Tag Archives: Travel

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 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

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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

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2023 Road Trip-Part 15

27 Dec

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites                                                    

Day 15 – July 29: 

 After Breakfast this morning, I packed up my things and headed east out of Little Rock on I-40 for 30 minutes to visit the Lonoke County Museum in Lonoke, AR but they were closed.  So, I continued east on I-40 for another 45 minutes to visit the Central Delta Railroad Museum located in Brinkley, AR.  This museum is housed in the restored 1912 Union Railroad Depot and displays antique railroad artifacts and memorabilia related to the influence of the railroad on the Monroe County area over the years, dating from the early 1800s.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites 

Continuing east on I-40 for another 25 miles, I visited the St. Francis County Museum located in Forest City, AR.  This museum has recently been moved into the Historic 1906 Rush-Gates house and displays artifacts from Dr. J. O. Rush, such as his medical clinic, a Native American room, including many pre-historic items from Dr. Rush’s collection, a parlor room, and a ’Hall of Schools’ room depicting the evolution of the St. Francis County education system over the years.  Other display rooms include a genealogy room and a railroad room.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites 

Now it was another 45-minute drive east on I-40, across the famous Mississippi River (the border), to visit the Metal Museum located adjacent to De Soto Park in Memphis, TN.  I had visited Memphis on another road trip, but most of the museums I had visited on that trip revolved around Elvis Presley and the Country Music Industry.  I found that the Metal Museum is very unusual and is dedicated to the art of ornamental metal design.  The museum displays a wide range of metal artwork ranging from jewelry to weathervanes, swords, unique BBQ devices, and many others.  The museum offers visitors an opportunity to watch a blacksmith at work forging metal artwork of all types.  His creative ability is simply amazing!

Photo Credit: Bill Lites 

It was just a few blocks drive from the Metal Museum to where I visited the Edge Motor Museum located in downtown Memphis.  This museum displays a variety of some 25+ sport and muscle cars dating from a 1913 Ford T Runabout, that tell the story of the American Sport Car from the prospective of their historical and cultural significance.  

The cars come from different sources, and the selection is rotated from time to time as other cars become available for display.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites 

Over a couple of streets from the Edge Motor Museum I visited the Fire Museum of Memphis.  This museum is situated in the restored 1910 Fire House #1 and displays fire engines, firefighting equipment, and memorabilia dating from the late 1800s.  A unique ‘Fire Simulation Room’ demonstrates how residential fires can start and how the local fire departments fight and control those fires.  Interactive firefighting stations are available for the education of persons of all ages.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites 

My plan was to visit the PT Boats Museum located in Germantown on my way out of Memphis, but they were closed.  Bummer!  I had been looking forward to that museum as I love the WWII version of ‘David vs. Goliath’ with the small plywood PT Boat up against the giant Japanese Battleship.  Oh well, maybe next time I’m in the area.  So, now it was southeast on US-72 another 10 miles to visit the Morton Museum of Collierville History located in Collierville, TN.  This small museum displays antique artifacts and memorabilia related to the Bellevue Female College that operated in Collierville from 1872–1904 and the many lives that this educational institution touched over the years.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites 

On my way out of Collierville, I stopped to take a photo of the Battle of Collierville historical marker.  The marker describes one of the bloodiest Civil War Battles, for control of Collierville’s Union Supply Base, to take place in Shelby County during that war. 

Photo Credit: Bill Lites 

Continuing east on US-72 for about an hour, I crossed the border into Mississippi and wanted to tour the Cocoa Cola Bottling plant located in Corinth, MS but there were no tours today.   So, not to be discouraged, I drove over to visit the Historic Corinth Depot (also known as the Corinth Crossroads Museum) there in Corinth.  This museum is housed in the third railroad depot to be built on this site (1st -1857, 2nd -1912 & 3rd-1960), and displays antique railroad artifacts and many Civil War memorabilia related to the fight for control of this strategic railroad crossroad during historic that war.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites 

It was almost time to head for the motel for the evening, there in Corinth, so I gave Greta (My Garmin) the address.  But on the way I spotted the local Cracker Barrel and stopped for a plate of their Crusted Fried Pork Chop with green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, and one of their famous biscuits with butter and honey for dessert.  Yummmm!  I can’t eat all that food at one sitting.  That means there was plenty left over for another delicious meal tomorrow evening.

