Latest / In Wheel Time Podcast / Granbury Turns Classic Cars Into A Full Town Celebration
Transcript
- 0:27Don Armstrong: Welcome to the Edwell Time Car Talk Show.
- 0:30Don Armstrong: Just ahead, a preview of our upcoming trip to Granbury, Texas, and the Lone Star Street Rod Association State Run.
- 0:38Don Armstrong: In Jeff's car culture this morning, we are going to have abandoned car factories that still hold secrets.
- 0:48Don Armstrong: And Mars has some day tripper destinations here in the Houston area.
- 0:52Don Armstrong: Howdy! Along with Mike Out of This World Mars.
- 0:55Don Armstrong: We always need more Jeff Seekin.
- 0:57Don Armstrong: David Ainsley is uh snoozing this morning with his cup of coffee and his cat Larry.
- 1:02Don Armstrong: I'm Don Armstrong.
- 1:03Don Armstrong: So glad that you could join us today for our live program.
- 1:06Don Armstrong: If you're watching, listening, viewing, being part of a podcast, well, welcome to you and we thank you very much.
- 1:14Don Armstrong: So uh let's uh get things underway, shall we got a great show lined up for you today.
- 1:19Don Armstrong: Uh by the way, I I am going to review the Kia K4 later on today, and I bring that up because it's very different and I really liked it.
- 1:29Don Armstrong: It's kind of like you know what a saloon is?
- 1:33Don Armstrong: A car labeled a saloon.
- 1:34Don Armstrong: Oh no.
- 1:35Don Armstrong: It's kind of like a station wagon.
- 1:37Don Armstrong: And that's a European flare term that is used.
- 1:41Don Armstrong: Anyway, this is a saloon.
- 1:44Don Armstrong: So uh think of it as a small SUV that sits lower to the ground and a station wagon combined.
- 1:51Don Armstrong: Very cool.
- 1:51Don Armstrong: I think that you'll really enjoy it.
- 1:53Don Armstrong: That's coming up in our last hour.
- 1:55Don Armstrong: So let's get moving, shall we?
- 1:58Don Armstrong: Right now we're going to bring in Tammy Dooley with the Convention and Visitors Bureau, Granbury, Texas, USA.
- 2:04Don Armstrong: Tammy, good morning.
- 2:05Don Armstrong: It's so good to see you.
- 2:10Mike Marrs: Uh oh.
- 2:11unknown: Okay.
- 2:12Don Armstrong: Well, we're off to a good start.
- 2:13Mike Marrs: Tammy, you're muted on your end.
- 2:15Don Armstrong: Tammy is muted on her end.
- 2:18unknown: Okay.
- 2:19SPEAKER_04: How about that?
- 2:19Mike Marrs: There you are.
- 2:20Mike Marrs: There you go.
- 2:21Don Armstrong: There you go.
- 2:22SPEAKER_04: So I guess so good to see you.
- 2:23Don Armstrong: Yes, so I guess that your uh husband goes by another name called Tom.
- 2:30SPEAKER_04: He does.
- 2:31SPEAKER_04: It's Mike.
- 2:32Don Armstrong: I know it's Mike, but I I I like the Tom.
- 2:35Don Armstrong: Of course, I'm telling you my age by even bringing that up.
- 2:38Don Armstrong: Uh hang down your head, Tom Dooley.
- 2:41Don Armstrong: There you go.
- 2:41Don Armstrong: Mr.
- 2:42Don Armstrong: Mars, why are you what what Mr.
- 2:44Don Armstrong: Mars is flip-flopping all sorts of stuff on there?
- 2:46Don Armstrong: Okay.
- 2:46Don Armstrong: What are you doing?
- 2:47Don Armstrong: I'm shuffling.
- 2:48Mike Marrs: I'm putting her at stage center.
- 2:50Don Armstrong: Yeah, shuffling cards.
- 2:52Don Armstrong: Tammy Dooley Golly, it's uh really great to see you.
- 2:55Don Armstrong: Um, I know that this is the busiest convention and visitors bureau woman on earth.
- 3:02Don Armstrong: She has grown the Granberry area in population tenfold since she came on board.
- 3:10SPEAKER_04: Well, be careful saying that because there are a lot of people that agree with that and they may not be so happy about it.
- 3:18Don Armstrong: Well, uh, you know, I think that the growth that we're talking about happens in the downtown area and where visitors come to visit, not necessarily uh the people that go, Man, I sure like this.
- 3:29Don Armstrong: Let's move here.
- 3:30Don Armstrong: Not those folks.
- 3:31unknown: Yeah.
- 3:32SPEAKER_04: Yes, yes.
- 3:33SPEAKER_04: Well, thank you for saying so.
- 3:35SPEAKER_04: Um, Granberry is doing really well right now, and we've had a lot of national recognition, so we're very proud.
