Hey there one and all, no blog tonight.  We left at 10 am for Chocolate World in Hershey and it is now going on 10 pm and we just got home.  Needless to say, I’m exhausted and unable to think clearly enough to sort out the various pictures I took.  So, hope you had a good day and we’ll catch up on the blog tomorrow night.  Till then I’ll leave you with this thought to ponder from Milton Hershey:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries, let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before.

What in the world was that sound so early in the morning?  Could it be?  Unfortunately, it was.  An alarm clock.  Perish the thought.  It would not be denied so might as well get up.  We needed to be up and out early since Marti needed to be at the groomer in Hagerstown by 8:30 am.  The ride would take an hour and a bit.  So, time to get going.

We made it in time and now Marti has a whole new look.  But he was not done.  We also had an appointment for him with Amanda’s vet.  We needed to find out what was really going on with him.  Long story short, he is in pain due to his arthritis and appears to have an anxiety disorder. In so many words he is getting old and his age is beginning to catch up with him.  In terms of the vet bill, he beat out the bill for the transfer switch.  Difference is I’m getting money through my extended warranty for the switch.  Wonder if I could submit some type of claim for him?  I guess to do so I would have to get really creative!  Ah well, it is what it is.

The day proved to be as bad as yesterday, that is hot and humid.  Later in the day the rain once again came down by the bucket full.  As of now there is a lull in the action but not for long.  More thunderstorms are on the way according to the weather report.

Today we have company for the weekend.  Our daughter Amanda has come for a visit.  She lives only an hour away from where we are right now so whenever we are in this part of the country she tries to spend a few days with us.  We really enjoy her company and look forward to her visits.  I think.  Only kidding.

Let’s go back to the AACA Museum and finish it up tonight.  We begin with this 1968 Mustang named Eleanor which is the only Mustang to receive star title credit in a movie.  The movie was the 2000 film Gone in 60 Seconds.

Begun in 2006 it took 4 years to complete with an investment of over 3,000 hours.  It features a custom fiberglass body with steel side scoops and is painted in pepper-grey Glasurit.  The interior is fitted with custom leather and has an honest to goodness 200 mph speedometer.

Power is from a 427 engine developing 571 HP using an aluminum block plus a long list of special performance features.  Glad I don’t have to change the spark plugs on this one!

Next up was a 1938 Autocar 1200 gallon tanker.  It had a six cylinder 38 horsepower engine.  The company started in 1897 and added commercial vehicles to their lineup in 1907.  In 1911 they discontinued their pleasure cars and built trucks from then on.  The company is still around and is the oldest surviving nameplate in America.

Here is one for you.  It is the Tucker Tiger.  Built by the Tucker Company it had a Packard V-12, a weight of 10,750 pounds, a 37 mm Machine Gun and a top speed of 114 MPH.

The gun turret moved up and down and through a complete circle.  Our government

declined to offer a contract because they stated it was too fast.  What?  The gun turret, though, was ultimately used in a number of wartime applications.

Moving to the next floor we began our tour of the The Museum of Bus Transportation.

The first auto on display was the 1941 Lincoln Zephyr Custom Ambulance.  This vehicle began life as a four-door, 7 passenger limo.  This is the only surviving ambulance of the 295 that were built.

Next up is a 1912 White Truck.  This is the oldest running motorcoach in the world and the first motorcoach purchased by Trailways.  It is 20 feet long, about 9 feet high, and hasa seating capacity of 21 plus the driver.

This is a 1924 White Bus and was originally operated by the Yellowstone Park Company.  The park started buying these open touring cars in 1917 and a large number were purchased for touring in the park until White went out of business.

Then how about this? Hostess Service on a Bus!

We move now to the Museum Storage Shed called Jim’s Place.

Here is where they store recent donations and cars that will be moved eventually out on the display floor.  They rotate cars on and off about every six weeks so the display is constantly changing and always fresh. This is what you see as you first walk into the building.

One of the first and really interesting cars here is this 1912 Cadillac Model 30 Touring

This is the year that Cadillac introduced the first production car with an electric self starter.  This car features the original leather seats and had only two owners.  Another interesting feature, check out the tires below.

One of the more unusual vehicles here was this 1955 Flajole Custom Coupe built by Bill Flajole who transformed a Jaguar XK-120 engine and chassis into his vision of the future.  The car had a retracting tinted Plexiglas roof, headrest bucket seats and fender coves which Chevy later used on the corvette.

By the way note the rear view mirror.  When the clear top was on you had to look through the top to use it.  Here is a picture of the interior, really nice.

Here is a rather interesting vehicle, a 1924 REO Funeral Hearse.  It is rumored to have been cleverly used to secretly transport alcohol during Prohibition.  At some point it was beautifully restored as a mobile party vehicle with the coffin inside serving as a wet bar.

We end with this a 1910 Brush Model D Runabout that was powered by a single cylinder engine with coil springs at each corner and a wooden frame.  It climbed Pikes Peak in under eight hours, crossed the American continent with no problems and finished the 2,636 mile Glidden tour in good shape.  This was a barn find which after restoration received numerous AACA awards.

