This place was cool!!
After we soaked in all this history, we were off the
the last museum we planned to visit that afternoon, The National Automotive
and Truck Museum of the United States. Fortunately for us, it was housed
in two large buildings directly in back of the Auburn Cord Museum. The
buildings were originally factory buildings of the Auburn Automobile Company.
The first building was the Service Building used for factory service, test-driving
automobiles and distribution of parts. The second building was the L29/Experimental
Building. The upper level was used to prepare L29's for shipment after
assembly and the lower level was used for experimental cars and the construction
of prototypes
This Museum was sprawling, musty, rambling, and fantastically
unorganized. It was like going on a treasure hunt in an enormous basement
of a very old home that's full of both junk and treasures.
The first Hemi Cuda ever built
Cars leaking oil, with flat tires, covered in layers
of dust, exotics, dirt track racers, stock cars, drag cars, rare muscle
cars (including the first Hemi Cuda ever built!), vehicles from the early
1900's to the late 1990's and everything in between, and almost every vintage
International Truck and vehicle produced.
Looking for a place to eat in Auburn, Indiana
We explored every nook and cranny until they turned out
the lights and told us it was closing time. After such a full day, we had
worked up quite an appetite and looked for a local eatery. Problem was,
all the local places weren't open for dinner on Sundays- and I think I
saw the sidewalks rolled up and put away, as well. Fortunately, near the
highway we found Uncle Bob (Bob Evans' Restaurant, to the uninitiated)
and had an enjoyable meal. As we ate, we wondered why we were so sleepy.
It seemed that soaking up all that automotive history and driving top down
on those back roads, soaking up all those warm rays was intoxicating!
So, when we finished our meal, we decided it was time
to sober up.
Up went the top, and back onto the highway we went.
We drove all night and talked about all that we'd experienced
and discovered since leaving North Dakota two days earlier. The car purred
like a kitten, drove like a top and gave a comfortable ride.
