Dave Reese
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Posts posted by Dave Reese
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Looks like another collection to add to my list of future places to visit. I really enjoyed seeing the Sharknose Graham among others in the collection. I had recently posted a photo of Facebook of my mom on a vacation in the 1930s the the family's Graham with bumper stickers like "Luray Caverns" clearly wired to the front bumper...
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Peg and I will be heading to an annual visit with the Lifetouch Alumni Club and this year we will spend a Sunday through Tuesday with the club in Savannah, and then continue to St. Augustine for one or two days. Places we are considering on the routes north and south include Charleston, Jefferson's home at Monticello, possibly the Biltmore in Asheville, a visit to Peg's sister in Newberry SC, some driving on the Blue Ridge (we are taking the Mini Cooper Clubman) and possibly Myrtle Beach or Amelia Island (during the Concours) but much of this is still under consideration. Suggestions of restaurants, attractions, and more are appreciated. We will probably not get to everything we want in 13 days with three tied up at the meeting, but the Alumni Club provides great discounts on a number of the events for us as well. I will be awaiting great ideas from this group to make the trip busier, but more fun.
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I never did any customizing, because that took talent I did not have. I could do it with plastic in 1/24 scale, but not with sheet metal. The most I did was changing paint on my 1952 Buick Special 4-door which I had painted competition yellow with the raised section of the hood in flat black. It did stand out among the British Sports cars on campus in college...
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Most of my youth trips to an Amusement Park was to Dorney Park within a few minutes of home on foot. At that time, the public road went through the middle of the park and no admission was charged. They kept "up-to-date" by enclosing older rides, and even had a theater in the round in a tent and a great arcade with many of the vintage machines that Keep remembers from the west coast. Just today they announced the plans to move a Demon Drop ride from another park (I believe it was from Cedar Point, another great park) to Dorney, but they will be putting it at the location held for years by the bumper cars. I would love to be able to buy one of the cars to restore, but even if they go for sale, I doubt I could afford one.
A great park to visit in central PA is Knoebel's, the largest admission free park in the USA. We plan to take our granddaughter there this summer.
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The one time I got close, you headed to Alaska. I bet that doesn't happen again.
Just don't come when we are driving to Charleston, Savannah, and Saint Augustine this spring, or when we are in Japan (not a road trip)...
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Our latest show has been running since November, but it was only finally completed last week as we had model railroad displays in the changing gallery along with the cars through the new year. We finally added the final installation of our Concept and Custom car show, and we have an interesting mix, including one for Alex to drool over...the Hudson Italia. Photos are posted on the America On Wheels page on Facebook, or at my Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/brooklands/se...57623055295101/ . I am still awaiting my first visitor from this forum to come for a personal tour.
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I would love to dine with Zachary Taylor. Any man who can own slaves, be opposed to slavery, and decisively handle this by hiding his slaves in the attic of the White House would be an interesting interview. I would go the defunct Blue Moon Diner on Tilghman Street in Allentown, which had a 1957 Chevy on the roof, and had great meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and milk shakes. The diner is still there but it is now a "stone" covered conversion, and is not nearly as much fun. I figure if I am going back to one time period to meet somebody, we can meet somewhere in the middle of our time travels to allow me one more meal at the Blue Moon.
Since Posting I see that the question was 20th Century, so I will have to withdraw my entry...
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Alex,
Sorry to hear that the traffic was still bad today, but rain always makes it worse.
Sturbridge is doing well, but I do understand from my friend Tom that attendance was down at times this summer. He kept asking me how America On Wheels was doing but since we are only in our second year, it was hard to compare. But on Thanksgiving Day the parking lot was nearly full, and the stores were quite busy as was the Village. I think that once the economy becomes stabilized, they will see attendance growing too.
I am glad to hear you are well and that small town America still is out there too.
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Belated Thanksgiving greetings to all. Peg and I decided that after Peg had hosted the big meal for the last 35 years, she was due a break this year, so at the suggestion of my friend Tom from the British Car Forum, we celebrated Thanksgiving at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge MA. We drove up on Tuesday enjoying driving our new road trip toy that we acquired this past summer thanks to Congress. We did veer off of the Interstates for a NY section of US Route 6, but went most of the way in the fast lane. We did a little walking around the Main Street of the town Tuesday night, and had a nice dinner at the Piccadilly Pub, a regional chain that we had never visited with an Antiques Store above.
