2025 PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY ADVENTURE - TOUCHDOWN JESUS

 

After another great stay at the Drury Inn in Grand Rapids, Michigan, it was time to hit the road. By skipping the stops that I had penned in Lansing yesterday, I was able to get to Grand Rapids and spend the Afternoon visiting  the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum, I am now just about aa full day ahead of schedule.

Today’s plan is to head down to South Bend, Indiana and then head west and make my way around Chicago. I last visited Chicago back in November 2018 when I changed trains at Union Station during my Amtrak Vacation to Arizona and Back.

Back then there were areas of Chicago that tourists dared not venture into. But the area around Union Station and the Downtown area was reasonably safe. Since then, crime has increased significantly and no part of Chicago is considered safe. 

So, while Google Maps had me going right through downtown to the north side of Chicago before heading west toward my destination of Rockford, Illinois. My plan is to stay to the south of downtown and before angling north and west through the western suburbs out near O'Hara Airport.

After breakfast at the Drury Inn, I checked out of the hotel at 8:45 a.m. and started making my way toward South Bend, Indiana. Instead of traveling back through Downtown Grand Rapids, I headed south and made my around the south side of the city on Interstate 196. 

I stopped for gas and coffee at Loves in Holland, Michigan. I always use the Love’s app on my phone when buying gas because I get 10 cents per gallon off. Plus, every 5^th coffee or fountain drink is free. The last two fill ups I have averaged more than 41 miles per gallon. Not bad for a Honda with over 100,000 miles.

I use to think that West Virginia and Pennsylvania roads some of the worst maintained roads in the country. But they can't hold a light to the horrible roads in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. 

Due to the overall terrible condition of Michigan and Indiana Roads, It took me almost two hours to make the 85-mile drive from Holland, Michigan to South Bend, Indiana.

One of the reason that I wanted to come to South Bend was to visit Notre Dame Stadium and to see the Touchdown Jesus Mural. I arrived on campus and soon found that I had two Problems. One was that every parking lot on campus was gated and available to permit holders only. The second problem was there weas a massive amount of construction going on throughout the campus. It was apparent that I was not going to be able to get anywhere close to the stadium or to Touchdown Jesus.

I was getting ready to leave campus but made a wrong turn. but it actually ended up being a right turn. The wrong turn took me into a gated parking lot but unlike the others this one had an actual person inside the gatehouse.

The only way to turn around was to go into the parking lot. I stopped at the gate house and told the man inside that “I was lost.” To which he replied, “No you aren’t, you are on the Campus of Notre Dame.”

Sensing that this gentleman had a sense of humor, I asked him it he had any idea where I could park and get a couple of Quick Photo of Touchdown Jesus. He said if I didn’t mind taking a walk, he would give me a pass that would allow me to park in his lot.

I told him I didn’t mind walking to get my photo so he gave me a pass and told me where I should park in the lot.  After parking, I had to walk back by the parking attendant, and he called me over and gave me a campus map and gave me directions on how to get the best photo of Touchdown Jesus.

Following his directions, it took me about 15-minutes to make the walk to where I could get some awesome Photos of the Touchdown Jesus Mural.

Touchdown Jesus is officially named “The Word of Life Mural” It is located on the side of the Hesburgh Library and depicts Jesus with his arms raise similar to that of a referee signaling a touchdown.

The mural stands 134 feet high and is 69 feet wide. Because the mural can be seen from the Notre Dame Football stadium, the Fighting Irish Faithful refer to the mural as “Touchdown Jesus.”

After grabbing a few photos I headed back towards the parking Lot. I once again thanked the gentleman in the gate house for his kindness and ask him for directions to Cedar Grove Cemetery. He once again gave me directions and a brochure that contained a map of the Cemetery. I once again thanked him for his kindness.  

Cedar Grove Cemetery is actually located on the Campus of the University of Notre Dame. It was founded in 1843 by Reverend Edward Sorin soon after he founded the University. From its founding in 1843 until 1977 it was a Public Catholic Cemetery.

In 1977 ownership was transferred to the University who administers it today. Currently the Cemetery is about 22 acres and available burial space is extremely limited. In order to accommodate the large number of requests, the University is building or has built four mausoleums that will be available to Notre Dame Alumni. The new mausoleums will have space for casket and cremations niches. 

