Not long after I took delivery of my C5 I began to recall all the fun Darlene and I used to have with other Corvette owners when we lived in Edmonton and took regular road trips. These memories convinced me that it was time for another road trip. This one would be a little more than a long weekend though. As a member of the C5 Registry since June of 1999 (joined shortly after the order for the Vette was placed) I had been looking at several of the events they attended and started to develop plans to attend one of their events. I started to discuss a trip to Bowling Green in April 2000 for the third C5 Registry Birthday Bash with my son Nick. Nick was anxious to go and Darlene gave her blessing. She viewed it as a once in a lifetime chance to get away with my son for two weeks and do some important male bonding (Nick was 14 when we started planning our trip).

Trip Preparation

One of the conditions Darlene laid down was that Nick needed to learn how to drive the Vette before we left. She reasoned that if I were to be unable to drive for any reason, Nick would be able to get us to help. Smart Lady. Our lessons started about 6 weeks before departure and soon Nick was capable (not smooth) of getting the car around the neighbourhood.

The next big discussion was what to take on the trip. A few tools (not that I could fix anything that went wrong), enough clothes to last for a week and two sets of golf clubs. Yes, Nick & I are avid golfers and we were sure we would be able to get several games of golf in while we were away.

The car was loaded the night before we were schedule to depart and with all our belongings, including the golf clubs, there was still room to put the top down.

Day 1 - Saturday April 8 – 5842 km

Up early for Bob & Nick. Left home at 7:18 AM with a planned destination of somewhere past Great Falls. Trip to the US border was relatively uneventful but we need to remember not to eat at Humpty's in Nanton again. Had to race a little to find a rest area.

Once in the USA we took full advantage of the higher speed limits to let the Vette stretch her legs. Made it to Great Falls by mid afternoon and decided that we would go to Billings and spend the night. Back roads from Great Falls to Laurel and ran it up to 120 MPH a few times. The car loves speed.

Stopped in Laurel and found Fichtner Chevrolet Olds. Ken is a member of Corvette Forum and has a standing invitation to anyone in the neighbourhood to drop in. Dealership was closed so we left one of our trip cards with a note for Ken.

On to Billings. A little difficult to find a room. Wound up at a Quality Inn that was mediocre at best. There was a graduation party being held there and it was interesting to see the young kids (to me) dressed up and out for their big night. Out to Dinner at Fudruckers. Nick could not believe the size of the burgers. Went out and found a coin car wash and gave the Vette a bath before bed. Back in the room I decided to try & call Ken Fichtner he was in and we agreed to meet the next day for breakfast in Billings.

Day 2 - Sunday April 9 – 6830 km

Met Ken & his little boy for breakfast. He brought his yellow 2000 coupe with 200 miles on it. Had a nice breakfast and met another couple who had a Mag Red 99 coupe. Ken is a very nice guy and if we are ever back in the area will look him up again.

The day's planned agenda included a stop at Mt. Rushmore. We stopped at the Custer Battlefield that was right off the interstate. It was worth the time. Kind of an eerie place with markers set up where all the people were killed. Back on I 90 we were cruising along at about 85 mph passing a semi and in the middle of my lane I saw a cowboy boot standing on the road. Quick manoeuvre onto the shoulder and we were around it. That would have made a mess of the front end. As we were going through Wyoming we saw the Devils Monument in the distance and I had to go and see it close up (Close Encounters of the Third Kind). On the road up to the Monument we saw 8 Vettes heading back down to the interstate. Lots of waves and smiles. Saw the monument and took pictures. It was only about 30 miles round trip from the interstate and worth the stop.

Back on I 90 the next stop was at Mount Rushmore. Cruising along again Nick spotted something in the distance. “What’s that on the road Dad?” “Could be the other cowboy boot” I replied. Sure enough. This time we were able to avoid it without any trouble. Only in Wyoming! Went past Spearfish SD where they have a big Harley Davidson gathering every year, but did not stop. Took a while to get to Mt Rushmore from the interstate and once there I felt it was a bit of a rip off. Parking was $10 and another $8 each to get into the park. They have recently built a very modern and very large visitor center. It seemed a little out of scale with the actual mountain. Statues were smaller than expected. At least now we can say we've been to Mt. Rushmore. Spent the night in Sioux Falls at a very nice new Holiday Inn Express.

