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Tower Station and U-Drop Inn
Shamrock TX
May 10, 2017

Arrival in Shamrock

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What did I find out back but a 6 place Tesla charging station, new since I was last here in 2014!

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For some reason I couldn't get the cable to plug in!

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Evidently Tesla wasn't the first!

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There is this station on the right, from the Pixar movie "CARS". More on that later.

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A little tribute to Rocket Republic

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This is David Rushing, the Shamrock City Manager.

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I left a message for David. He was kind enough to come out from City Hall to the U-Drop Inn to meet with me about an hour later.

Here's the back story:
When Corvette friend Michael Brown, of Michael Brown Productions, producer of "The Quest", heard that I would be stopping here on my trip, he insisted that I speak to his friend David Rushing.

In 2011, Michael had produced 2 commercials, featuring Corvettes, to enter in Chevrolet's 2012 SuperBowl Commercial Contest. At the time, David was the head of economic development for the Shamrock Chamber of Commerce, which was housed in this building. He proved to be extremely helpful to Michael!

As we talked, David told me the story of how he had gotten to know John Lasseter, the top guy with Pixar Studios. They met when John was exploring Route 66 for features and images to include in the "CARS" movie. He was captivated by the U-Drop Inn, and it became Ramone's shop in the movie. On one of many later visits, John told David that he wanted to build an exact replica, in Disneyland. David replied that he actually had the original plans for the building! John went ballistic and asked him what he wanted for them - he'd pay anything! David replied that his only request was for VIP passes, travel and lodging for his family to attend the grand opening of the replica! It happened!

Thank You David and Michael!

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