Day Two – September 10, 2018

Day Two – September 10, 2018

It is still raining!  And cool at 62 degrees!  A good night’s sleep and a hot breakfast and we pack the car and head to the nearest AAA to pick up our tour books.  The weather people say it is not raining – just low cloud coverage.  If we have to use our windshield wipers it probably is wet precipitation!

   

About half and hour out of Maumee and the precip stops (or the clouds are higher).  Clear sailing westward.  Not a lot to see on the Ohio Turnpike but the traffic is pretty light and visibility much better than yesterday.  Looks like they allow 3 tractor trailers in tandem here!  You don’t see that in New York. 

   

 

Look – a tiny house on the move!

 

 

Once into Indiana we pass by Elkhart which is the RV Capital of the world!  There were lots of billboards with every type of travel trailer, utility trailer, and RV imaginable.

   

 

Looking through the tour book we see South Bend, Indiana has some interesting spots: Notre Dame, Holy Cross, St. Mary’s College.  And the Studebaker National Museum!  A bit off our route but let’s see!

     

 

 

 

According to AAA: Brothers Henry and Clement started the Studebaker Manufacturing Company in 1868 after running a successful Blacksmith’s Shop.  Studebaker ended production in 1966. The museum consists of a 55,000 square foot facility.  Inside we saw the Conestoga Wagon they constructed to move West to South Bend, horse drawn vehicles, the first and the last Studebakers and so much more.  Nancy remembers her family having a Studebaker sometime in the 1950’s. 

 The first wagon” box’s curved shape prevented cargo from shifting and helped the wagon ford streams.”  circa 1835

   

Some of the collection includes buggies, ambulances, cars, and war equipment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also – the vehicle that took Lincoln to the theater on that fateful day!

 

 

This is the last Studebaker to roll off the assembly line, March 17, 1966 bringing an end to 114 years of manufacturing under the Studebaker name.

   

 

A brief chat with the official keeper of the Museum guest book who happens to own a 1958 Studebaker and he urges us to buy a Studebaker and refurbish it!  There are still a lot of parts out there internationally!  Could be quite lucrative.  But one of us knows nothing (is there less than nothing?) about cars and that could be quite a project.  Time to grab a quick bite for lunch and then move on.

Where to go next and spend the night – so many possibilities – Davenport, Moline – Des Moines is a bit far.  After some research we decide on Le Claire, Iowa.  Check in and work on the blog and then off to dinner at Bierstube, a German-American restaurant specializing in German sausages.   Our waitress, Alexa,  says their salads are good,  so we opt for salads.  The cheese bread is over the top and we have to order more to go to fortify us through the night.  We had fun asking Alexa the same kind of questions we would ask our Amazon Alexa – she seemed to enjoy trying to come up with answers!

 

 

Our room overlooks the Mississippi River and it is so beautiful at sunset!  Getting used to Central Time Zone!