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Florida 2011

a travel blog by Kugs on the road


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From Edison to Airstreams

Dover, United States


Thomas Edison among the Banyan Trees
I started the day at the Edison - Ford Winter Estate in Fort Myers, FL. Although both Thomas Edison and Henry Ford had their winter Estates here The Museum and tour are very much about Edison. The majority of the Estate was built and designed by Edison. Because the Fords were such close friends of the Edison’s, They were often invited to spend time at the estate. When the property next to the Edison’s was for sale, Henry Ford Purchased it and they joined the two Estates. Across the street is the museum that houses hundreds of Edison's inventions and one of Fords cars.

After that I tried to visit a couple of other attractions as I drove towards Tampa. Unfortunately one wasn't open and the other was out of business.

So I drove to Indian Rocks Beach for an early dinner at Keegan's Seafood Grille. I saw this restaurant on one of the first episodes of DDD I ever saw. I remember thinking, if I ever go back to Florida; I have to go there. So I did. And it was well worth it. On the show the dish that caught my eye was Grilled Octopus, and that is what I ordered. It was fantastic, well worth the drive.

After an early dinner I headed East through Tampa during rush hour (ok, not the best plan). After fighting my way through traffic, I arrived at the Airstream Ranch. Eight Airstream campers planted in the ground along I 4 East.


Airstream Ranch

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo, time to get the hell out of Florida. I'm heading North.

permalink written by  Kugs on the road on May 4, 2011 from Dover, United States
from the travel blog: Florida 2011
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Heading North

Ashburn, United States


Mini Mt. Rushmore
First stop today was the Presidents Hall of Fame in Clermont, FL. It was closed. Fortunately they had a few displays outside. The Mt. Rushmore, Lincoln Memorial, and Statue of Liberty were well done. The Limo of President Regan was not so good. From what I've read though they have some very cool displays inside. Their replica of the White House has been on several national TV shows including Today and GMA. It has also been displayed at the Smithsonian. But I didn't get to see those things... They were closed.


"Big Daddy" Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing
Next stop, Big Daddy's. The Museum of Drag Racing is not just about Don Garlits, It's also the Drag Racing Hall of Fame. Although a lot of the dragsters here are Don's There are Dragsters and funny cars that have been donated by a lot of other drivers. The Dragster in the picture is the one that almost Killed Don when the transmission exploded. That incident was the inspiration for the development of the rear engine Dragster. I also got a very cool souvenir from the museum, a used rear wheel bearing from Don's 1940 Rat Rod, Personally engraved with his autograph.


Peanuts!
I then drove several hours North Crossed into Georgia and settled for the night in Ashburn. The home of a really big peanut. I have a busy day tomorrow. I want to hit three museums in Southern Georgia and then head North and try to get to Dayton, OH by Saturday night at the latest. Saturday morning would be better, but I have to be there by Saturday night.

permalink written by  Kugs on the road on May 5, 2011 from Ashburn, United States
from the travel blog: Florida 2011
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Some Civil War History

Loudon, United States


Andersonville Prisoner of War Camp
Once again I started my day at a closed Museum. Don't people in the south know that when the sign on the door says you open at 10am someone needs to be there to open the door at 10am. So I drove an hour down the road to the site of the Andersonville Prisoner of War Camp. Although the picture looks like an empty Field, on this site was the largest Civil War Prisoner of War Camp. Andersonville was only operated for about 15 months, but during that time it held 45,000 prisoners. Due to the overcrowding and the lack of sanitation and food, during those 15 months 12,920 prisoners died. Those that did survive were not in very good shape. One of the survivors, Sgt. David Kennedy of the 9th Ohio Cavalry wrote that "... it takes 7 of it's ocupiants to make a shadow". (his spelling not mine)


Andersonville National Cemetery
Of course with a 29% mortality rate, they needed a cemetery next to the prison. This cemetery is not only the resting place of the nearly 13,000 prisoners from Andersonville. There are also over 800 other civil war veterans interred here.



CSS Ram Jackson
After Andersonville I drove to Columbus, GA. To the Civil War Maritime Museum. The centerpiece of this Museum is the recovered Hull of the CSS Ironclad Ram Jackson. Confederate soldiers scuttled this 223’ Ironclad ship in 1865 to keep the Union from getting a hold of it. The remains of the ship were discovered and recovered in 1963 and are now on display in the museum.

permalink written by  Kugs on the road on May 6, 2011 from Loudon, United States
from the travel blog: Florida 2011
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It’s cold, The sky is gray, and it's starting to rain, I must be near Syracuse.

Columbus, United States


It is what it says on the building....
The final stop on our tour... Maybe. I've wanted to make a trip to this museum for several years. I've always heard it is the best Air Museum that there is, and I do agree. I have been to a lot of other Air Museums and this one dwarfs them all, including the Smithsonian and the Naval Aviation Museum. I swear they must have one of every plane the Air Force has ever flown, and a few that they shot down. There are three hangers full of planes. To give you an idea of how big these hangers are. In one hanger they have a B52 Bomber (a huge plane) plus about 200 other planes, all in the one hanger.


B29 BOCKSCAR
In the WWI - WWII hanger they have the B29 Bockscar. This is the plane that dropped the second Atomic bomb on Nagasaki that ended WWII.


B2 Stealth Bomber
In the Cold War hanger they have a B2 Stealth Bomber. I have never seen one of these up close before. I was surprised of how big this plane really is, and considering the shape of the plane it's hard to believe this plane could fly.


Apollo 15
They also have a section for Rockets and Space exploration. They have the Apollo 15 capsule on display because that was the only Apollo mission with all Air Force pilots.
After about 4 hours of exploring this museum (and I was hurrying through it) I hit the road again. I am now about 6 hours from Syracuse. If the weather is good tomorrow I might make a quick stop in Cleveland to see a Navy Submarine, But then it's back home.

permalink written by  Kugs on the road on May 7, 2011 from Columbus, United States
from the travel blog: Florida 2011
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Back home again

Syracuse, United States

Well I decided to skip the submarine tour and head straight home. So after a quick 6 hour drive I arrived home about 3:30. Unloaded the car, picked up Sebastian, and returned the rental car.

The Final tally was: 4125 Miles in 75 hrs 28 min of drive time averaging 55MPH

I Hope you enjoyed following my trip. I’m sure we’ll do it again.

permalink written by  Kugs on the road on May 8, 2011 from Syracuse, United States
from the travel blog: Florida 2011
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