When I last left you I had just finish up my annual NCAA Basketball Vacation and a couple of other smaller trips. Let's move on to the summer recap which started on July 5th. I usually don't like to travel on Holiday Weekends, and starting this adventure on the Saturday of the Independence Day Weekend wasn't my smartest move. But due to some obligations and and scheduling conflicts later in the month this was the only time I could manage being gone for a week.
I left home on Saturday Morning, July 5h and headed up the West Virginia Turnpike and over to Dayton Ohio. I arrived in Dayton earlier than I expected and couldn't check into my Hotel. So, what do I do when I have some time to kill? I visit a Cemetery.
I spent the Drury Inn - Dayton. I have come to love Drury Properties. I can honestly say I have never had a bad stay at a Drury Inn. The staff are all friendly and helpful and the evening kickback and morning breakfast are always excellent.
From Dayton, I traveled up Interstate 75 to the town of Wapakoneta, Ohio which is the birthplace of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the surface of the moon. As a tribute to Neil Armstrong, Wapakoneta is also the home of the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum.
I ended up spending most of the morning at the Armstrong Air and Space Museum. After a quick Lunch, I mad the almost two hour drive up to Fremont, Ohio to visits Spiegel Grove which was the home of President Rutherford B. Hayes. Also located here adjacent to home is the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Museum and the graves President Hayes and other members of his family.
I paid for the Guided tour of the house which took longer than I expected. The Tour is advertised as lasting about an hour but my tour lasted almost an hour and a half. After touring the house I made my way to the small cemetery to visit the graves of President and Mrs. Hayes. Also buried here are the Presidents Son, Webb Hayes and his wife Mary.
Webb Hayes was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Philippines when he led a rescue party to free U. S. Soldiers being held on Vigan Island near Manilla.
Time sort of get away from me and by the time I finished with the House tour and walking the ground, the Museum was about to close, so I didn't have time to visit it. I had originally planned on spending the Night at the Drury Inn in Findley, Ohio but I had forgot to make my reservation last night and when I tried to make before leaving Spiegel Grove, I discovered it was sold out.
When I put the address for my hotel into Google Maps, the route took meet right past Michigan Stadium. So I had to stop and get a few photos of "The Big House" and Crisler Arena which stands right next to the football stadium.
The holiday Inn was only about 2-miles away, and after picking up supper from a nearby Jersey Mikes, It was time to bring this day to a close.
Day three of this adventure began with Breakfast at the Holiday Inn. About an hour after leaving the Holiday Inn, I arrived at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Williamston, Michigan. I made a special trip here to visit the Grave of Edward George Farhat who is better known to professional wrestling fans at "The Shiek."
When I was growing up I love to watch professional wrestling n TV. One of the most hated wrestlers of all time was "The Shiek." He was the villain in every sense of the word. His signature move was throwning a fire ball into his opponents face.to win his matches.
From Mount Calvary Cemetery I made my way over to East Lansing where I wanted to add Spartan Stadium and the Breslin Center to the list of sports venues that I have visited. But this didn't got as planned. Everywhere I went on the Michigan State Campus I encountered construction which basically made my GPS useless. I never did get anywhere close to Spartan Stadium and all of the parking lots near the Breslin Center were blocked off. So I could only do a quick drive-by and snap a couple of photos.
From East Lansing I wanted to go visit the Michigan State Capitol in downtown Lansing. But when I put it into Google Maps I noticed that all of the streets around the Capitol were red. So, I decided to skip Lansing and head west toward Grand Rapids.
With my visit to Lansing being a total bust, I arrived in Grand Rapids in the early afternoon. Before leaving Lansing I made my Hotel reservation at the Drury Inn - Grand Rapids.
President Ford is the only man that was neither elected vice president or president. President Richard Nixon appointed Ford as Vice President following the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew. Then when Nixon was forced to resign because of the Watergate Scandal, Ford ascended to the Presidency. He ran for reelection but was defeated by Jimmy Carter.