Cedar Grove is the final resting place of a number of notable People. Today, I hope to find the graves of three of the cemetery's most notable graves. Sometimes the GPS Coordinates on Find-A-Grave are spot on and other times they are off by quiet a bit. The Coordinates for the first grave I was looking for were off and it took me almost 30 minutes to find the grave of Knute Rockne.

Knute Rockne was both a player and coach at the University of Notre Dame. As a coach he led Notre Dame for 13 seasons, winning over 100 games and three National Championships.

He is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history, He perhaps best remembered for popularizing the forward pass and made the Notre Dame Fighting Irish a major factor in college football.

He is also remembered for his “Win One For the Gipper” speech. On November 10, 1928, the Fighting Irish were tied with Army 0–0 at the end of the half. Rockne entered the locker room and told the team the words he heard on George Gipp's deathbed in 1920: "I've got to go, Rock. It's all right. I'm not afraid. Some time, Rock, when the team is up against it, when things are going wrong and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go in there with all they've got and win just one for the Gipper." I don't know where I'll be then, Rock. But I'll know about it, and I'll be happy." This inspired the team, who then won the game 12–6. The phrase "Win one for the Gipper" was later used as a political slogan by Ronald Reagan, who in 1940 portrayed Gipp in the movie "Knute Rockne, All American."

Knute Rockne was only 43 years old when he died in a plane crash in 1931

The Find-A-Grave coordinates for the next grave were spot on and I quickly found the grave of another notable Notre Dame Football Coach, Ara Parseghian.

Ara Parseghian coached the Fighting Irish to National Championships in 1966 and 1973. Prior to Coach Parseghian’s arrival, the Fighting Irish were wallowing in futility. It was under Coach Parseghian’s leadership that Notre Dame returned national prominence. Coach Parseghian along with Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy are known as the Holy Trinity of Notre Dame Coaches.

Coach Ara Parseghian was 94 years old when he passed away on August 2, 2017.

Just a short walk from the Grave of Ara Parseghian is the grave of Notre Dame Alumni and TV Personality , Regis Philbin.

Regis Philbin got his start in television serving as a page on the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. In 1967 he got his first regular TV Exposure when he was cast as Joey Bishops sidekick on The Joey Bishop Show.

But is Perhaps best known as the co-host of the New York City–based nationally syndicated talk show Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee, starting in 1988, which became Live! with Regis and Kelly in 2001.   He is also well known as the original host of the American version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which was the most-watched prime-time series of the 1999–2000 television season. He also hosted the first season of America’s Got Talent.

Regis Philbin died at the age of 88 on July 24, 2020, from the Complications of Heart Disease. His funeral was held at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the Campus of Notre Dame, and he was laid to rest here in Cedar Grove Cemetery.

After finishing my visit to Cedar Grove, it was time to say goodbye to Notre Dame and South Bend and head west. I was not looking forward to this part of the trip. Almost all of the roads near Chicago are known for heavy traffic and loge delays.

 In Gary, Indiana I took a bathroom break at Loves. While there I got a large drink that should do me until I made the long trek around Chicago.

Just after crossing over into Illinois, I encountered my first traffic issue. Traffic was stop and go for about 2 miles which took about 20 minutes. Most of the Interstates and high traffic roads in the Chicago area toll roads.

Last year I broke down and got and EZ Pass Transponder. I have used it a few times on the toll roads in the Tidewater area of Virginia and on a couple of trips up the West Virginia Turnpike. I reloaded it with $100 before this trip just to accommodate the many toll roads in the Chicago Area. 

As I made my way around Chicago, I passed under a number to Toll sensors that stretched across the Highway. I assume that each time the toll was being paid using EZ Pass, which would give me a discount over the pay by plate option.

Rather than following the primary route suggested by Google Map I chose the route that keep me south of Chicago before heading northwest. This route took myby O’Hare Airport before I picked up Interstate 90 and headed west toward my destination for the night in Rockford, Illinois.

