Baby Austins on the Mother Road

Arrival in the USA

The cars arrived safely in Newark, NJ on Monday August 21 followed by their drivers on Wednesday August 23rd. Yesterday saw cars and drivers reunited and cleared of customs in just 6 hours! The cars were escourted to their hotel by a New Jersey taxi cab and were welcomed by many waving bystanders as they navigated the back streets of the big city.

The crews are currently enjoying an all day sight-seeing tour of New York City. Tonight, one more member of the crew, River Dukes, arrives from Charlotte, NC to join the Brits and to keep them out of too much trouble!

The Big Apple

August 26, 2006: After breaking the rules while going through the toll lanes in the Lincoln Tunnel, Vince and River brave the Big Apple to fulfill Vince's wish of driving down Broadway in his Chummy. With a carefully planned strategy of Vince driving through Times Square and River on the sidewalk ready to take his picture, the two promptly lose each other. This resulted in Vince driving round the block, searching for his navigator and photographer, and River jaywalking while shouting Vince's name and running after the Chummy before losing sight of him again. On the third go around the two are finally reunited and mission accomplished.

Pennsylvania or Bust!

August 27, 2006: Setting out in the rain, the small convoy eventually left New Jersey (I say eventually since the lead navigator, whose name begins with River and ends with Dukes, made his one allowable mistake and almost took the party back to the hotel), bound for Lewisburg, PA.  The trip took the group through a mixture of industrial areas and small mining towns. The sound of Austin 7 engines in first gear could be heard as they, some at 8 mph, made it up the steep hills. The rain and mist persisted, which was not as bad as it sounds because at least the 750 cc engines didn’t overheat.
After approximately 200 miles the little party found themselves at their next night’s stop in Lewisburg where they were greeted by a group of well-wishers. Among the welcoming party was 90-year old George Domer, the Austin Bantam Society’s historian who had traveled from Buffalo, NY for the event. Chuck Koons, a reporter from The Daily Item, Sunbury, PA says "George is quite an extraordinary man.  We believe him to be the last surviving American Bantam owner to actually have driven to the factory to pick his automobile.  His recollections are amazing, and his wealth of knowledge is truly encyclopedic".
Along the way, standing in the rain, a member of the  Antique Automobile Club of America handed out plaques to the crews, an extremely nice gesture. A little carburetor trouble with Stan’s 1932 Box Saloon was soon corrected on the side of the road and all is well.

Butler, Pennsylvania

August 28, 2006 and the group leaves Lewisburg for Butler, home of the Austin Bantam. The group drove through Amish Country where they were able to see some of the local culture. The cars were met half way by Bob Brandon (Austin Bantam Society Vice President) and his crew in a '69 Buick Cutlass convertible. Once at Butler, the Austin 7 visitors were given the red carpet treatment and were shown the old Austin Bantam factory where the American version of the Austin 7 was produced in the 1930s. This is also where the Jeep was first maufactured (www.butlercountyhistoricalsociety-pa.org/).

Today, August 29, 2006, saw a visit to the Butler County Heritage and Industrial Museum in which British Austins, and their American counterparts, the Bantams are on display. This evening, the British Visitors' cars were on display for the public to view and Bob Brandon kindly hosted a party to mark a successful visit.

Ohio

August 30, 2006: Escorted by Bob Brandon, the Baby Austin convoy left Butler, PA bound for Napoleon, OH. Approximately 230 miles into the day, the group was in desperate need of a 'cuppa tea'. Unfortunately, only coffee ws available - yikes! Just when all seemed lost, River whipped out his handy-dandy camping stove to boil water for the teapot and all was well again!

Finally, after a total of 275 miles (that's a long way to go in cars built up to 77 years ago!), the party arrived at their stated destination, weary but elated. Vince's little Chummy suffered a puncture but with a new inner tuble inserted, the tyre was once again fat and happy.

Amazingly, several complete nutters (I say this is an endearing and appreciative way), who had themselves gone to great lengths to be in Napoleon, met the travellers at their hotel. These people had driven, towed, and done whatever was necessary in the spirit of motoring, to join the throng with their own Bantams.

Chicago, IL

August 31, 2006: Another mammoth day of driving and the cars are all safely in Chicago, IL. Crews were seen to kiss the ground upon arrival, fighting colds and fatigue.

River and Chris went to pick-up Veronica Garside's chariot (a.k.a. a Hertz rental car and our support car) in preperation for her arrival tomorrow. Wendy Hilder (Veronica's friend) and Diana also arrive tomorrow and the entire group will prepare for the Mother Road.