Photo Credit: 

https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/pork+chops+greenbean+cass arole+potatos+gravy  

By the time I got to the motel, there in Corinth, I was ready to relax and I recorded today’s activities.  No TV tonight, as I was tired and ready for a good night’s sleep.  So, ZZZZ….. 

—–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 14

20 Dec

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 14 – July 28:

After Breakfast this morning, I headed south on US-65 for about ½-hour to visit the Lost Valley Fish Hatchery located just north of Warsaw, MO.  This fish hatchery is part of a huge 969-acre state conservation project where a large variety of warm-water fish species are bred and raised to stock fish in the many Missouri rivers and lakes.  It was early, and no one was around to give me a tour of the facility or tell me about how it all worked, so I took this photo and was on my way to the next place of interest on my list for today. 

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

It was about an hour’s drive south on US-65 to where I found the Wommack Mill, also known as the Boegel & Hine Flower Mill, in Fair Grove, MO just north of Springfield.  This original 1883 sawmill was converted into a flower mill in 1926 with the addition of the two concrete storage silos and other structures.  The Fair Grove Historical Society is now in the process of a multi-year restoration of the mill to an operating flower mill using most of the original mill equipment, including the original buhr stones used by the Wommack family.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now I headed south out of Fair Grove on US-65 for about 20 miles to visit the Route 66 Car Museum located in Springfield, MO.  This museum displays an amazing collection of some 75+ beautifully restored vintage cars and trucks dating from as early as 1907 (Reo Runabout).  My favorite was their fire engine red 1936 Cord 810 Sportsman.  They also have a Batmobile used in the 1960s Batman series.  I never get tired of looking at vintage cars and trucks.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

While I was in Springfield, I wanted to visit the Pedalers Bicycle Museum just a few blocks from the car museum, but the traffic was terrible, and I couldn’t find a parking place anywhere around the square.  So, I just headed south, out of Springfield on US-65 about 45 miles toward Branson, MO.  I was not particularly interested in most of the famous attractions in Branson but did want to see what they had done for the Titanic attraction.  DiVoran and I had seen the traveling Titanic Artifact Exhibition in Orlando several years ago, and I wanted see Barnson’s version.  I was impressed with the half-ship replica of the Titanic but didn’t want to fight the crowds to see the artifacts again, so I took this photo and went on my way to the next museum.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After I weaved my way out of the traffic jam around the Titanic attraction, I headed south out of Branson for 30 miles on US-65, across the border into Arkansas, to visit the Boone County Historical Museum in Harrison, AR but it was closed.  Continuing southeast another 40 miles on US-65 I visited the Buffalo River Historic Jail Museum located in Marshall, AR.  This museum is housed in the original old restored 1902 Searcy County Jail and invites visitors to experience the turn-of-the-century jail conditions for themselves with antique jail artifacts, photos, and memorabilia.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now I headed southeast again, for another 30 minutes on US-65, to Clinton, AR where US-65 turned south, and I stopped for a bathroom break.  Then it was another 40 miles south to visit the Faulkner County Courthouse in Conway, AR.  The first courthouse was  built on this site in 1870, in the railroad town, then known as Conway Station, and had the distinction of being the first courthouse in Faulkner County, AR.  The original building was replaced by the present building in 1936 and serves the city of Conway and the surrounding Faulkner County area.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Heading south out of Conway, it was only about a 30-minute drive south on I-40 to visit the Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum located in the Riverfront Park area, adjacent to the Arkansas River, in North Littlerock, AR.  I had visited this museum once on another Road Trip, and this museum is usually the home of the USS Razorback (SS-394) Submarine and the USS Hoga (YT-146) Tugboat.  Today I didn’t see either one of these boats tied up to the dock, and assumed that they had been taken somewhere for a  maritime event or for maintenance.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

It was getting late by now, so I gave Greta (My Garmin) the address for the motel there in North Little Rock, and she took me right to it with no trouble.  After I got settled into my motel room, I heated up my leftover BBQ spareribs and sweet potato fries from Bandana’s BBQ Restaurant last night and enjoyed that delicious meal again.  I found a good movie on TV that I had seen before and watched that until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer and went to bed.

