Tuesday, July 26, 2022, Road Trip To The National
Dave slept hard Monday night into Tuesday morning. So while he slept, I showered, dressed then lugged my cards back to the car. I also brought my luggage to the car then went back up to the room and woke Dave up.
He got ready pretty quick. As I was checking out, I got stuck behind these two guys from Switzerland who took forever to check out. They kept making the clerk print out all sorts of paperwork. When I was finally able to check out, we drove down the road to Denny's. Beautiful scenery in this little mountain town of Beford, PA.
Shortly after we were seated at Denny's, the Swiss guys walked in and were seated behind us. I wanted to chuck some paper wads at them. Anyway, Dave was curious about Bedford, where we spent the night, so he asked the waitress what there was to do in Bedford. She said there was absolutely nothing to do in Bedford. Okay then.
After breakfast we got back on the road to Atlantic City and once again drove through mountains with twisty, turny roads and lots of ugly trucks. We were making great time... too great of time. Dave is one of those guys who likes to get in the car, put his head down and drive and drive until he gets to the destination. I, on the other hand, like to stop and see the sights, eat, if there is time. We had nothing but time. If we kept going, we would have arrived in Atlantic City around 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Our Atlantic City hotel reservation was for Wednesday, not Tuesday, so we needed to kill some time and then stay at a cheap motel outside of Atlantic City. I convinced Dave to pull over and check out some sights. First we tried to pull off in Reading, PA, to explore. However, we hit local road construction and sat at the Turn Pike exit for what seemed like forever.
After sitting around the Turn Pike exit for the longest time, we made it to a road off the ramp, took it and got back on to the Turn Pike. There was no way to get to Reading with that road construction because traffic was a parking lot on the road to Reading.
We then saw an antique auto mall located along the highway in Morgantown, PA, and were able to exit the Turn Pike into Morgantown with ease. Wow. What a beautiful old town. We stopped for gas and were able to get directions to the auto mall.
Upon arrival, we observed that the auto mall was located inside a former shopping mall. Once inside we saw that each and every store front contained row after row of antique automobiles. This was a large, single floor, shopping mall. Many of the storefronts still had the signs from the former retail occupants. The hallways leading to the stores were all filled with cars. This place was massive and most impressive!
We spent a few hours there checking out all of the cars. There was some cool stuff from Model T's to Dodge Vipers. Dave and I enjoyed the really, really old cars. Everything was for sale. I considered purchasing one of the cars. As you recall, I no longer own a vehicle. Though, I realized I could not drive a 1922 Ford to card shows.
Both Dave and I really enjoyed the auto mall and we were able to kill some time. Back on the road, it seemed like we arrived in the Philadelphia area quickly. The Philadelphia skyline looks pretty cool in the distance. Our route took us just past Downtown Philly to the Walt Whitman bridge over the Delaware River.
From the bridge we had a great view of Downtown Philly. Then we drove past the Wells Fargo Center where the 76ers and the Flyers play, then past the Lincoln Financial Field where the Eagles play, then past Citizen Bank Park where the Phillies play. All three stadiums were located near each other which is a lot different than my hometown of Chicago where none of the professional sports stadiums are located near one another.
On the other side of the Delaware River, we entered into New Jersey, a first for both Dave and me. I expected to see rough ghetto area on the other side of Philly into New Jersey but the road was surrounded by forests. We were impressed by the number of state trucks we saw picking up litter from the side of the road.
Prior to the road trip, I researched the Atlantic City area and saw that it is a high crime location, so we planned to stay a good half hour or more out and away from Atlantic City. We stopped around 4 p.m. in the town of Blackwood, NJ, and pulled up to a Howard Johnsons. For some reason, I thought these all closed down. I probably have not stayed at a HoJo since the 1970's.
Check in was easy. This time I picked a room on the first floor with a door to the parking lot so it would be easy to bring in my cards. Once settled in, we watched some TV and chilled out until we got hungry.
Dave said he wanted to get a burger at a sports bar. We found just the place located across the street from HoJo's called Skeeter's. Dave ordered a Reuben and a Yuengling Beer. Apparently, Yuengling is the oldest brewery in the USA, going back to 1862. Dave really liked that Yuengling beer and drank a few. He said the Reuben as average. I went with the Buffalo wings and a Founders All Day IPA, brewed in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The wings were okay. I've had better. The Founders was very good. Also, our waitress was really cute and attentive. I definitely recommend Skeeter's.
Once back at Hojo's, we spent the rest of the night watching the Mets-Yankees game on TV. We could almost taste the National. I was gitty.
I know my pal Mike Slinkman has hated these past two blogs but I think others wanted to hear about the drive. Next blog will be about the first day of the National.
!!Reminder!! My Oak Creek show is coming up this Saturday, Aug. 6. I've got 88 freakin' dealers!!! 128 tables. It is going to be a cluster&$#% to fit in all of these tables and dealers. Should be a great show!!!
Below are some photos from the second day of our road trip.
Dave slept hard Monday night into Tuesday morning. So while he slept, I showered, dressed then lugged my cards back to the car. I also brought my luggage to the car then went back up to the room and woke Dave up.
