A month after our last trip had finished, Tom, his wife Vicki, and I embarked on what my photographer had dubbed “The Griswold Family Vacation”. Our 23-day agenda was filled with Presidential sites, scenic stops, antique flea markets, and over ten film locations used in the 1983 movie “National Lampoon’s Vacation” starring Chevy Chase. I was eager to hit the road as my surgically repaired, newly taped, and freshly painted legs felt better than ever; although I still leaned a tad to the right.
There was light rain falling when my cameraman drove our “Family Truckster”, otherwise known as Tom and Vicki’s two-month-old Jeep Grand Cherokee L, out of the driveway at 4:20am on Friday October 8, 2021. While I was situated comfortably in the camera case behind the driver’s seat, I could easily hear Lindsey Buckingham’s ‘Holiday Road’ blaring from Tom’s cell phone. Although Walley World wasn’t our destination, Mount Rushmore and The Grand Canyon were; and those were two places I had wanted to visit since I began travelling with my photographer in 2013. Even though the rain intensified when we reached the western portion of Michigan, I wasn’t concerned whatsoever because weather has never played a significant role in keeping us from fulfilling our pre-planned agenda.
Nearly seven hours and 475 miles into the opening day of our journey, we crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa and arrived at our first stop – the Antique Archaeology store in Le Claire, Iowa. The store, which consists of two buildings, is the home base for the American Pickers show on The History Channel. As soon as Vicki parked our Jeep along the “main drag” in Le Claire, it began to sprinkle; and the light shower continued throughout our entire visit. As a matter of fact, I had to dodge raindrops when Tom placed me onto the rusty iconic 1950s Nash Statesman Super that was located in front Mike Wolfe’s famous business. Once my photographer took me inside the store where it was dry, I stood on a few “picked” items of “rusty gold” for our photos. While that stop had nothing to do with any of the Presidents, the American Pickers catchphrase mirrored my personal credo: “We make a living telling the history of America … one piece at a time.” Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz may have made a living telling the history of America; but I do it for free!
During our entire 40-minute visit at the Antique Archaeology store, we didn’t see any of the three original stars of the show. It didn’t surprise me that Frank Fritz wasn’t there as he was fired in July; and I heard Danielle Colby was spending a lot of her time helping out the less fortunate in Puerto Rico. It would’ve been cool to pose for a photo with Mike Wolfe, but unfortunately, he wasn’t there either. That meant I was stuck posing with some of Mike’s rusty junk or “picks” from his past shows.
Over six years had passed since my first visit to Mike Wolfe’s store and to me, it seemed to be exactly as I had remembered it. And that was okay. The ultimate picker finds value in rusty relics that go beyond the almighty dollar. In Mike Wolfe’s philosophical world, you can’t put a price tag on American history – it’s truly priceless. History is not something to use and throw away; it needs to be treasured, preserved, and saved for future generations. And although I didn’t see any Presidential artifacts as we strolled amongst Mike’s past “picks”, it seemed cool to absorb the Americana atmosphere that was abundant in those two buildings.
Our next destination, which was a little over 50 miles to the west, was another site that I had the pleasure of visiting in 2015 as well – the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in West Branch, Iowa. During that trip, I only saw Hoover’s birthplace cottage, his gravesite, and the Presidential Museum due to work-related time constraints. It was also during that initial visit to West Branch when my legs became mysteriously cracked; so severe, in fact, that I’ve endured numerous surgeries on my legs since that day.
After Vicki parked the Jeep along Main Street around 12 noon, she decided to visit a nearby small shop while Tom carried me down historic North Downey Street and into the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. Within minutes, I found myself standing in front of the small white, two-room cottage where on August 10, 1874 Herbert Hoover became the first President born west of the Mississippi River. It was hard to believe that a family of five lived in that tiny house, but they did – at least until the future President was three years old. One room served as a bedroom for Jesse and Hulda Hoover and their three children, including little “Bertie”, while the second room was used as the living room, dining room, and kitchen. When my photographer and I finished our visit inside the birthplace, we spent the next half-hour touring several other nearby buildings that included Jesse Hoover’s replicated blacksmith shop, an original one-room schoolhouse, and the Friends Meetinghouse where the Hoover’s once worshipped. Once we had discovered the Hoover Presidential Library was closed due to COVID restrictions, we returned to the Jeep and drove to our final Presidential site in West Branch – the gravesite of Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover.
