Green Bay, WI - Day 5

While commuting to/from the reunion hotel this past week, we've driven by the National Railroad Museum and didn't want to miss it, so we stopped in this morning before hitting the road again. We got there just in time to board an open rail car for a tour around the grounds. Our guide explained the history of the museum and of many of its displays. We then walked the grounds and looked at the old locomotives and the various rail cars on display including a unique Aerotrain (built by GM in the early 1950's), Dwight D. Eisenhower's famous war train and even walked through an old mail car. We also learned a lot about hobo signs (cryptic marks that told other hobos about certain areas). A very nice museum indeed. We're heading off to Sault Ste Marie now. . .

Green Bay, WI - Day 4 (Lambeau Field)

This morning, we drove a few miles out to Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers. They were having their annual shareholder's meeting and one of the Hubbard crew was able to obtain tickets for many of us. We walked around the stadium and visited the Packer Museum and, of course, the gift shop. While Susan isn't an official cheese-head, she sure looks like one, doesn't she? We learned a lot about the history of the Packers (who were originally created for a local meat company - hence the name) and famous people like Vince Lombardi.

In the afternoon, we attended the Hubbard business meeting and, later that evening, the formal banquet. It was so nice to see my old shipmates and friends again. They make me so proud to have served in the Navy.

Green Bay, WI - Day 3 (Manitowoc)

Today's tour took us to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc where we saw a lot of the history of the fishing and lake life of the area. At 10:30, we had a memorial service given by our friend Rear Admiral Roy Hoffmann for the fallen comrades of the Hubbard, followed by a tour of the submarine USS Cobia (SS-245) which is docked at the museum.

From there, we were taken to the Lighthouse Inn at Two Rivers for lunch followed by an ice cream dessert at the historic Washington House - where the ice cream sundae was invented - and toured it's nice museum. Then we wandered around the area seeing such unique sites as the world's largest grandfather's clock, beautiful Algoma Harbor and the Door County Maritime Museum before heading back to socialize with our shipmates. Quite a full day.

Green Bay, WI - Day 2 (Oshkosh Fly-In)

This morning, we were taken about 45 miles south to attend the 2009 EAA Airventure in Oshkosh, WI. For those who've never heard of this, it is a gathering of EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) pilots and other people who love airplanes and acrobatic flying. There were thousands of people, airplanes, bicycles, RVs and vendors gathered there. Four static displays of airplanes were there - warbirds (including a WWII Army camp), homebuilt, vintage and ultralight & rotorcraft - plus many other museums and displays of unique aircraft. In the afternoon, there was a fascinating airshow with sky divers, acrobatic planes (and even an awesome acrobatic helicopter), wing walkers, the new Airbus 500 passenger jet, and the White Knight 2 (Richard Branson and Burt Rutan's unusual prototype aircraft that is expected to take people into space in the near future). We've been to airshows in the past but nothing even close to this. Wow!!

Green Bay, WI - Day 1 (Door County)

We'll be in and around Green Bay, Wisconsin for a while to attend the reunion of the sailors who served on the USS Harry E Hubbard (DD-748). On day one, we went by bus to Door County where our first stop was the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse where we toured the lighthouse (nice because it didn't take too many steps to reach the top). This place even had what they claimed to be the original "brick sh*thouse" on the property.

From there, we were taken to the Old Post Office Restaurant in Ephriam, WI to experience a Fish Boil - a local delicacy. "What is a fish boil?" you may ask. Well, they sat us outside around a large cauldron full of boiling water above a roaring wood fire. Then, they placed a large container full of potatoes into the water. Next came a smaller container of locally caught whitefish on top of the potatoes. Then one full of whole onions. They all boiled for a while, then the cook tossed kerosene onto the fire, causing the water to erupt into a large ball of steam. They then removed the food and moved us inside to enjoy the delicious meal we just saw being cooked. Quite an interesting experience...and good, too!

Oshkosh, WI

After watching the off-road truck and buggy racing on TV for many years, I finally got a chance to see it in person. We went to the Oshkosh Speed Zone Raceway this afternoon to attend the Traxxas Off-Road Championship races. This is a dirt track with lots of jumps and tight curves. We got there in time to see the time trials, wander through the pits and watch the trucks and buggys being prepared to race, and, of course, watch the races themselves. While we didn't stay the whole evening (it was getting cold and we didn't have sweaters), we saw some real exciting races and several crashes. Even Susan had a good time. Like most sports, it is a lot more fun to see it live instead of on TV. What a hoot!

