Harrah's National Auto Museum
I believe most of you who read my blog are aware of my attraction (some might say obsession) to cars. I sort of liked cars before my mission but after living in Detroit and especially after attending the National Auto Show, I have grown to LOVE cars!!!
Well, this year when I was talking to a co-worker, he said that he'd always wanted to go to Hot August Night's in Reno. It was at this time that it dawned on me that I had never been to HAN, even though I've spent most of my life living just outside of Reno. So I decided that this year I was going to go. I called Dad, made plane reservations, and went to Reno for a weekend over the first of August. It was great, Dad and I had a ton of fun.
One of the things we did was going to the National Auto Museum. We had been there once before as a family, but I think I was about fifteen and all I remembered was being really bored and wishing that Dad wouldn't take so long to look at every car. Well, I had an inkling that this year, it would be different. It was. He and I spent three hours there. It was so much fun. Of course I took way too many pictures, but that's just what you all will have to put up with when looking at my blog (although I'm pretty sure that most of you will probably just flip through them. :) )
So those of you who give a hoot about cars, enjoy...
This is the original Thomas Flyer that one a very famous cross-continent race. The American team beat out the French who were the favorite to win.
This is one of the museum's restoration shops.
This is a Mercer, and for those of you who are familiar with the musical "Dear to My Heart" (which I'm sure none of you are) you would recognize it.
Annette swears this is the same exact hat she wore when we took this same picture ten years ago. I think she's crazy. :)
This was Sammy Davis Jr.'s car.
I picked this one out for Annette, it was cute and purple.
One of the world's first RV's.
I picked this one out for me, I loved the wheels.
This is a Mustang pedal car for kids. It was SO CUTE!!! I wanted one more than I want a real mustang.
This car belonged to Al Jolsen. Apparently there were only about a hundred of them made. They were supposed to be the ultimate luxury care for their time period, but they started producing them right before the depression. No one other than stars like Al Jolsen could afford to buy one.
This was Lana Turner's car.
This Mercedes is the most valuable car in the museum, which considering what they have in this museum is pretty impressive.
I just liked it because it looks like Cruella DeVill's car. :)
This one was a very famous concept car. It was supposed to lead the revolution into a whole new kind of "space car".
This was one of the first corvettes ever made (complete with it's mini-me.) Chevy wanted to compete with foreign made sports cars like Ferrari's, so they produced the Corvette. Unfortunately, it was a piece of crap and didn't have any where near the power needed. Well, it would have been scrapped entirely, but John Wayne decided he was a fan and bought one. That made them so popular that they became a huge hit for Chevy.
(Unfortunately, John Wayne was too tall to fit and had to give the car to a friend.)
This is a really ugly 24 krt gold-plated Delorian. Too bad they didn't use if for the time machine. :)
Here's a cute little Speed Racer Mercedes.
This was Frank Sinatra's car, so of course it warranted a picture.
The Jerrari was a custom car designed by Harrah himself. He put a Ferrari engine in the body of a jeep, this allowing him to drive from his casino in Reno to his one in Lake Tahoe after the weather got bad. It was a pretty cool car.
The museum was AWESOME! Although I am still saving my money to get back to the Henry Ford museum, I figure in the meantime, this one will suffice. Oh, and Dad and i got to bond. :)
Well, this year when I was talking to a co-worker, he said that he'd always wanted to go to Hot August Night's in Reno. It was at this time that it dawned on me that I had never been to HAN, even though I've spent most of my life living just outside of Reno. So I decided that this year I was going to go. I called Dad, made plane reservations, and went to Reno for a weekend over the first of August. It was great, Dad and I had a ton of fun.
One of the things we did was going to the National Auto Museum. We had been there once before as a family, but I think I was about fifteen and all I remembered was being really bored and wishing that Dad wouldn't take so long to look at every car. Well, I had an inkling that this year, it would be different. It was. He and I spent three hours there. It was so much fun. Of course I took way too many pictures, but that's just what you all will have to put up with when looking at my blog (although I'm pretty sure that most of you will probably just flip through them. :) )
So those of you who give a hoot about cars, enjoy...
This is the original Thomas Flyer that one a very famous cross-continent race. The American team beat out the French who were the favorite to win.
This is one of the museum's restoration shops.
This is a Mercer, and for those of you who are familiar with the musical "Dear to My Heart" (which I'm sure none of you are) you would recognize it.
Annette swears this is the same exact hat she wore when we took this same picture ten years ago. I think she's crazy. :)
This was Sammy Davis Jr.'s car.
I picked this one out for Annette, it was cute and purple.
One of the world's first RV's.
I picked this one out for me, I loved the wheels.
This is a Mustang pedal car for kids. It was SO CUTE!!! I wanted one more than I want a real mustang.
This car belonged to Al Jolsen. Apparently there were only about a hundred of them made. They were supposed to be the ultimate luxury care for their time period, but they started producing them right before the depression. No one other than stars like Al Jolsen could afford to buy one.
This was Lana Turner's car.
This Mercedes is the most valuable car in the museum, which considering what they have in this museum is pretty impressive.
I just liked it because it looks like Cruella DeVill's car. :)
This one was a very famous concept car. It was supposed to lead the revolution into a whole new kind of "space car". 
This was one of the first corvettes ever made (complete with it's mini-me.) Chevy wanted to compete with foreign made sports cars like Ferrari's, so they produced the Corvette. Unfortunately, it was a piece of crap and didn't have any where near the power needed. Well, it would have been scrapped entirely, but John Wayne decided he was a fan and bought one. That made them so popular that they became a huge hit for Chevy.
(Unfortunately, John Wayne was too tall to fit and had to give the car to a friend.)
This is a really ugly 24 krt gold-plated Delorian. Too bad they didn't use if for the time machine. :)
Here's a cute little Speed Racer Mercedes.
This was Frank Sinatra's car, so of course it warranted a picture.
The Jerrari was a custom car designed by Harrah himself. He put a Ferrari engine in the body of a jeep, this allowing him to drive from his casino in Reno to his one in Lake Tahoe after the weather got bad. It was a pretty cool car.
The museum was AWESOME! Although I am still saving my money to get back to the Henry Ford museum, I figure in the meantime, this one will suffice. Oh, and Dad and i got to bond. :)
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