Roberto just shared his newest illustration.
Features Research Archives
Day 23 – Monday May 21st: From Summer Santa to the Police Academy
<– Day 22 – Sun. May 20th: Hittin’ The Road | Day 24 – Tuesday May 22: Rain N’ Fog in Coal Country –>

Ann thought she should sign me up for the Police Academy. She has some strange ideas sometimes, but what the heck. I’ve never done that!
Day 23: We had a short drive on Monday, going from Harrisburg, west to Carlisle, then turning back east for Hershey.
On Monday morning, we headed for John’s Hideaway Restaurant, a favorite morning destination of Bill, a retired PennDOT employee. Bill’s been going to John’s place since Reagan was in office (if my math is correct). And, I can see why. The family owned restaurant serves a good breakfast at a fair price. The restaurant is situated close to the local college, but apparently the nearby students aren’t searching out the classic diner. Too bad, as they are missing out! I doubt anyone else around town can beat the quality of food at the prices John’s offers.
In retirement, Bill’s decided to grow his beard out. One of his grandchildren thinks he looks like Santa and frequently tests that hypothesis by tugging at his beard. I can see why he might be mistaken for Santa, as he’s a jolly fellow with a twinkle in his eye. Of course, he’s a bit more svelte than his plumper counterpart; but, perhaps he’s just sporting Santa’s summer body (Kind of like Tim Allen in Santa Clause)?
Bill really enjoyed his time at PennDOT, but now in retirement he says he is too busy for a full time job anymore. Part of the reason is that he’s too busy restoring vehicles. To show us what he’s done, he took us to his mountain retreat, where he has a couple of garages on a nice chunk of property. It’s a place for him to escape and pursue projects that interest him.
The first vehicle he showed us was his recently restored 1947 CJ-2A. It’s a beautiful jeep that Bill enjoys driving through the local mountains. It’s got an MD Juan body that needed quite a bit of reworking to fit correctly. He did a very nice job with it.
Day 22 – Sunday May 20th: Hittin’ The Road
<– Day 21 – Sat. May 19th: Mr. Infamous | Day 23 – Mon. May 21st: From Summer Santa to the Police Academy –>
Day 22: I’m hoping to have some regular updates for Tuesday morning …
We said our goodbyes on Sunday and drove from Aurora, Ohio, to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. We’ve got a tentative schedule that depends on whether a few folks have time to meet with us. So, as always the situation is fluid.
We know for sure that we will be going to the Hershey’s Chocolate World on Tuesday morning and the Crayola Experience on Wednesday morning. Wednesday/Thursday nights we will be staying with a cousin in downtown Philadelphia. Friday we hope to be driving down through Delaware. Memorial Weekend will be in Richmond, Virginia.

Tentative schedule from Monday May 21st through Monday May 28th
This is the tentative schedule for after Memorial Day Weekend. Stops include potentially a couple readers, a couple stops at Alaska Or Rust Crew homes, Route 66 Hall of Fame, a few Route 66 places, Will Rogers museum, Dorothy’s House in Kansas, Monument Rocks. We think we’ll be back home June 6th.
<– Day 21 – Sat. May 19th: Mr. Infamous | Day 23 – Mon. May 21st: From Summer Santa to the Police Academy –>
Hub Setup From Facebook
This hub cover hubhu was posted to Facebook. It looks familiar, but I can’t place it. Anyone recognize it?
Day 21 – Saturday May 19th: Mr. Infamous
2017 ALASKA OR RUST TRIP MENU:
<– Post Trip Items: Alaska Or Rust!! 2107 …. The Book –> | Post Alaska Or Rust Item: FCA Brazil’s Video of Hugo Vidal –>
2018 EAST COAST TRIP MENU
<– Day 20 – Friday May 18th: Reunion Day 1 | Day 22 – Sunday May 20th: Hittin’ The Road –>
UPDATE: This almost-one-year anniversary was the final event of the Alaska Or Rust Crew.
Day 21: Saturday started at 5am and went to 1am Sunday morning. It was great to meet so many fans of my wife (I think she’s more popular than I am) and, of course, fans of eWillys. I appreciate everyone’s support, including the purchase of the shirts, books, stickers and posters. I nearly sold out of everything, so that helped cushion Day 1’s purse theft. Much appreciated! Here are some photos that Ann took (as I had no time):
Day 20 – Friday May 18th: Reunion Day 1
<– Day 19 – Thurs. May 17th: No Rain Yet … | Day 21 – Saturday May 19th: Mr. Infamous –>
UPDATE: Site was down for a while earlier today. The squirrels that power the state-of-the art server went on strike for more peanuts. We tossed in some salted ones and everything is back to normal.

