This time the Burch family itinerary included nine states in our country’s mid-section. I decided on this trip to take a page from John Steinbeck’s 1960’s book, “Travels with Charley”; and keep a travel log and record my thoughts of the sites and sounds that came our way on our family journey. On April 9 we hopped into the Burch family’s trusty Pontiac Montana minivan and headed south.
Day Number 1: Southern Indiana’s Jeffersonville, just outside Louisville, was our first destination. We elected to skip the quick, all-freeway trek on I-65 and opted for the slower route on US 31 that starts from South Bend and meanders down to Indianapolis through cities like Kokomo and Peru. Our first destination was a lunch date at the Abe Martin Lodge in Nashville, Indiana located in the beautiful Brown County State Park.
It made me smile to see the parking lots full of worker’s cars at the many automotive parts and transmission plants as we passed through Kokomo. It could have been so different if GM and Chrysler had not survived the economic crash of 2008 and 2009. It made me feel confident that the US auto industry is back on track.
Kokomo has a number of used car lots along US 31. It was a treat and a surprise to spot a very nice and rare1964 Imperial two-door hardtop with a for sale sign in the window.
Day Number 2: If in Kentucky, drink bourbon, right? We departed Jeffersonville early and headed south to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail area. We skipped the better-known distilleries like Jim Beam and Wild Turkey and headed instead to Loretto, Ky., home of son-in-law Tom’s favorite bourbon, Maker’s Mark. In a gorgeous hilly setting with landscaped lawns and tasteful old buildings, we enjoyed and were educated on a 30-minute tour and had a sample taste. I’ll stick with raspberry tea.
Besides the bourbon tour, it was treat to see a vintage fire truck on the site. The fire apparatus was built by Bickle, a Woodstock, Ontario, Canada-based company. I was unable to identify the truck brand used as the chassis.
Next stop was Bowling Green and a return visit, for me, to both the Corvette assembly plant for a tour and the National Corvette Museum for a visit. Did you know that only 80 Corvettes are built daily at the large, Corvette-dedicated assembly plant?
Day Number 3: My oldest grandson was feeling puny at daybreak, so we postponed our departure time for the trip to Chattanooga until late morning. To satisfy my son-in-law’s love of trains, we ended up at the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel, located in the once abandoned but still impressive Central Railroad Terminal Station.
On the road I saw a number of abandoned cars in folk’s backyards. Seeing the old cars reminded me of the Car Spotter feature in Collectible Automobile magazine. Several times I was tempted to ask Tom to stop the minivan so I could snap a photo.
Tom pointed out, as we drove by on the freeway, the shuttered Doraville, Georgia GM assembly plant that in better days had built the Montana minivan we were riding in. We ended the day in Greenville, S.C., after a quick dash into Alabama and Georgia on the way.
Day Number 4: If it’s Thursday, a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is on the docket. The Foothills Parkway beckoned first and the beauty of the mountain-filled vistas enchanted us. A quick stopover in Gatlinburg gave us a lunch stop at Johnny Rockets for burgers, then on to The Great Smoky Mountains National Park for more spectacular scenery and a long arduous hike up to the impressive Clingmans Dome observation tower at 6,634 feet elevation – the highest point in the whole park.
Day Number 5: We depart the Deep South and head for home. The route selected by my son-in-law took us north into North Carolina where we spent about ten miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway. With ticket prices of $59 per person, for economic reasons we had to skip the Biltmore Estate tour.
A visit to the new Blue Ridge Visitor Center afforded my grandsons an opportunity to learn about the history of the area. The national parkway system was created to provide families the opportunity to “auto tour” and see America’s abundant and scenic outdoors. A delightful treat for me in the display area was black and white photos taken during each decade showing cars of the era.
Remember the1958 B-58 Buick Caballero hardtop wagon? A photo showed one loaded down with camping gear. Another photo showed a parking lot full of cars from the fifties. I could identify a 1956 Imperial, 1959 Ford, early fifties Chevy sedan, 1959 Dodge and a 1959 Pontiac wagon. It was fun to identify the cars for the benefit of my grandsons.
We ended the day driving through the Cumberland Gap region and ended up in Cincinnati for the night.
Day number 6: On our final day, I awoke before the others, dressed and took a morning walk. Spotting a few new cars across a wooded berm surrounding the motel, I continued my walk in that direction. Little did I know that beyond the “few cars” behind the trees sat an enormous paved lot filled with hundreds and hundreds of new vehicles. Eureka! Nirvana! Turns out it was the back storage lot for the local Honda, Lexus, Mazda, Chrysler, Dodge, Ram and Jeep mega dealers.
I’ve never experienced a dealer’s lot with over 100 examples of the same model, in the case of the Honda Civic. There were also huge inventories of Accords, CR-Vs, Mazda3s, Chrysler 200s and Jeeps. Amazingly I found a dozen Jeep Compass cute-utes in a row. At smaller dealers finding a sample of two or three is a lot. This was a real treat and a nice ending to the trip.
I was engrossed in the car lot for so long, my daughter felt the urge to cell phone me and see if I was still alive. We headed for home soon after. Seeing all those brand new models in huge numbers was a delightful ending to a great vacation for this car guy. Can’t wait for next time.
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