<– Day 40 – Wed. June 12th: A Collection Worthy of a Kaiser | Trip Overview | Day 42 – Fri. June 14th: At the Bantam Festival –>

Ann thought this was a good idea. Gotta humor her sometimes.

On Thursday June 13th we drove to Pittsburgh, then on to Canton, Ohio, for the night.

On June 13th we drove from Monroeville, Pennsylvania, to Canton, Ohio.

On Thursday, our main goal was to visit the Senator John Heinz History Center in downtown Pittsburgh. But, of course, our drive wouldn’t have been complete without a run-in with my iPhone’s SIRI. At a critical juncture, SIRI highlighted two competing exits. Unsure which one to take, we guessed wrong and had to drive an extra fifteen minutes. That SIRI is one tricky ‘helper’!

When we finally arrived we couldn’t find any parking. Fortunately, my wife is broken, so we have a handicap pass. Otherwise, we’d have driven away.

The museum specializes in Western Pennsylvania history. Gerald had recommended we visit and mentioned there was a jeep. So, I wasn’t surprised when we walked into the lobby and spotted a jeep right away on a first floor display. It turned out to be #1007 BRC-60. That means it was likely the 8th jeep ever built. It was donated to the museum in 1944 and looks in great shape.

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<– Day 39 – Tues. June 11th: Checking Out Butler | Trip Overview | Day 41- Thurs. June 13th: Heinz History Museum –>

A beautiful Kaiser Darrin. Arrived knowing little about Kaiser Frazer cars, but left far more knowledgable thanks to Dave.

On Wednesday June 12th we drove from Monroeville to Somerset and back.

On Wednesday the 12th we drove from Monroeville to Somerset, Pennsylvania.

We awoke Wednesday morning in Monroeville’s Extended Stay Motel. With access to our first kitchen since we’d hit the road, I made my lovely bride some breakfast in bed. It is always good to keep one’s wife happy while jeep hunting.

After breakfast, our big stop of the day was a visit with Dave Antram. He invited Ann and I over to check out some of the barns on his family’s 150 acre farm in Pennsylvania.

Dave said to look for this sign. That way we’d know we were at the right place.

His family’s been in the area a couple generations. Over time they’ve enjoyed building several different types of collections, including jeeps. As Dave welcomed us and we began our walk he noted there was a lot to show us. He even thought about contacting American Pickers to come visit. But, then he admitted it would be hard for him to sell anything at ‘picker’ prices.

One of the early vehicles they started collection were tractors. One unusual tractor in their collection employs an aftermarket kit from Sears and Roebuck to transform a 1920’s model A into a tractor. The parts painted red are the aftermarket pieces. The ones painted black are the Ford Model T parts.

Model T with a tractor kit from Sears and Roebuck attached.

Above the tractor collection is a model T that was purchased by the family brand new. It was in bad shape for decades until Dave’s father fulfilled a goal to restore it during the 1990s. These days they use it in parades.

Dave’s father next to the Model T he restored.

I don’t know the finer points of a stock Model T, but the quality of the restoration looked good.

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<– Day 38 – Mon. June 10th: Trains and Planes | Trip Overview | Day 40 – Wed. June 12th: A Collection Worthy of a Kaiser –>

My partner-in-crime had a migraine in the morning, so I had to photograph myself. I came, I saw, I photographed!

On Tuesday we did a short tour of Butler then drove to Monroeville, Pennsylvania.

Tuesday June 11th’s drive from Butler to Monroeville, Pennsylvania.

On Tuesday morning, we woke up at the crack of 9am and were out the door by 10. Our breakfast stop was the CHOP SHOP. If you are in Butler, I can highly recommend the place (check out the menu). My prime rib wrap was great. Ann’s Lamb wrap (very thinly sliced lamb with feta and more) was especially good, but couldn’t eat it all, so she shared half her wrap with me … yum!

After breakfast, Ann came down with a migraine, so I took her back to the motel room to rest. Meanwhile, I took care of a personal task:  locate and photograph the Bantam Factory Marker, one of those holy jeep grail items I can now tick off my list. The marker is at 662 Hansen Ave, Butler, PA and you can see the sign using Google’s street view.

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<– Day 37 – Sun. June 9th: Defecting to Canada | Trip Overview | Day 39 – Tues. June 11th: Checking Out Butler –>

So many cool things in this one-of-a-kind toy store!

After our failure to defect in Canada on Sunday, we decided to head south on Monday toward the jeep-mecca-that-is-Bantam: Butler, Pennsylvania.

On Monday June 10th we drove from Niagara Falls, New York, to Butler, Pennsylvania.

Though we’d spurned Canada, the country seemed to haunt us. I guess we were there long enough to look Canadian. For example, when we stopped by a Niagara Starbucks Monday morning, we were told by a cashier that we could go online and get Starbucks Cash (or points or something) for completing a survey. He then announced the cash (or points) were good in Canada, too. Ann and I looked at each other wondering why he thought we were Canadian. Then I realized I was wearing a “Canada” shirt.

From Buffalo, New York, we drove south through rain until we got bored of the Interstate. I spotted a town called North East, PA. Thinking that was an odd name, especially since it was in northwestern Pennsylvania, we decided to explore it. It was a strange town. For example, they grow plants over their parking meters.

After lunch at Lacasa De Pizza in downtown North East, we tried to visit their nearby railroad museum, but no one was home. There weren’t any hours posted on the door either. They did have lots of trains and a train station as well.

I never did learn why the town was called ‘North East’

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