I had relatively good luck, and only encountered a few short areas where traffic was stop and go. Right after I passed the busy area around O'Hara Airport I arrived at Interstate 90 and Headed west.  The drive around Chicago and then west on Interstate 90 wasn’t bad and I arrived at My hotel just a few minutes before 4 p.m. Central time.

When I was looking at Hotel in the Rockford Area, I discovered that the Holiday Inn was sold out and the Hampton Inn and the Comfort Inn had well below average reviews on Trip Advisor and their own websites. 

The Hotels in nearby Benoit, Wisconsin wasn’t any better. So, the only hotel that had an above 4.0 rating was Candlewood Suites. I have stayed at a couple of Candlewood Suites before and while they are ok, they really aren’t my favorite place.

After checking in to the Candlewood Suites in Rockford I checked the area and decided to have supper at a Nearby Red Robin. 

After supper, It was still relatively early so I decided to kill a little time at the Hard Rock Casino that is located near my hotel. 

I'm not a big gambler only play the slot machines, or one armed bandits as they were once called. Today they don't have the lever or arm that you once pulled to spin the wheels. They are video games and all you do is sit and push buttons. To me pushing buttons, it's not a much fun as dropping you quarters and pulling the lever. 

I placed a $50 limit on myself. Once the $50 was gone, I would return to the hotel and call it a night. I had been playing for about an hour and had hit a couple of small jackpots that limited my losses. I was down about $20 when I hit a jackpot that paid $140. I was ahead and took the advice that I got years ago from my dad, “Quit while you are ahead.”

So, after playing for just a little under two hours, I cashed out and head back to the Hotel and called it a night. There were two bucket list things I wanted to do on this trip. I accomplished one yesterday when I visited the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum. Tomorrow I will cross the other off my list when I visit Historic Auto Attraction about 15 miles up the road in Roscoe Illinois.

Today's journey form Grand Rapids, Michigan to Rockford, Illinois was 319 miles which pushed me over  the thousand mile mark for this adventure.  The miles traveled for this trip now stands at 1,040.

2025 PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY ADVENTURE - GERALD FORD PRESIDENTIAL MUSEUM

 

Even though I stopped short last night and didn’t make it as far I a thought I could, after looking at what’s on the schedule for the next couple of day, I think I am pretty Much on schedule and may be ahead of schedule by the end of the day.

 The Holiday Inn near the University of Michigan was a very good choice. It was clean and the employees friendly. It’s always a good Holiday Inn Stay when the Pancake Roller is working for Breakfast.

One thing that always gets to me are unsupervised kids. Even though the parents are right there they provide no supervision. This was the case at breakfast. This one kid, maybe 8 or 9 years old, was just standing at the pancake roller pushing the button watching the pancake roll out. The pancake roller produces two small pancakes at a time. This kid just kept pushing the button. As I was standing behind him waiting my turn, I counted 8-cake already on his plate and two more on the Roller.

I finally brought this attention to the breakfast attendant who did say something to the kids’ mother who was just standing by watching. The mother, just laughed and said that “He is just fascinated with it and like to watch them come out.”  To make matters worse she just threw the 12 pancakes into the trash. What a waste of good food. The kid was a total brat that had never had a day of discipline in his life. Mother on the other hand is a complete waste of humanity.  People like her have no business reproducing.

I was really pissed but I did manage to hold my tongue and not say anything. I managed to get four pancakes before the machine ran out of batter.  Rant over.

By the time I finished breakfast and packed up it was close to 9 a.m. when I checked out of the hotel and hit the road. My destination for today is Grand Rapids, which is only about 130 miles away, so I am just going to take my time.

My first stop of the day took me through the backroad through the small towns of Stockbridge and Williamston, Michigan. Near Williamston, I stopped at Mount Calvary Cemetery to visit the grave of one of the biggest heels in professional wrestling.

The GPS Coordinates on Find-A=Grave were off and it took me a few minutes to find the grave of Edward George Farhat, better known to professional wrestling fans as “The Sheik.”

The Man Wrestling Fans knew as “The Sheik” was born on June 7, 1926, in Lansing, Michigan. After serving in the US Army during World War II, he started wrestling in the Midwest and soon became one of professional wrestling's biggest box office attractions. In the late 1960s, he wrestled regularly in Canada where he was undefeated for 127 matches going into the early 1970s.

