The final tour for 2021 was an overnight tour to Jacksonville, FL. October is the perfect time to go to Jacksonville, as temperatures are moderate and humidity is much lower than most of the rest of the year. The weather cooperated and was perfect all weekend.

The Brumos staff scheduled our group to have exclusive access to the museum for two hours starting at 4:00, so we drove interstates all the way down to be sure we were there on time. That also allowed us to get checked-in at the Hilton Garden Inn before we went to the museum. Several of our members had gone down a day early, and others were coming from other locations, so the hotel also served as a meeting point for them to join us. In fact, we had several Florida residents who came to join Peachstate for this tour too.

Once we arrived at the museum we took a group picture beside the 928 located just outside the front door. To say that it is a bit different than most 928’s would be an understatement. The staff then welcomed us to the museum and provided each of us with a stylus to use so we would not leave fingerprints on the displays. As a side note, the stylus provided for us to keep also works on other touch screen devices. The interactive displays beside the cars contain details about the cars’ historical importance and specifications. There is so much detailed information that I can’t fathom the amount of effort that must have gone into gathering and organizing it. The restoration area was also open for us to walk into, which is normally only available to look into from the museum floor. Extremely knowledgeable docents were available to provide additional background on the museums’ architecture, the cars, and lots of stories about the history of the Brumos racing team. We were all impressed with the entire experience. Several members also tried their hand at driving the race simulator. They found out that driving a simulator is harder than it looks.

Following our museum visit we continued the tour by going to Lulu’s Waterfront Grill on the intercoastal waterway for dinner. We were seated in an outside covered area exclusively setup for us. The food and service were good.

Upon return to the hotel some gathered in the lobby to watch the Braves game, while others went next door to the Seven Bridges Brewery and Grill to socialize.

I had planned a more interesting drive back from Jacksonville, with a lunch stop in Waycross, then through, or near Hazlehurst, McRae, Dublin, Milledgeville, Eatonton and finally ending at Madison on I-20. I knew some folks would be going to vacation destinations like Hilton Head instead of returning with us, and some would simply drive the interstates to get back a little faster, but we did have a small group that followed the official tour route. The mostly four lane highways were almost deserted, so we had a very low stress drive back and saw some interesting small towns along the way. South Georgia is very different from the hustle and bustle of Atlanta.

Pay a visit to the photo gallery to see pictures from the museum.