I can say that because
it says so on the building
that I photographed.
So, just a quick trip to a Fast-Signs location and I can have you relating all kinds of false info…
You’d make an excellent plant for my grand plans of espionage.
Either that, or it was an
elaborate prank.
Shhhhhhhhhh!
I walked in and was
immediately smacked
in the face with a passel
of corvettes.
That’s goin’a leave a mark…
Hmmm... murder of crows...
parliament of owls...
smack of jellyfish...
prickle of porcupines...
(a personal favourite of mine)
I’ve always been partial to the collective for crows myself.
What do you call a group
of corvettes?
A roar of corvettes?
A blur?
A zip?
Well…
If I wanted to pay homage to the vehicles’ namesake I’d call them either:
a Fleet, a Squadron, or a Division…
If considering it from either a design or purpose aspect, then possibly:
a Curve or a Serpentine
If I were to choose a word based on the typical owner of one of these beauties…
Then it would be a Vanity.
.
Nevertheless, my curiosity
got the better of me
and my money
leapt out of my wallet
Well, mine would be leaping too…
‘Cause I ‘am’ one of those folk who would like to own one of these.
Specific versions of course, but I’m still in the category.
I passed the next few hours
drooling over fast cars.
It happens…
That’s why they have to clean and polish them pretty much daily.
So.... you get to pick one of the above.
Which do you pick?
A 62; last of the C1 Cove-Sides.
(But if you twisted my arm, I’d settle for that mist-green 1960 version that you saw back there.)
Guess I'm more into the classics.
Guilty as charged…
I’d also consider having one of the Rays, but after that, I’m not so much into them.
I then entered a large
domed area filled
with nothing but
wonder.
So, a Dome of Wonders rather than a Cave of Wonders?
Touch nothing but the Lamp.
Back in 2014,
a sinkhole opened
up in this room
and swallowed
eight corvettes.
I remember that…
All the Mustang Owner’s Clubs threw a big party in celebration.
All the Jag owners, just smirked, and went back to their pints.
If memory serves,
they won't fix all of them.
Too much damage…
Possibly examples that aren’t all that rare…
Maybe a decision to leave a couple as commemoration of the event.
I could be wrong.
I frequently am.
That’s why we all like you so much.
It lift’s our ego’s a smidge…
Well, not mine. I’m wrong far more often that you’d dream of being and worse yet…
I’m aware of the fact.
The sinkhole was a curse
and a blessing.
While it did destroy some
valuable cars,
the attendance shot up
from 150,000 to 250,000.
Oddly, this doesn’t surprise me.
It’s not the ideal way of getting your name into the public consciousness, but free national publicity can be a good thing.
She had put out
an invitation to one
and all for dinner
at her parents' house and...
How could I say no to that?
That was very kind of her and especially of her Folks.
Liesa made a lasagne and
a caprese salad.
Mmmmmm…
I’d have had to force myself to fight the instinct of sliding the whole casserole onto my placemat and defending the prize with the silverware from everyone else’s advances.
I was a guest in someone's home
and it just doesn't feel right
to start snapping photos of the food.
Yep…
Likely couldn’t do it either.
Right in Bowling Green, down an
unassuming road, lies a very small
aviation park.
As a fan of such things, I’ll mark that down in my possible road-trip notes.
John Magda fought in
the battle of Midway in WWII
and was shot down, and ditched
in the Pacific.
He floated in a life raft
for five days before being rescued.
After the war, he flew with and
was the commander of the Blue Angels.
(Navy demonstration flight team.)
He was flying a similar aircraft
to the one on display here,
when he was hit by ground fire
during the Korean war
and crashed into the sea
and was killed.
Among his decorations:
The Navy Cross, the Purple Heart
and the Air Medal with two Gold stars.
A fellow who deserves to have his story recounted.
Thanks for that.
The above plane, that exact plane,
has been flown by every single
Gemini, Mercury and Apollo astronaut.
Now that is very cool…
Nice examples of some interesting airframes, but I’d pretty much like to put a hand on that last one as well.
That's history right there folks.
And frankly, it gave me goosebumps
just being in its presence.
I’d be tickled to see it. Most NASA artifacts have a tendency to get my blood pressure up a mite.
But the two aircraft that gave me chills when I actually encountered them were a couple of particular B-29s. And it was more of a shuddering kind of chill than an exhilarating one.
On a side note…
Being as you’re in the industry and an aficionado of unique aircraft...
I’d offer while you’re in Charlotte to take you over to see the A320 that Sullenberger had to put down in the Hudson. Problem is the facility is only open between 10am and 4pm so it likely won’t fit into your current travel schedule.
(A group of campers set up
their tents on the beach.
Every day, when the cook would
ring his bell, people would eat and throw
food to the dolphins that would occasionally
swim just off-shore.
The cook began to call out:
"Dinner! For all in tents and porpoises."
Long way to go for a pun…
And I for one am proud of you for it.
Thanks everyone for reading along
on this long, but fun trip.
Thanks for writing about it; and for then sharing it with the rest of us poor shlubs.
Your yarns add some needed color on dreary days.
Did you see it in this chapter?
Oh, you probably did.
Did you see two of them?
Yeah, you might have.
But something tells me you
didn't see all three of them.
Well, I don’t know what aviation has to do with a 427-C2 Vette, but that’s the first thing I noticed.
Marvin had a nice second story view of the trio of 54’s as well.
And who’d have thunk that he was a veteran F9F pilot.
If there were more than three….
Then I missed ‘em.