Stacy, Russ and I chatting about Alaska Or Rust.
Day 20: Friday was the first day of the reunion. The expect rain didn’t show. It was busier than expected. It was great to meet so many readers! On Saturday, the rain is expected in the afternoon, but hopefully that stays away again. Late Friday evening, some of the Alaska Or Rust gang hung out under our awning. Naturally the conversation digressed from plutonium and radium issues to corncobs, butter and body parts. Alcohol may have played a part in that. We sure did laugh.
Here are some photos from earlier in the day:
Day 19 – Thursday May 17th: No Rain Yet ….
<– Day 18 – Wed. May 16th: We’ve Arrived in Aurora | Day 20 – Friday May 18th: Reunion Day 1 –>
Day 19th: We’ve picked up some cool things along the way on our trip, some of which we’ve added to the decor of our room. We’ll add some more before this weekend is over.
Ann spent much of the day stuffing Spring Willys Reunion participant bags with various freebies with Bob’s wife Mindy.
Bob and I snuck away in his CJ-3B to go visit the local Jeep dealership. On our way this car drove past us, then thought he’d show off his muscle. His ability to outrun an-f-head power jeep with a hydraulic lift was impressive, lol.
We were going to the dealership, because Bob thought he was picking up a few give-away items for the raffle, but it turned out his contact was gone today. However, Josh and some of the other guys were excited to see a vintage dually jeep outside.
Day 18 – Wednesday May 16th: We’ve Arrived in Aurora
<– Day 17 – Tues. May 15th: Cheese N’ Hardware | Day 19 – Thurs. May 17th: No Rain Yet … –>
Day 18: Not much to report. I spent Wednesday morning working on the presentation, then we drove to the Bertram Inn & Conference Center in Aurora, Ohio, which is larger than anticipated and very nice.
We knew we were in the right place when we spotted Bob Christy’s CJ-3B:
For the first time since we left Pasco, we unloaded much of the jeep in preparation for the Spring Willys Jeep Reunion this weekend. We enjoyed some fish tacos for dinner with Bob and Mindy Christy and caught up with them. I can’t believe it’s been five years since we’d seen each other in person!
After dinner, we finished off the evening by doing our laundry. Yep, an exciting day!
On Thursday I’ll be polishing up the presentation. We expect a lot of people to be rolling into the complex today in preparation for tomorrow.
<– Day 17 – Tues. May 15th: Cheese N’ Hardware | Day 19 – Thurs. May 17th: No Rain Yet … –>
Roberto’s CJ-3A Illustration
Roberto shared this CJ-3A illustration inspired by a Four Wheeler Magazine photo:
Day 17 – Tuesday May 15th: Cheese N’ Hardware
<– Day 16 – Monday May 14th: Drive Them Jeeps! | Day 18 – Wed. May 16th: We’ve Arrived in Aurora –>
Day 17: We had another short drive today, going from Columbus to Macedonia, Ohio.
I spent the morning working on my presentation, so we only did a few things today. Our principle goal was to head to Ann’s Aunt near Cleveland for a visit. But, on the way, we decided to visit two cool spots.
The first was Grandpa’s Cheesebarn and Sweeties Chocolates near Ashland, Ohio. Ann loves this place, so in 2013 we stopped here, but it was closed. This time it was open. She tells me that “Grandpa” still works the store, or was there the last time she and her mother visited in 2015.
Though we saw no sign of Grandpa, we did get to sample all kinds of cheeses and other items. Sure, most of the items you can get elsewhere at slightly lower prices, but by the time we sampled everything, we didn’t have to eat lunch. So, it was cost effective for us. We only bought 4 cheeses and some fermented eggs in beets.