The local support along the way has been fantastic and very much appreciated. Thank you all!

A stiff drink (purely medicinal you understand), happy reflections on what has been a brilliant trip so far, and off to bed.

The Road Begins, Chicago

September 1, 2006: A day of rest and some sightseeing in Downtown Chicago. Veronica, Wendy, and Diana all arrived safely and were chauffeured by River to their hotels.

September 2, 2006: A nice jaunt into the City this morning, kindly guided by John, Kathy, and Nicky Miller of the Illinois Route 66 association. The group was met by David Clark, a highway historian, who gave us an excellent walking guided tour of the City of Chicago and the history behind the origins of Route 66 (http://www.windycityroadwarrior.com).

Having located the official beginning of Route 66 on the corner of Michigan and Jackson, the five Baby Austins began Route 66.

Leaving Chicago

September 3, 2006: Leaving Chicago behind, the intrepid five set off in a westerly direction in the ‘capable’ navigation hands of Diana. After 8 miles and two mistakes, she was finally able to follow the map and get everyone to Wilmington, IL, home of the Gemini Giant (an advertising icon and cousin of the three famous “Illinois 66 Giants”). Met by the Weiss’s, members of the Route 66 Association of Illinois, the car park quickly looked like a classic car show with locals bringing out their own cars to join in the spirit. Jan and Dean Keeley escorted the convoy in their Chevrolet Bel Air for several miles to highlight some local sights, including the Polka Dot Drive In where the crews were much amused by life-size models of American icons including Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, and James Dean. A visit to the Gardener Jail was followed by a pit stop at The Odell Standard Oil Company. Onto Pontiac, IL where the cars made a cameo appearance at the Pontiac Threshers Parade. The City of Pontiac and another contingent of the Route 66 Association of IL graciously hosted the group and provided an excellent lunch – fantastic. With 100 more miles to go, the group, bellies full, continued along the famous road. Just as teatime approached, Ken conveniently lost his linkage to the throttle enabling the water to be boiled for a cuppa and a round of biscuits on the side of the road in Towanda. Stopping only for some maple sirup at Funks Grove, the cars made it to Springfield, IL, arriving after dark, for a night at the Route 66 Hotel and Conference Center. The night was capped-off with a ride on a Harley Davidson for Vince and Diana.

Show Me State, MO

September 4, 2006: Gill and Bob, in a British-made TR6, kindly came to the hotel this morning to escort the group out of Springfield, IL (strange how we keep getting escourted out of towns). The majority of the road that was travelled today was the road that was in commission between 1926 and 1930. It took the little cars and their tenacious crews winding between cornfields and over railway tracks. The grass-filled cracks in the road were sure to shake a few nuts and bolts loose. One section of this older part of Route 66 was metalled in individually laid, red bricks.

Around lunch time, Scotty's Diner appeared where the crews were able to get a side dish of nostalgia to go with the burgers and fries. Shortly after lunch, Route 66 led the convoy up to the old Chain of Rocks Bridge, which spans the Mississippi River and marks the border between Illinois and Missouri. Unfortunatley, this part of the old road has been de-commisioned to vehicular traffic although it would have been easily passable to the Baby Austins and tempting to break the rules again! While Vince and River walked over the bridge to Missouri, Stan was busy trouble-shooting his dynamo problems. Not successful, Stan is getting his daily exercise by having to start his Box by cranking the starting handle. Now, in a race against daylight since Stan has no elctrical power for headlights, the cars forged on to cover the 85 miles necessary to reach Cuba, MO before sundown. Passing the Meramac Caverns, Jesse James' hideout, the group reached the Wagon Wheel Motel, just as the sun hit the horizon. The 'quaint' rooms at the Wagon Wheel sparked much excitement among the group.

Fran Eickhoff, of the Route 66 Association of Missouri, was there to greet the weary and joined the group for dinner where she very kindly gave each guest Missouri Route 66 memorabelia for their scrapbooks.

Show Me More

September 5, 2006: Before leaving Cuba, MO, the Austins lined-up against one of Cuba's famous murals for local reporters and a photo-op. With Fran in their rear-view mirrors, off they went headed for Springfield, MO. Stopping only for a red-carpet breakfast at Rolla and an 'atmospheric' lunch at a cafe in Lebanon, where local reporters were given an unexpected scoop, the five (plus support car) arrived to a grand welcome by the Best Western in Springfield. The president of the Missouri Route 66 Association also came to meet the crews - what wonderful support!

A relaxing dip in the hot tub was much appreciated by the Austin 7 drivers and navigators.