- 3:42Don Armstrong: Yes, as a matter of fact, what I saw a TV show, ran across something about some sort of cemetery or something you guys got going up there and giving tours and stuff.
- 3:53Don Armstrong: What is that?
- 3:54SPEAKER_04: Yes, we do.
- 3:55SPEAKER_04: The Granbury City Cemetery has a lot of famous people there, and uh people who like that sort of thing love to come to our cemetery.
- 4:04SPEAKER_04: We have the rumor is Jesse James is buried there, and uh, of course, General Granberry is buried there.
- 4:12Don Armstrong: Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.
- 4:14Don Armstrong: Jesse James is buried there with a question mark.
- 4:17SPEAKER_04: Well, we believe he's buried there, and most people believe he's buried there, but um, there is a lot of history involved in that.
- 4:26SPEAKER_04: And years ago, they uh had permission to exhume his body, and they did, but they accidentally exhumed the wrong body and next to it, and so it you know it wasn't proven indefinitely, but uh the descendants of the family believe he's buried here, so it's a great folklore for our community, and you know, I'm a tourism director, so I'm going with it, right?
- 4:58Don Armstrong: Yeah, exactly.
- 4:58Don Armstrong: So when they re-buried him, did they rebury him in the same hole?
- 5:03SPEAKER_04: Yes.
- 5:04Don Armstrong: Wow, or whoever it is that they dug up, yeah.
- 5:07SPEAKER_04: Evidently, there are a lot of laws involved in that.
- 5:11SPEAKER_04: You just don't go uh digging people up and doing DNA tests.
- 5:16Jeff Dziekan: So it was it Rick James and maybe it was Rick James.
- 5:20SPEAKER_04: Oh, Rick James, yeah, yeah.
- 5:22SPEAKER_04: Well, we were playing in two.
- 5:25Don Armstrong: Oh my golly.
- 5:26Don Armstrong: Well they're dying to get in there, I'm not sure.
- 5:27Don Armstrong: Yeah, they're they most definitely are.
- 5:30Don Armstrong: So you got the Lone Star Street Rod Association gang coming back up there.
- 5:35Don Armstrong: And I, you know, I I say that tongue in cheek because listen, it's a it's uh a mixture of cars and people that come with the cars, or vice versa.
- 5:46Don Armstrong: And uh it really brings a different flair to uh what I think mostly happens in Granberry.
- 5:53Don Armstrong: You got a beautiful lake there and a lot of lake activities and places to eat and entertainment and that sort of stuff.
- 6:00Don Armstrong: But when you get a bunch of hot rod guys together, it's a whole different thing.
- 6:04Don Armstrong: And the stories are flying.
- 6:05Jeff Dziekan: The stories are for everything.
- 6:07SPEAKER_04: Yes, and they are so welcome.
- 6:09SPEAKER_04: Uh, we do so many events, but I have to say, I I probably shouldn't say they're our favorite, but they are our favorite.
- 6:16SPEAKER_04: They've been here the longest, and uh, you know, they we just embrace them.
- 6:22SPEAKER_04: The community expects them every year, looks forward to them every year, and so they can just do what they want.
- 6:28SPEAKER_04: We just take care of them.
- 6:29Don Armstrong: Well, the one nice thing about it is you don't have a lot of arrests for burnouts and uh you know intersection takeovers and that sort of thing with these guys.
- 6:37Don Armstrong: I mean, they'd like to and they have it in them, and they got the cars to do it, but you know, they kind of behave themselves for the most part.
- 6:44SPEAKER_04: They do until we get there.
- 6:46SPEAKER_04: A lot of uh economic impact in our community, and that is what we're all about.
- 6:52SPEAKER_04: So um we just embrace them every year and look forward to it.
- 6:56SPEAKER_04: This is their 52nd, I believe, uh, state run.
- 7:00SPEAKER_04: They've been in Granbury about 12 years, I think.
- 7:02Don Armstrong: Yeah.
- 7:03Don Armstrong: Well, we got involved.
- 7:04Don Armstrong: This will be a what our fourth, fourth or fifth year?
- 7:07Don Armstrong: Fourth yeah, Timmy.
- 7:08SPEAKER_04: Yes, I think so.
- 7:09SPEAKER_04: I uh if you remember, I had a grandbaby a couple of years ago, and on uh this event weekend, and I did the interview with you all and then ran to Angel Fire.
- 7:21SPEAKER_04: And uh so it falls on that anniversary every year, but I will be here welcoming you guys this year.
- 7:27Don Armstrong: And is your husband going to uh bother us as as he normally does?
- 7:31SPEAKER_04: Uh he had his moment of fame.
- 7:33SPEAKER_04: That's it.
- 7:34Mike Marrs: That's just 15 minutes are up.
- 7:37Don Armstrong: I'll tell you what, uh we we enjoy having him uh uh come along for the ride as well.
