Dave Reese

Alex, on this September 11 I thank you for your service to our country, and must say I am jealous of your cruise ship perks. Dave, The Segways were a blast, but you do feel different muscles after the excursion, especially in the bottom of the feet and the calves. Denny, Playing dress-up on a champagne night is pretty much fun, although one guy came to the Captain's reception in a tuxedo T-shirt (his wife did not look amused). You are right, the bucket list of places to visit will never be completed as it keeps adding new places.

I have decided to emulate my buddy Denny's blogging, but I am not nearly as good of a writer. I had tried this once before, but by the time I figured out what I was doing I had forgotten too many details that were not jotted down on the road, so I decided to try again an record this cruise. My blog is at http://blog.britishcarforum.com/blog5.php or you can just check out photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/brooklands/ and clicking on the proper photo set in the right column. There are some good ideas of places to visit and special activities if you drive through some of the locations we visited, or you can learn about the special features of enjoying a cruise ship...

Alex, I am so sorry that I missed your Birthday, but we were at sea on a cruise sailing towards NYC to avoid Hurricane Earl. I hope your special day was as calm and pleasant as our day at sea. Belated Happy Birthday my friend.

Fortunately, the Hummer only came on Friday. They limit the show to 800 cars on Friday, and the other two days the limit is 1300 cars. Each day is a different show which makes it so much fun.

Nice photos guys. Thanks for taking me places that my travels have not.

I never got around to posting the dates this year for Das Awkscht Fescht, but it was this past weekend, and this year featured the Ford Thunderbird. If you click the link to my photos you will see the link to a number of photos from this past weekend. It was a beautifully sunny three days of great cars. Next year join us on PA-100 in Macungie on August 5, 6, and 7 when the featured car is the Chevrolet Camaro. In 2012, the Crosley will be the featured car. Plan ahead and come join us.

Great Main Street cruise story Dave... As for the fountain, here are the photos that were found on-line to set up this acquisition. It looks like most of the pumps and even the 1950's dishes are still there, as well as the hot fudge pump. The guys who picked up the soda fountain are expected back in town Tuesday some time, and I will be at the museum much of that day, so I may be able to see a bit of what has been acquired. I know the refrigeration units need to be restored, but we even got the stainless hood over the grill. I worked through college at a Carvel Ice Cream store, and then managed another one for a year after graduation, so I can do the sundaes and such, so I don't think sodas will be much more difficult. I will try to post interim photos as things progress...

Dave, We will need to try to acquire the recipe for the "Accident". It could be a big part of the fountain again in the future. I figure my years at Carvel may help me volunteer at the fountain too.

I was lucky to know about this a few weeks ago from the meeting I attended with the museum board and and architects when we learned about this opportunity. America On Wheels museum in Allentown has needed a "diner" in the vicinity since we opened, and since not have appeared, it was decided to develop the second floor of the old A&B meet packing company office building that serves as our office on the ground floor. The plan was for a small counter and a few booths so we could serve hot dogs, sodas, and a few basics on some weekends. Then Alan Gross of our board found a soda fountain which changed the architects' plans much for the better. See what is coming to America On Wheels: http://gcdailyworld.com/story/1643389.html

Thanks Keep and Steve... I did not need another reason for more computer time...

The day in Charleston and the quick drive to Savannah have now been posted at my slowly published blog.

Denny, The Mini Cooper is great on the Interstates too. With the glass all around the visibility is perfect, and the car does not have problems with the 18-wheelers, wind, or anything else on the road. It is heavier and more stable than most little cars, and the Clubman makes a great 2-seater with substantial luggage storage too. The car is wider than it seems, so we have plenty of shoulder room too. It is my favorite road trip car to date.

First I just wanted to let you know that I have my photos from our spring trip to Monticello, Charleston, Savannah, St Augustine, Asheville, and a bit more posted on Flickr. I started to write a blog to go with the photos, but other projects have moved that to the back burner. If you are interested in Chapter 1, it is at http://blog.britishcarforum.com/blog5.php, but only a small portion has been written up so far. I am working on Charleston, and will let you know when that appears in the blog. Allentown PA's America On Wheels opened a new show of Pure Muscle featuring cars from 1964 - 1970. Flicker is where you will find a few photos showing the new items that arrived in the museum for the summer, but the most exciting to me is the display case in the museum's main lobby that contains a few items from my personal collection of slot cars. I am thrilled that the museum staff were willing to let me pick 93+ items to put in a show case for the summer, and hopefully through the Christmas Holiday Train show that will be at America On Wheels. Hopefully some of you can join us this year. I even got to put about 1/2 the records in the Seeburg 100-B juke box including hits from the 1960's, songs by local artists including the Cyrkle and Jay and the Techniques, and "Car Tunes". And I am currently working with author Dick Gutman on local diners from the muscle car era, and now. He has been providing me with vintage photos of the diners, and I am taking new photos for a program to see how well school students can do matching them. My research has also gotten me on the committee to work with the architect working on developing our upcoming snack bar in the museum to be called the "Hub Cap" which will be added to the second floor. I am looking forward to a fun summer at the museum.

Although it looks like we won't be able to hit a number of the main two-lanes, we do have one day scheduled on the Blue Ridge heading north from Asheville near the end of our trip. We have 13 days, with multiple days in a few different cities, so in direct travel between locations will be limited. Our basic itinerary is now set starting in early March. I have printed out the suggestions received, and have logged addresses into the GPS, picked up road maps from AAA, and printed out planned routes via Google Maps where I have avoided the interstates for a number of sections. Now it is time to start planning what to pack in the Mini, and get some rest before hitting the road next week. Any last minute suggestions for restaurants or museums are always appreciated...

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.