He went on to become one of the biggest stars of the WWE, being billed from Iran, the Shiek appeared in Arabian dress and would enrage the fan by throwing fire in to the face of his opponents. He was one of the most hated wrestlers in history.

He retired from active wrestling in 1998 but continue to make appearance from time to time as a manager. When Sabu joined World Championship Wrestling in 1995, The Sheik accompanied him as his manager. During Sabu's match at Halloween Havoc, The Sheik suffered a broken leg, which forced him to retire.

In retirement The Sheik returned to Michigan, living quietly here in the Williamston Area. On January 18, 2003, He suffered a heart attack and passed away and was buried here in the Mount Calvary Cemetery just outside of Williamston.

After leaving Mount Calvary Cemetery, I headed over to Michigan’s Capital City of Lansing. The drive over from Williamston to Lansing took only about 30 minutes.  Now, my original plan was to make a couple of quick photo stops at the Spartan Stadium and the Breslin Center, home of the Michigan State Football and Basketball Teams. But there was a massive amount of construction going on around the stadium and I couldn’t get anywhere close to it.  I was only able to do a drive by of the Breslin Center and snap a couple of quick photos out of the window of the car.

Next on my list was to drive into downtown Lansing and visit the State Capitol. I wanted to get my State Capitol Passport Stamp. Last night I had looked on the map to see where I could find available parking near the Capitol Building.

But when I arrived in downtown Lansing I was once again greeted by closed streets and construction. I could not figure out how to get to one of the parking lots that I had marked and when I got to the parking garage that I had used as my second choice, I found that it was full. Some times things just don’t go as planned and you have to move on.

Not wanting to waste any more time I decided to get out of town and head west toward Grand Rapids. My original plan was to get to Grand Rapids late in the day and then Tour the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum first thing in the Morning. But now,0 Google Maps says I will be arriving shortly after noon so I will have the entire afternoon to spend at the Museum.

It took me just about an hour and a half to make 100-mile drive to Grand Rapids.  I was able to quickly find parking in the free dedicated lot located adjacent to the Museum. There is a free parking lot right next to the museum. 

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum is located right on the banks of the Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids. As you walk along the path along the river you get an awesome view of the downtown skyline. 

t was 12:30 p.m. when I purchased my ticket and began my self-guided tour of the museum. Most presidential museums are also home the the presidential library where all of the presidential papers are stored and available to researchers. 

Grand Rapids is only home to the Ford Presidential Museum. The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library is located on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, which was President Fords alma mater. 

Gerald R. Ford was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. Ford assumed the presidency after the resignation of President Richard Nixon, under whom he had served as the 40th vice president from 1973 to 1974. He was appointed Vice President following the resignation of  Spiro Agnew.. Prior to that, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949 to 1973. He is the Only person to serve as President and Vice President not to be elected to either office. He did run for reelections as president, but was defeated by Jimmy Carter..

The Ford Presidential Museum does a great job highlighting the life of our 38^th President, from his Birth as Leslie King in Omaha, Nebraska, his long service as a congressman, to his becoming Vice President and Then President.

In 1963, then congressman Ford Served on the Warren Commission, which was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson to investigate the assassination of President John Kennedy. Later as President he led the nation following the Watergate Scandal. While at the time many people criticized President Ford for the way he led the Notion in the post Watergate era, especially the Pardoning of Richard Nixon. But today most people think he provided sound leadership during one of our nations most troubling times. My Personal opinion some 50-years later, President Ford was exactly the right person to “End our Long National Nightmare,” and lead out nation in the Post Watergate.Era.

The Museum is also the final resting place of President Ford and his wife Betty. After finishing my tour of the museum, I made my way down a path that runs along side the Grand River to the graves of the President and First Lady.

President Ford chose Grand Rapids as the site of his Presidential Museum and final resting place because he considered Grand Rapids his hometown even though he had homes in Vail, Colorado and Palm Springs, California. He represented the Grand Rapids Area in Congress for more than 25-years before being appointed Vice President. 

