On the Road Again with Merle

[Jack Black]

For Merle's final trip we went to Fort Monroe over in Hampton. There is a lot of history here, going all the way back to 1619 with the landing of the first Africans in Virginia. Just across the bay was Norfolk Naval Base, the largest in the world. Merle was in awe at this sight, though he was disappointed he couldn't see any submarines from this distance.

Next we went to visit the Old Point Comfort lighthouse. This was built in 1802 and is the oldest building on Fort Monroe.

Fort Monroe was used as a defensive placement for the waters surrounding Hampton Roads. While these remaining 3" guns at Battery Irwin, installed in 1946, were intended for salute use only, the prior installed guns were used for coastal defense.

Merle was fascinated with the moat that surrounded the fort.

Fascinating history Jeremy, those are great pics Merle must have had a great time with you

 

[sbh06]

Fascinating history Jeremy, those are great pics Merle must have had a great time with you

Thanks Jack. I wanted to get out to Fort Story to get some pictures of the Cape Henry Lighthouses but it wasn't in the cards and I didn't want Merle to start to feel like he was a hostage here in coastal Virginia. He's on the way to his next stop now but I had a great time showing him around the area.

 

[Markeologist]

Merle has arrived in the SF Bay Area, after cutting him loose, I introduced him to some family members…stayed tuned for some adventures with Merle!

 

[Markeologist]

Dang, Merle already getting in the way of my workday! Decided to take a longer lunch and give him an idea of whats in store for near future. This weekend, weather permitting, we’ll be going on a vintage car rally…I’ll be partnering him with my trusty Beer Scout. Any guesses on vehicle?

 

[Markeologist]

End of day, still sitting at my computer and writing reports…Merle said, oh crap, not another archaeologist! Anyway, I took a quick break to stroll though my garden, beer in hand, to show Merle around.

 

[Rookie82]

Any guesses on vehicle?

I don't know a ton about Detroit muscle cars, other than I really like them when I see them. I'll take a guess. 1970 Camaro

 

[Jeff123]

Any guesses on vehicle?

'67 Mustang?

 

[mbkr]

'56 Chevy

 

[Markeologist]

I’ll let the car guessing go a little longer, kind of an impossible task from that photo BUT there is a telltale sign to at least point you to the manufacturer…and another clue, this vehicle came from the factory with those chrome bits
Having coffee with Merle this am…I used to post such shots almost daily but over last year (+) I’ve been much less active on the porch, not absent but just not so constant. Because of my reduced presence, I had stopped following Merle’s travels and actually asked Barrett (initially through Randy) to delay Merle’s visit to me. I’m glad Barrett rearranged Merle’s itinerary as reading all your posts to “catch up” has been great. Mark

 

[btb01]

Looking forward to your visit with Merle, Markeologist ! And thanks again sbh06 for showing Merle a great time!

Dang, Merle already getting in the way of my workday! Decided to take a longer lunch and give him an idea of whats in store for View attachment 2074965near future. This weekend, weather permitting, we’ll be going on a vintage car rally…I’ll be partnering him with my trusty Beer Scout. Any guesses on vehicle?

Sounds like fun! I’ll cross my fingers for good weather. As for the vehicle, I’ll abstain from guessing, because I searched your posts and the word “car” and think I may have come across the answer.

Merle said, oh crap, not another archaeologist!

Do you also have a whip and a fedora?

 

[Markeologist]

Looking forward to your visit with Merle, Markeologist ! And thanks again sbh06 for showing Merle a great time!



Sounds like fun! I’ll cross my fingers for good weather. As for the vehicle, I’ll abstain from guessing, because I searched your posts and the word “car” and think I may have come across the answer.



Do you also have a whip and a fedora?

Well we are actually going to be driving my wife’s car (I’ll be navigating!) so no solid clues in my previous posts…that I can recall anyway!
I do have a bullwhip Barrett, given to me by my little brother when I was like 12…what a dumb move on his part that was!

 

[Markeologist]

Merle seems to like the garage more than my desk…another shot of the weekend rally car (my office is in San Francisco but since pandemic began, almost all of my “office” work is done at my home).

 

[btb01]

Well we are actually going to be driving my wife’s car (I’ll be navigating!) so no solid clues in my previous posts…that I can recall anyway!
I do have a bullwhip Barrett, given to me by my little brother when I was like 12…what a dumb move on his part that was!
View attachment 2076121

Well then my “guess” probably would’ve been wrong, but I also don’t have a better one.

My brother and I had bullwhips when we were kids, too. Looking back, it’s amazing we never injured one another with them.