Once again I’ve only touched on just a few of the more unusual vehicles in the storage shed and the museum as a whole.  There are just too many to post in a blog.  Again, let me encourage you sometime in the future to take the time to visit the museum for yourself.  You will not regret the decision to do so.  Caution, leave at least 2 hours for a visit, even more if you are going to the storage shed.

So night is here and it is time to wrap things up.  Since Amanda is sleeping in the living room, which is just off the computer room I need to finish up so she can get some sleep.  Again, thanks for joining us today and we hope you enjoyed the tour of the museum with us.  We had a great time, more so because like always we did it together, traveling along, hand in hand, singing our song.  In closing I leave you with this thought to ponder:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries, let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

 

Today was travel day #2.  We were still at the AACA Museum to conclude our tour begun yesterday.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.  Today, after the tour was finished, we were moving further south to Carlisle, PA.

Let’s start with our new home.  From the AACA Museum it was only about an hour away.  So getting a late start was no big deal.  We checked and rechecked for any possible signs of delays on Route 81 before it was jacks up.  We could find nothing of significance, so off we went.

For once, there no unexpected surprises anywhere along our route.  One section one lane was closed for about a mile but traffic continued to move with no problem.  Soon enough we were off of Route 81 moving through a residential neighborhood toward our final destination.  Yes, this campground is right in the middle of a residential neighbor, come to the end of one block and there it is.  No issues getting in the road was wide.

But once in, this is where the fun began.  I had an email with one price and a record of my deposit.  Now, though, they tried to charge Barbara more.  She would not budge.  In the end, we did get the price they had originally given us in the email.  Score one for us.  Here is our new home.  The site is hard packed gravel, it’s level, the utilities are right

where they need to be.  However, there is no shade and absolutely no separation between sites.  This is what we are finding more and more as we travel around.

Most RV parks are made up of probably over 95 percent seasonal residents crammed in one after another.  Hey, we have a site, so we’ll count ourselves lucky and make the most of it for the next 8 nights.  It is what it is.

By the way, can you say hot?  Look at the picture below, the bottom number is the outside temperature at 4:30 this afternoon!  Now, 9 pm its still at 88 degrees.

Now for the AACA Museum in Hershey.  This is a Harvest Host location so it gave us both a place to stay for a night as well as a great museum to visit.

This is the Kissmobile which sits right outside the front door. The Hershey’s Kissmobile cruiser is a 12-foot tall, 26-foot long custom-made vehicle resembling three of Hershey’s

Kisses. Since the creation of Hershey’s Kissmobile in 1997, the cruiser has traveled over 250,000 miles and usually contains over 230,000 Hershey’s Kisses – That’s almost a ton of Kisses!

This is the entrance to the museum and the front foyer just as you enter.

One of the first display rooms that you enter is for Ford Thunderbirds.

On display was a rare four passenger Thunderbird from 1960 known as the square bird so called because of its angular style.  The four passenger Thunderbird came about because the movers and shakers at Ford believed that a two-passenger vehicle was holding sales back especially since in those days most families only owned one car.  It was Motor Trend’s Car of the Year when it debuted in 1958 and it set a sales record in 1960.  In 2012, this car won the coveted AACA Thunderbird award, to date the only four passenger Thunderbird to win.

Next on display was this 1957 Thunderbird with a rumble seat or as the owner called it the Birdnest.  The Birdnest was not a factory option but something that the last owner

wanted and fabricated on their own.  It would seat two children or one adult sitting sideways.  Of course, this addition did away with the spare tire.

Hey, how about this.  This is an early turn signal, batteries included.

Next we have a 1896 Benton Harbor, the first AACA Museum donation.  It was the first vehicle in America built from scratch as an automobile, not a modified horse drawn carriage.

Next to it was a 1909 Zimmerman Surrey.  This auto is the only touring car to survive the junkyard.  They were built from 1907 to 1915.

Around the corner was a highly researched, authentic reproduction of a 1925 Model T Coca-Cola Truck.  It has been used in numerous parades and special events.

Also on display was this 1912 Stearns-Knight Runabout.  Stearns began his automotive career with his own machine shop in the basement of his family’s home.  The Stearns is widely regarded as among the best cars of the early 20^th century.

Lest we forget who we are and what we do, how about this 1928 Zagelmeyer Kamper Car.  It claimed to be the lightest one made.  It’s canvas was permanently attached and had a hard top roof.

Want a bit more room?  A few more creature comforts?  Then how about this early Class A Motorhome.   This is a 1917 Packard powered by a 424 cubic inch V-12 and had a three-speed manual transmission.  It had a rear bedroom with convertible sofas, a mid-bath, front kitchen with two burner gasoline stove, an ice box and a sink.

Then I came across this a display of an early gas station with two pumps.

What really caught my eye, however, was the display on this pump.  Are you kidding me, 19 cents for a gallon of gas. The other day I had to pay $3.13!