Portage, WI

We camped on a hilltop near a ski resort at Sky High RV Park in Portage, Wisconsin for a few days. On Wednesday, we went to see the Circus World Museum, located in Baraboo, where the Ringling Brothers Circus used to call home. In addition to the dazzling displays of circus memorabilia, posters and general history, there were two buildings devoted to restoring and preserving old circus wagons including the famous giraffe wagon. We went to the Hippodrome to watch a one-ring circus performance with acrobats, balancing acts, rope acts, a clown and an elephant show. Very entertaining (but no photos allowed). Afterwards, elephant rides were available. I wanted to get on one but the line was so long that we decided to move on. All-in-all, an entertaining afternoon.










On Thursday, we had planned on going to see Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright's unique home, but changed our minds when we found out that it costs $48.00 per person to see it! Instead, we went to lunch at Kristin's Kitchen in downtown Portage - a place highly recommended by everyone we talked to. They were right...it was delicious. Then we walked around a local farmer's market and saw some mighty good looking veggies. After a doctor visit for John's bad cough and headache, we called it a day. P.S. the meds helped.

Springfield - Day 2

This morning we went back to downtown Springfield to tour the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. Our tour took us through the only house that Lincoln ever owned. He moved into shortly after marrying Mary Todd and lived there until he became President and moved into the White House. Much of the furniture and objects on display were original to the Lincoln household which added to the awe of the tour. Lincoln's neighborhood surrounding the house has also been restored to look like it was when he lived there.

From there, we drove out to the Lincoln Tomb where Abraham Lincoln, his wife Mary Todd Lincoln and three of their four sons are buried. We were allowed to enter the tomb, which had beautiful marble walls and ceilings, statues of Lincoln by noted artists like Gutzon Borglum and to view the casket itself (although his body actually lies ten feet under the ground). Quite an impressive end to our Lincoln experience.




On our way back, we stopped for lunch at the Cozy Drive In, known for inventing the hotdog on a stick (or corndog to us Southerners). It is located on the famous Route 66 Highway. We ordered the house specialty - four hotdogs on a stick plus fries - and a couple of Route Beers to wash it down. We didn't leave there hungry.

Springfield, IL

This town name sounds vaguely familiar. . .someone famous used to live here. . .oh yeah, Abraham Lincoln! So, once we got our RV parked, we headed downtown to visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and get another picture of Susan with a dead President. I even got my picture taken with John Wilkes Booth. . .how about that? What an interesting and well prepared place. The exhibits were all very realistic and informative and we learned a lot about his life and what he did for our country.

Champaign - Day 2

Today, we headed south again. This time to Arcola, IL to visit the Raggedy Ann and Andy Museum. This is the hometown of Johnny Gruelle who invented the dolls back in 1915 while he was a newspaper cartoonist. The museum is run by his descendants and contains a wide variety of the dolls as they evolved through the years as well as other items from the early times. Susan bought a small Raggedy Ann doll and had it autographed by his grand-daughter, who is an artist in her own right.

From there, we drove out to see Rockome Gardens, an Amish tourist attraction just outside of Arcola. It was like wandering around a small Amish village where we saw interesting rock sculptures decorating beautiful gardens, visited a few unique shops, watched a horse pulling demonstration and ate a delicious lunch at their restaurant.










Our last stop of the day was at the Champaign County Historical Museum back in Champaign, IL. It was a small museum but loaded with some excellent displays of farm and town life from the early 1900's. We even saw a small bronze statue by Gutzon Borglum of Abraham Lincoln sitting on a bench that resembled the larger one in silver that we saw at Houmas House in Livingston, LA last Spring. A very nice place to visit and our guide was very informative.

Champaign, IL

We'll be staying in Champaign, IL for the next few days. This morning, we drove south to Tolono, IL to find the farmland once owned by Susan's family. Thanks to an old document drawn by Susan's father, we drove right to it and, guess what, it looked like every other corn/soybean field in the state. ;-) Unfortunately, the old family house was no longer standing. Next, we searched several local cemeteries and we found the burial sites of Susan's grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents, plus several other distant relatives.

Then we drove north to Rantoul, IL and visited the Chanute Air Museum. Rantoul used to be a school and training area for pilots and support personnel during the Second World War and beyond. This was also the home of the Tuskogee Airmen. It was closed in the 1990's and now the town and museum are looking pretty sad. It's a shame because the museum houses quite a collection of old aircraft.