When we finished our Herbert Hoover site tour in West Branch, it was my photographer’s favorite time of day – Lunch Time; even though he and his wife hardly ever take the time for lunch. Tom had scheduled dinner for the three of us at a restaurant in Des Moines featured during Season 21 of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, but he insisted on eating lunch in Hoover’s hometown anyways. After a very quick search for options, my photographer and his wife chose a small diner called Main Street Sweets, which was located on (you guessed it) Main Street. I was surprised when Tom ordered a chili dog because he had a terrible experience at the F.L.X. Wienery in Dundee, New York a month earlier. I heard him complain several times at the Wienery; stating their homemade Coney dogs were the worst he’s ever had. But after a few bites of the chili dog at Main Street Sweets, I could tell my photographer was in “hot dog heaven” when he said: “That’s by far the best tasting Coney dog I’ve ever eaten”.
Back in the ‘Family Truckster’, we began the boring two-hour drive across Iowa to its State Capitol Building in Des Moines. From an opening in the camera case, I saw the scenic landscape out of the window; it was terrain that could be described in one word: Corn. One of Tom’s many travelling goals has been to visit the state capitol buildings of every state and we were on our first trip into Des Moines.
From a nearby parking lot, the three of us walked around the building to the sunlit west side. When Tom removed me from the camera case, my resin jaw nearly fell off – the Capitol was majestic and stunningly beautiful. As a matter of fact, it was one of the most impressive capitol buildings I had ever seen; especially with its pure 23-carat gold that covered the 275-foot-tall dome. It was a magnificent structure to behold and I couldn’t wait to pose near it; but first, we had a more important task to perform. Upon our arrival, the three of us met the coach and eleven players from the Lincoln High School basketball team. They were at the Capitol to perform conditioning drills by running up and down the building’s massive number of steps. When one of the players asked my photographer to take a team photo, Tom couldn’t get his camera out of the bag fast enough. It turned out their high school nickname was the Lincoln Rail Splitters, which couldn’t have been more fitting for my cameraman and me.
Roughly three hours after my photographer had scarfed-down a chili dog, fries, and a large chocolate malt at Main Street Sweets in West Branch, the three of us were headed to another restaurant for dinner. Featured on Season 21 of the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, Mi Patria was an Ecuadorian Restaurant located in West Des Moines about eight miles west of the State Capitol. The place didn’t look very impressive from the outside, which didn’t help Tom’s cause when it came to convincing his wife to “expand your horizons and try something culturally different. It’ll be mostly rice and chicken, and maybe some fried bananas.” The interior was nothing fancy either, although the Ecuadorian background music and poster of Guy Fieri helped complete the ambience.
Once our amazing server named Gloria had explained what ingredients were used for certain dishes, Tom ordered an entree called Arruz con Pollo – which was rice mixed with pulled chicken and veggies. As an added bonus, four slices of fried ripe plantain came with the meal. Vicki chose something similar; although hers came with pork, shrimp and steak instead of chicken. I knew my photographer was anxious to sample the plantain because he thought it was deep fried bananas; even though Gloria mentioned a few times that they didn’t taste anything like a traditional banana. But when it comes to my camera guy, sometimes you just can’t tell him anything.
I laughed to myself when we left the restaurant and walked to the Jeep. Both Tom and Vicki complained about how uncomfortably full their stomachs felt; even though my photographer’s wife ate less than half of her meal. It was also fairly late in the day, and I knew my companions must’ve been tired. Tom’s alarm rang at 3:00am that morning and we gained an extra hour with the time zone change when we hit the Indiana border.
Vicki worked her motel magic on her phone and found a place that met my companion’s criteria: good reviews, good price, and located in a good area. Our first night of the trip was spent at the Motel 6 in Stewart, Iowa, which was just over 30 miles from Mi Patria. The three of us arrived around 6:30pm and were registered a few minutes later. Tom placed me alongside the room’s television set where I spent the night; and it was a night where I couldn’t get the song ‘Holiday Road’ out of my mind. If we were truly on a Griswold family vacation, that meant I needed to play the role of Rusty Griswold. And that was okay with me because in the movie, Rusty seemed just a tad smarter than good ol’ Clark – and that’s “nothing to be proud of, Russ!”
