ES VROC Reunion Rally 2015 and Vacation

Posts tagged ‘ES VROC Reunion Rally 2015 and Vacation’

VROC Reunion Rally 2015: Returning Home – Mount Vernon, OH to Warren, PA

Today is the final day of our 13-day vacation. We are traveling home from the VROC Reunion Rally, which was held in Eureka Springs, AR.

We departed Mount Vernon OH around 8:00 am, en route home. Approximately 2 hours later we were stuck in Canton, OH without power steering. I am thankful that the power steering went out where it did. We were approaching I-77, when I lost the power steering. I was able to safely make my way into a CVS parking lot. I am thankful I didn’t lose the power steering, while on the Interstate! I am thankful, too, for Triple A. There is a commercial about State Farm that says “like a good neighbor State Farm is there”. I can say the same thing about Triple A. Within 45 minutes after my call to Triple A, my car was on a flatbed truck en route Hills & Dales AutoCare.

Canton, OH
Triple A is loading my car onto a flatbed trailer at the CVS parking lot.
(Photo by Bob)

Canton, OH
My car on the flatbed truck at the CVS parking lot
(Photo by Bob)

Canton, OH
Unloading my car from flatbed trailer at the Hills & Dales Full Service Auto Center

We have Basic AAA coverage. The first 3 miles was free towing. Each mile thereafter was $4.25/mile. The auto repair facility was located only 6 miles from where we were stranded. The work order indicated that we were towed in to Hills & Dales at 11:30 am. We were back on the road again at 12:51 pm. The cause, as explained to Bob by the technician at Hills & Dales, was that the plastic idler pulley that was attached to the bearing broke apart, resulting in the belt slipping off. The belt was replaced along with the pulley. Hills & Dales is a courteous, professional top notch full service auto center. They got us quickly on the road again with a difficult repair job that Bob couldn’t have done himself. Thanks guys!!!

Bob discovered, while waiting for the car to be repaired, that he was missing his Discover card. We determined that Bob had to have left the card behind at WineStein, in Mount Vernon OH, at dinner last night. After a few calls, Bob was able to make contact with someone in the restaurant. Yes, his Discover card was there. The restaurant mailed the card to Bob by certified mail.

We had no other problems on the way home.

Pennsylvania Welcome Center
Middlesex, PA
I was happy, when we crossed the Ohio-Pennsylvania border into Pennsylvania.

We returned home around 5:15 pm. I drove approximately 250 miles today.

Today’s route:

All total, I drove a total of 2,440.3 miles since Friday, September 11. Feeling extremely fatigued, I went to bed at 7:30 pm.

This blog post marks the end of our 13-day vacation. I hope that you have enjoyed the journey!

VROC Reunion Rally 2015: Returning Home – Dayton, OH to Mount Vernon, OH

Today is Day 12 of our 13-day vacation. We are traveling home from the VROC Reunion Rally, which was held in Eureka Springs, AR.

We departed the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, OH at 2:00 pm, en route home.

I took only one photograph along the way.

This scene in Dublin, OH caught my eye.

We made it as far as Mount Vernon, OH. My knee hurt from walking on the concrete floors of the Air Force Museum for 3+ hours. I might have been able to drive farther, if it wasn’t my right knee being in pain. My right leg is used to press on the gas and brake pedals. Bob really wishes we had made it home tonight. He said “everyone else has made it home from Eureka Springs, even Shannon and Ryan and they live in Hawaii!”

We checked into Comfort Inn in Mount Vernon at 4:30 pm. We were familiar with this hotel, as we stayed here in June 2009 on our way home from Richmond, KY where we had attended a VROC motorcycle rally.

We drove 132 miles today, counting the mileage from our hotel in South Dayton to the museum and from the museum to Mount Vernon, OH. Here is the route we took from the museum to Mount Vernon.

After resting for about 1 ½ hours, we walked to WineStein, located next door to the hotel.

