When I was around 5 years old my dad sat me down and let me watch Explorers. It instantly became my favorite movie, right up there with Corvette Summer (you know the one with Mark Hamill). I was instantly hooked with the story and the wonder of space. But most importantly, the boys cobble together their own space ship with a tilt a whirl and some old junk, it was love at first sight. I knew I had to have my own Thunder Road. My dad being the kind of guy he is, started scouring the internet and any yard sale and swap meet he could to find the pieces for the Thunder Road. Back then (circa 2005) there weren't really any resources to find the correct pieces or even what the pieces were. He eventually found a guy on the internet named Skip. Skip was selling an old rusty tilt a whirl car for $850 in Minnesota. We live in Illinois so it would be quite the drive to go pick it up. My dad ended up sending Skip the money and Skip was never heard from again. My dream of having my very own Thunder Road was shattered, but I never forgot it. He also found a local laundromat that had some similar dryer doors to the ones on the ship around 2006. For years those were the only pieces I had to keep the dream alive. That was until August 2019. My dad was once again on the hunt. He was scouring Marketplace on Facebook and found a lady in Kentucky selling a rusty tilt a whirl car for $175. It was super rough but I knew I had to have it. We rented a truck and drove to pick it up. Finally at 19 I had brought home the biggest piece of the puzzle and the dream was back in full swing. I honestly can't remember a time in life before Explorers and it will always be my favorite.