Louisville - Day 2

With heavy rains headed our way, we decided to stay in Louisville one more day. It was a wise decision - it poured! We did take the car down to Loretto, KY where we took a tour of the Maker's Mark Distillery. We got to see the huge vats where the sour mash ferments and even got to stick our fingers into the different vats to see how the fermenting process changes flavor from sweet to sour. Then it was off to the barrel room where the whiskey sits for over 6 years to gain its unique flavor. From there, it was the bottling room where we watched workers dip the bottle tops into hot wax (a trademark of Maker's Mark). Then, the tasting room. Yum! I didn't buy any whiskey but did bring home some delicious chocolate bourbon balls.

After a delicious lunch at their little cafe (BBQ pulled pork sandwich - too good!), we drove up to Bardstown, KY where we visited My Old Kentucky Home State Park. We toured the old home at Federal Hill that Steven Foster visited in 1853 and wrote the state song of Kentucky, My Old Kentucky Home. The house was nice but, as usual, no photography was allowed so you'll have to use your imagination. . . close your eyes and think of an old house. Got it? Good.

Louisville, KY

We started our day by driving to downtown Louisville and visiting the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory. After being greeted by the world's largest baseball bat, we took a tour of the factory and watched them make bats for both beginners and professionals. Quite an operation for such a seemingly simple device. The museum gave us the opportunity to hold bats used by such famous stars as Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Ted Williams and to stand behind a foam-filled "catcher" while a 100+ mph pitch was hurled straight at us! Thank God for that bullet-proof plastic in front of us! I'm not sure I could hit a pitch that fast.

From there, we headed out to Churchill Downs Race Track where the Kentucky Derby has been held every year since 1875. We toured the facility including the paddock area and the track itself. Then we saw a horse, Phantom On Tour, who had finished 6th in the 1997 Kentucky Derby and still looked very fit. Then it was off to the 360-degree theater for a film on the history of Churchill Downs before being given the opportunity to visit their gift shop.

Then we drove down to Clermont, KY to visit the Jim Beam Distillery. Unfortunately, when we got there, we discovered that the factory tours were not available due to a vast remodeling project being done to the factory and the grounds, We did get a chance to do a 'tasting' of some of their fine bourbons before visiting their gift shop. Quite a day!

Off We Go Again

The old travel bug has bitten us again and we're off on another RV trip to explore the USA and Canada. We left home last Thursday and drove to Galax, VA to meet with the Sams-O-Wake RV Club for their monthly campout. Lots of good company and good food (perhaps too much of the latter) consumed the weekend.

On Sunday, we headed out on our adventure. I've mapped out our probable route (see attached map) but it will likely change as time progresses. Our basic intent is to explore the NorthEast USA and Eastern Canada. We spent last night in Milton, WV - just overnighting...nothing special to see. This afternoon, we arrived in Louisville, KY where we'll spend a day or two exploring the area. Stay tuned for details as they unfold. . .

Antiques Roadshow in Raleigh

On Saturday, June 27, the Antiques Roadshow came to Raleigh and we were one of the lucky few who received tickets to attend and have our precious items valued by the experts. After weeks of searching the house for the best stuff to bring, we arrived at 10:30 and joined a few thousand other hopefuls at the Raleigh Convention Center. We stood in the entry line for about 45 minutes while talking with other folks. Then we reached the tables where our items were classified and we were given tickets to the Toys and Games table (for our train set and magic lantern) and the Decorative Arts table (for our glass paintings). Off to another line... Toys and Games were first. When we finally got to the table, we met Noel Barrett who loved our old American Flyer train set and valued it at $300-$500. Then, he looked at the toy magic lantern that used a small kerosene lantern to project glass slides on a screen plus a box of old slides. He said it was from the early 20th century and originally sold for. . . are you ready for this?. . .about twenty-seven cents! It's current value is $35-$50. Oh well, that European vacation will just have to wait.

Then on to another, much longer, line for Decorative Arts. Here, we met J. Michael Flanigan who evaluated a pair of old, turn of the century, round glass paintings with metal collars made to hang on a wall. We thought these would be our "big find!" Nope! Printed on paper, then transferred to the back of the glass. Value: Worthless! Poo! Another, oh well!

Bottom line is that we won't be on TV unless we're seen in line behind someone lucky enough to have brought something a lot nicer than our stuff - like the lady with a jade collection valued at over $1.5 million! Regardless of the evaluations, it was a unique and fun experience and we really enjoyed meeting some nice folks and seeing some of the stars of the Antiques Roadshow. At least we came home with a nice picture of us.