After paying my respects to President and Mrs. Ford it was time to wrap up my visit and head to the Hotel.  I had considered staying at the Holiday Inn Right Next door to the Museum but there is a Drury Inn located in East Grand Rapids about 10-miles away. I actually passed it on the way into town. 

It took me only about 20 minutes to make it back to the Drury Inn, arriving just a few minutes after 3:30. This is earlier than I had planned on ending the day but since I basically had to skip everything in Lansing, I and now ahead of schedule.

According to the National Archives there are 13 active Presidential Libraries and Museums that are under their control and administration. Of those 13, I have visited 10. The only ones administered by the National Archives that I have not visited are Kennedy Museum in Massachusetts, and the Nixon and Reagan Museums in California. I have also visited the Rutherford B. Hayes Library and Museum Yesterday and plan to visit the Lincoln Museum on this trip. But they are administered by Private Foundation and not the National Archives.

Well, this turned out to be a short but really good day.  I was able to scratch a bucket list site off my list with my visit to the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum. I didn’t have to leave the hotel for supper as I took advantage of the 5:30 kickback here at the Drury Inn.

Today, my drive from Ann Arbor to Grand Rapids covered only 155 miles, which brings the total miles for this adventure to 721.

Tomorrow will most likely be a trave day as I head west and make my way around Chicago. Something that I am not looking forward to.

2025 PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY ADVENTURE - A PRESIDENT, AN ASTRONAUT & THE BIG HOUSE

 

After a good night’s sleep and a fantastic breakfast at the Drury Inn & Suites here in Dayton, Ohio. It was time to check out and head north on Interstate 75 toward my first stop of the day.

 About an hour after leaving the Hotel I arrived at the small town of Wapakoneta, Ohio. While not exactly a bucket list site, this is a place that I have always thought would be an interesting place to visit. Wapakoneta is the birthplace and boyhood home of astronaut Neil Armstrong and just off the Interstate is the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum.

The museum is located appropriately on Apollo Drive.  As you drive in you see a couple of jets on display in the parking lot. One is a NASA Trainer, and the other is a Lear Jet. Both were flown by Neil Armstrong.

The Museum itself documents the Life of Neil Armstrong from his early days here in Wapakoneta to

landing and walking on the moon and his retirement years. During my tour I met a wonderful man named Jerry who is a volunteer/historian at the museum. Jerry shared a number of stories about Neil and many of the artifacts on Display, Thanks to Jerry, my self-guided tour turned into a super interesting, guided tour.  

 After walking on the moon and returning to earth, Neil Armstrong ended his career with NASA. He retired and returned to Ohio, and for the next 23-years he lived on a farm near Lebanon, Ohio. In retirement he largely stayed out of public view, choosing instead to work and live a quiet life. He didn’t give very many interviews, leaving the more public life to his fellow Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

 The Neil Armstrong Air & Space Museum was worth every bit of the $13 admission fee. And once again thanks to Jerry for really taking the time to share your insight and stories with me.

 It was 12:15 p.m. when I left the Museum and headed North on the Interstate toward my next stop at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Site in Fremont, Ohio. The drive from Wapakoneta to Fremont took about 90 minutes.

The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Site is made up of his Presidential Library and Museum, His home, Spiegel Grove and the graves of President Hayes, his wife and other members of the family.

 It was 1:50 p.m. when I arrived at the Hayes Presidential Site and I had to hustle into the Visitor’s Center to purchase my ticket for the 2 p.m. house tour, which was the last guided tour of the day.  I met my tour guide on the Front Porch at Spiegel Grove and the tour started promptly at 2 p.m.

 Spiegel Grove is the 31-room house that was home to President Rutherford B. Hayes. President Hayes and another future President from Ohio William McKinley served together during the Civil War as part of the 23 Ohio.

 After the Civil War Hayes, entered Politics serving first in the United States House of Representatives and then as the Governor of Ohio. In fact, he served two non-consecutive as Governor. First as the 29^th Governor from 1868-1872 and again as the 32 Governor from 1876 – 1877.

 His second term as Governor was cut Short when he was elected the 19^th President of the United States, serving from 1877 – 1881. President Hayes vowed if elected, he would serve only one term. He was true to his work and at the end of his term, he did not seek re-election and returned to his home here at Spiegel Grove.