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/man+sleeping+in+front+of+tv

—–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 12

29 Nov

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 12 – July 26: 

 After Breakfast this morning, I headed east, out of Fort Dodge, on US-20 for about 35 miles, thru Webster City to visit the Hemken Auto Collection Museum located in Williams, IA.  I met the owner of the building out front, and she told me the museum had been closed and all the autos in the collection auctioned off two years ago.  She said several people, like me, had showed up to visit the museum, and that she had tried several times to remove the museum’s website from the internet, but with no luck. This is not the first time I have arrived at a museum’s location, only to find it permanently closed.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After that disappointment, I headed south for about 30 minutes to visit the Farmhouse Museum located in the middle of the Iowa State University campus in Ames, IA.  According to their website, this small farmhouse was built in 1860, restored in 1976, and moved to its present location as a museum.  You would think this museum would be easy to find, but Greta (My Garmin) brought me to this building, which didn’t look anything like an 1860s farmhouse. I re-entered the website address, but she brought me right back to this building.  Okey, maybe next time I’m in the area we can find it.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

From Ames, I headed south 1-½ hours on I-35, skirting Des Moines, IA (I had visited the Des Moines museums on another road trip) to visit the John Wayne Birthplace & Museum located in Winterset, IA.  Being a John Wayne (The Duke) fan from an early age, it was worth the stop.  This museum follows the life and career of John Wayne (born in the small town of Winterset) with antique cowboy artifacts, life-size sculptures, memorabilia, and of course, a movie theater where you can watch one of Wayne’s 169 movies, while sitting comfortably in seats from the famous Hollywood Grauman’s Chinese Theater.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Photo Credit:Bill Lites

After that delightful trip down memory lane (being raised in my younger years in the southwest ‘Cowboy’ state of New Mexico), I turned east for about 25 minutes on SR-92 to visit the National Balloon Museum located in Indianola, IA.  This amazing museum displays all types of hot-air balloon artifacts and memorabilia related to the history of manned ballooning from its inception by the French balloonists Joseph-Michel & his brother Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier in 1783.  As an R/C model airplane flyer, I was fascinated to learn that there was such a thing as R/C model hot-air balloons, using propane to inflate the gas bags.  I am going to have to find a hot-air balloon club in my area and see how that works.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Leaving the Balloon Museum, I headed south on I-35 for 30 minutes to check out the Osceola Railroad Depot located in Osceola, IA but it was closed.  Before leaving Osceola, I stopped to visit the J.V. Banta House Museum.  This Queen Anne style house was built in 1902 for J.V. Banta and his wife Lillie, whose family lived in the house until 1983.  The house is now furnished with original early 1900s furnishings and allows the visitor to experience turn-of-the-century privileged living conditions.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now it was another 35 miles south on I-35 where I planned to visit the Lamoni Colosseum located in Lamoni, IA but it was closed.  However, the Amish Country Store there in Lamoni was open, and on the outside, looked like it could be a museum.  Inside, this huge store was filled with a large varity of hand-made Amish clothes, crafts, antique buggies, and farm equipment, that made me feel like I was in a time capsule.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Since I needed gas, I stopped in at one of the local gas stations to fill up and got the surprise.  The pump showed 87-octane Regular gas for $3.59 and 88-octane Premium gas for $3.44.  Go figure?  I didn’t ask any questions, I just filled my van’s tank with Premium, and saved 15 cents/gallon.  As I was filling my tank I saw a crop duster airplane, in the distance, spraying a field.  Then on my way to the motel, there in Lamoni, I passed a sign for the local airport, and drove out to see if the plane was there.  I found the lady pilot washing down her Embraer EMB 202 (I think that’s what she told me it was) and I asked her about her plane and how she liked her crop-dusting job.  She was very nice and willing to tell me all about her airplane and her job.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

At the motel I checked in, got my things in my room, and heated up my leftover Lasagna from last night, and enjoyed that meal again.  No TV worth watching tonight, so after recording the day’s activities, it was off to bed for me.