Currently there are a total of 13 Presidential Libraries open to the Public. Of those 13, I have visited 10 of them. I still need to Visit the Kennedy Museum in Boston, and the Nixon and Reagan Museums in California.
Plans for the Obama, Trump and Biden President Museums are in the works but as far as I know none of them are under construction.
I was impressed with just about every aspect of the Ford Museum, especially the way it presented the story of Watergate. The Gerald R. Ford Museum is actually located on the banks of the Grand River in Downtown Grand Rapids and is the Final Resting Place of President Ford and his wife Betty.
I spent the entire afternoon at the Ford Museum. I actually stayed until they closed. I had to travel back to the east side of Grand Rapids to reach the Drury Inn, which bring to an to another good day on the road.
Visiting the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum was on my bucket List and today I am going to scratch another site off of my Bucket List.
After leaving Grand Rapids I drove two hours south to South Bend, Indiana. where I wanted to visit the campus of Notre Dame. Arriving on campus it looked like this was going to be a bust too. I wanted to visit Notre Dame Stadium and see the Touchdown Jesus Mural. But arriving on campus I noticed that all of the parking lots were either chained off and closed or the ones that were open you needed a permit.
I was just about ready to get up when I made a wrong turn that turned out to be a right turn. I accidently turned into a parking lot that actually had a person in the booth checking permits. I told him that I had made a wrong turn.. He was very nice and I ask him if there was any where I could park long enough to see Touchdown Jesus. .
He told me that if I didn't mind walking a little then I could park in his lot long enough to go se it. I told him I didn't mind at all and thank him for his help. He showed me where to park and gave me a map that helped me find "Touchdown Jesus."
It was about a 15 minute walk from where I parked to the Hesburgh Library where the Word of Life Mural is located. The World of Life Mural is commonly called Touchdown Jesus because the figure of Jesus has his arms raised and he can be seen from Notre Dame Football Stadium. The Mural stands 134 feet high and 68 feet wide.
When I was parking the attendant told me that there was construction going on all around the Stadium and I probably would not be able to get decent picture. So I gave up on seeing the stadium and headed over to Cedar Grove Cemetery to visit the graves of Knute Rockne, Ara Parseghian and Regis Philbin.
With My visit to Cedar Grove I ended my Visit to South Bend and Notre Dame. Now comes the part of the trip that I had dreaded since I first started Planning it. Now it was time to head over to my Rockford, Illinois where I will be spending the Night. This will require me to drive through Chicago. A drive that I am not looking forward too.
As much as I dreaded the drive, I must say that it wasn't that bad. Originally, Google Maps had me going right through downtown Chicago, but it later rerouted me to the west where I went right by O'Hare Airport before heading west toward Rockford on Interstate 90.
My accommodations for the night was at the Candlewood Suites in East Rockford which is located just across I-90 from the Hard Rock Casino. I am not a gambler but after supper I decided to kill some time at the Hard Rock Casino.
I am a big spender and usually limit myself to $20, which usually last me about 45 minutes to an hour. I played several different slot machines and just about every time I was getting close to exhausting my $20, I would hit a small jackpot that allowed me to keep playing.
I ended up playing about 2 hours and basically left with my original $20. I didn't win anything, but I didn't lose anything either.
The Candlewood Suites was nothing to write home about. The rooms were clean but they do not offer breakfast and the coffee was Horrible. So after checking out, I headed over to a nearby Cracker Barrel for Breakfast before head out to scratch another site off my bucket list.
Historic Auto Attractions has more than 87,000 square feet of exhibit space that is divided into several themed galleries. The Presidential Gallery has historic vehicle that were used by Presidents dating back to President Ulysses Grant. The 1865 Studebaker Carriage was purchased by then General Grant in 1865 and was used by him through the early part of his Presidency. It is the oldest vehicle in the Presidential Gallery.
