<– Day 14 – Fri. May 17th: Day 1 of the Midwest Willys Reunion | Trip Overview | Day 16 – Sun. May 19th: On the Road to Gettysburg –>

UPDATE: This year is the 10th anniversary of our 8-week, 2013-trip around the east coast. Up to that point, I didn’t really get how the impact this simple website had made. This weekend is the 10th anniversary being given the Toledo Brick award at the Willys Reunion. Here’s a throwback to that Saturday.

Today was another gorgeous, warm, sunny day here in Hudson. The day ended with an honor that caught me by surprise.

L-to-R: Bob Chrisy, Sebastian Logo-Guerrero, and Me.

Today was another gorgeous, warm, sunny day here in Hudson. More jeeps and people rolled in to make the day even better than yesterday. The most difficult thing about today was finding the time to talk with visitors looking at jeeps in the parking lot and having the time to see the presentations on the inside of the hotel. Here are a few photos of people I met:

In the end I only had a chance to attend MD Juan’s presentation, which was very interesting. They discussed the challenges the company has faced trying to perfect vintage Willys bodies so that they properly fit the different models (MB/GPW/2A/3A etc).

CEO Rommel Juan noted that the company’s increasing use of the jeep forums combined with access to original bodies has allowed them to tune the bodies and close in on the original specs.

R to L: Bob Christy with Rommel Juan, CEO of MD Juan, and one of his officer’s whose name I don’t have at the moment.

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<– Day 46 – Tues. June 18th: Shabu Shabu and Pipes | Trip Overview | Day 48 – Thurs. June 20th: Meeting Karson’s Team –>

Steve and I in front of this CJ-2A on a beautiful midwest afternoon.

On Wednesday we drove from Dodgeville, Wisconsin, to Kearney, Nebraska.

On Wednesday June 19th we drove from Dodgeville, Wisconsin, to Kearney, Nebraska.

In 1993, I visited the House on the Rock near Dodgeville, Wisconsin, for the first time. Mom, my sister, and my then ex-wife and I. We’d heard it was a popular place to visit, but no one could really describe why. After our visit, I could see why people couldn’t explain it. All I knew is that some day I hoped to experience it again.

On Wednesday (20 years after the first visit) I returned. I told Ann that you have to see the place to believe it. It starts with an unusual house built on a rock (actually part of it is cantilevered over the rock) and then becomes a series of collections and spaces ands spectacles. I told here there would be music, a giant whale, and the world’s largest carousel.

I felt beating the large crowds would make the experience even more enjoyable, so we arrived at their 9am opening time. The cost is $28 per person and the fact that I didn’t balk at that must have surprised Ann. Arriving early worked well. We spent most of our time wandering through the maze of paved streets and hallways by ourselves, armed with tokens to play all the different music machines (I’d advise getting at least $5 dollars worth of tokens.)

I won’t go into the history of how Alex Jordan created this amazing spectacle, but it seems a meeting with Frank Lloyd Wright and some subsequent spite played a huge role on why Jordan landed atop a rock. Just enjoy the pictures.

Here’s the entrance.

The house is made up of two parts. A long walkway connects the two. All of it has a Japanese theme. There’s lots of limestone, small spaces and neat angles. The infinity room is the most spectacular spot.

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<– Day 45 – Mon. June 17th: Three Museums & Steve | Trip Overview | Day 47 – Wed. June 19th: House on the Rock & Steve –>

Jeff and I in his shop’s showroom. The large brown book in my hand is the ‘bible’ on Wurlitzer Organs written and given to me by Jeff.

On Tuesday we started out in Chicago, then drove to Dodgeville, Wisconsin.

On Tuesday afternoon we drove from Chicago, Illinois, to Dodgeville, Wisconsin.

After a long night’s sleep, Tuesday we drove into Chicago to visit with Jeff Weiler, owner of JL Weiler, Inc. Jeff’s company specializes in the restoration and conservation of high pressure pipe organs. He wanted to show us his shop and the work he was doing on a Wurlitzer Organ from Sydney Australia and a second one that is being installed in downtown Chicago at St. John Cantius Church.

This series of binary relays represents the Wurlitzer Pipe Organ’s ‘computer’. It is complex and requires a great deal of wiring.

Of course, on this trip we’ve learned a thing or two about wiring! Here is the third harness weaver we’ve seen during our journey!

All the pipes and instruments have to be tuned. Here’s the contraption jeff uses to insure the completed organ sounds the way it should.

To properly rebuild the organs, Jeff has saved many documents. Here is just some of the Wurlitzer documents he has to reference. Here Tom and Jeff show me some of the blueprints they own.