And when was the last time you had an attendant do this 8-point driveway service for you on your RV?

In another section of the museum was a display devoted to the Tucker which was one of the most advanced and unusual cars of its day.  This is a 1948 Tucker with a six cylinder horizontally-opposed engine producing 166 horsepower.  It is painted in its original Tucker Grey.  A Tucker was clocked at 131 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1950.

Note the center headlight, when you turned the steering wheel it turned also.

Here is a peek at the inside.

I wondered, what ever happened to the Tucker?  Well, the SEC brought charges against Mr. Tucker for stock fraud.  Though completely cleared of all charges, the negative publicity brought an end to his hope of a new car and car company.  I can’t help wondering, could there have been more to these charges?  Someone working behind the scenes to bring an end to the upstart car maker?

Then it was my turn to go for a spin, well sort of in the land of make believe.  Here is a 1939 American Bantam Roadster with me at the wheel.  The Bantam was built at Butler, PA from 1930 to 1934.  The cars were small, Fuel-efficient and attractive in design.

Much more to come but for now we’ll call it a night.  Trust me when I say I’ve only included just a tiny bit of what is on display.  Some day, if you haven’t already, make time to go yourself.  Go though only if you have several hours free.  There is that much to see.

So we’ll call it a night right now.  Thanks for coming along with us.  We had a good time as always traveling along, side by side, singing our song.  Day by day we continue to be amazed at the many different sights we’ve seen, and are still seeing, new friends we’ve made, and the sheer joy of just being able to travel as we please.  The Road of Retirement is so much more than we had ever hoped.   In closing let me leave you with a thought to ponder:

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries, let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travel Day.  We’re leaving Ives Run a day early so that we can spend some time at the AACA Museum in Hershey, PA.  So we were up and at it this morning.  We have a pretty good routine established by now.  The day before a lot of the outside stuff, like bringing the awning in, removing the wheel covers, etc. is done.  Inside we pack up the computer room, some of the kitchen and a lot of odds and ends.  That leaves us with about 30 minutes of work left to do on our travel day.

All packed up we headed out.  First stop was at the dump station.  Then hook up the car.  Next, stop for fuel.  Finally we were on our way.  Route 15 proved to be a good ride, of course we went up one mountain then down the next and then up the next mountain, Graybeard never missed a beat.

As we continued to travel south we were astonished to see one creek, one river after another overflowing their banks.  Fields and low lying areas were flooded.  We had heard about all the rain but never really knew how bad it was.  Now we could see first hand.

So, all was going well until, yup it’s just our luck.  A short distance off of Route 80 heading south on Route 15, ROAD CLOSED.  No detour signs, just a flagger insisting we turn right.  Right, but to where?  In front of us were two tractor trailers.  Hey, they were headed south.  Surely, they must know where to go.  So now the choice was, listen to the GPS or follow the trucks?  My gut said to follow the trucks and I’m glad I did.  Some 20 minutes later we were back on Route 15 going south.

Yes, we’re back East again.  Smog, traffic, potholes and all the rest.  Yuck.  Just have to go with the flow.  Three hours later we were at our Harvest Host location.  The AACA Museum in Hershey, PA.  When we first joined Harvest Host they were just winery’s but

they’ve now expanded to included breweries, museums, flea markets, and farms.  Everyone we’ve stayed at so far has been great.  Nice place to park, secure, level and with something worth seeing.  We’ll definitely renew our membership for next year.

Home Is Where We Park It , so here we are parked in the museum parking lot.  We’re

level, the frig is up and running, the generator is running and the AC is on.  Life is sweet.  Once we were settled in and had a bit of a nap it was time to tour the museum.  The first part we did today, the second part which will be a behind the scenes look at un-restored cars and cars in the process of being restored comes tomorrow morning.  More about our tour tomorrow night.

Then a very pleasant surprise.  We were able to contact two of our good friends, Hoagie and Max who live in the area, and we arranged to get together for supper.  They suggested a local place called Dukes Bar and Grille which was only four miles from our home.

Here’s the four of us around the table at supper.

We had an absolutely fantastic time together.  The meal was great but the time together was even greater.  Tonight, we got the great news that Max’s brother Jeff is in remission and is regaining his strength.  Thank you Lord for answer to prayer.  We talked, and talked, and talked some more.  We got caught up on what’s going on in our lives, we talked motor homes and traveling, we laughed about some of the silly mistakes we have all made along the way in our travels, and we went on about the Hallmark Channel.  I laugh when I think Hey We’ve Been On the Road for Almost A Year Now.  Hoagie and Max have been RV’ing since 1989.  We’re on our first rig but they have had several of all sizes.  Suffice to say, the hours just flew by.  We parted some time later but with the promise of getting together again when we are both in Florida this winter.

That then was our day.  Once again the good Lord smiled down upon us and granted us safe passage.  Along with a bit of a scenic detour through the PA countryside. Have to remember as always the situation is the boss.  Thanks for joining us for the day, it was great to have you along.  In closing a though for all of us to ponder;

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries, let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before