Today was a joy. For starters I actually slept so was full of beans and our first morning in ‘Merica.
After packing the car, we headed off to Wilmington and to snag our first Big Thing in the form of a Gemini Giant. I had forgotten just how big of a beast it was (facts incoming): the 30 foot tall statue is one of many giant "Muffler Man" advertising props found throughout the US in the Sixties. The Gemini Giant is named after the Gemini space program and holds a silver "rocket ship" in his hands. The proprietors of a Dari-Delight restaurant (opened in 1960), John Korelc|John and Bernice Korelc, bought a 438-pound fiberglass Muffler Man figure for $3,500 at the annual National Restaurant Association.
This was one of three Big Things today - there others were a Baby Bull and a Green Dinosaur sitting on the roof of Garage.
We also had a proper natter to Ricky who was based in the UK in the 70s as an American airman and spent his weekend touring the UK playing in a band called American Covers. Today he runs an antique store and we bought a carved wooden duck from him.
We then spent some time exploring a town called Dwight. The last time we were here we took a photo of giant water tower. This time we explored a beautifully restored Ambler’s Texaco.
The town of Pontiac should have been packed with museums but they were very well hidden but this captured my eyes instead.
We returned to Funks Grove and is also our first Ghost Town. Our initial encounter was at dawn where the village was shrouded in heavy whisps of mist dancing across the ground. Today this remains a mysterious and magical place and you can hear crickets and rumbling trains. We discovered the Chapel of the Templed Trees and chatting to folk of Funks Grove as we purchased Sirup (that’s how it is spelt) which is immediately addictive. We have bought a Quart. It is only Day 2 and we will be needing another suitcase.
We have ended our day in Atlanta, burning through a total of 185 miles on our journey so far.