learned of a Marti Gras parade planned for downtown Heidelberg, along the fussganger (literally foot street – no vehicles allowed). The girls and I wanted to attend, but Fred was unable to get away from his job.

We actually lived not too far from downtown, but had planned to take the local bus down. We started out walking, but every time we saw a bus approaching, it was absolutely packed with people, and driver just shook his head at us. So we eventually walked our way downtown.

There had been a few rumors that, if the U.S. military band marched in the parade, as planned, reprisals against them would happen. It made us a bit apprehensive, but then decided to go, anyway. As it turned out – no mishaps, and we were grateful.

 

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Credit Google Search

We found a spot on the sidewalk and planted ourselves there. As it turned out, there was a tiny German grandmother standing just in front of us. She probably didn’t reach my shoulders, even with her sensible heeled shoes on. She walked with and supported herself with a cane. We found it amusing that, when some teenage girls tried to stand in front of her, she poked them with her cane and told them to “get lost” (my words). They moved!

And then the parade started. It was a fun-filled parade, and we enjoyed the floats – and the U.S. military band – very much. Those on the floats would throw candy out along their way. I encouraged our girls to pick up what they could (each piece was wrapped). And then this sweet little lady would look at our girls and point out – with her cane – pieces of candy they had missed. When I suggested they offer some to her, and they did, she just smiled and shook her head.

 

2Credit Google Search and Dreamstime

I guess one of the most fun things that happened, was when the parade had slowed down (as parades happen to do occasionally), and one of the men on the float in front of us jumped off, came over to the little lady, took her chin in his hand and said “Oma!” – that’s German for “Granny!” She ducked her head, turned to us slightly, and just blushed with a grin on her face! It was adorable.

As the parade was finishing and the crowd began to disperse, we thanked her with our limited German. She just made the experience for us.

What a wonderful memory. Both of our daughters remember that experience, and we treasure it.

Here are some definitions to help you out:

Fasching: pre-Lenten festivities celebrated in grand style in mostly the predominantly catholic regions of the German-speaking countries.

Fasching is Germany’s carnival season. It starts on the 11th day of November at exactly 11minutes after 11am and ends at the stroke of midnight on Shroud Tuesday – often referred to as Fat Tuesday (the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday).

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A 2016 Dawn Patrol Rendezvous Trip~Part 9

1 Mar

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill Cross Plane

 

Day 9 (Friday Oct.7, 2016)

After a few direction problems with Greta, my first stop this morning was to visit the National Automotive & Truck Museum located in Auburn, IN. This museum consists of 200+ vehicles, located on two levels, representing mainly cars from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. The cars were packed so close together that it made it difficult to get a good photo of any individual car or truck.

 

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In the same block, was the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Automobile Museum. This was one of the most fascinating museums that I’ve visited. It has 7 galleries which display some 125 beautifully restored 1903-1937 cars. I was surprised to learn from one of the roving docents that, during these years, the Auburn was what today we would have considered the Chevrolet of its time; the Cord was considered the Oldsmobile; and the Duesenberg was considered the Cadillac.

 

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Each of these cars was beautifully designed, and technically advanced for its time. What little I had known about these cars, over the years, had led me to believe that each one was to be considered at the top of its class for its time.

 

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    1935 Auburn Boattail Speedster

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                                                     1936 Cord Convertible Coupe

 

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1932 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Coupe

 

These two museums were among several auto museums, in the Auburn area, that had put together a “Museum Passport” type brochure, to advertise each of their museums. When I showed my passport, each museum would give me a discount on their admission price and stamp my passport. This handy passport had the name, address, and phone number for each of the eight cooperating museums in the Auburn area.

 

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This really helped solve the rest of my direction problems with Greta, in Auburn. When I arrived at the next museum location, I discovered that four of the other museums, I wanted to visit there in Auburn, were all located in this same museum complex.

 

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First on the list was the Kruse Automotive & Carriage Museum, which features a variety of vehicles, including beautifully restored Classic Cars, Custom Hot Rods, TV/Movie Super Hero cars and costumes, Indy race cars, and Monster Trucks. There were also early antique horse-drawn carriages of all types (including several British Royal Carriages) dating from the late 1700s.

 

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Next was the National Military History Center, located in the same building. This museum has a great display of military vehicles, equipment, and memorabilia to help present future generations with a better understand of the unique role of the U.S. Military Armed Services.

 

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Located there in the same Museum Complex, was the Gallery 326 Antique Mall which was closed the day I was there. However, it appears from their web site, that this is an auction center which boasts of over 100 dealers of high-quality collectibles including vintage automobiles.

 

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Next I visited the Early Ford V-8 Foundation Museum, also located there in the Museum Complex. This small museum consists of the history of the Ford Motor Company vehicles produced from 1903 to the present, with emphasis on the 1932-1953 Ford cars, utilizing the flathead V-8 engine and its many variants.

 

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Next I visited the Hoosier Air Museum, located a short distance from the Auburn Museum Complex. This was a very small museum, with about a dozen aircraft in one hanger. The tour guide was, I believe, the curator and part owner of the museum, and had lots of details about each of the museums aircraft.

 

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By now I was getting pretty tired and decided to head for tonight’s motel, located on the outskirts of Montpelier, Ohio. After checking in, I asked the desk clerk for recommendations about a good restaurant in the area and he said, “Try the Four Seasons Restaurant next door, they have good food.”  Well, the restaurant next door looked to me like a pretty small Mom-&-Pop type place, so I drove down the highway into Montpelier and found no restaurants. I turned around and drove the other way down the highway for a ways, and found no restaurants. So, I gave up and went back to the Four Seasons Restaurant, and had one of the best Lasagna dinners I’ve ever had. I should have known. Right?

 

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I had saved half of my Shoofly Pie from last night, and had that for dessert again tonight back in the motel. That really went well while I watched TV. Yuuum!

 

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—–To Be Continued—–

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