It's a Duesy ....

I was the only one in the hotel laundry room at 5 am . Since me and my clothes were clean I needed to so something about my scroungy truck.  My GPS told me the Butler Car and Doggie Wash was only a mile away.

I asked just to use a hose, I didn't want to run through the automated car wash.  The two men who worked there were quite nice and directed me to a shady spot then rolled out the hose..

The guy on the right is Bobby Mcgee. Janis Joplin sang about him, then we didn't hear from him for years. Who'd a thunk he was working in a car wash in Dayton, Ohio..

Once I got spiffed up I headed back to the Air Force Museum.  The lighting is a bit dim and some of the planes are so large it is tough to get good pictures.  I spent another three hours looking at some enormous planes including a B - 52 Stratofortress.  It was so big I couldn't get far enough away for a pic.

While inside I could hear it pouring on the roof of the hangar, then I could hear thunder.   When I came out, it had cleared so I headed north and west to Auburn, Indiana.  I never unfolded my map but just trusted the GPS. It was a nice combination of highway and secondary roads.  I drove through small towns like Neptune and larger ones like Van Wert, Ohio. Today's route is right here..

You can tell two things from this pic.  The first is I am back on the Lincoln Highway, Route 30.  The second is that it is going to rain, hard and soon !

As I got close to Fort Wayne, Indiana, the skies opened up with rain and vivid lighting.  It was quite a ride for a half hour or so.  As I approached the Auburn - Cord - Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, the rain slowed down.  I paid my ten bucks to get in and was immediately impressed.  I have seen a lot of car museums but nothing like this one. The building was built as the corporate headquarters for the Auburn Automobile Company.  It was started in 1929 and took a year to finish at a cost of 450,000 dollars.  It is packed with rare models for all three brands, Auburn, Cord, and the ultra stylish and lightning fast Duesenberg.

As you enter there is a '31 Duesenberg to the left.  For those of you trying to find me the perfect birthday gift, that will do it.

The museum is filled with the rare and beautiful.  There is only of these ever built, a 1929 Auburn Cabin Speedster.

The yellow Cord in the top center rotates in a circle.  Standing halfway up the grand stairway, you could imagine it was 1936 and you had a pocket full of money to spend on any car in the showroom.

The museum is filled with many earlier fine cars and examples of engine and engineering breakthoughs that were way ahead of their time. I spent a couple of hours there and really enjoyed it.

My Auburn hotel was only 5 minutes away so I dashed to the parking lot and splashed my way there. South Bend is only 100 miles from me so I will have a short ride tomorrow. In fact, it will be the shortest of the trip so far.  My GMC buddies are converging on South Bend, it will be fun to see them...