- 7:42Don Armstrong: You know, he is uh he is an asset to your uh party up there, if you want to call it that, with the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
- 7:50Don Armstrong: And you know, he uh is one of those kind of guys that kind of like uh Leanne Morgan's husband, Chuck.
- 7:59Jeff Dziekan: Oh, yeah.
- 7:59Jeff Dziekan: Always talked about, but you never see him.
- 8:01Jeff Dziekan: Well, you do see him every once in a while, yeah.
- 8:05Jeff Dziekan: Exactly.
- 8:06Jeff Dziekan: And he's the he's the uh uh the the nucleus of all the talk.
- 8:09Don Armstrong: So let's talk for a moment uh about the uh Lone Star Street Rod Association, what they call the state run, where they gather now.
- 8:17Don Armstrong: These cars mainly are resto mods uh for the most part, and uh they gather up in the park right there on the main drag through Granbury.
- 8:27Don Armstrong: Beautiful park.
- 8:28Don Armstrong: Yep.
- 8:28Don Armstrong: And um what what are the activities?
- 8:31Don Armstrong: When do they arrive and what is there to do?
- 8:34SPEAKER_04: Well, they they are uh like a well-oiled machine, I guess you could say.
- 8:39SPEAKER_04: They they start trickling in really Wednesday, Thursday.
- 8:43SPEAKER_04: Um, most of them arrive Friday, and many of them stay at the Holiday Inn in the Hilton, and but they do have hotels all over town.
- 8:53SPEAKER_04: Um, they have the convention center, so they uh check in there and they have events planned, they have a full schedule, um, they do scavenger hunts, they do uh they play poker on the square.
- 9:06SPEAKER_04: I I'm not sure they're doing that this year because they change it up.
- 9:09SPEAKER_04: They one of my favorite things they do is they do a little parade with the cars to the nursing homes.
- 9:17SPEAKER_04: And um, it's very emotional, and they sit outside and watch them, and they have um all kinds of activities under the pavilion, they have the car show, um, they do a lot of socializing.
- 9:31SPEAKER_04: And uh I think Saturday morning we have donuts for them out there, so it's it's just great.
- 9:37SPEAKER_04: You guys come in, do uh interviews on Saturday morning, so it's wonderful.
- 9:42SPEAKER_04: They leave Sunday.
- 9:44Don Armstrong: They leave Sunday.
- 9:45Mike Marrs: You were talking about them doing down around town square.
- 9:48Mike Marrs: Some of that's set up for the rest of the family that's there because it's a very family-oriented event.
- 9:54Mike Marrs: And and so it's not necessarily the hot rods, the guys per se driving, going down and doing this, but it's for the rest of the family.
- 10:02SPEAKER_04: Right, right.
- 10:03SPEAKER_04: The spouses that aren't involved because they're here all weekend.
- 10:06SPEAKER_04: So um a lot of them on Friday and Saturday night will go to New Granbury Live or take in a show at the opera house.
- 10:14SPEAKER_04: And it's uh really fun for them.
- 10:17SPEAKER_04: They they love it here, they absolutely love coming to Granbury.
- 10:21SPEAKER_04: So um, they're all over town having dinner, and of course, you know you you know where they're at because they have these fabulous cars.
- 10:28SPEAKER_04: And you so you always know when they come in town.
- 10:31SPEAKER_04: That's the most exciting thing is when they start arriving.
- 10:35SPEAKER_04: It's like everybody knows something's going on, and and then all of a sudden there's more cars and more cars.
- 10:40Don Armstrong: Well, let's see, there's a huge banner, I think, that goes across the gigantic road right by there.
- 10:46Don Armstrong: You can't really miss it, you know.
- 10:47SPEAKER_04: Yes, Lone Star Street Rod.
- 10:49SPEAKER_04: And and I tell you, those those banners, there's we do so many events, but there's only so much space, and they are coveted to get a banner up there, and everybody, you know, wants their event up there, and only certain people do, and we put that banner up for Lone Star Street Rod.
- 11:05Jeff Dziekan: How many cars do you anticipate this year?
- 11:07Jeff Dziekan: Or is that a number that you look at?
- 11:09SPEAKER_04: I believe it's right around 200.
- 11:12SPEAKER_04: And we do a lot of car shows, but this is the largest.
- 11:16Don Armstrong: Yeah, no doubt.
- 11:18Don Armstrong: Okay, so besides the cars, and because the all the people that are involved in the Lone Star Street Rod, there are things to do in Granbury besides going to the park and looking at the cars as well.
- 11:28Don Armstrong: Why don't you go over a few of those things?
- 11:30SPEAKER_04: Well, I, you know, uh yesterday I had the privilege of welcoming a group here.
- 11:35SPEAKER_04: It was the USS Scott Navy Reunion, and they asked me, what is the one thing they should do before leaving Granbury?