Day 3 - Monday April 10 – 7603 km

Up early and on the road at 7:18 AM. This was going to be a long day and we wanted to get started. Not much to see in South Dakota but I was impressed with the fact that there was a little variation in the terrain. More than 500 signs enticing us to stop at Wall Drug in Wall S.D. Resisted and kept driving but some of the signs did make it sound interesting. Went past Sioux City Iowa and down through Omaha. As we were going through Omaha we hit rush hour and a bad rainstorm. I was going 80 and soccer moms with cell phones and Starbucks mugs waving around were passing me like we were standing still. Nick thought it was great fun but I must confess I was a little nervous. Made it to Kansas City Missouri. And found a nice place to spend the night. Went out to TGI Fridays for dinner. Nick had not been to one before and thought it was OK.

Day 4 - Tuesday April 11 – 8808 km

Another early start with plans to get to Bowling Green today. Trip from Kansas City to St. Louis was OK, rough road with lots of truck traffic. In St. Louis we stopped at the Gateway Arch. Dar & I had been there before but Nick wanted to see it. He took the ride to the top and took pictures of the city. Headed east through Illinois.

Arrived in Bowling Green about 9:00 PM. Had a little detour just as we were getting there and wound up driving an extra 10 miles south before we could turn around and come back. Found the hotel and unpacked the car. Time for a good night’s sleep.

Day 5 - Wednesday April 12

After the long trip we both got to sleep in. I slept till 7:30 and Nick slept till 10:00. Met Jake Drennon of the C5 Registry in the parking lot. I was the first Vette to arrive and Jake was very happy that we were able to make it down from Canada. I went out and started looking around Bowling Green. First stop was Wall Mart. Bought a car wash bucket and some bug & tar remover and went in search of a car wash. Found the car wash and spent more than an hour getting most of the grime off the car. Damn near froze. It was only about 45 degrees and there were no doors on the car wash. I kept climbing back in the car and warming my hands with the heater.

With the car clean I went searching for a coin laundry without success and went back to the hotel to check on Nick. He was ready to roll and when I told him I had been looking for a laundry he said there was one in the hotel. Smart kid read the directory.

After lunch we found the Corvette Museum (another little road trip up the freeway due to one missed turn) and picked up our registration packages. Met several other people who had arrived early and toured the museum. Drove by the Corvette plant and went back to the hotel and met several more people including members of the Yellow Jackets. Went out to dinner with a small group and turned in early.

Day 6 - Thursday April 13

There was a well-planned agenda for Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday. We were able to select things that interested us but because the agenda was so busy I’ll only cover the high points. We did spend a lot of time at the museum, saw some awesome cars and met some great people.

The C5 Registry was to supply guides for the Corvette plant tours on Friday and I had volunteered to help. We attended the guide orientation at the plant Thursday afternoon and as part of the orientation were given a tour of the plan. It’s awesome! Seeing parts roll in one end of the plant and Corvettes roll out the other gave me a real appreciation for the people that work at the plant. They LOVE their jobs and do an outstanding job of building these cars.

Wendle Strode the Director of the museum at his 1869 homestead Bed & Breakfast hosted dinner. There were several hundred C5 Corvettes parked all over his lawn. We travelled to the dinner with other members of the Yellow Jackets and parked three almost identical cars together. Many people took pictures and told us how much they like Yellow. There was even a picture of our cars posted on the C5 Registry web site. Back to the hotel at 9:00 PM.

Day 7 - Friday April 14

Guided plant tours in the morning. Members of the C5 Registry were positioned at points along the assembly line. I was stationed in an area where the interior trim pieces were installed on one part of the line and the frame rails were welded together across the way. Lift trucks had to change the racks that hold the frame rails for shipment as the rails were used in the assembly process. Most of the people on the tour were great but there were a few who got in the way and had to be moved along. The lady working at the station installing interior trim was very nice. She explained the assembly process and provided hints on how to make adjustments to the interior pieces if we ever had a problem with the car. While I was at my station Nick kept taking the tour over again from start to finish. On his third trip around Tony Laforte, Leader of the Yellow Jackets arranged to have Nick “Give Birth” to a new C5. He was selected to start a Pewter coupe for the first time and was given a certificate by the plant to certify that he had helped build a new Vette. I was almost a thrilled as he was!