Wednesday we spent the morning and a bit of the afternoon enjoying Old Sturbridge Village without many patrons. It was interesting that when we tried to leave the admissions building to enter the 1830's town, the doors were blocked by a flock of turkeys that must have been in fear for their lives. It turns out that the bird that we saw them cooking on Thanksgiving Day had been butchered a week earlier, so their panic was for naught. When the mist started to turn to rain we went driving in the area visiting some shops including some in restored mills. We found a great place for a lunch in the one restored mill at "Soup to Nuts" where the Butternut Squash soup included apples and cinnamon in the recipe. In the evening we went to the old Publick House and ate at Ebeneezer's Tavern and also visited their very busy bakery where people were picking up orders for special items for their Thanksgiving tables the next day.
Thursday morning we returned to OSV using the second day of the admission ticket and rode the Stage Coach, and met my friend Tom in person for the very first time. He is retired from UCONN and works as a gardener at the Freeman Farm. He showed us some of the behind the scenes items such as the inside of the smoke house as well as taking us into the root cellar where he was storing cabbages and potatoes from his crop this year. We learned a lot from this wonderful friend who knows so much about life in New England about 200 years after the landing at Plymouth by the Pilgrims. He also did tell us that some times tourists do not realize that Sturbridge is based on the 1830 years, and the uninformed tourists arrive in Pilgrim costumes. In the middle of our tour of the village this day, we used our reservations for the sumptuous buffet served at the Oliver Wight Tavern on the grounds between the entrance and the parking lot. They also had a sit-down dinner in the Bullard Tavern inside the village. After several more hours learning from the re-enactors in OSV, we returned to our motel room to recover.
Friday we drove to Bradley Airport near Hartford CT to visit the New England Air Museum where Tom also volunteers working as an archivist in their library. Black Friday is the one day each year when they open the restoration shop to the museum visitors, so we went to see how they do things at NEAM. We were quite impressed at the work they do restoring these planes to factory condition. They had several projects going including a Sikorsky helicopter and an A-26, plus a cruise missile (they did tell me they would not put the nuclear warhead in when they finished). The main part of the museum fills two huge buildings, and the displays include a perfect B-29, a B-25, a Lockheed Electra, a Navy Blimp gondola, and so much more. I never did get to see everything in detail as we became "museumed-out" and spent the rest of the day checking out bargains Christmas shopping.
We drove home on Saturday hoping to miss the main traffic, but still the roads were filled with people who did realize they were not alone on the highways. For a section we jumped onto old US-202 and had a great final road meal at the Oakland Diner in Oakland NJ. It was a great trip. Photos can be seen of Old Sturbridge Village and NEAM on my Flickr page.
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Thanks all for the nice comments. Route 6 was very interesting, and the side trips to Sayre, Bradford, Erie, and Titusville added a lot to the excursion. We found lots of nice places to stay and to eat, and the highlights were probably Grey Towers, the PA Grand Canyon, the Lumber Museum, and the day on Presque Isle. I will try to put together more of a write up in the future, but shortly after our return home we had our 11 month old grandson Harry move in for a few days while his parents had a vacation. We are now recovering from our sleep deprivation...
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Peg and I took the new Mini Cooper Clubman on our recent trip on PA Route 6 where we put on over 1200 miles in a week and averaged over 31 mpg. We used the car as a two seater with lots of storage behind us, and it was very comfortable to ride in and fun to drive...On the Trip
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It turns out that this year's fair in Allentown did have the the "Helldrivers" motorcycle show where they drive up the walls of a cylindrical theater. I did not go in since I had my granddaughter along and she was getting antsy and wanted to go on rides instead, but it was good to see it return. I still mostly ate Pierogies in sauteed onions and butter, and did also go to one stage show this year, a combined concert by Earth Wind and Fire and Chicago. The two groups complimented each other quite well in the 3 hour performance.
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We finished our trip earlier this week, and I put an set of photos from our trip on Route 6 (with a few detours to Sayre, Bradford, Erie, and Titusville) on Flickr
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We just picked up a new car as a road trip car via the governments stimulus package Clunker law. As I have been preparing for our September trip across northern PA, from Millford to Conneault Lake, we just bought a 2009 Mini Cooper Clubman. With the rear seats down it has a nice luggage area, and even with the seats up, there is a decent amount of storage space for a weeklong trip. The drive home from the dealership in torrential rain made me realize how easy the car is to drive, and the road trip gas mileage on a vintage 2 lane should be well above our other cars if I don't drive too hard. I will be able to report better how it works after we return in mid-September.
Pictures of our new baby on flickr.
