JeepGirl And Her Great Adventure With The Great Race

JeepGirl And Her Great Adventure

This past June was a great adventure for JeepGirl and her friends. She was part of the Great Race. Actually she was with the rally staff not a competitor, but she had lots of FUN!

The Great Race started in Chattanooga, Tennessee and traveled the back roads to Bennington, Vermont. The first day we traveled to Athens, TN and stopped for lunch before heading to our checkpoint on the Cherohala Skyway. With all the motorcycles going by it was sometimes hard to know if it was another motorcycle or an antique car coming up the skyway. Our first day ended in Maggie Valley, N.C. at the Wheels Through Time Museum.

The next day would take us through North Carolina via the Blue Ridge Parkway. We made a short stop at the Linn Cove Viaduct welcome center. The view was beautiful and the drive was peaceful. Our checkpoint was just before the exit off the Blue Ridge Parkway at Jumping off Rock Overlook. After we left our checkpoint we traveled to Galax, Virginia for lunch at the Old Cranks Museum. After lunch we traveled the back-roads to Salem, Virginia where we crossed the Natural Bridge.

The next day we traveled from Salem, Virginia to Harrisonburg, Virginia for lunch. Many had brought out their antique cars for a beautiful day and car show. After lunch we traveled through a part of West Virginia and then into Cumberland, Maryland. To get into Maryland we had to cross a toll road. This was the most unique toll road I have ever seen. It was a one-lane bridge that crossed the river and then we came to a small tollbooth where we had to pay fifty cents for crossing the bridge. We had a hosted dinner at the Culinary Cafe' on the Town Center. The Culinary Cafe' is run by the Culinary School of Allegany College of Maryland.

On June 14 we traveled from Cumberland, Maryland to Chambersburg, PA for lunch and then we traveled to Hershey, PA for a hosted dinner at the Antique Automobile Club Museum. While in Hersey we visited the the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum. We also visited Chocolate World and drove by Hershey World Amusement Park, and YES! you can buy any Hershey's chocolate candy you love! The museum was filled with antique cars, motorcycles, buses, and much much more. I enjoyed all of the museum and how every car, bus and motorcycle was displayed. So much history of America is shown in the history of transportation.

On June 15 we traveled to Hazelton,PA where we had lunch at Hazelton Downs at Laurel Mall which is an off-track wagering facility. During the afternoon we crossed the Susequehanna River and journeyed to Binghamton, New York where we had a hosted dinner at the Veterans Memorial Arena.

Thursday, June 16 we head out for Cooperstown, New York and the Baseball Hall of Fame. I am not a big fan of baseball but I still enjoyed going through the museum and learning about a sport that has helped shape the lives of many Americans. It is here you can see the oldest baseball, Babe Ruth's jersey, and a cow dressed as a baseball player.(Yes I said cow.) From Cooperstown we made our way to our checkpoint which we thought was the coolest. We were parked in a hay field!! JeepGirl loved feeling the dirt under her wheels after being on so much pavement We finally arrived in Saratoga Springs, New York where we visited the Saratoga Automobile Museum.

On the last day we would cross the Hudson River, cross more covered bridges and entered the state of Vermont. (Our checkpoint was to be the last one of the day and the last one for the rally.) This is the most northern state we have been in with my Jeep and we would be traveling to Stratton Mountain, Vermont for a hosted lunch before traveling on to Hemmings Motor News in Bennington, Vermont. We had a hosted awards dinner at Mount Anthony Country Club. It was here we learned that the 1911 Velie H1 Racetype (the oldest car in the Great Race) won the event for this year. The driver and navigator were Howard I. Sharp and Doug H. Sharp. I have to admit this was my favorite car, and I was always excited to see that they made it through each day.