- 11:44SPEAKER_04: And there's, you know, I had to really think about it, but the the first thing that comes to mind is literally going downtown, the downtown square, and just walking the square.
- 11:54SPEAKER_04: The courthouse alone is probably the most photographed iconic site to see.
- 12:01SPEAKER_04: There's a uh South Thomas clock in the top that is hand-wound, it's very rare.
- 12:07SPEAKER_04: Um, so I would encourage everyone to do that.
- 12:10SPEAKER_04: And it was the first downtown square listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
- 12:17SPEAKER_04: The entire square is historic.
- 12:19SPEAKER_04: So it's preserved, the buildings are amazing, the history is amazing.
- 12:24SPEAKER_04: So um, and then take in a show.
- 12:27SPEAKER_04: The opera house is spectacular, like nothing you've ever seen.
- 12:31SPEAKER_04: It has been completely restored, the city restored that.
- 12:34SPEAKER_04: So I would definitely do something at the opera house if I could, or New Granberry Live, which is a music venue.
- 12:41SPEAKER_04: It's uh billed as the most intimate venue in um Texas, and you are up close and personal to either very good entertainment or tribute bands, and it's it's fabulous.
- 12:54SPEAKER_04: And then so many winery restaurants, great restaurants on the square, and that just scratches the surface, you know, all over Granberry.
- 13:03SPEAKER_04: There's restaurants on the lake uh to go to, so it's really fun.
- 13:08Jeff Dziekan: They have Fab Five played there recently.
- 13:10Don Armstrong: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- 13:12Don Armstrong: Um, let's talk about the lake for a second because there's plenty to do there as well.
- 13:16Don Armstrong: As if you want, I think that there's even a tour that you can take if you want.
- 13:20SPEAKER_04: Well, we used to have a Tiki Cruise boat, and we do not have that anymore, but you can rent boats and go out on the lake.
- 13:28SPEAKER_04: And uh, we hope to have a new boat company in here pretty soon.
- 13:32SPEAKER_04: Um, but the lake itself is just beautiful, it's 29 miles long, so there are so many beautiful homes, and there are several restaurants, and anywhere you go in Granberry, you're crossing the lake.
- 13:46SPEAKER_04: So it's it just creates a beautiful site, and then uh it goes right through downtown.
- 13:53Mike Marrs: And you have fishing tournaments up there as well.
- 13:56Mike Marrs: I mean, the lake's surprisingly big, is what I'm getting at.
- 13:59SPEAKER_04: We do, and we have these fabulous public parks that you can bring your family to that are free, and so we have a lot of locations you can fish right there off piers.
- 14:11SPEAKER_04: They're very clean, they're um they're really, you know, a lot of people want to hike and bike and fish and be outdoors, and there's a beautiful, um, several beautiful locations.
- 14:23SPEAKER_04: And then we have a three and a half mile hike and bike trail that actually goes right from the park where the Lone Star Street rides will be behind the Hilton, and you can ride bicycles, you can go through Memorial Lane Park, and Memorial Lane is an unbelievable park to see, honoring um all the branches of service and military and firefighters.
- 14:46SPEAKER_04: So it makes for a wonderful walk or a day outside.
- 14:50Jeff Dziekan: And back to the park, there's what I've noticed in the past four years, you've got a lot of young families, you get a lot of strollers being pushed, you get a lot of toddlers all looking at the hot rods.
- 14:59Jeff Dziekan: There's things to do for that those families.
- 15:02Jeff Dziekan: There's there's uh jungle gyms and swings and stuff like that within the park.
- 15:06Jeff Dziekan: So you you got the cars, you got the kids playing out there, and and again, you've got a lot of things to do.
- 15:11Jeff Dziekan: Vendors are there.
- 15:12Jeff Dziekan: We see the same vendors, the peanut vendors are there all the time.
- 15:14Jeff Dziekan: They're great people.
- 15:15Jeff Dziekan: So uh good stuff.
- 15:17SPEAKER_04: Good stuff.
- 15:18SPEAKER_04: And if you love art, we do have a cultural district downtown that's fascinating.
- 15:23SPEAKER_04: We have a new um art trail brochure that you can pick up here at the visitor center, and uh, you'll be amazed at how many public art pieces are on display.
- 15:34SPEAKER_04: We have a park called Shanley Park right behind City Hall, and we have two pieces of uh art sculptures that were just unveiled, not probably not a year ago, and it's uh one of them was$750,000 donated to the city.
- 15:51SPEAKER_04: And so you can see these art pieces, they are massive, they're beautiful, and you know, you can spend a day looking at art in Granberry for free, or you can buy art.
- 16:02SPEAKER_04: There's a lot of great salaries, too.
- 16:05Don Armstrong: Let me let me ask you, uh just for a little uh quick change uh subject here.