In the afternoon we had pictures of the car taken at the museum and spent time in the vendor displays in the parking lot of the museum. Nicks favourite was the Dyno being run by Breathless Performance. They ran several cars before and after installation of their intake system demonstrating the horsepower gains with their system. I was convinced and bought the total intake system. Rather than having it installed we brought it home so we could install it our selves.

Attended the C5 Registry dinner in the evening. The food was bad and they ran out of most things before we got to the buffet. Went out and bought Nick a burger afterward and ran into a couple nice young guys driving a “Chico” car (lowered 80’s Cadillac Coupe DeVille with 13 inch chrome wheels). They loved the Vette.

Day 8 - Saturday April 15

Started the day with commemorative Brick Laying at the museum. Also had the car parked in the circle in front of the museum for the group photo to commemorate the event. I had ordered a brick as a surprise for Nick but I got the surprise when they didn’t have the brick when it was time to place them in the C5 Registry area. After a frantic search we discoverred our brick had been placed on the walkway at the main entrance of the museum. Only one small problem:

After embarrassment and apologies Stephanie Farrell said she would have the brick changed and would make us another one to have at home. (Our brick arrived in Calgary in June and we will have to go back to see the one at the museum).

Attended an autograph session and bought a Corvette flag (3 ft by 5 ft) to collect signatures. They include John Cafaro, Chief C5 Designer, Dave Hill, Chief Corvette Engineer, Jim Campbell, Chevrolet Brand Manager, Cheryl Pilcher, Corvette Brand Manager, Will Cooksley, Corvette Plant Manager and Dollie Cole, Wife of the late Ed Cole.

Attended the NCM Dinner. The food was much better and there was enough to go around. The highlight of the evening was a Dealer from Illinois giving Wendle a new C5 to drive for as long as he is Director of the museum. Even better when Wendel indicated that his favourite colour was Magnetic Red the fellow jumped up and said “I drove a Magnetic Red Convertible to the Birthday Bash and I’m going to leave it with you.” It was a great moment, lots of applause and even a few tears around the room. There are some very nice people around.

Day 9 - Sunday April 16

Out to race track watched slalom. Nick not too interested unless we were going to run. I was reluctant to try this for the first time so far from home. Decided we would pack up & head out. Over the course of our stay at Bowling Green we talked about our route home. Our initial plan was to head down to the Gulf cost, spend a night at Orange Beach Alabama and then follow I 10 west to Phoenix. We spoke with a few people in Bowling Green and the advice was to stay further north. I10 is the most southern route across the US and is very heavily travelled with a lot of truck traffic. The road is not in great shape and we decided to save a couple days and a lot of miles and head back west on I40.

Left at about 12:30. Drove through Memphis and spent the night at Little Rock Arkansas. Trip uneventful except for hitting a bird at 90 MPH.

Day 10 - Monday April 17

Westward ho! Arkansas and Texas very boring drive. Nothing to see except for freeway. Cruising along and the gas gauge dropped from 1/4 tank to ZERO. Warning chimes and flashing message on the DIC. Slowed down and made it to a station. When we filled up it did not take a full tank so we knew we had been struck by a glitch several others have reported. Will plan to fill up well before empty from here on. Scenery started getting a little more interesting in New Mexico. Spent the night in Santa Rosa NM. Holiday Inn Express looked OK outside but the inside had not been re done. Should have suspected as much as the access road through town was part of old Route 66. Was interesting to travel part of the USA's most historic highway in a Vette just like on TV many years ago.

Day 11 - Tuesday April 18

Planned destination was Flagstaff AZ. Found a car wash in Santa Rosa and gave the Vette a well deserved bath. Stopped in Albuquerque for breakfast and decided to drop the top for our cruise over to Flagstaff. Made about 50 miles and ran into a huge dust storm. Had to pull over and put the top back up and spent the next two hours dodging tumbleweeds on the freeway. Some of those things were LARGE (four feet round) and we were lucky to avoid being hit by anything that would leave any marks on the car. Most of the route from Amarillo Texas to Flagstaff follows old Route 66. It was kind of neat passing through all the towns named in the old song

Arrived in Flagstaff in the early afternoon. Decided to take a run down to Sedona as I have heard a lot about it but had never been there. The most direct rout from Flagstaff was on a twisty 2 lane road with a large drop in elevation. Had the top down and loved making the trip through the canyon with no one in front of us. Just as we were getting close to Sedona nick's favourite hat blew off and there was no way to stop and retrieve it. He promptly confiscated my hat of the same type allowing me to take the chance of loosing my new Skunk Werkes hat (his logic was I would stop if my hat blew of - he was right). Stopped at an outlet mall in Sedona and found a Big Dog store where we both the girls tee shirts.

