A Sunday Stroll
Our family decided to celebrate my dad's birthday on Sunday. We enjoyed lunch at Pizza Hut (it's nice to eat at places and get to know the staff- plus pizza is always a good deal with a big family) and then we headed toward Ocean City.
Yes, it was Labor Day weekend and we were driving towards the beach, but we stopped on the West side, so traffic wasn't bad.
What was our destination? A museum called Wheels of Yesterday. It is on the south side of the road across from the West Ocean City outlets. It is an inconspicuous white one-story building. There are a couple antique buses and a car carrier setting out front.
Stepping inside we found a quaint shop full of antique style signs, car books, and collectibles. The man behind the counter was quite friendly and immediately told us the price of admission. $5 for adults and $3 for children 12 & under, although he said he would not charge for our 1 year old twins. I also had a coupon from my DE Entertainment Book for one free admission with the purchase of one. $21 later we stepped through the door.
My first impression was that we would not get lost. It was a U-shaped aisle with vehicles and antiques in the middle of the U and all around the outside. But, that meant it was manageable. Maybe I would actually remember most of what I saw instead of trying to take in just a small portion.
My dad loves old cars and knows a lot about them as well. We immediately saw a Rambler just like the one my mom had when they got married. A couple cars down from that was a Corvair just like the one they had when I was a toddler.
They had cars as far back as 1904 and even had some famous ones. They had one from 1904 that had been used in the movie Tuck Everlasting which was filmed in Berlin, MD nearby. They also had one of FDR's limousines. They had antique bumper cars from Hershey Park.
One of the highlights of the museum was not a vehicle at all. It was a copy of a letter on a post that was part of a display about Bonnie & Clyde. They had pictures of the bullet-riddled car that we were told is on display in Las Vegas. The letter was written by Clyde Barrow shortly before his death to Henry Ford. In the letter he thanked Ford for making such great vehicles and how fast and reliable they were. The funny thing was that Clyde never owned a Ford, but he stole several, including the one they were killed in.
This was definitely a small museum, but if you like older vehicles it was a nice place to visit. Honestly, I probably would have enjoyed it more if the older gentleman who was sharing information with us had just let us go around on our own. The children enjoyed some of it, but if we had been able to just go around at our pace I would have pointed out more things to them. Having a "guide" just added a different dynamic.
So, if you are in the Ocean City area and want to do something other than shop or go to the beach here is a nice alternative, particularly for car buffs or older adults. You could walk through in 15 minutes and just glance at everything or take about 60 minutes and really look and read everything.
BTW, we stopped at the McD's by Stephen Decatur High School for ice cream afterwards. It was in sad shape. The eating area was very worn (even broken seats) and the bathroom was atrocious. I would not recommend eating in there again.
Yes, it was Labor Day weekend and we were driving towards the beach, but we stopped on the West side, so traffic wasn't bad.
What was our destination? A museum called Wheels of Yesterday. It is on the south side of the road across from the West Ocean City outlets. It is an inconspicuous white one-story building. There are a couple antique buses and a car carrier setting out front.
Stepping inside we found a quaint shop full of antique style signs, car books, and collectibles. The man behind the counter was quite friendly and immediately told us the price of admission. $5 for adults and $3 for children 12 & under, although he said he would not charge for our 1 year old twins. I also had a coupon from my DE Entertainment Book for one free admission with the purchase of one. $21 later we stepped through the door.
My first impression was that we would not get lost. It was a U-shaped aisle with vehicles and antiques in the middle of the U and all around the outside. But, that meant it was manageable. Maybe I would actually remember most of what I saw instead of trying to take in just a small portion.
My dad loves old cars and knows a lot about them as well. We immediately saw a Rambler just like the one my mom had when they got married. A couple cars down from that was a Corvair just like the one they had when I was a toddler.
They had cars as far back as 1904 and even had some famous ones. They had one from 1904 that had been used in the movie Tuck Everlasting which was filmed in Berlin, MD nearby. They also had one of FDR's limousines. They had antique bumper cars from Hershey Park.
One of the highlights of the museum was not a vehicle at all. It was a copy of a letter on a post that was part of a display about Bonnie & Clyde. They had pictures of the bullet-riddled car that we were told is on display in Las Vegas. The letter was written by Clyde Barrow shortly before his death to Henry Ford. In the letter he thanked Ford for making such great vehicles and how fast and reliable they were. The funny thing was that Clyde never owned a Ford, but he stole several, including the one they were killed in.
This was definitely a small museum, but if you like older vehicles it was a nice place to visit. Honestly, I probably would have enjoyed it more if the older gentleman who was sharing information with us had just let us go around on our own. The children enjoyed some of it, but if we had been able to just go around at our pace I would have pointed out more things to them. Having a "guide" just added a different dynamic.
So, if you are in the Ocean City area and want to do something other than shop or go to the beach here is a nice alternative, particularly for car buffs or older adults. You could walk through in 15 minutes and just glance at everything or take about 60 minutes and really look and read everything.
BTW, we stopped at the McD's by Stephen Decatur High School for ice cream afterwards. It was in sad shape. The eating area was very worn (even broken seats) and the bathroom was atrocious. I would not recommend eating in there again.
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