<– Day 11- Wed. May 9th: Exploring the Palmetto State | Day 13 – Friday May 11th: Lawrence & Lubbeck –>

Judi and Kieth Rhodes and Ann and I at Hawg Wild BBQ and Fish House in Hiawasee, Georgia.

Day 12: On Wednesday we drove from Aiken, South Carolina, to Asheville, North Carolina, via Hiawassee, Georgia.

We drove from Aiken to Asheville on Thursday.

Thursday began with a visit to Kaiser Willys, first meeting Rachel and Amy, then with a visit with Mike at the warehouse. Mike explained that KW began with his father. They’d go on road trips towing a trailer and, when stopped at motels, would sell parts out of the trailer to fund their trip. Eventually, they began selling parts out of their home, then when they grew too big, moved into a warehouse.

I’m sure I’m explaining something incredibly important!

I forgot my shopping cart, or I would have loaded up!

I think that sign ought to read, “Back your jeep up, open the tailgate, and load up!”

Continue reading →

<– Day 10 – Tues. May 8: Laurel, Hardy & Wood Cars | Day 12 – Thurs. May 10th: Willys to Hawgs –>

Day 11: Our drive was short on Wednesday, going from Charleston to Aiken.

Wednesday’s drive from Charleston to Aiken.

On Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, we spent time driving around Charleston. Ann did some research and discovered that Charleston was ranked the number one destination in the US and World in 2016 and has been a top destination for most of the decade in the US. By the wide range of languages spoken at our Holiday Express, I believe it!

Ann also explained that South Carolina is nicknamed the Palmetto State, after the trees. You’ll find Palmettos and half crescents of various designs on t-shirts and other objects for sale around the state. You can learn more about the palmetto and crescent here.

Charleston is a lovely city, very walkable, with plenty of shops, restaurants, sights, and things to do. The architecture feels old world and the roads are skinny, with some cobblestone, brick, and modern pavement in various sections of old town. We agreed that we could see ourselves returning at some point and spending more time here.

We were a about 2 miles(?) away from Charleston’s Downtown Market.

We only had time to explore one attraction in depth and that was the downtown market, a four block long daily (and sometimes nightly) market. It has both permanent and temporary shops. Parking was easy (right next to the market), even at the market’s 9:30am opening. By that time, tourists, and possibly locals, were milling about, tasting some of the local mini-biscuits (I can recommend them), and exploring the vendors.

Eastern end of the market.

These two shots show the permanent shops.

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<– Day 9 – Mon. May 7: Jeeps, Rest & Laundry | Day 11- Wed. May 9th: Exploring the Palmetto State –>

This collection of wood cars owned by Gary and Jean was just stunning!

Day 10: On Tuesday we drove from Suwanee, Georgia, to Harlem Georgia, then on to Charleston.

Our drive from Suwanee, Georgia, to Charleston, South Carolina.

We didn’t expect any surprises today when we left Tuesday morning for the Laurel & Hardy Museum (or on Facebook) in Harlem, Georgia. The drive took a couple hours.

We arrived to find a modest building with signage starting at the Interstate making the museum easy to find.

Inside the museum we met Gary, a long-time Laurel and Hardy fan originally from Minnesota. The move to Harlem, Georgia, was specifically due to the museum. To say he’s a big fan might be an understatement; I’d wager he’s there number one fan.

Given the volumes of Oliver & Hardy merchandise, it wasn’t too surprising that I even found a couple jeeps in the mix:

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<– Day 8 – Sun May 6: Somber to Soda | Day 10 – Tues May 8: Laurel, Hardy & Wood Cars –>

Blake showing me around Omix-Ada’s Jeep Collection.

Day 9: On Monday we had the chance to see the “Jeep Collection”, then we returned to our hotel for a long nap. We feel recharged and ready for our exploration of South Carolina today. Here’s a map of our upcoming travels for May 8 – May 10:

We’ll be spending the night of May 8th in Charleston, May 9th in Greenville (or somewhere there-abouts), and May 10th in Asheville.

Monday was intended to be a day of rest. Our goals for the day were to A) see some jeeps, B) take a nap, C) wash some clothes, and D) catch up on eWillys. I dare say the day was a success, especially the four-hour midday nap!

