Drummingdad

This might seem a little different, though I have lived away from home because of work assignments, that will end up being just short of 2 years, We really don't travel all that much.
1- Vegas to get daughter married
2- San Diego to watch son graduate from Marines MCRD.
3-Lived on a tour bus in late 70's early 80's, but that's a blurred memory.
4-Local overnight, had to be there, couldn't think of good enough reason get out of it, rendezvous

We are thinking about a trip to the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green KY.
Here is what we have so far;

Basically Nothing;
MapQuest says it's a 12 hour trip. probably split that up into 2 days.I know from experience the Vette has 5-1/2 hour seats. Taking into consideration I will be taking the wife with, we should be able to accomplish that in just over 8 hours each day. First night will St Louis. I think good motel, nice dinner, few drinks, TV, Local offerings. Day 2- 6 hour drive taking at least another 8 hours or more. Check into Bowling Green, Nice Motel, good meal, more drinks and some more local offerings. Wake up hit the museum, spend the day, take pictures, blaa, blaa, blaa.
Return trip is a whatever happens, happens.

What else should we be considering. Are there any attractions that stand out above others. Protocol etc. I understand I will be able to get the original paperwork that went with the car when it was sold new. We haven't landed on a time slot as of yet. This will depend on when the wife's DDS office closes for the DDS's obligations. We think somewhere between Late June -mid July.

For us what little driving away to farther reaches we have done, it has always been" Not the Destination, but the Journey" attitude.

The last we have drove in the Vette at the wife's insistence for some reason. was 4 hours into NC Kansas to a God Childs wedding. Personally, I'd have taken the Buick. Driving in Kansas is as exciting as a clean sheet of copy paper.
I do actually have a wife that enjoys not so much the fact that it is a Corvette, but more so it's a 2 seater sports car. Yay me.

Your input please.......
Thank you,

03 A/E Coupe

The most important part of any Road Trip is to take in the local flavor.

Avoid all the franchise places that are no different town to town.

Since the trip is in the Summer, you have time to research and plan.

It appears you're on the right track already !

All the best for a memorable Road Trip !

Chilliwack vettes

End of August. Come join us!

http://www.nationalcorvettecaravan.com/

johnson-rod

Cape Cod in the fall. With a beautiful woman. In a Corvette.

Drummingdad

Damn....
I wish we could. I would love to be a part of that
The time frame has to go with when the Dentist office is down for upgrades. More than likely end of June. That way the 4th of July will extend everyone's time off. if that changes.....

Drummingdad

We have the beautiful "Coastal" Highway of the bluff roads along the Missouri river heading south into Northern Missouri.
Started that annual fall venture in '78 with my Girlfriend in an MG Roadster. Then in a Triumph, then ON a Triumph. Then on a Harley with the wife (same gal). Then later on in Fords, a couple of Sebrings. Some years we lacked convertibles so made the trek in sedans with our small children. But we still went. Now its in a Vette. The only issue over the years is they let the old highways go back to gravel, so we don't get to enjoy the whole tour.

Once, we drove to KC. Interstate with the top up. Took us 2-1/2 hours. On the return trip off the Interstate with the top down, it took 7 hours. That's how we like to roll..

Grim Reaper

My wife and I did the NCM in Bowling Green back in 09. Made a few stops on the drive there from Texas, but drove non stop back. Took us about 18 to get home. Most comfortable drive in a car in a long time, C5 seats are great.

There are many nice roads to drive in that area of Kentucky. You could also head over to Eastern Tennessee and do the Tail of the Dragon.

We are planning on making the trip to BG again this year but haven't decided on driving the C5 again or the C6Z I picked up last year. Either way it will be a fun trip.

Good luck with wherever you decide and enjoy the drive.

