(A Saturday with Lyle & Anny)

Friends,

 

Saturday was the first Corvette show that we attended this year. I wanted to share the excitement of the days immediately before this day. I guess it started about a month ago when I was growling about being too fat to get under our C-4. Anny said "After breakfast let's go to Tulsa and buy you a Kwiklift so you can clean under the Corvette." There were no words of dissent from me and we hustled to Tulsa for the answer to my prayers. I have worn out 3 toothbrushes cleaning the underside of "Precious". I scrubbed, painted and polished everything that I could see. It does look good!!!

Now it is getting closer to show time and we decide that since I spent so much time underneath the Vette, it would be a shame to lose all that time and work with just one rainstorm on the way to the show. Answer to the problem... Purchase a new 20 foot, enclosed, Haulmark trailer. With this I needed a weight stabilizer on the hitch.  Of course, I didn't have the electric brake controller or the right hitch on the truck. No problem, this can all be rectified by a trip to Springfield and a checkbook. Things seem to be going along fine until I found I needed new straps to try down the Vette. With the help of Mr. Cohen, I now have a new set of (four) straps coming next week. I didn't even ask the price, I'm too deep into this project now.

Ok, we're loaded and ready to roll on Friday. I wake up at 2 a.m. and find that Anny is already up and at her computer, catching up on the Club web site. We finally got out of town around 7. We drove about twenty miles before we stopped for breakfast and I could celebrate my amazing feat of getting that far, without losing the Corvette out the back of the trailer. The rest of the trip to Enid, Oklahoma was uneventful with the exception of the frequent stops for gasoline. The mileage on our truck has now dwindled down to about 11 miles per gallon.

We met Darrel, Betty and friends in Tulsa and head for our destination of Enid. The evening before the show, Darrel helped me unload the Vette. Anny is the only one skinny enough to get into the car while it is inside the trailer. OK, into the show we go!!! The photographer was taking pictures of each Vette coming inside the building. I had a photo from last year of the driver's side so we stopped everyone while Anny could turn the car around to catch the passenger side this year. I think I upset a couple of people, but I REALLY didn't care.

Saturday morning and now it's clean the car time. Judging starts at 10. As I watch in disbelief, the C-4s from all over the United States start pouring in through the doors. There were a total of 18 C-4s trying to win a couple of trophies. Each one was nicer than the one before it. Yellow, red, white, black, you name it, it was there. This was, without a doubt, the most spectacular display of absolutely pristine C-4s that I have ever seen!! I thought about just packing it up and coming home but we were surrounded by Corvettes and didn't have a prayer of moving until the show was over. OK, clean, clean and polish, go for the gold!! 

Judging is over and then we just wait until 3:30 to be disappointed. This gave Darrel a lot of time to add up what this little venture had cost us. He explained in detail what each trophy will cost me this year!! 

 

Lift.......          $2000

Trailer .......... $6000

Taxes, etc......$  500

Hitch, etc.......$  500

Hotel, gasoline, entry fees, tie down straps, photographs, new tires for the truck= ?

 

Ok, got the picture? I've got $10,000 in the first show and I haven't added in the repairs I have done to the Vette in the last month. We are now waiting for the names to be called for the $10 trophies. I just wanted to get it over with so we could buy more gas and drive home. It finally came time for late year C-4 winners to be announced. A beautiful, red convertible took " Best in Class", a deserving winner. As I've said in the past, don't give up but don't get too overly confident either. Second place trophy from Enid, Oklahoma was brought home by Lyle and Anny!!!! Is it worth $10,000?

 

You bet your sweet butt it is!!!!!!

 

You all have a nice day,

Lyle and Anny