I'm writing to share with you and your readers my story of a childhood dream come true. I've loved Corvettes for as long as I can remember (prior to 10 years of age) and always hoped to one day own one. That dream became a reality in September of 1998. I purchased a one-owner '94 LT1 with 43,000 kms (approximately 26,000 miles) on it. The car was originally bought in Victoria, British Columbia, and ended up here in Vancouver, for sale at a local Chevy/Olds dealership. My husband and I had been looking for about five months. We lucked out when we found this one...immaculate inside and out, low miles, white with black interior. I only drove it occasionally last fall before it was taken off the road for the winter. My husband and I had already decided we were driving out to Toronto to visit my aunt in July 1999 and he suggested, "Why not go to Bowling Green to see the National Corvette Museum?" So after much planning and working out a day-to-day driving schedule over a three-week time frame, we did it!
Our trip started here on July 5, 1999 with a five-day drive to Toronto. We had overnights in Calgary, Alberta; Regina, Saskatchewan; Kenora, Ontario; and Toronto on July 9. The car handled beautifully, even through the severe thunderstorms we experienced on our day trip from Kenora to Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario. We were on the road 14.5 hours that day, and neither of us had ever experienced rain like that.
After spending the weekend in Toronto under hot, humid weather, we headed south on July 15, crossing the Canadian border into Michigan, driving through Detroit and on to Cincinnati. The next morning we drove to Bowling Green and spent two days touring the National Corvette Museum, and driving around the Corvette Plant, as it was closed the week we arrived. The Museum was very impressive, showing the Corvette's history...many models from 1953 to present day, different engines made, race cars, etc. The display in the "round" room, as I call it, was spectacular with its many one-of-a-kind or 1st or 1,000,000th cars made, almost all in that vivid red color that looks so sporty! We took many pictures as well as having our video camera handy.
The Corvette Plant is very, very large from what we could see on the outside. We did have Lady Luck with us that day, though, because as we were on our drive around the plant we passed a gate that had been left wide open; a sign on the gate said, "Keep This Gate Closed." Beyond the gate in an extremely large lot were at least 500 new Corvettes! We both looked at each other and said "Let's do it." So we drove in, parked along the outer edge, and took some pictures of my '94 with all those gorgeous C5s. That really made it all worth the drive to Bowling Green!
The rest of the trip took us through Nashville and Memphis; Little Rock and Fort Smith, Arkansas; Oklahoma City; Amarillo and Santa Rosa, New Mexico; Flagstaff, Arizona (two days there seeing the Grand Canyon); three days in Las Vegas (temperature averaging 104 degrees); Salt Lake City and Ogden, Utah; Boise, Idaho; Pendleton, Oregon; Seattle, and then home to Pitt Meadows, British Columbia.
What a road trip indeed! My Vette ran very well. My husband has owned two Corvettes in the past, a '72 and an '84, and he was impressed with the '94's performance after putting 11,370 kms (approximately 7,000 miles) on it in three-weeks time. As far as comfort goes, the only small problem we had was when we rested our left arms on the padded door rests, and both of us ended up with very sore elbows even though the rests are heavily padded...go figure!
My husband and I both said we would do this kind of trip again because we love driving...maybe in the future it will be in a C5! After all those hours and miles I still love my Vette with a passion that always seems to amaze my husband.
Editor's Note: This series spotlights reader experiences with their own Corvettes, described in their own words. To be considered for publication, submit 20 vertical-format 50-100 ASA slides and your own typewritten Corvette experience in 500 words or less to: Me & My Vette, Vette Magazine, 774 S. Placentia Ave., Placentia, CA 92870. Please send your submission on computer disk when possible. If we use your story, we'll pay you $75.