 The Hayes’s live at Spiegel Grove for about 20-years, from 1873 until his death in 1893. Both President Hayes and First Lady Lucy Webb Hayes died in this house about 4-years apart. Both are buried on the property.

 My guided tour to the Mansion lasted a little over an hour and our guide was excellent. She passed along a bounty of information and was able to answer any questions posed by the people in our group.

After finishing my tour of the house, we were free to explore the grounds and visit the grave of the President Hayes and the First Lady. They are both Buried just a short walk from the House in a quiet corner of the property. Also resting here is one of their sons, Webb Cook Hayes and his wife, Mary.

 Webb Hayes was President and Mrs. Hayes second child. He participated in the Philippine Insurrection and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his service. His Medal of Honor Citation reads:

 “Pushed through the enemy's lines alone, during the night, from the beach to the beleaguered force at Vigan, and returned the following morning to report the condition of affairs to the Navy and secure assistance.” 

A unique thing about the graveyard here at Spiegel Grove is outside of the fence. There are two stone on the hillside inscribed with the Names Old Ned and Old Whitey. Old Ned was a beloved workhorse and buggy horse belonging to Rutherford B. Hayes' uncle, Sardis Birchard. He was known for his age and longevity, even being featured in a local newspaper article during his lifetime. Old Ned died in January 1871 at the age of 36.

 Old Whitey was President Hayes war horse. Old Whitey survived 19 Civil War battles. He was pure white which made him an easy target for sharpshooters. However, because of his speed, stamina and jumping ability he was able to survive the war. After the war Old Whitey was brought to Spiegel Grove and lived here until his death at the age of 20 in 1879.

Before Leaving the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Site it dawned on me that I hadn’t made my Hotel Reservation for the Night. The only Drury Property was about an Hour away in Findley, Ohio. That was about an hour away and would require me to back track several miles.

I don’t like to back track and chew the same ground twice, so I looked ahead and compared hotels in both Lansing and Ann Arbor, Michigan. The rates at Ann Arbor were about $40 a night cheaper than the ones in Lansing.  So, I turned to the Holiday Inn App and made a reservation at the Holiday Inn Express near the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

I pulled out of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Site at 4:15 p.m. and headed toward Michigan. An Hour Later I left Ohio behind and entered Michigan.

 I have not been to Michigan before, and this is the 44^th state in the lower 48 that I have visited. I have only Wisconsin, Idaho, Washington and Oregon to visit and I will have made it to all of the Lower 48.

 I made a quick stop at the Michigan Welcome Center U. S. Route 23 before driving the last 30-minutes to Ann Arbor.

 I still have some daylight left so I decided to pay a visit to Forest Hills Cemetery. Forest Hill was founded in 1857 by a group of prominent Ann Arbor Businessmen and Professors at the University of Michigan. It is a well maintained garden cemetery that is the final resting play of a number of notable citizens.

There is one grave here that I want to visit. That is the grave of long time University of Michigan Football Coach, Glenn “Bo” Schembechler.

 Coach Schembechler served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of Michigan from 1969 to 1989, compiling a career record of 234 wins, 65 losses and 8 ties.

 In his 21 seasons as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines, Schembechler's teams amassed a record of 194–48–5 and won or shared 13 Big Ten Conference titles. Though his Michigan teams never won a national championship, in all but one season they finished ranked in the top 20, and 16 times they finished the season ranked in the top ten of both major polls.

 After paying my respects to Coach Schembechler, I headed toward my Hotel which was near the University of Michigan. My play was to try and visit the Stadium and Crisler Arena on the way out of town in the morning.

 But the route to the hotel took me right by the stadium. So, with it being Sunday Afternoon I found a parking spot and snapped a few photos.

 

Michigan stadium or “The Big House,” as it is commonly known, is home to the University of Michigan Wolverines. It is the largest stadium in the United States and the 3^rd largest stadium in the Western Hemisphere. The stadiums has an official seating capacity of 107,000 but has hosted a crowd as large as 115,000.

 Right Next door to the “Big House” is Crisler Arena, home to the Michigan Basketball Team.