- 16:09Don Armstrong: I want to get back to the cars for a second.
- 16:11Don Armstrong: Uh what kind of car do you drive?
- 16:14SPEAKER_04: A BMW S.
- 16:16Don Armstrong: And what in what size engine does it have, and how many horsepower does it have?
- 16:21SPEAKER_04: I do not know.
- 16:23SPEAKER_04: I have no idea.
- 16:24SPEAKER_04: I it's very cute.
- 16:26SPEAKER_04: I can tell you there you go.
- 16:28SPEAKER_04: That's all you need.
- 16:30Don Armstrong: That's all we need to know is that it's that it's cute.
- 16:33Don Armstrong: Okay, so next time next time we talk to you, you're going to have that information.
- 16:39Don Armstrong: Don, I've got a five-speed manual transmission, 300 horsepower, 2.7 liter, inline four-cylinder.
- 16:47Don Armstrong: It's great.
- 16:48Don Armstrong: And I just tubbed it out.
- 16:49Don Armstrong: And I just tubbed it out.
- 16:50Don Armstrong: So you're going to have all that information for us.
- 16:52Mike Marrs: Because nobody's going to question it.
- 16:54Mike Marrs: So feel free.
- 16:57SPEAKER_04: I do know it does all kinds of things that I have no idea how to use.
- 17:02SPEAKER_04: It supposedly self-parks and does all kinds of stuff.
- 17:05SPEAKER_04: I've never opened the manual, never cared to.
- 17:08Don Armstrong: Okay.
- 17:08Don Armstrong: Well, uh, we know where you're coming from.
- 17:10Don Armstrong: Perfect.
- 17:11Don Armstrong: So I think that the next car you're going to get.
- 17:13Don Armstrong: Let's see, what are we going to put her in?
- 17:15Don Armstrong: We're going to put you in a 1969 Cadillac Coupe de Ville.
- 17:20Don Armstrong: Broham.
- 17:21Don Armstrong: Broham.
- 17:22Don Armstrong: And so when when when you're in there, we'll school you on what it what what's under the hood and all of the accoutrement that comes with the 69 Cadillac.
- 17:32Don Armstrong: And you know what?
- 17:32Don Armstrong: There might be one there at the show.
- 17:34Don Armstrong: Could be.
- 17:34Don Armstrong: It could be.
- 17:34Mike Marrs: And with the weather they have up there, it needs to be a Cadillac.
- 17:37unknown: Yeah.
- 17:38Mike Marrs: Well, you think you can just drop the top.
- 17:39Mike Marrs: Well, that's what I just said.
- 17:40Jeff Dziekan: She just said that, yeah.
- 17:41SPEAKER_04: Oh.
- 17:42SPEAKER_04: Anything you you school me on will be more than I know.
- 17:46SPEAKER_04: I know nothing.
- 17:47SPEAKER_04: I'm your worst uh customer here because I know nothing.
- 17:50Don Armstrong: Listen, I will I I I I will give you this that you know about cheat sheets and we'll hand you one.
- 17:56Don Armstrong: And you'll be you'll be a quick school.
- 17:58Don Armstrong: Tammy, it's great to talk to you.
- 17:59Don Armstrong: Thanks so much for joining us.
- 18:00Don Armstrong: And we will see you in about six weeks.
- 18:02Don Armstrong: Yeah, it's gonna be fun.
- 18:03SPEAKER_04: I'm looking forward to it.
- 18:04SPEAKER_04: Thank you, guys.
- 18:05SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
- 18:05Don Armstrong: Thank you.
- 18:06Don Armstrong: Take care.
- 18:06Don Armstrong: Hey, just ahead, Jeff's Car Culture.
- 18:08Don Armstrong: Abandoned car factories that still hold secrets.
- 18:11Don Armstrong: And Mr.
- 18:11Don Armstrong: Mars has driving destinations in Houston.
- 18:14Don Armstrong: Imagine that.
- 18:15Don Armstrong: Right after this quick break here on the In-Wheel Time Car Talk Shots.
- 18:18Don Armstrong: Do you with us?
- 18:20Don Armstrong: The Tax Max dining experience is defined by Lupi Tortilla, your destination for Texas's best beef fajitas and frozen margaritas.
- 18:29Don Armstrong: Since 1983, Lupi Tortilla has served authentic and time-tested recipes made with the freshest ingredients.
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- 19:09Don Armstrong: The recipes are authentic and time-testing.
- 19:11Don Armstrong: The ingredients always fresh.
- 19:14Don Armstrong: Loopy tortilla.
- 19:15Don Armstrong: Eats pretty good.
- 19:20Don Armstrong: Apple or Android In Wheel Time podcasts can be found everywhere, on the stream and through downloads.
- 19:26Don Armstrong: Whether you're on the road or at home and searching for a fun car talk show, give In Wheel Time a try.