At 9am we arrived at the doors of Omix-Ada to Al Azadi’s Jeep Collection. Rather than lock the doors and hide (we can be scary in the mornings), they allowed us inside. One of the cool things we noticed right away about the building’s lobby are the full-wall photos of vintage jeeps that begin with WWII and march forward in history. Moreover, the exterior windows also had overlays, though the morning sun limited our ability to see what was there. There was no mistaking that we’d entered a world of vintage jeeps!

The lobby also had a few of the Jeep Collection’s jeeps, but in our exuberance to see the larger collection in another part of the building, we forgot to take pictures of both the lobby and the lobby’s collection. We failed!

Because Dave Logan, my contact at Omix-Ada, had a pre-arranged trip to Canada, Tyler and Blake walked us over to the area that housed the bulk of the jeeps. There, Blake let us wander around and take pictures. In my semi-sleep deprived stupor (I’d been up until 2am the night before), I spent more time talking to Blake about my books than I did taking pictures of the jeeps.

Blake patiently listening to my stories.

Fortunately for you all, Ann was there and she made sure to take more than 150 photos. And, as I look at the photos for this post just now, I see there were some cool photos on the walls above the jeeps in this area, too, many from press photos we’ve seen over the years. I truly did not see these while I was in there looking at the jeeps. I definitely must have needed more sleep!!

Most of you have probably seen photos of the collection, but for those that haven’t, the collection lines the walls and windows of the entire space.

Continue reading →

<– Day 7 – Sat May 5: There’s a Coffee Shop? | Day 9 – Mon May 7: Jeeps, Rest & Laundry –>

It’s been several years since either of us drank Coca-Cola, but it’s the World of Coca-Cola!

Day 8: On Sunday we drove from Alabaster, Alabama, south to Montgomery, then northeast to Suwanee, Georgia.

Our trip form Alabaster to Suwanee

We began the morning early, leaving Alabaster for Montgomery and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Legacy Museum. Admittedly, that’s a mouthful and I can’t remember the name unless I pull it up on the web page. It was my son who suggested that we visit the newly opened complexes. His was a good idea.

As we headed south on I-65, the clouds FINALLY parted, giving way to blue sky for the first time since Kansas. The weather was perfect and remained so the remainder of the day.

We arrived in Montgomery at 8:30am. The Legacy Museum is several blocks (5 minutes away) from the Memorial, which sits on a hill overlooking the city. Since we had Museum tickets for 9am, we went to the Memorial first, hoping to beat any crowds and have the place to ourselves. I figured Sunday was an optimal time: many people would be in church and no downtown traffic. In this case, things worked out well.

From the EJI website

The entrance to the Memorial, as well as strategic areas outside the block-sized Memorial, were monitored by security guards. To enter, visitors must have a ticket and walk through a metal detector; there are also restrictions on what can be brought into the complex.

Once inside, we found a somber setting and a long path to ourselves, lined with occasional descriptions focusing on the 4400 extrajudicial documented killings that have occurred throughout the US.

Once we ascended a slowly rising path, we encountered a square structure, very earthy, with 800 steel blocks, each six feet tall, suspended from above by steel poles. I interpreted them as hanging coffins or tombstones. Each was inscribed with a county name followed by those documented who were killed in that county and the date they were killed. At first, visitors must wander between them like gravestones, but soon the deck-like slightly creaking wooden floor, begins to drop, until the floor is low enough for visitors to walk underneath the hanging objects.

Continue reading →

<– Day 4 – Thursday May 2: Old Friends | Day 6 – Friday May 4: Parker To the Rescue! –>

I think she’s forgotten all about the purse … someone is having a good day!

Day 5: We drove from Warrensburg, Missouri, to Paducah, Kentucky, spending most of the day driving in the rain.

Day 5: Warrensburg to Paducah

We began the day saying our farewells to Dale and Edith, Ann’s friends from her time living in Knob Noster and working at Whiteman with Dale. They hadn’t seen each other in two decades, so it was an all too short stay. Hopefully we’ll return some day.

We’d barely begun our drive when the rain began to fall. For the next five hours it wavered between sprinkles and pouring. Dale and Edith had recommended that we stop at the Osceola Cheese outlet on our drive south. We like cheese, so it was a pretty easy sell.

Driving south on highway 13, it wasn’t easy to miss, as a series of billboards made it clear that we shouldn’t pass it up! Thankfully, though it was 8:45, they were already open!