CactusCat

Sounds like a blast. I took the coupe from OKC to Detroit 2 years ago and it was a blast. 18 hrs each way. Like Grim Reaper said, the C5 seats were extremely comfortable. When arriving at my destinations, my butt felt great. Anyway, on the the real point. As was pointed out earlier, don't go the "canned" stuff so much, find the "local flavor" (I think that's how it was put). Since both of my OKC sons and all my grand kids live in Detroit, I try to get up there as often as I can. Sometimes I go by myself and other times I take my wife. When the wife and I travel, we try to see some of the sights. Here's a few recommendations. We LOVED Gatlinburg, TN. HIGHLY recommended. Great people, great sites, reasonable prices. You might take this in while going to Bowling Green. Just drop south on I-65 to Nashville, then E on I-40 to Knoxville. Even though I'm an Okie, I really love the state of Tennessee. A really fun state to drive a Vette. On another trip to Detroit, wife and I went a different route and went through Cincinatti. Why? Well, we used to have a restraunt chain here in OKC called Roy Rogers Roast Beef and they were good. I had a sandwich that I especially loved called the RR burger (cheeseburger with BBQ sauce topped with deli sliced ham - pure heaven-ness, prob not so good on the arteries). They disappeared from OKC many years ago but a Google search showed there was still a few around and the closest one to me was in Cincy. Bingo! It was wonderful. I ate two of them ! Anyway, as stated earlier, plan your trips around some things that sound fun to you and they'll be great memories. Keep us updated!!

Marine One

If you're going to do Bowling Green, I'd strongly suggest that you check ahead of time and schedule your trip at such a time to be able to tour the assembly plant. I did both in September 2010. The museum was great but the assembly plant tour was fascinating.

Phanni

remind me again,,what is this summer thing?

Drummingdad

Thank you!!!
That's the stuff I'm looking for

Drummingdad

Us??
Just an adventure. Period.

QCVette

We went to Bowling Green to the museum last year. We went on to the Tail of the Dragon after. It is just over 200 miles from Bowling Green. It was a fun drive.

Vetteman Jack

I agree that the plant tour should be on your must see list. If you get the time, head 60 miles south and spend a little time in Nashville, TN. Good food and lots of things to do for a day.

Marine One

You're quite welcome. When I toured Bowling Green I was on my way to a college reunion (first one in about 30 years) in Kansas City. I was by myself so I did the lodging on the cheap. Based on the recommendation of a fellow member here I booked a room at the Bowling Green Red Roof Inn on Scottsville Rd. It was fairly new, the room was clean, had a king bed, high speed internet, a small fridge, and was worth every bit of the $49 per night pricetag. The Scottsville Road exit is a short drive to the museum and assembly plant, but seems to be the main drag where most of the restaurants and shopping are located. I had dinner at a steak place called the Montana Grille and it was excellent. There is also a coin operated spray as you go car wash near the Red Roof Inn. This is important because you'll want to rinse off your Corvette before heading over to the museum and plant for the photo ops:

Drummingdad

We talked about Nashville. It would be a good halfway point for my sister and her husband in NC. This is still on the table. Though....

Not to Hi-Jack my own thread, but...

I've been to Nashville before.
I was a guest of a Band from Texas. What started out as a tag along to get away from a cold boring Nebraska winter ended up being comparable to winning the lottery.
It was during CRS week. The band was originally slated to play the Grand Ole Opry, but they ended up playing the White Horse Saloon instead. -During sound check I got to play Chris Cagle's drums through a million dollar sound system ran by college educated Techs and Engineers. Even I thought I sounded awesome. (I'm not, I arise to mediocre). Defined Impressive- They sound checked 3 National level bands in 2 hours.
-Went to all the record labels parties. met ALL the big Artist, Song writers, touring players, and executives of the day. Some of whom I still keep in touch with.
-Hung with one thee craziest *** skirts in national radio. My age and HOT!!! kept running into her the whole time we were there. She always had someone I just HAD to meet. Did I mention she was HOT
-Most of the artist and their buses remind me of Harley riders and Vette owners. "Here Check this out". "Look at this". Must have been on 6-7 buses, and yes, they were pretty awesome. I heard 3-6 Mil each.
-The band I was with, their label picked up my expenses for the whole trip.

-Our water heater went out the morning BEFORE I left. My wife didn't tell me because I wouldn't have gone. She had one in a box in the basement when I got home. Didn't even get my bags unpacked before she made me switch them out. They were showering at the neighbors.

OK, I'm done now...


thanks for listening

Drummingdad

Noted

kid4life

I live near Nashville and will chime in.

If you are in St.Louis around lunch time and like bbq. Try Pappy's Smokehouse.

A visit to the Jack Daniel's distillery in Lynchburg, TN makes a good day trip. Lots of things to see and do when in Nashville.