- 19:31Don Armstrong: Honest new car reviews, fun, informative interviews with real car people, weekly automotive news, features like Jeff's car culture, mic's driving destinations, all on In Wheel Time.
- 19:41Don Armstrong: Check us out on Sirius XM Podcasts, iHeartRadio, or while you're shopping on Amazon through Amazon Music.
- 19:46Don Armstrong: Inwheel Time.com has a list, so check us out.
- 19:52Don Armstrong: To join us 10 to noon Central Time every Saturday for our live show about all things automotive.
- 19:57Don Armstrong: We hope you'll get a whiff.
- 19:59Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, there you go.
- 20:00Don Armstrong: Thanks for being with us today.
- 20:02Don Armstrong: Time now here on the In Wheel Time Card Talk Show for Jeff's Car Culture.
- 20:05Don Armstrong: Not the motor minute, but the car culture.
- 20:08Don Armstrong: Abandoned car factories that still hold secrets.
- 20:11Jeff Dziekan: Yeah, the city of Detroit was once the beating heart of the global industry uh in automotive industry, basically.
- 20:17Jeff Dziekan: The American automobile industry rapidly expanded in the early 1900s with Detroit as its epicenter.
- 20:24Jeff Dziekan: Millions of cars rolled out of the factories.
- 20:26Jeff Dziekan: The city rightfully earned the name Motor City.
- 20:29Jeff Dziekan: So here we go.
- 20:30Jeff Dziekan: The first one that's still in Detroit is the Packard Automotive Plant.
- 20:34Jeff Dziekan: Since the opening in 1903, the plant served as a manufacturing heart for the Packard Motor Company, producing some of America's most prestigious automobiles.
- 20:42Jeff Dziekan: During World War II, the facility joined forces with Rolls-Royce to manufacture 55,000 Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, which was on the pitfire effect.
- 20:51Jeff Dziekan: The Packard Motor Company collapsed in the late 50s, which led to the closure of the automotive plant portion in 1956, leaving the location abandoned ever since.
- 21:01Jeff Dziekan: Deemed structurally unsafe for decades of neglect, the massive complex was partially demolished in 22 and in 24.
- 21:09Jeff Dziekan: Today only fragments of the 3.5 million square foot factory remain.
- 21:14Jeff Dziekan: There's been movies actually made in that part of the dilapidated structure as well.
- 21:19Jeff Dziekan: So some of it is still viable.
- 21:21Jeff Dziekan: They've got the uh folks that go in there and skateboard and and you know tag all the paint and stuff like that.
- 21:28Jeff Dziekan: So it's still around.
- 21:30Jeff Dziekan: The next one, uh, this is uh kind of near and dear to my heart, the Fisher Body Plant 21.
- 21:34Jeff Dziekan: This is the old Fleetwood plant.
- 21:35Jeff Dziekan: Uh I actually worked on the fourth floor there.
- 21:37Jeff Dziekan: Uh if you look really close, you can see my parking spot right up front.
- 21:41Jeff Dziekan: Uh built in 1919, the 600,000 square foot Fisher Body Plant was designed to serve as key manufacturing site for General Motors.
- 21:49Jeff Dziekan: The plant closed in 1984 despite a short second life of small businesses occupying the premises until 1993.
- 21:56Jeff Dziekan: The massive concrete structure was left abandoned for decades.
- 22:00Jeff Dziekan: According to the Urban Explorers, there we go, the the rail system that transported vehicles within the factory is still left in place.
- 22:08Jeff Dziekan: After decades of neglect, the building is now fenced off and finally being uh revived through the Fisher 21 Lofts redevelopment program.
- 22:16Jeff Dziekan: So they're trying to do something with it back in that area.
- 22:18Jeff Dziekan: Fisher Loft.
- 22:19Jeff Dziekan: Fisher Lofts.
- 22:20Don Armstrong: Maybe that's what they need to do with the sugar factory in Sugar Last.
- 22:22Jeff Dziekan: Turn it into a lot of things.
- 22:23Jeff Dziekan: I thought that's what they were kind of trying to do.
- 22:26Don Armstrong: That's another story to tell you.
- 22:28Jeff Dziekan: Anyways, the next one is the Highland Park Ford plant.
- 22:30Jeff Dziekan: This one's got a lot of history to it as well.
- 22:32Jeff Dziekan: It's one of Detroit's most significant factories in automotive history.
- 22:36Jeff Dziekan: It opened in 1910, designed by the same uh architect that designed the Packard building.
- 22:43Jeff Dziekan: Uh the plant became the birthplace of the modern moving assembly line from Henry Ford, introduced in 1913.
- 22:49Jeff Dziekan: As a production of the Model T moved to a different factory, the Highland Park Ford plant transitioned into automotive trim manufacturing, truck and tractor production, as well as the production of tanks, aircraft, and certain parts in World War II.