Continue reading →

<– Day 3 – Tuesday May 1: Weathering OZ | Day 5 – Thursday May 3: Rainy Day Quilts –>

Day 4: Today we didn’t drive far. We left Kansas and the tornados behind, arriving in Missouri to learn that more tornados were expected.

We had a very nice stay in Topeka at the Best Western Inn & Suites on Tuesday night, even taking the opportunity to sleep late, so late we missed the free breakfast. It appeared a family owned the motel and they were very nice.

For example, at one point in the morning, I stepped out to get some ice from the ice machine. Next to the ice, the soda machine was being refilled. The woman in charge pulled out a Mr. Pibb and offered it to me for free, telling me that if I didn’t like it, I could have something else. I don’t drink it, but I figured Ann would. I’d definitely stay there again.

Our goal for the day was to drive to Whiteman Air Force Base, where Ann is officially still based, and obtain a new military ID for her, then meet up with some of her old friends. Dale, a co-worked and close friend of Ann’s, still worked at the base and was excited to meet us at the main gate.

Old work buddies Dale & Ann

That turned out to be a good thing, because when we arrived at the entrance, we discovered that my dependent-ID had expired, so if it hadn’t been for Dale, we couldn’t have gotten on to base to get her ID updated. To be fair, I hadn’t used the ID to access a base in 4 years, so I hadn’t paid too close attention to the date. Anyway, thanks to Dale, we accessed the base and found the place we needed to get Ann’s new ID and mine updated.

After that, Dale invited us back to his place to see Edith, his wife, who just had surgery. Ann had a great time getting reacquainted with them, while giving me a chance to finish up work by a reasonable hour. Now, if only those pesky Tornado warning sirens would stop going off we could go to sleep!

For Thursday,  we *think* we are heading through the Ozark Lakes, then on to Paducah to visit the National Quilt Museum. The weather may play a role in dictating our path.

<– Day 3 – Tuesday May 1: Weathering OZ | Day 5 – Thursday May 3: Rainy Day Quilts –>

<– Day 2: Monday April 30th: Life’s Twists & Turns | Day 4 – Wednesday May 2: Old Friends –>

Day 3: I thought there wouldn’t be much to share from yesterday, but boy did we find a wide range of weather! I’m a bit rummy after our long drive… hopefully most of this makes sense. Here’s Tuesday’s route:

We drove from Rawlins, WY, to Topeka, KS on Tuesday.

We began Tuesday driving in the snow and 30 degree temps through Wyoming. Brrrrrr. As we dropped into Nebraska the temps improved. Turning south, we drove into Kansas asthe temps rose to 82 degrees! It felt like summer, with blue sky surrounding us.

The only problem we faced regarding Kansas is that Ann is banned from driving there. Here’s the story:

My wife is banned from driving in the state of Kansas (and as far as we know is still banned). Yes, you read that correctly. It’s a funny story of how a comedy of errors coupled with some brain damage can get you banned from a state.

Many years ago Ann was driving a Ford Explorer (with Purple Heart plates) she’d just bought through Kansas with her grandmother in the back. Her granny had been in a car accident and suffered brain damage. Ann herself has some slight brain damage from Khobar and, when driving, sometimes get’s tunnel vision, so it is prudent of me to make sure we don’t miss exits (otherwise, she’s a very good driver). I’m sure the two were quite a pair.

With granny in the back seat asleep, Ann had the music on and was cruising down the freeway. At some point she noticed there were police lights in the rear view manner. So, she pulled over. The officer who approached her window was NOT happy, explaining that he had been following her for “some time” and that she had been speeding. Ann told him she was unaware she had been speeding and didn’t hear the sirens over the music.

That’s when things go interesting, for granny popped up from the back seat and started calling Ann by the name Kathy (Ann’s aunt’s name) and wanted to know where Kathy was taking her in a manner suggesting granny was being kidnapped. This caught the officer’s attention. Asking for her license and registration, the officer soon discovered that Ann’s boyfriend at the time, who worked at a dealership and sold her the Explorer, had not properly registered the Explorer.

To the cop, the whole situation was suspicious. Any officer would be suspicious about a woman who 1) wasn’t who she claimed, 2) was kidnapping an old woman, 3) driving an improperly registered vehicle, 4) speeding, and 4) not pulling over in a timely manner.

So, off to a small town jail they went. When they arrived at the jail, it turned out the jail was flooded, so they had to be ‘held’ at the local diner. Eventually, all was sorted out, but it took a while. The next day, they were released and off they went.