On the way back to Flagstaff (interstate) I was being very careful about speed. Lots of radar cars and they picked off a guy passing me. We seemed to get a lot of respect from police on the entire trip. Several times they would wave and on more than one occasion the just cruised by when they could have pulled us over for being 10 to 15 mph over the limit. In spite of our good luck I'm tempted to get a Valentine one Radar detector.

Found another nice hotel in Flagstaff. Getting a little tired of each other's company so I went out for a walk for a couple hours. Found a shopping mall and picked up a few things.

Day 12 - Wednesday April 19 – 12820 km

Off to see the big ditch. Nice drive up to the Grand Canyon. Nick was impressed!

Stopped at several of the viewpoints and took several pictures. Had breakfast at an Indian trading post on the road up to cross the canyon. Lots of laughs about the signs for the Indian craft stands on the side of the road. "Nice Indians, stop in", " Hey, turn around you missed the Big Chief!" I think Nick will remember it well.

Went through the north rim area and Zion Park on our way west to I-15. Very nice scenery in Arizona and Utah. Another Low Fuel warning just as we came out of Zion Park. Found gas and continued on to Salt Lake City. Nick seemed to enjoy the trip through Salt Lake City. Dark, Road construction and lots of traffic. I'm beginning to think the kid enjoys danger. Spent the night in Brigham City.

Day 13 - Thursday April 20 – 13830 km

Hit the road at 6:30 AM. Our game plan was to get as close to home as we could. Very little traffic early in the day. Nice scenery and good roads managed to make good time and pass many miles before lunch. The road from Helena to Great Falls is Great! Four lanes good pavement lots of turns and the cruise control set at 85mph. I was having a great time in the Vette and some old dude with his arm over the back of the seat in a Buick Park Avenue went by with his cruise set at 95mph. Kicked it up a notch and shadowed him through. Suspected he was local and knew the road very well. Reminder to spend a little more time pushing the car to know it's limits.

Reached Great Falls about 4:30. We looked at each other and agreed we were going home tonight. Stopped at the border expecting to pay duty on some of our purchases. Told the inspector we were each over our $500 limit by about $100. He laughed and told us the limit had been raised to $750. Yahoo! Homeward bound.

Driving in Canada at 110kmh sucks. After many days of 85 to 90 mph we felt like we were crawling. More caution in Canada as I didn't want to get any tickets that could have an impact on insurance costs. About 30 minutes into Alberta a Porsche went flying buy and waved us in behind him. He had a radar detector and was doing about 170kmh. After about 20 minutes of that speed I remembered we had been on the road since 6:30 AM and I might be a little tired. Slowed back down for the rest of the trip home.

Arrived home at 8:57 PM. – Odometer at 15341 km. Total trip 9499.6 km (5902.8 miles).

GREAT TRIP!
GREAT TIME!
GOOD TO BE HOME!

The best part of the trip was getting to spend time with Nick and getting to understand what a great young man he is. Thanks Nick!

Lessons learned for the next big adventure:

-Be patient and tolerant - applies to both travellers

-Don't take golf clubs on a car trip. Carried two sets for 13 days and had no desire to use them.

-Pack a few small bags rather than one large bag. Wound up pulling clothes out of the bag in the car rather than re-packing the entire trunk each day.

-Be prepared to make plans as you go. Some days we went further than planned others we stopped early and relaxed. Tried to alternate hard driving days with touring days.

-When attending events or gatherings go with the flow and follow the agenda. Corvette people are great. Common interest is a great equaliser.

-Enjoy meeting new people on the road. Met several interesting people at gas stations and rest areas. Everyone loved the Vette

Our Trip To Bowling Green, Kentucky

Home of the Corvette - "The Only Sports Car That Matters."

