Roc and Nancy left early to drive back to Nitro, West Virginia to pick up their Vette. They said they would keep us posted on their progress and the plan is for them to drive toward Bristol, Virginia - stopping somewhere along the way for the night.

We got an early start - its getting to be a habit now. Saw Scott in the lobby of the hotel and asked him if he was the successful bidder on anything at the auction Saturday night. He was. Scott is now our club's first Lifetime Member of the NCM! Congratulations, Scott. He also received a certificate with an autograph by Zora Arkus Duntov along with that membership, so he now has three Duntov signatures!!!

Elaine tells us that the Doctors think they'll release Harry later this morning. He is feeling much better and looking forward to actually seeing Bowling Green!

Scott and Mike have decided to head over to the Drag Races this morning. They've got a bit of a gleam of anticipation in their eyes . . . could prove to be an interesting day.

Joe Smock and Grace are driving tandem back toward home - and Ron and Bryan Rivers will be headed toward home after a visit with relatives. It's hard to believe that after working and planning for two years - the official event is coming to a close!

Several of us head over to the Warren East Middle School to sign up for the 10 o'clock road tour. Oops - I forgot to tell you the guys were not successful in joining the road tour yesterday - they found the starting location after the group had departed. But now we know exactly where the school is - so we're headed that way. Bill and Joan, Joe and Eric, Kathy and Jerry, and Jim and I arrive just in time to be briefed by "Bubba" on what to expect on this road tour. He tells us it'll take "pert near" 2 to 2 1/2 hours, and that it covers 100 miles - give or take! They had anticipated 20 to 50 cars going on the run - but yesterday they had 170!!!!! and today we have about 125 - so the speeds are going to go down a bit. Perhaps it's a good thing that Roc isn't here to go on this run :-) The trip turns out to be 84 miles long - and it does take about 2 hours 15 minutes to complete it. If there were smaller groups - I'm sure the time could be well under 2 hours. We have a few assists from the police at tricky intersections so the group does not get broken up - we start with 125 Vettes and end with even more! Some more Vettes jump in the line along the way :-) It was a common sight to see a passenger hanging out a window or sitting on a deck lid taking photos along the route. At one point, we went over a large rock and earth dam and made a sweeping turn in the parking lot on the other side - returning over the dam again. It made for some great shots of Vettes coming and going! Everyone was driving with the hand up in a giant continuous wave ~~~~~ Toward the end of the ride, Jewel (Joan) radioed to me that she heard some people asking if anyone knew where they could get those Caravan 99 static clings. So, I got on the radio and told folks that I'd be near my car for about 15 minutes when we got to the Museum. We had purchased 200 of these things to sell so we could recoup some of the money that our caravan was in debt (translate that - me and Roc out-of-pocket). As we are returning to the NCM, we see another column of Vettes coming our way - another Road Tour is getting started! We arrive back at the Museum and I'm met by quite a few more people who want to buy the souvenir static cling decal. Bill takes a bunch to the C5 registry tent and sells a bunch real fast.

. . . and we see Harry! He looks a bit tired but happy to be out in the real world again - and he looks great in the bright red shirt we bought for him! Elaine won't let him stay for more than an hour - it's almost 100 degrees today, and he needs to take it easy so they head back to the hotel. I got a call from Roc telling us they had arrived in Nitro and were now driving toward Bristol in their Vette - he said it was going very well.

There are some strange objects being carried in the long lines to the celebrity autograph tent. Ginny and Ray are in line and I saw Bill on line as well. I'm going to work in the gift shop for a while - so I gave my program book to Ginny to get an autograph or two for me. Jim goes shopping for a super-duper air filter that he wants to have installed on the 98. Bill and Joan - and Kathy and Jerry emerge from the Museum Administration Offices to announce that they, too, have just signed on as Lifetime Members of the NCM. Wendell and Stephanie express their appreciation of our club members' co-operation and willingness to help. Most of the gang has decided it's too darn hot - and they head for the hotel to go for a swim.

Dianne Liebe and Ginny Carney take some of the remaining static clings -and find that if you stand in one place - people end up coming over to you to buy them. I decide its time to stop volunteering in the gift shop and take care of the final decals so we won't have any left over. The Ginny/Dianne system works well - and before 40 minutes is up - we are completely sold out!!!!

The Liebe's head out - they are going to the Nashville area - where a new grandchild is due any second! Good luck! Ginny and Ray head back to jump in the pool. I get another call from Roc saying that he and Nancy are in Beckley, West Virginia - which leave them a nice short 200 mile ride to meet us in Bristol, Virginia tomorrow.

I'm stuck at the NCM while we have the new air filter installed - it is amazing to see how much junk the car has sucked into the radiator! That C5 is a bottom-feeder! Now I'm actually becoming a bit tired - I make a speed run through the museum display area - I hadn't done that yet - and I don't want to leave Bowling Green without seeing what they've changed. Jim and I also signed up as Lifetime Members just before we left. None of us stayed for the drawing of the 99 hardtop - it was won by some company.

While at the pool, Jerry decides he'll ask John to autograph his car. We've been swimming with John and his family since the first day in Bowling Green - and this could be the last chance to make this request. John is very nice and tells Jerry he'll meet him out front later when he is on his way to the C5 Registry's Dinner.

We see Scott and Mike back at the hotel - and if I thought they had the gleam of anticipation in their eyes before the races - you should have seen the lights in their eyes now! They had a wonderful time at the drag strip - I think they said they took about 3 or 4 runs against each other. Neither one said who won - - - I guess that's sportsmanship!

John Cafaro signs the inside of Jerry's hood - now he'll have to find a replacement hood when he sells that car next year. I wonder how he's going to mount it to the Living Room wall - - - Any ideas, Kathy???

Jim and I get back to the hotel too late for a swim :-( Dinner is all over the place - we break up into several groups and head for various restaurants. Jim and I opt for Hops - a micro-brewery where we had eaten last year. We had a wonderful meal - - - - like I need these additional calories! I think the Carney's tried Montana - but the wait was too long, and the majority ended up in the hotel's restaurant. We all say goodbye to Eric - Joe is going to have to leave real early in the morning to take him to the Nashville Airport for his flight back to college. We've been taking turns trying to get a shot at the only washer and dryer the hotel has! I think they could spring for a second set - we all need clean clothes for the next leg of our journey . . . . . .