Sometime later, Ann received a letter from the State of Kansas claiming she was banned from ever driving in the state again.

Not long after entering Kansas, we noticed storm clouds off to the east. Here’s a pic from Phillipsburg, Kansas:

Philipsburg, Kansas, town square with the storm behind it.

Continue reading →

<– DAY 1: Sunday April 29th: It’s a Fluid Situation! | Day 3: Tuesday May 1: Weathering Oz –>

DAY 2: We made it to Rawlins, Wyoming, yesterday. Progress has been made.

Here’s what happened to delay our departure from Utah …..

After a stressful morning, a very happy wife.

It was an interesting day of twists and turns. Yesterday morning began with a startle. At 5:17am the motel TV’s audio, but not video, sputtered to life, crackling at first, then clearing up to broadcast some kind of TV news interview. I hunted down the remote in the dark, hit the power, thinking the tv would shut off, but instead the video came to life. I hit the power one more time, then the video and audio shut down. That was weird!

Later, as we were leaving the hotel in search of tires, Ann discovered that she didn’t have her purse. If not in the motel room — and it wasn’t there any of the 74 times we checked — then the only other place it could be was at the nearby Spanish Fork’s Cafe Rio, where we ate the previous night. We called the restaurant at 9am and were able to speak with the manager who closed the night before and was opening it that morning, learning that he hadn’t seen the purse. After another search of the motel room, we concluded it had been stolen after we’d left the restaurant. Gone were her cash, her banks cards, her military ID, her driver’s license, her inhaler, her new glasses, and some other stuff.

We are WINNING on this trip, lol.

Back to the tire search … based on my the previous evening’s research, we ended up at the Springville Big-O tire shop. They had the best local reviews and could get the original OEM tires (which no local tire-shops had in stock). Now, we just had to wait.

How to kill time on a rainy day? First, we thought eating breakfast was a good idea. Not wanting to drive very far on the crappy spare tire, we found a Denny’s just a block away. After being seated, the server asked what she wanted to drink and Ann responded “apple juice”.

Turns out, Denny’s sold out of that the day before. Poor Ann, she just couldn’t win …. having had enough by that time, she broke the soda embargo she’d put in place for the past month and ordered a Dr. Pepper. Since Ann couldn’t see the menu (reading glasses in the missing/stolen purse), she explained to the waitress that she could not read the menu, then described what she wanted: 1 egg over easy, 2 pieces of bacon, a bowl of grits, and the Dr. Pepper. I had the grand slam (2 eggs, toast, 2 pieces of bacon, hash browns). Continue reading →

<– Trip Overview Map | Day 2: Monday April 30th: Life’s Twists and Turns –>

DAY 1: When folks ask when we’ll be somewhere on this trip, I tell them it’s a bit of a fluid situation until we get closer to the East Coast. Case in point ….

Yesterday we left Pasco, headed for Grand Junction, Colorado. As we passed by Provo, we heard a strange noise like a tire popping, but nothing seemed amiss. We turned off at Spanish Fork and made it several miles up the canyon when we heard another noise followed by a ding: one of our tires was flat. Fortunately, we were able to pull safely off highway 6 (no fluids spilled, no damage, etc).

We put on the wimpy spare, then drove back down to Spanish Fork, where we spent the night. After a bunch of research on tires, we’ll hit Big O tire in Springville at 7AM to see what they can offer us. By the time we are out of here, we’ll have lost about a day.

Below is the planned route for yesterday … We are 3/4 of the way there.

And, the tire:

Finally, the phone issue. For five hours on Sat night/Sunday morning my phone showed no signs of life. Then, at 2am, when I happened to be awake, it popped on with a Facebook alert. After talking it over with Ann, we decided we would go ahead and upgrade my phone (it had been three years), as I no longer trusted it. We left early, reaching Twin Falls, Idaho, just as the store opened.

Purchasing the phone went fairly efficiently, though the transfer of info was slow, so slow that after we left some of my apps were still loading. By the time the tire blew four hours later, the apps were still loading. So, no Priceline app to reserve the hotel room in Spanish Fork and no Yelp app to help me locate a restaurant that was open (it was Sunday night in Utah after all). For sure, these are 1st world problems, but they didn’t help my day!

Let’s hope tomorrow goes more smoothly.

