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Thurs. June 6th: Carousels and Awards

• CATEGORIES: Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

<– Day 32 & 33 – Tues. June 4th & Wed. June 5th: Rudeness at the Parkside Diner!  | Trip Overview | Day 35 – Fri. June 7th: An Old Building and New Cars –>

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My presentation of the Wurlitzer Plaque to the North Tonawanda History Museum Trustees.

I’d like to share with you all the wonderful things I did on my birthday — of parties, food, and lavish gifts — but the present I truly longed for was sleep. So, that’s pretty much all we did. We slept. A lot.

By Thursday June 6th we were ready for a busy day. Our first stop was at my great uncle Farny Wurlitzer’s former house in North Tonawanda, New York. It was a beautiful place that was recently purchased by new owners. I won’t bore you with the pictures, but it was fun for us.

After the house visit, as official representatives of the Rudolph Wurlitzer family (I’m his great great grandson), Ann and I were invited on guided tour of the Herschel Carousel Museum in North Tonawanda.

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The front of the Herschel Museum (on a very wet day).

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Doug, Jeff and I are examining a Wurlitzer Carousel Organ that plays while the carousel rotates.

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Who doesn’t feel like a kid riding a carousel??

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Of course, we even found a jeep-like ride at the museum!

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Tues. June 4th & Wed. June 5th: Rudeness at the Parkside Diner

• CATEGORIES: Features • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

<– Day 31 – Mon. June 3rd: Through Russia With Love | Trip Overview | Day 34 – Thurs. June 6th: Carousels and Awards –>

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No, the sign isn’t referencing the Beatles; it’s explaining an earlier invasion by Brits playing musical muskets.

On Tuesday June 4th: we drove from Pulaski, New York, to Buffalo, New York.

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On Tuesday June 4th we drove from Pulaski, New York, to Buffalo, New York.

Last night I got a “really good deal” on a motel room in Pulaski, New York. Strangely, no one else showed up at the motel. We had the entire place to ourselves. To make it odder, the supposed two-star place was only of one-star quality. The whole place had an odd vibe. We had no desire to stay any longer than need-be, so we departed early in the morning.

Our first stop today was the beach at Oswego, NY, near Fort Ontario. There, we looked out onto the fourth Great Lake of our trip: Lake Ontario. The warm temperatures of the past few days turned to a bone chilling 67 degrees …  Brrr. We almost had to put on jackets!

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Henry taking a well deserved rest at Lake Ontario.

From there we drove to the State University of New York at Oswego. We met with a reference librarian in the hope she could find more information on Dorothy Rogers, the author of Jeopardy and a Jeep and Highways Across the Horizons. The librarian provided some reference material that led to additional biographical information, but it didn’t prove useful.

After our library trip, our next stop was in Seabreeze, NY, where we found a diner near a park called, not surprisingly, the Parkside Diner. Our food was very good.

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Somehow we didn’t get a picture of this place. So, here’s one from Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kewing/7778492628/in/set-72157624608428385

The strange part about our experience was that as we waited for the check, Ann and I started to hear some strange sounds from the booth in back of us. It sounded like a little kids TV show that seemed, intellectually, one step above Teletubbies. The sounds were loud enough that the grating voice would have disturbed us if we were still eating.

Fortunately, moments later our bill arrived. We dropped the money on the table. I stood and turned to see what was making the racket. I discovered a couple behind us had placed a phone on a table so they could watch a television show. They seemed completely unaware (or uncaring) that the obnoxious show might disturb anyone else. Ann exited the restaurant asking, “Really? Who does that? Who plays a TV loud enough to disturb other people in a restaurant??”

Just before we left, I took a picture of the offending couple. If you see these two ‘kids’, beware that they have no awareness for others around them. The red colored phone is propped up against the white container of sugar.

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We arrived in Northeast Buffalo soon after our lunch. We napped, then I worked. Wednesday June 5th is my birthday, so there won’t be any updates and we have no plans, other than to rest and find some good food. We’ll be here through Saturday.

Wednesday June 5th: Day off 🙂

On Thursday, we have a variety of plans in North Tonawanda, New York.

<– Day 31 – Mon. June 3rd: Through Russia With Love | Trip Overview | Day 34 – Thurs. June 6th: Carousels and Awards –>

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DD Living History Farm in Roxbury, CT

• CATEGORIES: Features, Museums This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Marc spotted a photo on Flickr of a modified flat fender. After a little searching, I discovered that the jeep is part of a collection of farm tractors at the DD Living History Farm (Unfortunately, the site doesn’t have too many pictures) in Roxbury, CT. It claims to be one of the largest collections east of the Mississippi. Had we known, we might have tried to get there while in Connecticut. Oh well, we’ll save that for next time!

Here’s the Flickr picture
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11465521@N08/2647747926/in/set-72157601445935524

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Here are a few more:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11465521@N08/2646915777/in/set-72157601445935524/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11465521@N08/2647748296/in/set-72157601445935524/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11465521@N08/2646916597/in/set-72157601445935524/

 

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Old Jeep Rendezvous July 6th in Ashton, ID

• CATEGORIES: Event, Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Jack asked me to post this event. Email: targheejeeps@gmail.com if you have any questions about the Rendezvous.

What: A gathering of pre-1970 Jeeps for a Rendezvous. Any model, CJ’s to Deuce-and-a-halfs, civilian or military, any condition, from “Rusty to Restored”. If it was made by Jeep before 1970, we’d like to see it here! Public is welcome! No admission charge for Jeep owners or spectators!