Our Trip To Bowling Green, Kentucky Home of the Corvette - "The Only Sports Car That Matters." Contact Me Back Home
	Not long after I took delivery of my C5 I began to recall all the fun Darlene and I used to have with other Corvette owners when we lived in Edmonton and took regular road trips. These memories convinced me that it was time for another road trip. This one would be a little more than a long weekend though. As a member of the C5 Registry since June of 1999 (joined shortly after the order for the Vette was placed) I had been looking at several of the events they attended and started to develop plans to attend one of their events. I started to discuss a trip to Bowling Green in April 2000 for the third C5 Registry Birthday Bash with my son Nick. Nick was anxious to go and Darlene gave her blessing. She viewed it as a once in a lifetime chance to get away with my son for two weeks and do some important male bonding (Nick was 14 when we started planning our trip). Trip Preparation One of the conditions Darlene laid down was that Nick needed to learn how to drive the Vette before we left. She reasoned that if I were to be unable to drive for any reason, Nick would be able to get us to help. Smart Lady. Our lessons started about 6 weeks before departure and soon Nick was capable (not smooth) of getting the car around the neighbourhood. The next big discussion was what to take on the trip. A few tools (not that I could fix anything that went wrong), enough clothes to last for a week and two sets of golf clubs. Yes, Nick & I are avid golfers and we were sure we would be able to get several games of golf in while we were away. The car was loaded the night before we were schedule to depart and with all our belongings, including the golf clubs, there was still room to put the top down. Day 1 - Saturday April 8 – 5842 km Up early for Bob & Nick. Left home at 7:18 AM with a planned destination of somewhere past Great Falls. Trip to the US border was relatively uneventful but we need to remember not to eat at Humpty's in Nanton again. Had to race a little to find a rest area. Once in the USA we took full advantage of the higher speed limits to let the Vette stretch her legs. Made it to Great Falls by mid afternoon and decided that we would go to Billings and spend the night. Back roads from Great Falls to Laurel and ran it up to 120 MPH a few times. The car loves speed. Stopped in Laurel and found Fichtner Chevrolet Olds. Ken is a member of Corvette Forum and has a standing invitation to anyone in the neighbourhood to drop in. Dealership was closed so we left one of our trip cards with a note for Ken. On to Billings. A little difficult to find a room. Wound up at a Quality Inn that was mediocre at best. There was a graduation party being held there and it was interesting to see the young kids (to me) dressed up and out for their big night. Out to Dinner at Fudruckers. Nick could not believe the size of the burgers. Went out and found a coin car wash and gave the Vette a bath before bed. Back in the room I decided to try & call Ken Fichtner he was in and we agreed to meet the next day for breakfast in Billings. Day 2 - Sunday April 9 – 6830 km Met Ken & his little boy for breakfast. He brought his yellow 2000 coupe with 200 miles on it. Had a nice breakfast and met another couple who had a Mag Red 99 coupe. Ken is a very nice guy and if we are ever back in the area will look him up again. The day's planned agenda included a stop at Mt. Rushmore. We stopped at the Custer Battlefield that was right off the interstate. It was worth the time. Kind of an eerie place with markers set up where all the people were killed. Back on I 90 we were cruising along at about 85 mph passing a semi and in the middle of my lane I saw a cowboy boot standing on the road. Quick manoeuvre onto the shoulder and we were around it. That would have made a mess of the front end. As we were going through Wyoming we saw the Devils Monument in the distance and I had to go and see it close up (Close Encounters of the Third Kind). On the road up to the Monument we saw 8 Vettes heading back down to the interstate. Lots of waves and smiles. Saw the monument and took pictures. It was only about 30 miles round trip from the interstate and worth the stop. Back on I 90 the next stop was at Mount Rushmore. Cruising along again Nick spotted something in the distance. “What’s that on the road Dad?” “Could be the other cowboy boot” I replied. Sure enough. This time we were able to avoid it without any trouble. Only in Wyoming! Went past Spearfish SD where they have a big Harley Davidson gathering every year, but did not stop. Took a while to get to Mt Rushmore from the interstate and once there I felt it was a bit of a rip off. Parking was $10 and another $8 each to get into the park. They have recently built a very modern and very large visitor center. It seemed a little out of scale with the