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;mineral+city+restaurant+fort+dodge+iowa

—–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 11

22 Nov

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 11 – July 25:  

After Breakfast this morning, I headed south for 30 minutes on SR-29 where I had planned to visit the Historic Chippewa Village located in Montevideo, MN.  I pulled up in front of what I thought was the entrance to the Historic Chippewa Village, but I soon discovered it was the entrance to the Artigas Plaza there in downtown Montevideo.  I’m not sure why Greeta (My Garmin) took me to this address, but I was disappointed to miss that interesting re-creation of a late 1800s rural Minnesota community.  

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Of course, it was early, and this small town of Montevideo was not awake yet, and the streets were empty.  I drove around looking for the Historic Chippewa Village, but for some reason, neither Greta nor I could ever find it.  So, I headed just a few blocks down Main Street and stopped to see if the Montevideo Railroad Depot Museum was open.  Nope, it was not open yet.  I gave up on this town’s museums and gave Greta the address of the next museum on today’s list.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now it was only 15 miles southeast on US-59 where I visited the Fagan 

Fighters WWII Museum located adjacent to the Granite Falls Municipal Airport in Granite Falls, MN.  This museum is situated on several acres and includes three large hangers filled with 13+ beautifully restored WWII aircraft that all fly.  The museum also displays realistic WWII scenes of German & Japanese prison camps along with a flight Ready Room and Control Tower.  Rides “Into the Wild Blue Yonder” in several of their historic WWII aircraft can be purchased.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After that great trip into aviation history’s past, I headed southeast another 50-minutes on SR-57/19, passing thru Redwood Falls to visit the Lower Sioux Agency located in Morton, MN and see what it was all about, but they were closed.  I got back to US-71 and headed south an hour or so, across the border into Iowa, to visit what I thought was the Okoboji Classic Car Museum located in Milford, IA.  This turned out to be a 65,000 sq. ft. display of some 70+_beautifully restored classic cars and trucks (most for sale) dating from a 1902 Nash.  A walk thru the display area (I would call it a museum) included a life-size diorama of a 1950s Main Street, a huge Arnolds Park scene mural, and several other large unique murals.  I especially liked their 1901 Fleming Motorcycle and their 1902 Nash Runabout.  If you check out the video on the internet, it will show you what words can’t describe.  I don’t believe I have ever seen a more impressive “Car Museum” in all my travels.  It was simply amazing!

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After that amazing visit, it was only about 15 miles south on US-71 to check out the Parker Museum in Spenser, IA.  This museum is situated in the 1916 house that was first inhabited by Roy Webb and his family.  The museum displays artifacts and memorabilia of the lifestyle of rural Iowa at the turn of the century.  The James E. Parker family owned and lived in the house from 1928 to 1969, and most of the period furnishings in the museum today date from the early 1900s and were donated by surviving members of the Parker family.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Heading east out of Spencer on US-18, it took almost an hour to get to the Camp Algona POW Museum located in Algona, IA but they were closed.  As I was leaving town, I saw an interesting-looking building and stopped to take a photo of it.  I am always looking for unusual looking structures, and this one turned out to be the Methodist-Episcopal Church there in Algona.  I had never heard of that branch of the Methodist Church, so I Googled it and discovered that the building was built in 1885 and was known as the Methodist-Episcopal Church of Algona.  It is now known as the First United Methodist Church of Algona.   Well, I learn something new every day on these road trips.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

It was another 45-minutes south on US-169 to visit The Fort Museum & Frontier Village located just across the Des Moines River from Fort Dodge, IA.  The museum and fort are a replica of the Fort Dodge (originally Fort Clarke) military outpost built in 1850, and displays an authentic log cabin and 12 other mid-1850s structures to describe to visitors the history of how the pioneers to this area lived, worked, and traded with the early Indian tribes in this western part of (what was then known as) the Wisconsin Territory.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

By now I was ready to call it a day, and gave Greta (My Garmin) the address for this evening’s motel, there in Fort Dodge, and she took me right to it.  After I got my things into my room, I asked the desk clerk for good places to eat close by, and he recommended the Mineral City Restaurant.  I ordered their home-made Lasagna, and it was delicious.  After that wonderful meal, I took my leftovers back to the motel, and recorded my activities for the day.  No TV, just a good night’s rest.

Photo Credit: https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;mineral+city+restaurant+fort+dodge+iowa

—–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 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

Tags: , , , , ,

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