- 23:03Jeff Dziekan: According to the Ford Company, sold uh sold this historic Highland Park complex in 1981, but it continues to leave space for storage even today.
- 23:11Jeff Dziekan: So you probably got a little storage company working and that's pretty good to keep it going.
- 23:16Jeff Dziekan: Last one we got, Michael, is the American Motors Detroit plant.
- 23:19Jeff Dziekan: You know, we've covered all the manufacturers there.
- 23:21Jeff Dziekan: This one was built in 1927.
- 23:23Don Armstrong: Wait a minute, I thought that they were up in Wisconsin.
- 23:26Jeff Dziekan: This one was the original, built in 1927.
- 23:28Jeff Dziekan: It's a two million square foot industrial complex that serves as headquarters for American Motors, or AMC.
- 23:34Jeff Dziekan: Uh the company first oversaw the development of production of appliances and focused exclusively on production of vehicles starting in 1960.
- 23:42Jeff Dziekan: Rambler, the Hornet, the Javelin, Gremlin, Pacer were some of the manufacturer's most popular models built in this factory.
- 23:48Jeff Dziekan: In the late 80s, Chrysler acquired Chrysler required the AMC to move uh as a move to led the complex being uh repurposed for Jeep and Truck Engineering Center.
- 24:00Jeff Dziekan: So there you go.
- 24:01Don Armstrong: Well that was interesting.
- 24:02Don Armstrong: Yeah.
- 24:03Don Armstrong: Uh that's funny.
- 24:03Don Armstrong: Uh yeah, because I always thought that American Motors was Kenosha.
- 24:06Jeff Dziekan: Yeah.
- 24:07Jeff Dziekan: Well, you know that that's probably after that, because this was built early on.
- 24:13Jeff Dziekan: So but again, the I was there for that.
- 24:15Jeff Dziekan: You're they they were making appliances first in this one in this particular plant.
- 24:19Jeff Dziekan: So appliances?
- 24:20Jeff Dziekan: Appliances, that's what they were making appliances first.
- 24:22Don Armstrong: Like a Norge refrigerator.
- 24:24Jeff Dziekan: Norge, yeah, or uh, you know, something refrigidere.
- 24:28Mike Marrs: I can't remember what it was.
- 24:28Mike Marrs: NASDAQ wasn't Kenmore, somebody Mr.
- 24:31Don Armstrong: Morris, your volume is really low coming to us.
- 24:34Don Armstrong: Could you boost that up for a little bit?
- 24:36Mike Marrs: I can absolutely do that, sir.
- 24:38Don Armstrong: You'd think that it'd just uh be a knob that you could turn there.
- 24:41Don Armstrong: But anyway, all right.
- 24:43Don Armstrong: Time now for Mars driving destinations, day tripping in Houston.
- 24:47Mike Marrs: Alrighty, sir.
- 24:48Mike Marrs: You got this one, Jeff?
- 24:49Mike Marrs: Yep.
- 24:50Mike Marrs: Alrighty.
- 24:50Mike Marrs: So we're talking about dray tripping in Houston, a lot of places you can go and do, but today we're talking about doing things.
- 24:57Mike Marrs: Not just sitting around, but actually doing things.
- 25:00Mike Marrs: We're talking about playing.
- 25:01Mike Marrs: We're gonna go playing.
- 25:03Mike Marrs: So we're gonna start with the place that kind of sets the tone for what we're talking about.
- 25:07Mike Marrs: Cider cage Houston.
- 25:10Mike Marrs: This is a place where you pay one time and then you have unlimited access.
- 25:14Mike Marrs: There's old school games like info machines, you got newer stuff like rhythm games, and you got everything in between with the videos.
- 25:22Mike Marrs: It's a lot loud, it's fun, and before you know it, you're gonna be investing a lot of time trying to beat somebody else's ice cream.
- 25:27Mike Marrs: Because you can play as long as you want for the same price.
- 25:31Mike Marrs: Now they also have artisan pizza, you got craft sodas, and they have adult ciders.
- 25:37Jeff Dziekan: Now, one thing craft ciders and adult ciders, Jeff.
- 25:40Jeff Dziekan: I'm a pepperoni guy.
- 25:42Mike Marrs: Craft sodas.
- 25:43Mike Marrs: So, but after 9 o'clock p.m., it's 18 and older only.
- 25:49Mike Marrs: So the kids, you gotta take them during the day.
- 25:51Mike Marrs: If you want them there at night, not so much.
- 25:54Mike Marrs: So if you want something that's gonna be a little bit different, now you gotta head over to Ready Go Amusement Arcade.
- 26:01Mike Marrs: Now, this place is kind of like you stepped into another country, but it's in a good way.
- 26:05Mike Marrs: It's got a Japanese arcade vibe.
