If you are into collector cars and do any sort of traveling, a copy of Roadster Guide to America’s Classic Car Museums & Attractions needs to be in your glovebox or suitcase.
The book includes details on more than 225 “auto-themed attractions,” starting with the Boothbay Railway Village in Maine and running through the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Oh, and don’t let the name of the Boothbay museum fool you. The Roadster Guide notes there are more than 60 vintage cars — from 1902 through 1962 — on display there, including a 1935 Swallow SS-1 Tourer, 1910 Brush Runabout, 1930 Franklin 147 Dietrich Speedster, a Cushman Truckster hot-dog wagon, as well as the 1940 Cadillac limousine owned by Thomas Edison’s widow.
Museums are listed by state, with states grouped by geographic region for quick reference.
Each museum or attraction includes a narrative description, the number of vehicles on display, vehicle highlights, museum location, if there’s an admission fee, hours the museum is open, telephone number and website. Some listings include photos.
In addition to those listings, the book has “Side Trip” and “Pit Stop” sidebars, such as a suggestion to try the pork tenderloin sandwich at Ray’s Drive-In in Kokomo, Indiana, or to visit the American Sign Museum and former headquarters of the Crosley Radio Corporation in Cincinnati, or Carhenge in far western Nebraska.
The Roadster Guide is the work of Michael Milne, who, with his wife Larissa, sold their home in 2011 and launched what they thought would be a year-long trip around the world while living out of a 22-inch suitcase. The trip stretched to three years and a travel-writing second career.
Back home, the Milnes write a weekly “Field-Tested Travel Tips” column for the Philadelphia Inquirer and have produced not only the Roadster Guide but Philadelphia Liberty Trail: Trace the Path of America’s Heritage.
Among other travel quests, Milne hopes someday to find the 1975 Pontiac Firebird that was his first car back when he was a teenager.
Reviewed
Roadster Guide to America’s Classic Car Museums & Attractions
By Michael Milne
Changes in Longitude Press, 2016
ISBN 9780997533309
Softcover, 340 pages
$19.95
I’ve been to the Boothbay Railway Village. It’s a really good visit. Boothbay Harbor is also a nice place to spend some time. I hope that the Owl’s Head Transportation Museum is on the list. If you go to Maine it is really worth the trip to go to Owl’s Head!
BTW: Any book with a 59 Caddy on the cover has to be worth the read. I love those fins!!
Hi Scott,
I’m glad you appreciate the ’59 Caddy on the cover of my new book, the Roadster Guide to America’s Classic Car Museums. Yes, the Owls Head Transportation Museum is included along with several other car museums in Maine.
Cheers,
Michael Milne