<– 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.

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<– 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.

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<– 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!

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<– 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 –>