The Arena was named for Fritz Crisler who was the University’s Athletic Director from 1941 through 1968. It opened on December 6, 1967, and has a current seating capacity of 12,707.

 My hotel was only about 3-miles away from the University of Michigan sports facilities. Before leaving the parking lot at the big house, I checked Google Maps and found that there is no places to eat anywhere close to the Hotel.

 The drive to the hotel was largely through a residential area with some office buildings sprinkled in for good measure. On the way I did pass a Taco Bell and decided to stop and grab supper before and take it to the Hotel.

 It was 7:05 p.m. when I arrived and checked into my room. It was clean and the front desk staff was very friendly. I just hope the Pancake roller is working for breakfast in the morning.

 Today’s adventure from Dayton, Ohio, to Ann Arbor, Michigan covered a total of 243 miles that coupled with yesterday’s 323 miles make the total miles traveled in the past two days, 566.

2025 PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY ADVENTURE - DAYTON, OHIO

 

I’m going to take a little break from my Nashville Cemetery Tour and get back on the road. Last year in July 2025, I took a weeklong trip through the upper Midwest. During this trip I was able to scratch a few sites off my bucket list.

This trip took play from July 5-11, 2025, and allowed me to visit 5 states, including, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan.  This will be my first visit to Michigan, leave only Wisconsin, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, in the lower 48 that I haven’t visited.

I don’t usually like to travel on holiday weekend, but due to some scheduling issues, I made an exception and planned on leaving home on Saturday Morning, July 5^th.  This was right in the heart of the Independence Day weekend. For the next couple of days, I have no doubt that traffic will be terrible.

Today is Saturday, July 5^th and it is get away day and it’s all about miles.  I wanted to be on the road by 8 a.m. In order for me to feed the cats (Ollie, Nugget and Jasper) and feed and walk Chaos, I was up at 7: a.m. I think Ollie and Nugget know something is up because rather than eating they both are following me around. They hate to see me go and truth be told, as much as I enjoy traveling, I hate to leave them for an extended period.

 Well, it took longer than planned for Chaos to do his business and for me to finish packing and I didn’t leave until 8:20 a.m. After a little over an hour and 10 minutes later, I made my first stop of the day at the West Virginia Welcome Center in Princeton, West Virginia.

 The Princeton Welcome Center is right off Interstate 77 at the southern end of the West Virginia Turnpike. I always stop here before heading north on the Turnpike because there aren’t many places to stop between here and the Northern End in  Charleston.

 After a quick 10-minute stop at the Welcome Center, it was time to head north on the Turnpike.  The West Virginia Turnpike is a toll road, if you travel the full 88-miles from Princeton to Charleston you will be required to stop at three toll plazas spaced about 30 miles apart.  The toll at each plaza is $4.50 for a total of $13.50.

 The Turnpike is a fairly good road between Princeton and Beckley. But once you get north of Beckley, the road is curvy, rough, and bumpy. You would think that for the cost of the tolls the turnpike authority could keep it in better shape.

 I managed to navigate the turnpike without incident and zip around Charleston. As I head west on Interstate 64 the Gold Dome of the West Virginia State Capitol is glistening in the sunlight off to my left.

 After 20-minutes later I cross the Kanawha River and leave Interstate 64 and head north on U. S. 35. Like I said, today is all about miles and stops are few and far between. About an hour  after traveling through downtown Charleston, I crossed the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, West Virginia. As I cross the bridge, I leave West Virginia and say hello to the State of Ohio.

 As I am traveling up on U. S. Route 35, the Driver attention alert on my Honda Accord, started telling me that it was time for a break. So, I decided to pull into the Ohio Rest Area on U. S. Highway 35 near Ray, Ohio. I looked at my watch, and it has been exactly 3-hours since my last stop at the Welcome Center in Princeton.

 About an hour after leaving the rest area, I pulled into Wendy’s in Jeffersonville, Ohio for lunch before pushing on to Dayton where I have reservation for the Night. I had anticipated encountering Heavy Traffic throughout the day, especially on the West Virginia Turnpike. But surprisingly, traffic has moved at or close to the speed limit all the way.