Bob and I at WineStein

We ate dinner at WineStein. Bob ordered a gourmet cheeseburger with a side salad. I ordered a grilled chicken breast with peanut sauce, southwestern au gratin potatoes and green beans. The atmosphere was relaxing; service was good; and dinner was delicious. After dinner, we walked a short distance to Whit’s for dessert. We had custard ice cream, which was not soft serve as we have been accustomed to. Whit’s custard ice cream is served as a scoop.

On our way back to the hotel from Whit’s,
I had to stop and take a picture of this bridge and moon reflecting in the water.

We spent rest of the evening in our hotel room. There were two room amenities that I particularly liked in this hotel.

The bedside lamps included reading lights.

The refrigerator was larger than those found in most hotel rooms.

VROC Reunion Rally 2015: Returning Home – National Museum of the US Air Force, Part 3

Today is Day 12 of our 13-day vacation. We are traveling home from the VROC Reunion Rally, which was held in Eureka Springs, AR.

We visited the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, OH today. In previous blog posts I shared photographs from the Presidential and R&D Galleries and from the Early Year’s Gallery and the World War II Gallery. In today’s blog post I will share photographs from the Korean War Gallery.

According to the National Museum of the US Air Force website “[t]he Korean War Gallery contains aircraft and exhibits that tell the story of the U.S. Air Force’s role and performance in that conflict. Visitors can immerse themselves in a storyline that reflects the emergence of the modern Air Force as the service experienced significant changes in roles, tactics and technology during the war. The conflict’s two most striking symbols of air power on both sides – the F-86A Sabre and the MiG-15 – are on display next to each other. Mannequins used in exhibits depict both everyday moments in the lives of airmen as well as historical images, such as the famous photo featuring pilots headed to the flight line as they walk under the MiG Alley sign.”

Douglas C-124 Globemaster II

Lockheed F-80C Shooting Star

North American F-86A Sabre

and MiG Alley

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis

B-29 Walk-Through Fuselage

We walked through the fuselage.

Two bombs are shown here:
the VB-13 Tarzon Bomb
and the VB-3 Razon Bomb.

B-29 “Command Decision” nose art

Barracks Tent
with Douglas C-124 Globemaster II behind it

The National Museum of the US Air Force is a very cool place to visit. The museum is huge! No way can you see everything in a day, let alone a few hours!

Before leaving the museum, we ate lunch (cheeseburgers, French fries/onion rings and chocolate cake) in the Valkyrie Cafe.

VROC Reunion Rally 2015 – Returning Home: National Museum of the US Air Force, Part 2

Today is Day 12 of our 13-day vacation. We are traveling home from the VROC Reunion Rally, which was held in Eureka Springs, AR.

We visited the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, OH today. In yesterday’s blog post, I shared photographs from the Presidential and R&D Galleries. In today’s blog post I will share photographs from the Early Year’s Gallery and the World War II Gallery.

When we returned to the main museum complex from the Presidential and R&D Galleries, the shuttle bus left us off at the entrance to the museum.

Entrance to the National Museum of the US Air Force

According to the museum’s website, the “Early Years Gallery conveys the magic and wonder of the formative days of military air power. The gallery’s aircraft collection, exhibits and artifacts combine to capture the spirit of imagination of that transformational era, chronicling the time from the Wright brothers and their contemporaries, through World War I and to the lead up to World War II.”

Wright 1909 Military Flyer
and
Curtiss 1911 Model D

Only the exhibits at the entrance to the Early Years Gallery were open to the public, when we visited the museum. Rest of the Early Years Gallery displays were blocked off from visitors.

According to the museum’s website, “[h]arrowing and courageous moments are captured in the museum’s World War II Gallery, which houses one of the world’s top collections of WWII aircraft and a variety of engaging and evocative exhibits to tell the proud story of the U.S. Army Air Forces during the war. The gallery captures the pivotal moments, campaigns and figures of U.S. Army Air Forces’ air power in both the Pacific and European Theaters.”