When: Saturday, July 6, 2013, 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 Noon

Why: 1. Display your Jeep vehicle, meet other owners, share and preserve the history of Jeep vehicles
2. Optional: drive your Jeep on a self-guided ride in Targhee National Forest to see some of the less visited areas of the Targhee National Forest, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. We suggest either Cave Falls Road to Cave Falls or the Ashton-Flagg Ranch Road to Grassy Lake.

Where: Ashton City Park

How it will be organized: 1. 9:00 a.m. until Noon: Jeeps, from “Rusty to Restored”, will be displayed at the Ashton City Park. The Public is welcome to stop by and enjoy these old Jeeps!
2. Noon until dark: optional, on your own tour of forest roads.

Who: All owners of pre-1970 Jeeps, if it was made by Jeep, bring it! CJ’s to Deuce-and-a-halfs!
About Ashton, Idaho
Ashton is a small town located near the southwest corner of Yellowstone National Park. The Bechler Region of YNP, Jedediah Smith and Winegar Hole Wilderness Areas and Grand Teton National Park can be reached from Ashton via Targhee National Forest roads. Ashton services include groceries, lodging, restaurants, gas, tires, auto repair and camping for tents and r.v.’s.

The fine print: there’s no charge to join us for this event and no registration required. We are not an official club, just a group of people who enjoy old Jeeps. Your travel to and from, attendance at and participation in this event is at your own risk and your own expense.

Don’t trespass on private property. Know and obey all laws, rules and regulations. Respect the fragile nature of the forest. Travel on established roads only. We suggest you get a Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) for the Caribou-Targhee National Forest from their website or office.

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Ted’s Plow Jeeps and some PTO stuff for sale

• CATEGORIES: Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Ted wanted to share a picture of his plow jeeps. Having back up plow jeeps is a necessity if you get a lot of snow.

He writes, “Anyone who has ever plowed over two and three feet of snow up and down a long dirt driveway with a flat fender can surely appreciate the beauty of 5:38 gears, military weed and ice chains all around and a ton of weight in back of the jeep.They all break every now and again; that’s why I have back ups, but when there going good they are unstoppable!!! The green 2a has made a lot of big dollar rigs look silly (some of the time). Its short list is original 60 horse flatty w/ supersonic head ,T98 four speed ,overdrive w/adapter and rear PTO wrecker option winch, front warn, rear 44 flanged, power steering, bigger brakes, full cage and so on.The overall crawl ratio is 95 to 1 with the 5:38’s and 1st gear in t98.”

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Also, here is a list of PTO items Ted has for sale:

Drum Pulley: http://newlondon.craigslist.org/cto/3847053966.html
Warn Overdrive: http://newlondon.craigslist.org/pts/3847174342.html
PTO Shifter: http://newlondon.craigslist.org/pts/3847128944.html
Truck Bumper: http://newlondon.craigslist.org/pts/3846967085.html

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Mon. June 3rd: Through Russia With Love

• CATEGORIES: Features, Museums • TAGS: This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

<– Day 30 – Sun. June 2nd: State #49 Was Exciting!  | Trip Overview | Day 32 & 33 – Tues. June 4th & Wed. June 5th: Rudeness at the Parkside Diner –>

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The Shelburne Museum was a fun place to visit!

On Monday we traveled from Burlington, Vermont, to Pulaski, New York, via Rome, Poland and Russia!

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On Monday we traveled from Burlington, Vermont, to Pulaski, New York.

Ann and I started the day in Burlington, Vermont. As we left our hotel, we decided to wander the streets of Burlington and find some iced black tea. So, we walked over to the nearby walking-mall in downtown Burlington that we’d spotted when we arrived on Sunday evening.

As soon as we stepped onto the plaza, we loved the place. Even on a monday morning with temperatures in the mid-60s, people were milling about. Many restaurants had sitting areas arranged in such a way that it reminded me of the small towns in Eastern Europe I’d visited back in 2003.

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This shows the southern half of the outdoor mall.

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I spotted this jeep in this long, cool mural on a wall in Burlington, VT.

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The mural from one side.

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A detail shot.

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The mural from the other side.

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I guess Burlington fancies itself a ski town?

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Outdoor seating for a restaurant.

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And what trip to Vermont would be complete without checking out Ben & Jerry’s?

After exploring the city, we eventually found some black tea at a dark, cool coffee shop called Muddy Waters. The tea was good and the atmosphere unique. We followed up the tea with some bagels.

After our walk through Burlington, we were intent on getting into the jeep and driving, because we had about five hours to go. We made it all of fifteen minutes when we spotted a beautiful covered wooden bridge.. Ann immediately wanted to take a picture of it, but we had to figure out how to reach it. As we drove, we discovered several more buildings separated by beautiful landscaping. All were behind a big fence. Eventually it dawned on us we were looking at a museum of some kind.

So, our drive plans immediately changed!

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This is the covered bridge we’d spotted from the road.

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Astronaut Chris Cassidy in a 1944 MB

• CATEGORIES: Features This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

When Ann and I were visiting with Bob in York, Maine, he shared a photo of him and Heck Bardsley next to NASA Astronaut Chris Cassidy, who is floating far above us in the International Space Station right now (see the whole crew here).

My theory is that NASA uses jeeps with stock brakes for physiological tests. If an astronaut can stop a vintage jeep going 60mph with stock brakes, they can handle just about anything! Chris won’t get to ride in another jeep until he and his crew land in September, 2013. (And I thought our eight week trip was long!)

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From left to right: NASA Astronaut Chris Cassidy (seated), Bob O’Brien, Heck Bardsley

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