- 26:07Mike Marrs: There's over 50 machines that include the rhythm games, skill based stuff, claw machines that actually take some finesse because they've got some prizes in there besides just little stuffed dolls.
- 26:19Mike Marrs: They got some.
- 26:24Mike Marrs: So it's right.
- 26:25SPEAKER_01: No, no more.
- 26:27SPEAKER_01: We you you leave now.
- 26:29SPEAKER_01: You leave now, you eat too much.
- 26:31SPEAKER_01: 30 minutes after you play the game, you gotta play it again.
- 26:33Mike Marrs: Well, and and if you get tired of this place, then you can go around the corner over there where you've got Claw Mania Kingdom.
- 26:39Mike Marrs: It's the next place.
- 26:40Mike Marrs: Oh, yeah.
- 26:40Mike Marrs: Now, it sounds simple, and it's basically all claw machines, but there's a ton of stuff in these claw machines that you can actually win and that's actually got some value to it.
- 26:53Mike Marrs: And then uh then you can also start trading up as you get something or you win something, you can actually trade up while you're there to get even bigger and better things.
- 27:03Mike Marrs: So that's another one that's close there.
- 27:06Mike Marrs: But here's the one I was saving for you, Don.
- 27:08Mike Marrs: If you're really ready to get something serious, go to battle axe throwing.
- 27:15Don Armstrong: So you throw your old wife down there with battle axe?
- 27:19Mike Marrs: Or maybe throw at her, I'm not sure.
- 27:21Mike Marrs: But anyway, that's against the law.
- 27:24Mike Marrs: And and it's easy to do.
- 27:25SPEAKER_01: I mean, stop asking me questions like that.
- 27:28Jeff Dziekan: Don't ask me that question.
- 27:29Jeff Dziekan: I'm gonna axe another one.
- 27:31Mike Marrs: So and they have actually have league play, they have tournaments.
- 27:36Mike Marrs: You can sign up for birthday parties if you want to go throw some axes.
- 27:38SPEAKER_01: What happened to bowling?
- 27:40SPEAKER_01: Why can't we go bowling?
- 27:42Mike Marrs: It's too simple.
- 27:44Mike Marrs: Anybody can do that.
- 27:45Mike Marrs: And the thing about this battle axe, if the axe is a little too much, you get tired of throwing the axe, you can start throwing knives.
- 27:51Mike Marrs: Or you can shoot archery, you can shoot some arrows at it.
- 27:55Don Armstrong: I'd like to shoot, well, never mind.
- 27:57Don Armstrong: Shoot the breeze, shoot the bird, shoot the bird.
- 28:00Mike Marrs: They got lots of food, so you can make it a date night if you want to, just to do something a little different.
- 28:05Mike Marrs: And you can get gift cards for that special person you want to do.
- 28:10Mike Marrs: For your birthday, darling.
- 28:10Jeff Dziekan: Let's go through some axes.
- 28:12Jeff Dziekan: Let's go through some knives, canives, canives.
- 28:14Jeff Dziekan: Let's go through some knives.
- 28:16Mike Marrs: All right, and then the last one I wanted to show you was the U.S.
- 28:18Mike Marrs: golf and games.
- 28:20Mike Marrs: Now, this is kind of old school Houston, but it's got air conditioning.
- 28:24Mike Marrs: Everything's air conditioned, it's got indoor mini golf, it's got batting cages, it's got a go-kart track that kind of goes outside, so it does get outside a little bit.
- 28:33Mike Marrs: And uh, but it's also indoor.
- 28:35Mike Marrs: You got pool tables, you got electronic games.
- 28:38Mike Marrs: I mean, you got a lot of stuff in this.
- 28:41Don Armstrong: I've never heard of these places.
- 28:49Mike Marrs: But that's the address for it.
- 28:51Mike Marrs: Uh, a lot of them over there close to you, Don, on Bel Air.
- 28:54Mike Marrs: Bel Air Boulevard.
- 28:55Don Armstrong: Well, I'm not in Bel Air anymore, so well, no, it's not anymore.
- 28:58Mike Marrs: But anyway, that's these are some hidden gems that you can find in Houston to go play.
- 29:02Mike Marrs: To literally go and play.
- 29:05Don Armstrong: All right.
- 29:05Don Armstrong: Well, we're gonna play right on into a commercial here.
- 29:08Don Armstrong: The In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show continues right after this.
- 29:10Don Armstrong: Stay with us.
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- 30:38Don Armstrong: That's 832-922-0963.
- 30:43Don Armstrong: That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show.
- 30:47Don Armstrong: I'm Don Armstrong, inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and our InWheelTime.com website.
- 30:57Don Armstrong: Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartPodcast, Podcast Addict, TuneIn, Pandora, and Amazon Music.
- 31:06Don Armstrong: Keep listening, and we'll see you soon.