He got ready pretty quick. As I was checking out, I got stuck behind these two guys from Switzerland who took forever to check out. They kept making the clerk print out all sorts of paperwork. When I was finally able to check out, we drove down the road to Denny's. Beautiful scenery in this little mountain town of Beford, PA.
Shortly after we were seated at Denny's, the Swiss guys walked in and were seated behind us. I wanted to chuck some paper wads at them. Anyway, Dave was curious about Bedford, where we spent the night, so he asked the waitress what there was to do in Bedford. She said there was absolutely nothing to do in Bedford. Okay then.
After breakfast we got back on the road to Atlantic City and once again drove through mountains with twisty, turny roads and lots of ugly trucks. We were making great time... too great of time. Dave is one of those guys who likes to get in the car, put his head down and drive and drive until he gets to the destination. I, on the other hand, like to stop and see the sights, eat, if there is time. We had nothing but time. If we kept going, we would have arrived in Atlantic City around 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Our Atlantic City hotel reservation was for Wednesday, not Tuesday, so we needed to kill some time and then stay at a cheap motel outside of Atlantic City. I convinced Dave to pull over and check out some sights. First we tried to pull off in Reading, PA, to explore. However, we hit local road construction and sat at the Turn Pike exit for what seemed like forever.
After sitting around the Turn Pike exit for the longest time, we made it to a road off the ramp, took it and got back on to the Turn Pike. There was no way to get to Reading with that road construction because traffic was a parking lot on the road to Reading.
We then saw an antique auto mall located along the highway in Morgantown, PA, and were able to exit the Turn Pike into Morgantown with ease. Wow. What a beautiful old town. We stopped for gas and were able to get directions to the auto mall.
Upon arrival, we observed that the auto mall was located inside a former shopping mall. Once inside we saw that each and every store front contained row after row of antique automobiles. This was a large, single floor, shopping mall. Many of the storefronts still had the signs from the former retail occupants. The hallways leading to the stores were all filled with cars. This place was massive and most impressive!
We spent a few hours there checking out all of the cars. There was some cool stuff from Model T's to Dodge Vipers. Dave and I enjoyed the really, really old cars. Everything was for sale. I considered purchasing one of the cars. As you recall, I no longer own a vehicle. Though, I realized I could not drive a 1922 Ford to card shows.
Both Dave and I really enjoyed the auto mall and we were able to kill some time. Back on the road, it seemed like we arrived in the Philadelphia area quickly. The Philadelphia skyline looks pretty cool in the distance. Our route took us just past Downtown Philly to the Walt Whitman bridge over the Delaware River.
From the bridge we had a great view of Downtown Philly. Then we drove past the Wells Fargo Center where the 76ers and the Flyers play, then past the Lincoln Financial Field where the Eagles play, then past Citizen Bank Park where the Phillies play. All three stadiums were located near each other which is a lot different than my hometown of Chicago where none of the professional sports stadiums are located near one another.
On the other side of the Delaware River, we entered into New Jersey, a first for both Dave and me. I expected to see rough ghetto area on the other side of Philly into New Jersey but the road was surrounded by forests. We were impressed by the number of state trucks we saw picking up litter from the side of the road.
Prior to the road trip, I researched the Atlantic City area and saw that it is a high crime location, so we planned to stay a good half hour or more out and away from Atlantic City. We stopped around 4 p.m. in the town of Blackwood, NJ, and pulled up to a Howard Johnsons. For some reason, I thought these all closed down. I probably have not stayed at a HoJo since the 1970's.
Check in was easy. This time I picked a room on the first floor with a door to the parking lot so it would be easy to bring in my cards. Once settled in, we watched some TV and chilled out until we got hungry.
Dave said he wanted to get a burger at a sports bar. We found just the place located across the street from HoJo's called Skeeter's. Dave ordered a Reuben and a Yuengling Beer. Apparently, Yuengling is the oldest brewery in the USA, going back to 1862. Dave really liked that Yuengling beer and drank a few. He said the Reuben as average. I went with the Buffalo wings and a Founders All Day IPA, brewed in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The wings were okay. I've had better. The Founders was very good. Also, our waitress was really cute and attentive. I definitely recommend Skeeter's.
Once back at Hojo's, we spent the rest of the night watching the Mets-Yankees game on TV. We could almost taste the National. I was gitty.
I know my pal Mike Slinkman has hated these past two blogs but I think others wanted to hear about the drive. Next blog will be about the first day of the National.
!!Reminder!! My Oak Creek show is coming up this Saturday, Aug. 6. I've got 88 freakin' dealers!!! 128 tables. It is going to be a cluster&$#% to fit in all of these tables and dealers. Should be a great show!!!
Below are some photos from the second day of our road trip.
Illinois flatlanders, Dave and I, enjoyed these tunnels through the mountains of Pennsylvania.
The next four photos below are from the Antique Auto Mall in Morgantown, PA.
Next up are some photos from the Walt Whitman Bridge in Philadelphia.
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