Curtiss P-40E Warhawk

Consolidated B-24D Liberator

Fieseler Fi-156C-1 Storch

Republic P-47D

Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress

French “Forty and Eight” Railroad Car

Noorduyn UC-64A Norseman

Messerschmitt Me 262A Schwalbe

Douglas A-20G Havoc

Boeing B-29 Superfortress

Kawanishi N1K2-Ja Shiden Kai

TO BE CONTINUED

VROC Reunion Rally 2015: Returning Home – National Museum of the US Air Force, Part 1

Today is Day 12 of our 13-day vacation. We are traveling home from the VROC Reunion Rally, which was held in Eureka Springs, AR.

We visited the National Museum of the United States Air Force today. The museum was located an approximate 20-minute drive from the Best Western Plus Dayton South, where we had spent the previous night. We arrived about 20 minutes before the museum’s opening time of 9:00 am. Our first order of business, as soon as the museum opened, was to register for the shuttle bus service to the Presidential and R&D Galleries that are located on the controlled-access portion of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The first shuttle bus to the Presidential and R&D Galleries departed at 9:20 am, after a short briefing in the Carney Auditorium. We were registered as the third and fourth passengers.

According to the museum website, the “Presidential Gallery gives visitors the opportunity to view an historic collection of presidential aircraft, and walk through four of them including aircraft used by Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower as well as the Boeing VC-137C also known as SAM (Special Air Mission) 26000, which was used by eight presidents — Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Clinton — in addition to carrying heads of state, diplomats and other dignitaries and officials, on many historic journeys.”

Douglas VC-54C “Sacred Cow”

Lockheed VC-140B JetStar

Bob, exiting JetStar

Located next in line beyond the JetStar is the
Lockheed VC-121E Columbine III

Lockheed VC-121E Columbine III

Boeing VC-137C SAM 26000

I am about to enter the SAM aircraft.

Aero Commander U-4B

Douglas VC-118 Independence

This next aircraft was on display in the Presidential Gallery. I believe, however, that it belongs in the R&D Gallery. The display is listed as part of the R&D Gallery in the museum website.

Avro Canada VZ-9AV Avrocar

According to the museum’s website the “Research & Development Gallery offers visitors the opportunity to view … aerospace vehicles [that] represent advances in technological problem solving and will increase the museum’s opportunities to teach science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) themes and principles.”

Bell Helicopter Textron XV-3

Northrop-McDonnell Douglas YF-23A Black Widow II

General Dynamics NF-16A AFTI

North American F-107A

VB-9 Guided Missile

Ryan X-13 Vertijet

Martin X-24B

North American XB-70 Valkyrie
and
Northrop Tacit Blue

The Valkyrie could fly three times the speed of sound and was used as a research aircraft for the advanced study of aerodynamics, propulsion and other subjects. This is the world’s only remaining XB-70.

The shuttle bus service will soon end. The Presidential and R&D Galleries will close beginning Oct. 1, 2015. The aircraft and exhibits in these galleries will re-open as part of the fourth building on the main museum campus in June 2016.

We returned to the main museum campus at approximately 10:30 am.

***TO BE CONTINUED***

VROC Reunion Rally 2015: Returning Home – Dyersburg, TN to Dayton, OH

Today is Day 11 of our 13-day vacation. We are traveling home from the VROC Reunion Rally, which was held in Eureka Springs, AR.

After eating a complimentary breakfast at the Quality Inn in Dyersburg TN, we were on the road en route Dayton OH by 6:45 am. The GPS displayed our ETA as 2:29 pm.

We made minimal stops, stopping only for fuel, to go to the bathroom and to eat lunch at a roadside picnic table. We didn’t have any traffic to speak of until we reached the Louisville KY area. Traffic there wasn’t too bad and thinned out until we neared the Cincinnati OH area. Oh boy the traffic there! Driving in that traffic was hairy at times. The traffic moved at or greater than the posted speed, so that was good.