actual mountain. Statues were smaller than expected. At least now we can say we've been to Mt. Rushmore. Spent the night in Sioux Falls at a very nice new Holiday Inn Express. Day 3 - Monday April 10 – 7603 km Up early and on the road at 7:18 AM. This was going to be a long day and we wanted to get started. Not much to see in South Dakota but I was impressed with the fact that there was a little variation in the terrain. More than 500 signs enticing us to stop at Wall Drug in Wall S.D. Resisted and kept driving but some of the signs did make it sound interesting. Went past Sioux City Iowa and down through Omaha. As we were going through Omaha we hit rush hour and a bad rainstorm. I was going 80 and soccer moms with cell phones and Starbucks mugs waving around were passing me like we were standing still. Nick thought it was great fun but I must confess I was a little nervous. Made it to Kansas City Missouri. And found a nice place to spend the night. Went out to TGI Fridays for dinner. Nick had not been to one before and thought it was OK. Day 4 - Tuesday April 11 – 8808 km Another early start with plans to get to Bowling Green today. Trip from Kansas City to St. Louis was OK, rough road with lots of truck traffic. In St. Louis we stopped at the Gateway Arch. Dar & I had been there before but Nick wanted to see it. He took the ride to the top and took pictures of the city. Headed east through Illinois. Arrived in Bowling Green about 9:00 PM. Had a little detour just as we were getting there and wound up driving an extra 10 miles south before we could turn around and come back. Found the hotel and unpacked the car. Time for a good night’s sleep. Day 5 - Wednesday April 12 After the long trip we both got to sleep in. I slept till 7:30 and Nick slept till 10:00. Met Jake Drennon of the C5 Registry in the parking lot. I was the first Vette to arrive and Jake was very happy that we were able to make it down from Canada. I went out and started looking around Bowling Green. First stop was Wall Mart. Bought a car wash bucket and some bug & tar remover and went in search of a car wash. Found the car wash and spent more than an hour getting most of the grime off the car. Damn near froze. It was only about 45 degrees and there were no doors on the car wash. I kept climbing back in the car and warming my hands with the heater. With the car clean I went searching for a coin laundry without success and went back to the hotel to check on Nick. He was ready to roll and when I told him I had been looking for a laundry he said there was one in the hotel. Smart kid read the directory. After lunch we found the Corvette Museum (another little road trip up the freeway due to one missed turn) and picked up our registration packages. Met several other people who had arrived early and toured the museum. Drove by the Corvette plant and went back to the hotel and met several more people including members of the Yellow Jackets. Went out to dinner with a small group and turned in early. Day 6 - Thursday April 13 There was a well-planned agenda for Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday. We were able to select things that interested us but because the agenda was so busy I’ll only cover the high points. We did spend a lot of time at the museum, saw some awesome cars and met some great people. The C5 Registry was to supply guides for the Corvette plant tours on Friday and I had volunteered to help. We attended the guide orientation at the plant Thursday afternoon and as part of the orientation were given a tour of the plan. It’s awesome! Seeing parts roll in one end of the plant and Corvettes roll out the other gave me a real appreciation for the people that work at the plant. They LOVE their jobs and do an outstanding job of building these cars. Wendle Strode the Director of the museum at his 1869 homestead Bed & Breakfast hosted dinner. There were several hundred C5 Corvettes parked all over his lawn. We travelled to the dinner with other members of the Yellow Jackets and parked three almost identical cars together. Many people took pictures and told us how much they like Yellow. There was even a picture of our cars posted on the C5 Registry web site. Back to the hotel at 9:00 PM. Day 7 - Friday April 14 Guided plant tours in the morning. Members of the C5 Registry were positioned at points along the assembly line. I was stationed in an area where the interior trim pieces were installed on one part of the line and the frame rails were welded together across the way. Lift trucks had to change the racks that hold the frame rails for shipment as the rails were used in the assembly process. Most of the people on the tour were great but there were a few who got in the way and had to be moved along. The lady working at the station installing interior trim was very nice. She explained the assembly process and provided hints on how to make adjustments to the interior pieces