Day 3, July 14...South Bend, IN to Ann Arbor, MI

I left South Bend this morning around 8:00 and traveled north to Hickory Corners, MI, near Kalamazoo.  Actually, pretty far off the beaten path from Kalamazoo.  Anyway, Hickory Corners is home of the Gilmore Car Museum, which occupies about 100 acres of beautiful farmland.  The museum had its beginnings when one Donald Gilmore retired in the early 1960's and his wife thought he needed a hobby.  So...he bought an old car, restored it, and the rest is history.  This is an absolutely beautiful setting with about a dozen buildings housing a collection of over 300 automobiles.

Here's a taste:

This is just the main building on the "campus".  

This building is sponsored by the Model A Ford Club:

This one was sponsored by the Cadillac/LaSalle Club:

Anyway, you can get the idea.  The collection of cars was superb as you might expect.  Here is a small sample:


An 1899 Locomobile:

A 1934 Auburn:

Kalamazoo was home to Checker Cabs, which those of us of a certain age can remember as being virtually everywhere.  Checker manufactured their own cabs from 1923 to 1982 in Kalamazoo, and even tried to sell them in the 1970's to the general public as being low-maintenance and roomy.  Here's one from 1923:

Some other cars on display that I thought were unique:

An 1886 Benz three-wheeler, considered the first practical automobile produced:

A 1930 Cadillac:

A room full of Cadillacs:

A 1948 Jaguar:

Anyway, as you can see, it's a huge collection of very well-restored automobiles.  I could have stayed all day.

Tomorrow, it's off to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn and then north through Michigan to the big city of Au Gres, along the shores of Saginaw Bay.


Miles today:  253
Total:            743