We checked into Best Western Plus Dayton South around 4:00 pm and then ate steak dinners at Chili’s Restaurant. We spent the evening watching TV, which we do very little of when home. We drove 441 miles today.

Today’s route:

VROC Reunion Rally 2015: Returning Home – Eureka Springs, AR to Dyersburg, TN

Today is Day 10 of our 13-day vacation. We are traveling home from the VROC Reunion Rally, which was held in Eureka Springs, AR.

We were showered, dressed and on the road by 6:45 am. Today was a travel day, Eureka Springs AR to Dyersburg TN. We used the same route, in reverse, that we drove on Tuesday, September 15th. We made minimal stops along the way. We stopped for breakfast at McDonald’s in Gassville, AR; we made a few fuel stops; and we made a photo stop in the city of Hardy, Arkansas. The opportunity to stop in Hardy was the reason we used the same route that we followed on the last day of our trip to Eureka Springs. Hardy was established in 1883 as a result of the construction of the Kansas City, Springfield, and Memphis Railroad. The city has an old town feel to it.

We parked along Main Street in Hardy, AR.
You can see Bob’s motorcycle a short way up the road, and
my car is directly in front of the motorcycle.

Bob sat on a bench along Main Street, while I walked a couple blocks taking pictures along the way.

Old Town Hardy Mural

This mural, located at the corner of Spring and Main Streets, was around the corner from where Bob was sitting. In the summer of 1992 two artists, Ernie Patton and Kermit Kroll, were commissioned to paint this panorama of five long-gone landmarks. The mural is approximately 80 feet long and 23 feet high. The five long-gone landmarks are: the Frisco Railroad Depot, an old gas station, the Old Iron Bridge that used to span Spring River, Wahpeton Hill, and the Beck House. If desired, you may read more about each of these landmarks by clicking on the above link “Old Town Hardy Mural”.

I found along Main Street what appeared to be a newer mural of Hardy’s history.

Hardy History Mural

Further down Main Street I found a lovely city park.

I am standing in the city park, as I took the pictures shown above and below.

The city park is located ahead, on the left.

Sharp County Courthouse (historic)

For more than seventy years, Sharp County had two county seats, one in Hardy and the other in Evening Shade. In 1967, the Arkansas General Assembly abolished the dual county locations, and Ash Flat was designated the seat of government for the combined county.

I took these two pictures, as I was walking back to where I had parked my car.

These two pictures I took for my sister-in-law, Dorothy, who is from the UK.

We would have eaten at the British themed cafe, Pig ‘n Whistle, if it had been lunch or dinner time. As it was, our stop in Hardy happened mid-morning.

We arrived in Dyersburg, TN and checked into Quality Inn around 2:00 pm. We drove 296 miles today. It was an easy day. The sky cooperated and kept the sun behind clouds, for the most part, when it would have been in our eyes driving east. In addition, traffic was fairly light.

Today’s route:

The Beauty Around Us

Showcases Portraiture, Scenic & Nature Photography and Feaures a Photo Journal Blog

Posts tagged ‘ES VROC Reunion Rally 2015 and Vacation’

VROC Reunion Rally 2015: Returning Home – Mount Vernon, OH to Warren, PA

VROC Reunion Rally 2015: Returning Home – Dayton, OH to Mount Vernon, OH

VROC Reunion Rally 2015: Returning Home – National Museum of the US Air Force, Part 3

VROC Reunion Rally 2015 – Returning Home: National Museum of the US Air Force, Part 2

VROC Reunion Rally 2015: Returning Home – National Museum of the US Air Force, Part 1

VROC Reunion Rally 2015: Returning Home – Dyersburg, TN to Dayton, OH

VROC Reunion Rally 2015: Returning Home – Eureka Springs, AR to Dyersburg, TN