 As a result, I arrived in Dayton way earlier than I expected, and I can’t check into my hotel for a couple of hours. So, I decided to visit Woodland Cemetery which was founded in the early 1840’s. It began with 40 acres and over the years has expanded to a little more than 200 acres today.

 Woodland is the final Resting Place of some of the area’s most notable citizens, including the Wright Brothers. My first stop was just inside the gates of the cemetery at the Grave of humorist and columnist Erma Bombeck.

For more than 30 years, Erma Bombeck chronicled life's absurdities in a syndicated column carried by hundreds of newspapers. She was born here in Dayton, where at the age of fifteen, she was hired by the Dayton Herald as a copygirl.

When Shirley Temple came to Dayton for a movie premier, Erma interviewed her and the story was published on the feature page of the newspaper. That day marked the beginning of her writing career.

She enrolled at the University of Ohio then transferred to Dayton University where she graduated. The Dayton Journal-Herald welcomed her back and she was assigned to the women's section. She began writing a column resulting in syndication appearing in thirty-eight papers the first year. Five years later, her column, "At Wit's End," was staple in 500, and at the time of her death, it appeared in more than 800 newspapers

Erma Bombeck passed away on August 22, 1996, from the complication of kidney disease. At Erma’s funeral mass, her friend and former neighbor Phil Donahue delivered the eulogy. She was buried here in Woodland Cemetery, where a 29,000-pound boulder from her Arizona Home marks her grave.

After visiting the grave of Erma Bombeck, I continued to explore the cemetery, stopping briefly at the grave of John Balsley. Who is John Balsey, you ask? Well, he was a carpenter by trade, and is best known for inventing the folding step ladder.

 I also stopped and paid my respects to the Ritty Brothers. They opened the Pony House saloon in Dayton in 1871. They suspected that employees were not accounting for all of the saloon’s sales. So, In 1878, they came up with an idea of making a machine that would count sales at the saloon, along with keeping track of the money and the amount of each sale. Their first few attempts were total failures until they improved on their ideas by adding a paper roll to it so it could record each transaction in dollars and cents.

The Brothers filed for and received a patent for their cash register in 1879. Eventually they sold the patent for their invention to John Patterson for $6,500.  Patterson mass produced the Ritty Brothers Cash Register and went on to found the National Cash Register (NCR), which is still in business today. John Patterson is buried in this same cemetery just a short distance away.

 Probably the most visited graves in Woodland Cemetery are in Section 101. It is there I found the Wright Family Plot where Orville and Wilbur Wright are buried. The Wright Brothers operated a bicycle shop in Dayton. It was in their bicycle shop that the two brothers began experimenting with aeronautics and set about inventing a device that would not only fly but take off and land.

 After years of experimenting, the brothers took their invention to the Sand Dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. It was There on December 17, 1903, that Orville and Wilbur Wright accomplished the first sustained self-propelled controlled flight. The airplane and the age of aviation was born.

 

Wilbur Wright lived just 10 more years after those first flights in North Carolina, dying at the age of 45 on May 30, 1912, from Typhoid Fever.

Orville lived for another 36 years and was able to see their invention soar to new heights. He died at the age of 76 on January 30, 1948, from a heart attack. The Wright Brothers are buried in the Family Plot with their parents and their sister Katie.

 

The visit to the Wright Brothers Graves wrapped up my visit to Woodland Cemetery and it was time to head to my hotel on the north side of Dayton. It took me about 20 minutes to make the drive through the end of the day traffic.

 I arrived at the Drury Inn & Suites – Dayton North at about 4:45 p.m. and quickly checked into my room. I have yet to have a bad experience at a Drury Hotel. The employees are so friendly and professional. Everyone goes out of their way to ensure that you have a perfect stay.

 The 5:30 kickback featured BBQ sliders with a baked Potato and salad. This was a really good supper. I don’t think I mentioned but each Drury offers free adult beverages during the Kickback hours. When you check-in they will give you a drink ticket with your Key. All you do is present the ticket to the bartender to receive your complimentary beverage. I don’t drink but it is a nice feature for those who do.

 

Traffic today was nowhere near as bad at I had expected and I arrived in Dayton Way earlier than planned. Not a bad start to this little adventure.