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<– Day 44 – Sun. June 16th: Escaping the Rain to Packard-ville | Trip Overview | Day 46 – Tues. June 18th: Shabu Shabu and Pipes –>

Steve and I outside Schoops for lunch in Warsaw, Indiana

On Monday June 17th, we decided to attempt three car museums in Indian within a single day. I’m happy to report that my wife was receptive to the idea and our adventure did not end in divorce!

On Monday June 17th we drove from Auburn, Indiana, to Chicago, Illinois.

The first two museums, the National Automobile and Truck Museum of the United States, also known as NATMUS, and the Auburn, Cord, Deusenberg Museum, were started by the same person in Auburn, Indiana.

Given they are essentially on the same campus, at least it seemed that way to me, you might think the two would offer a joint ticket package or jointly advertise. Instead, each barely mentioned the other on their respective websites. In fact, we only discovered the NATMUS after arriving to see the Auburn Cord museum on Sunday evening (but we arrived too late to get in).

The NATMUS building is in the distance, while the ACD museum is to the right.

Having mapped out our strategy, on Monday morning we began with the NATMUS, because it opens at 9am (the Auburn, Cord doesn’t open until 10am). Active Military get in free, which saved us some dollars.

The collection can be roughly divided into three sections. The first area is filled with toys of different sizes. While they were neat, we’d certainly seen more at the Antique toy and Fire Truck Museum.

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<– Day 43 – Sat. June 15th: The Crowds Arrive; As Does a Storm | Trip Overview | Day 45 – Mon. June 17th: Three Museums & Steve –>

Me and Mr. Packard @ the Packard Museum.

On Saturday night, June 16th, we drove to Niles Ohio to spend the night. On Sunday we’d eventually reach Auburn, Indiana.

On Saturday night we drove from Cooper’s Lake, Pennsylvania, to Niles, Ohio. Sunday we drove from Niles to Auburn, Indiana.

We began with a leisurely morning, as the National Packard Museum in Warren, Ohio, didn’t open until 1pm on Sundays. Once ready to go, it was a short drive to the museum. It’s located in Warren because that’s where the first Packards were produced. In 1903, the company moved to Detroit.

Upon our arrival, one of the docents at the museum explained its history. The museum was started by a man (who’s name slipped into and right out of my memory) in Warren who couldn’t fit his Packard into a place he owned in Warren. He was a friend of the mayor, who managed to find a run-down building for the man in 1990 and arranged to have it leased to the man for $1 for 40 years. That’s not a bad price!

The man was able to fix up the place on the cheap, but it was more of a storage space than a museum space. Then, in 1999, the Packard Automobile Club descended upon the space to celebrate the 100th year of the Packard. A great party took place for a week. By the time the revelers left, 5 more Packards filled the building. Afterwards, steps were taken to turn the space into a formal museum.

Here are some pictures from the museum:

The outside of the Packard Museum.

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<– Day 42 – Fri. June 14th: At the Bantam Festival | Trip Overview | Day 44 – Sun. June 16th: Escaping the Rain to Packard-ville –>

Sebastian forwarded this photo of Gerald, Augusto, Sebastian, and myself. That’s Sebastian’s CJ-3B to the right.

On the morning of Saturday June 15th, I fixed some breakfast and enjoyed a leisurely start to the day.

At 10:30am, we left camp to stock up on some drinks at the local store. As we exited the one road into the campground and festival we were surprised to see a lineup of folks entering the festival that was at least 2 miles long!

Here are the lines of cars we passed on Saturday morning:

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<– Day 41- Thurs. June 13th: Heinz History Museum | Trip Overview | Day 43 – Sat. June 15th: The Crowds Arrive; As Does a Storm –>

Not everyone was happy to see me. Henry claimed I made a comment that it was too bad someone painted his surrey brown. I couldn’t find any evidence that I said that though. His modified surrey is beautiful!! The windshield is one of the nicest I’ve ever seen. The backside was filled in and the front has been scalloped perfectly.

On Friday morning we had a quick one-hour drive to the Bantam Festival at Coopers Lake, Pennsylvania.

Friday’s drive from Canton, Ohio, to Coopers Lake, Pennsylvania.

Our first task was to set up camp. Much of that duty fell on Ann, as I needed to find out where I’d be giving Friday’s presentation. It was her idea to add the sign marking out encampment. Thankfully, the rains that had fallen all week stopped in time for the festive and we were able to find a dry patch of grass to call home.

Soon, it was time for me to give my presentation. The crowd was light everywhere on Friday and only seven people attended my presentation.

After the presentation, I met folks and handed out some free posters.

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<– 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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