by Ray Weintraub & Rob Giaquinto
My friend Rob and I recently went to Carlisle Pa. for the Corvette show to end all Corvette shows. We were not disappointed in the least. We left on Saturday, August 28th from Rob's house and began the almost 200 mile journey. This trip had been talked about by us for years ever since we drove our own Vettes , and was finally going down. We arrived some hours later at the fairgrounds, where we will camp for the night. The spectacle was AWESOME, Corvettes as far as the eye could see. We had brought much film to burn and even a digital camera for good luck. Soon after we settled in we ventured out to snap some shots. If you've never owned a Corvette before you really can't appreciate the sites. Just the fact of having 6 '53 Corvettes in a row is a mind-blower. We had gotten there in time to see the cars lineup for the tour through town, at least 150 Vettes participated. At every turn there was yet another amazing car to see. A dyno was on-site for anyone wishing to push the limits of their vehicle and wallet (it cost $75 for 3 runs). As night fell and the B-B-Q was sparked up for dinner, the people next to us came rolling in with a Vette that they had just picked up . In an instant it was like a scene from a movie, people were all over the car with flashlights in hand .. It was like someone had lost something in there. When Rob asked what was so special about it, the reply was that it was a rare one somebody on the assembly line didn't stamp a # on the block so the value doubled. Come the night we ventured out all through the fairgrounds on missions seeking out the unseen. All we found is that we hadn't nearly covered a piece of the show yet. As morning broke and the sun rose a hill behind the campgrounds slowly filled with all sorts of Vettes, what a vision! So now going through the show again we now come upon the vending part of the show that we hadn't run into the day before. This is the spot to find all sorts of goodies like parts , rolling chasis, t-shirts, etc.. Milling through this we find another AWESOME sight to behold unlike any seen so far, it is a half-mile long area for parking that contains nothing but Vettes. Picture it, the cars were lined up 3 wide and deep on one side with a road in the middle and cars lined up 2 by 2 on the other side. This spot alone had to hold 4000 Corvettes of all years. I even found an exact copy of my Vette ( down to louvers ) just parked with the others, Rob also found a car similar to his old one but it was actually in the show. As we continued to walk we now found the selling area which had many a sweet Vette in it. For a mere $8000 you could have driven away with a 1980 mint Canadian Vette with only 42,000 miles on her. There was a '74 that was in storage for 16 years that was going for $9000 but it needed work, about $2000 worth which is pennies compared to what you are getting. Well all good things must come to end so we head for the truck, ready to start back. Funny thing though, we said to each other on the way back "you know that since we have no film left, we are destined to see the most awesome Vette of all". Wouldn't you know it as we drive to the exit, a few short feet from the road home Rob spots it - A BRAND NEW CALLAWAY CORVETTE being put on a flatbed. I immediately screeched to a stop and broke out the digital camera in a last ditch effort and get the shot to complete the whole CORVETTES AT CARLISLE experience. We are already planning next years trip. Even if we can't have our own Vette to drive in to show , we can still bask in the glory that is the CORVETTE. We have in total about 150 pictures from the show that still don't do it justice. If you are interested in anything in particular please contact me at DASHWIMP@YAHOO.COM.
Copyright 1996 Barbara Spear