There are two separate galleries that contain artifact and vehicle relating to the Assassination of Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy. Highlights of the Lincoln Exhibit is one of President Lincolns personal chair, his straight razor and Mary Todd Lincoln's Morning Veil and fan.
My favorite Gallery was the the John F. Kennedy Gallery. This gallery has two prominent vehicles related to the Dallas Assassination. The Secret Service follow up car from the Dallas Motorcade is on display. This was the car that was directly behind the Presidents Limousine when President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.
Also on display in the Kennedy Gallery is the O'Neal Ambulance that transported Lee Harvey Oswald from the basement of the Dallas Police Department to Parkland Hospital when he was shot by Jack Ruby.
During President Kennedy's funeral his body was returned to the White House where he lay in state in the East Room. His closed Casket was covered by an American Flag. The flag the covered his casket in the East Room is just one oe many Kennedy assassination and funeral artifact that are on display in this amazing exhibit.
I arrived at Historic Auto Attractions when it opened at 9 a.m.. While the museum is usually open until 5 p.m. they were closing at 3 p.m. so that they could prepare for a special event later in the evening. Very few museums can hold my attention for 6 housrs, but I can honestly say that this was the most amazing museum that I have ever visited. I think I enjoyed it more than the any of the Smithsonian's.
Since I had to leave the Museum early, I had some extra time on my hands. So, after look at everything I decided to make a beeline south to Springfield, Illinois and use one of my Choice Nights at a Comfort Inn.
Springfield wasn't originally on my travel plan but I had wanted to Visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum again.
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum didn't open until 10 a.m. so after checking out of the Hotel I decided to return to Oak Ridge Cemetery and visit Lincoln's Tomb. I had been there twice before. This visit was a little different from the others as I was the only one there. Having the place to myself was really very nice. Not screaming kid and no disrespectable people who treat this place as just another tourist attraction rather than a sacred place.
This Presidential Museum is set up like none of the Others. Wax Figures of President Lincoln, His wife and Kid greet visitors in the entrance rotunda. They are standing in front of the White House. The take you through President Lincoln's life from his time as a rail splitter in Kentucky, to a circuit riding lawyer in Illinois to the President of the United States during the Civil War.
After finishing up at the Lincoln Museum, it was time to head east to The Drury Inn in Indianapolis. This would be my Last night on the road.
Before Leaving Indianapolis, I visited Crown Hill Cemetery. While I had been here before I want to return and visit the Graves of President Benjamin Harrison and John Dillinger and record some footage that I will eventually Edit and use on My YouTube Channel
I ended up spending a little longer than planned at Crown Hill but the last stop of this adventure was just about 30 miles or so east of Indianapolis. A few years back I visited the small town of Milan, Indiana. The Milan High School Basketball Team was the inspiration for the popular movie "Hoositer" that starred Gene Hackman.
Today, my last stop on this trip was in Knightstown, Indiana where I visited the actual gym where the Movie "Hoosiers" was filmed. I must say the gyn looks exactly like it did in the Hoosiers. Even the dressing room where Gene Hackman uttered that famous line, :Welcome to Indiana Basketball" looked exactly the same.
The volunteers at the Gym were very informative, pointing out the exact places where some of the more popular scene were filmed. By the time I was finished at the Hoosier's Gym it was a little after 1:30 in the Afternoon. I still hope to make it home tonight and not spend another night in a hotel. But that will depend largely on traffic.
Indian Roads are absolutely Horrible but I made it to Dayton without too much of an issue. Only one slow down for Construction. I zipped around Dayton and Headed toward the Ohio River at Point Pleasant.
Driving through Charleston and down the West Virginia Turnpike is always an adventure but for the most part there were no problems. I has Supper in Beckley and then it was a straight shot home..
This was a great Trip, but without a doubt the highlight of the trip was my visit to Historic Auto Attractions. I can't say enough about this amazing museum. It is well worth a visit if you find yourself anywhere close to Rockford, Illinois.
This post has gotten a little long so I am going to end it here and wrap up my review of 2025 in Part 3.
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