if we ever had a problem with the car. While I was at my station Nick kept taking the tour over again from start to finish. On his third trip around Tony Laforte, Leader of the Yellow Jackets arranged to have Nick “Give Birth” to a new C5. He was selected to start a Pewter coupe for the first time and was given a certificate by the plant to certify that he had helped build a new Vette. I was almost a thrilled as he was! In the afternoon we had pictures of the car taken at the museum and spent time in the vendor displays in the parking lot of the museum. Nicks favourite was the Dyno being run by Breathless Performance. They ran several cars before and after installation of their intake system demonstrating the horsepower gains with their system. I was convinced and bought the total intake system. Rather than having it installed we brought it home so we could install it our selves. Attended the C5 Registry dinner in the evening. The food was bad and they ran out of most things before we got to the buffet. Went out and bought Nick a burger afterward and ran into a couple nice young guys driving a “Chico” car (lowered 80’s Cadillac Coupe DeVille with 13 inch chrome wheels). They loved the Vette. Day 8 - Saturday April 15 Started the day with commemorative Brick Laying at the museum. Also had the car parked in the circle in front of the museum for the group photo to commemorate the event. I had ordered a brick as a surprise for Nick but I got the surprise when they didn’t have the brick when it was time to place them in the C5 Registry area. After a frantic search we discoverred our brick had been placed on the walkway at the main entrance of the museum. Only one small problem: After embarrassment and apologies Stephanie Farrell said she would have the brick changed and would make us another one to have at home. (Our brick arrived in Calgary in June and we will have to go back to see the one at the museum). Attended an autograph session and bought a Corvette flag (3 ft by 5 ft) to collect signatures. They include John Cafaro, Chief C5 Designer, Dave Hill, Chief Corvette Engineer, Jim Campbell, Chevrolet Brand Manager, Cheryl Pilcher, Corvette Brand Manager, Will Cooksley, Corvette Plant Manager and Dollie Cole, Wife of the late Ed Cole. Attended the NCM Dinner. The food was much better and there was enough to go around. The highlight of the evening was a Dealer from Illinois giving Wendle a new C5 to drive for as long as he is Director of the museum. Even better when Wendel indicated that his favourite colour was Magnetic Red the fellow jumped up and said “I drove a Magnetic Red Convertible to the Birthday Bash and I’m going to leave it with you.” It was a great moment, lots of applause and even a few tears around the room. There are some very nice people around. Day 9 - Sunday April 16 Out to race track watched slalom. Nick not too interested unless we were going to run. I was reluctant to try this for the first time so far from home. Decided we would pack up & head out. Over the course of our stay at Bowling Green we talked about our route home. Our initial plan was to head down to the Gulf cost, spend a night at Orange Beach Alabama and then follow I 10 west to Phoenix. We spoke with a few people in Bowling Green and the advice was to stay further north. I10 is the most southern route across the US and is very heavily travelled with a lot of truck traffic. The road is not in great shape and we decided to save a couple days and a lot of miles and head back west on I40. Left at about 12:30. Drove through Memphis and spent the night at Little Rock Arkansas. Trip uneventful except for hitting a bird at 90 MPH. Day 10 - Monday April 17 Westward ho! Arkansas and Texas very boring drive. Nothing to see except for freeway. Cruising along and the gas gauge dropped from 1/4 tank to ZERO. Warning chimes and flashing message on the DIC. Slowed down and made it to a station. When we filled up it did not take a full tank so we knew we had been struck by a glitch several others have reported. Will plan to fill up well before empty from here on. Scenery started getting a little more interesting in New Mexico. Spent the night in Santa Rosa NM. Holiday Inn Express looked OK outside but the inside had not been re done. Should have suspected as much as the access road through town was part of old Route 66. Was interesting to travel part of the USA's most historic highway in a Vette just like on TV many years ago. Day 11 - Tuesday April 18 Planned destination was Flagstaff AZ. Found a car wash in Santa Rosa and gave the Vette a well deserved bath. Stopped in Albuquerque for breakfast and decided to drop the top for our cruise over to Flagstaff. Made about 50 miles and ran into a huge dust storm. Had to pull over and put the top back up and spent the next two hours dodging tumbleweeds on the freeway. Some of those things were LARGE (four feet round) and we were lucky to avoid