<– Trip Overview Map | Day 2: Monday April 30th: Life’s Twists and Turns –>

OVERVIEW | Day 1: Sunday April 29th: It’s a Fluid Situation; at Least No Fluids Spilled! –>

UPDATE II: Because of events at the beginning of our East Coast trip, we were forced to change our planned routes (see original map at the bottom). As a result, this was actual route:

Original post from April 28th: On Thursday evening, we made it back to Pasco after successfully repairing the mower and my mother’s computer. Hurray!

We have a pile of things to accomplish before our goal of leaving on SUNDAY APRIL 29th. Ann’s managing the annual launch of the sprinkler system (from lawns to farms, she’s a water pro), meanwhile I did my klutzy best to set us back by sitting on my glasses. Sigh …. so I spent yesterday getting a new set of glasses. Fortunately, I’d already secured a prescription last week when I bought new contacts.

Now that Ann and I are on the same page in terms of travels (there was some initial confusion), we’ve scoped out the early part of our trip. Our first must-be-there date is Black Mountain, NC, on May 11th. The next is Aurora, Ohio, May 16th. Once we get to Missouri (which we think will be two days), we ought to be able to pin down our dates more specifically. Here’s the rough route:

On our agenda, are several jeep barns, a couple museums with early jeeps, the Pizza Hut museum (who knew?), Omix Ada museum, several family visits, the Midwest Willys Reunion, and much much more. Thanks to everyone who plan to share their jeeps, their homes and their stories with us!

1. OVERVIEW: 2018 East Coast Trip
2. Day 1: Sunday April 29th: It’s a Fluid Situation; at Least No Fluids Spilled!
3. Day 2: Monday April 30th: Life’s Twists and Turns
4. Day 3: Tuesday May 1: Weathering Oz
5. Day 4 – Wednesday May 2: Old Friends
6. Day 5 – Thursday May 3: Rainy Day Quilts
7. Day 6 – Friday May 4: Parker To the Rescue!
8. Day 7 – Saturday May 5: There’s a Coffee Shop Here?
9. Day 8 – Sunday May 6: Somber to Soda
10. Day 9 – Mon May 7: Jeeps, Rest & Laundry
11. Day 10 – Tues May 8: Laurel, Hardy & Wood Cars
12. Day 11- Wed. May 9th: Exploring the Palmetto State
13. Day 12 – Thurs. May 10th: Willys to Hawgs
14. Day 13 – Friday May 11th: Lawrence & Lubbeck
15. Day 14 – Sat. May 12th: Ann Gets the Boot
16. Day 15 – Sunday May 13th: Great Scott, Another Jungle Jims?
17. Day 16 – Monday May 14th: Drive Them Jeeps!
18. Day 17 – Tuesday May 15th: Cheese N’ Hardware
19. Day 18 – Wed. May 16th: We’ve Arrived in Aurora
20. Day 19 – Thurs. May 17th: No Rain Yet …
21. Day 20 – Friday May 18th: Reunion Day 1
22. Day 21 – Saturday May 19th: Mr. Infamous
23. Day 22 – Sunday May 20th: Hittin’ The Road
24. Day 23 – Mon. May 21st: From Summer Santa to the Police Academy
25. Day 24 – Tuesday May 22: Rain N’ Fog in Coal Country
26. Day 25 – Wednesday May 23rd: Steel, Strings & Sellersville
27. Day 26 – Thursday May 24th: Architecture & Organs
28. Day 27 & Day 28 – Fri/Sat May 25th/26th: What is Happening?
29. Day 29 – Sunday May 27th: The Exley House Curse
30. Day 30 – Monday May 28th: Grilling in the Rain
31. Day 31 – Tuesday May 29th: Nous aurons toujours Paris
32. Day 32 – Wednesday May 30th: Little Town, Big Ideas
33. Day 33 – Thursday May 31st: Getting Our Kicks on Route 66
34. Day 34 – Friday June 1st: The Route of Confusion
35. Day 35 – Saturday June 2nd: Following the Western Cattle Trail
36. Day 36 – Sunday June 3rd: Leaving The Plains
37. Day 37 – Monday June 4th: Up and Over the Rockies
38. Day 38/39 – Tues/Wed June 5th/6th: Road Home – Epilogue

OVERVIEW |  Day 1: Sunday April 29th: It’s a Fluid Situation; at Least No Fluids Spilled! –>