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Although it is not the same as it was in my youth, the The Greater Allentown Fair can be attended by staying old US Route 22 which is Tilghman Street in the West End of Allentown. The fairgrounds are only a block away. The city has completely surrounded the Fairgrounds, but it is still the site of the weekly Farmers Market, and it is home of the fair in the week ending on Labor Day. There are still carnie stand, rides, Bobo the clown and his dunk tank, but no more "girlie" or "freak" shows. There is still lots of unhealthy food and 4-H displays with live animals and produce, but the horse racing and the auto racing is long gone. The stage shows no longer feature Roy Rodgers or the Sons of the Pioneers. There still is a Demolition Derby and shows like the one I am taking Peg to: Chicago and Earth, Wind, and Fire. plus a show starring Tim McGraw. I will eat some Joe's Pierogies, a pit beef sandwich, and possibly a candy apple or a funnel cake, and look at the judged exhibits, and watch people lose money trying to win cheap prizes. I miss the old penny arcade tent, or the "Barrel of Death" motorcycle show.
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I saw this link from Brian Butko on Facebook this week and thought others here would want to put it on their reading lists as soon as it comes out:
Please keep us posted Brian.
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No, the shop is Zakira's Garage.
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I too enjoy the RoadsideAmerica.com site (although it is not related to Roadside America old route 22 in Shartlesville PA) and found several more things to do on Route 6 by searching their site. To bad the Ice Cave is no longer an open attraction, it sounds interesting.
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I meant: if we run out of time on this trip and I have to head home before getting to Ohio this trip. I have been to Ohio when I visited Cedar Point, and I have an invitation to a race car shop in Cincinnati that I plan to visit in the next few years. Yes, you are right. Never getting to Ohio would be crazy...
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There's the big sign sculpture near Meadville that was in ARM V6 #4 and the ducks walking on fish at Pymatuning. Although the center of the big bridge has collapsed, I believe some of it still stands and a stop at Kinzua Bridge Park near Mt Jewett might be worthwhile. I recently stayed at America's Best Value Inn in Meadville and can vouch for it being good value. Nothing spectacular but clean, all the stuff you need, etc. I also ate at Chovy's Italian Restaurant in Meadville and liked it a bunch. Several years ago I stayed at the Mansfield Inn, in Mansfield, PA. A nice old fashioned chairs-by-the-door sort of place. From their website it looks like they're still going. I'm not sure the Wellsboro Diner meets your dietary desires but take a look anyway. It's a 1939 Sterling. Finally, knowing you're a Quaker Steak & Lube fan, I have to mention that, when you're in Counneaut Lake, you're just 27 crow miles from the original in Sharon. I've only driven US-6 in western PA once (and eastern PA not at all) but recall it being a very nice drive. I know you're in for a good trip.
Thanks Denny,
As I continue to plan, I may not stop in Scranton at all as I can daytrip that anytime from home, and then have more time in the Central and Western parts of PA. I did not have a few of those stops on my list, but I have added them. And I completely forgot the QS&L's original site was in Sharon. That could either be at the end of the trip if we never get to Ohio, or else I can hit that when coming back from Cleveland to head home. Thanks again.
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Peg an I hope to do about 10 days in September, and we are working on finding attractions, restaurants, and places to stay. I have Grey Towers, Frence Azilium, the Grand Canyon of PA, the Lumber Museum, the Erie Zoo, Brigantine Niagra, Presque Isle Park, Conneaut Lake Park, the Drake Oil Well, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on our potential list. I am eager for other suggestions as well as favorite Inns or Motels and favorite dining spots. Remember that we work very hard to eat a healthy diet now, so we avoid french fries and other fried foods when we pick our places to eat. Thanks everyone for your suggestions...
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While visiting the "Little Whitehouse" in Key West this spring, I got to know more about Harry. Having been born during his Presidency, I mostly know him as an ex-President.
He used to always be carrying a briefcase when he got off the plane in Key West which it always looked like he made sure that his important papers were in his hand. It turns out that was where he kept his 78 rpm records he wanted to listen to in Florida. And he kept a supply of "Hawaiian" shirts on supply for others coming along on his trips to Florida, including the press corps. Harry definitely was an individual.
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I missed the first episode due to a board meeting Tuesday night, but I love the Amazing Race. I may need to check it out at Hulu. Thanks.
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Thanks for the heads up on a wonderful sounding publication. I have put it right onto my Amazon wish list...
World's Largest - Lemay Auto Collection In 3d Video
in Other Roadside Business / Attractions
Posted
I had gone to see "Avatar" in 3-D over the holidays, and was disappointed in the 3-D effects as well as the story, although the other special effects were very well done. But now I have heard that if your vision is less than 20/20, the 3-D movie effects are lessened. I guess corrected vision was not enough and I missed most of the 3-D. I remember the effects having been much better in "The Stewardesses" back around 1970 or so, but then my vision was fine 40 years ago.