being hit by anything that would leave any marks on the car. Most of the route from Amarillo Texas to Flagstaff follows old Route 66. It was kind of neat passing through all the towns named in the old song Arrived in Flagstaff in the early afternoon. Decided to take a run down to Sedona as I have heard a lot about it but had never been there. The most direct rout from Flagstaff was on a twisty 2 lane road with a large drop in elevation. Had the top down and loved making the trip through the canyon with no one in front of us. Just as we were getting close to Sedona nick's favourite hat blew off and there was no way to stop and retrieve it. He promptly confiscated my hat of the same type allowing me to take the chance of loosing my new Skunk Werkes hat (his logic was I would stop if my hat blew of - he was right). Stopped at an outlet mall in Sedona and found a Big Dog store where we both the girls tee shirts. On the way back to Flagstaff (interstate) I was being very careful about speed. Lots of radar cars and they picked off a guy passing me. We seemed to get a lot of respect from police on the entire trip. Several times they would wave and on more than one occasion the just cruised by when they could have pulled us over for being 10 to 15 mph over the limit. In spite of our good luck I'm tempted to get a Valentine one Radar detector. Found another nice hotel in Flagstaff. Getting a little tired of each other's company so I went out for a walk for a couple hours. Found a shopping mall and picked up a few things. Day 12 - Wednesday April 19 – 12820 km Off to see the big ditch. Nice drive up to the Grand Canyon. Nick was impressed! Stopped at several of the viewpoints and took several pictures. Had breakfast at an Indian trading post on the road up to cross the canyon. Lots of laughs about the signs for the Indian craft stands on the side of the road. "Nice Indians, stop in", " Hey, turn around you missed the Big Chief!" I think Nick will remember it well. Went through the north rim area and Zion Park on our way west to I-15. Very nice scenery in Arizona and Utah. Another Low Fuel warning just as we came out of Zion Park. Found gas and continued on to Salt Lake City. Nick seemed to enjoy the trip through Salt Lake City. Dark, Road construction and lots of traffic. I'm beginning to think the kid enjoys danger. Spent the night in Brigham City. Day 13 - Thursday April 20 – 13830 km Hit the road at 6:30 AM. Our game plan was to get as close to home as we could. Very little traffic early in the day. Nice scenery and good roads managed to make good time and pass many miles before lunch. The road from Helena to Great Falls is Great! Four lanes good pavement lots of turns and the cruise control set at 85mph. I was having a great time in the Vette and some old dude with his arm over the back of the seat in a Buick Park Avenue went by with his cruise set at 95mph. Kicked it up a notch and shadowed him through. Suspected he was local and knew the road very well. Reminder to spend a little more time pushing the car to know it's limits. Reached Great Falls about 4:30. We looked at each other and agreed we were going home tonight. Stopped at the border expecting to pay duty on some of our purchases. Told the inspector we were each over our $500 limit by about $100. He laughed and told us the limit had been raised to $750. Yahoo! Homeward bound. Driving in Canada at 110kmh sucks. After many days of 85 to 90 mph we felt like we were crawling. More caution in Canada as I didn't want to get any tickets that could have an impact on insurance costs. About 30 minutes into Alberta a Porsche went flying buy and waved us in behind him. He had a radar detector and was doing about 170kmh. After about 20 minutes of that speed I remembered we had been on the road since 6:30 AM and I might be a little tired. Slowed back down for the rest of the trip home. Arrived home at 8:57 PM. – Odometer at 15341 km. Total trip 9499.6 km (5902.8 miles). GREAT TRIP! GREAT TIME! GOOD TO BE HOME! The best part of the trip was getting to spend time with Nick and getting to understand what a great young man he is. Thanks Nick! Lessons learned for the next big adventure: -Be patient and tolerant - applies to both travellers -Don't take golf clubs on a car trip. Carried two sets for 13 days and had no desire to use them. -Pack a few small bags rather than one large bag. Wound up pulling clothes out of the bag in the car rather than re-packing the entire trunk each day. -Be prepared to make plans as you go. Some days we went further than planned others we stopped early and relaxed. Tried to alternate hard driving days with touring days. -When attending events or gatherings go with the flow and follow the agenda. Corvette people are great. Common interest is a great equaliser. -Enjoy meeting new people on the road. Met several interesting people at gas stations and rest areas. Everyone loved the Vette