 

[Markeologist]

I decided to take a little afternoon drive and walk with Merle. I live in a pretty fantastic place IMHO…I can get to downtown San Francisco, the Pacific Ocean, or Wine Country in 30 to 40 minutes and better yet I can be hiking in National or State Park lands in 10 to 15 minutes…including this stream which gets a run of Coho. Drove my 62 F100 which Merle seemed to enjoy…he liked the beer too!

 

[abbydaddy]

Well we are actually going to be driving my wife’s car (I’ll be navigating!) so no solid clues in my previous posts…that I can recall anyway!
I do have a bullwhip Barrett, given to me by my little brother when I was like 12…what a dumb move on his part that was!
View attachment 2076121

It always makes me happy to see another archaeologist willing to embrace the stereotypes a little bit. I keep my bullwhip in my office, mostly because I get asked whether I have one so often. I admit the whip has never once actually been used in the field. Whips are surprisingly un-useful for any of the archaeology I have done. Even on rangeland. The hat on the other hand long predates my work as an archaeologist, and it does get used a lot.

 

[Markeologist]

Merle is getting excited, helping with the route book and maps, getting ready for a big adventure early tomorrow.

 

[Jack Black]

My brother and I had bullwhips when we were kids, too. Looking back, it’s amazing we never injured one another with them.

I saw a bullwhip for sale on Leeds market the other day. I was just chatting to the stall-holder, when a middle-aged lady strutted up, clad head to toe in black leather, including thigh-high boots, and asked how much it was. She paid the asking price, put it in her bag, turned on her heel, and flounced off!

It always makes me happy to see another archaeologist willing to embrace the stereotypes a little bit. I keep my bullwhip in my office, mostly because I get asked whether I have one so often. I admit the whip has never once actually been used in the field. Whips are surprisingly un-useful for any of the archaeology I have done. Even on rangeland. The hat on the other hand long predates my work as an archaeologist, and it does get used a lot.

View attachment 2077703

I see you have a Condor Otzi knife too!

Merle is getting excited, helping with the route book and maps, getting ready for a big adventure early tomorrow.View attachment 2078151

Excited!!

 

[Markeologist]

Well dang, rain came in last night and its raining now. We’ve been up since 4:30 am and should have been on road already…I was holding out for as long as I could before pulling plug. Although it will become showers in a few hours, its just not the weather for our convertible 63.5 Falcon Sprint (we love driving in cold/frosty conditions but the wet is no good as the top currently won’t go up). Merle is disappointed but we’ll figure something else to do.My wife’s Falcon a week or two ago when sun was out. This is one of our local watering holes, an old roadhouse about a 5 minute walk from our home (Merle has been there already). It still has the hand-forged iron eyelets to tie off your horse out front…bicycles these days.

 

[btb01]

It always makes me happy to see another archaeologist willing to embrace the stereotypes a little bit. I keep my bullwhip in my office, mostly because I get asked whether I have one so often. I admit the whip has never once actually been used in the field. Whips are surprisingly un-useful for any of the archaeology I have done. Even on rangeland. The hat on the other hand long predates my work as an archaeologist, and it does get used a lot.

View attachment 2077703

But then what do you use to swing across bottomless chasms and disarm treasure-hunting Nazis?

I saw a bullwhip for sale on Leeds market the other day. I was just chatting to the stall-holder, when a middle-aged lady strutted up, clad head to toe in black leather, including thigh-high boots, and asked how much it was. She paid the asking price, put it in her bag, turned on her heel, and flounced off!

I bet she’s going to use it to try and knock empty Coke cans off the tops of fence posts like my brother and I did.

Well dang, rain came in last night and its raining now. We’ve been up since 4:30 am and should have been on road already…I was holding out for as long as I could before pulling plug. Although it will become showers in a few hours, its just not the weather for our convertible 63.5 Falcon Sprint (we love driving in cold/frosty conditions but the wet is no good as the top currently won’t go up). Merle is disappointed but we’ll figure something else to do.View attachment 2078448View attachment 2078453My wife’s Falcon a week or two ago when sun was out. This is one of our local watering holes, an old roadhouse about a 5 minute walk from our home (Merle has been there already). It still has the hand-forged iron eyelets to tie off your horse out front…bicycles these days.

Shame about the weather, but I’ve been enjoying your posts, and you and your wife certainly seem to have a nice collection of cool old vehicles!

 

[Rookie82]

Bummer the weather didn't cooperate. I'm sure you'll find other activities to keep Merle busy.