A visit to the "red pokey thing"

I had heard earlier in the month that December was $1 admission for Kentucky residents at the Corvette Museum. At first, I thought, "What a deal!" and then I thought, "Wait, I've been, and I really don't care to go back." Don't get me wrong, I'm proud that Bowling Green is the official "Home of the Corvette," and I'm thankful that it has continued to stay the home of the corvette. But honestly, I'm not a huge car enthusiast. I don't know much about them, other than the basics.

I did have an idea for a family outing though. We had been trying to get Marlo out of the house and spend some time with the boys, so I thought it might be fun to invite him to go. At such a cheap price, who can resist? On top of the deal, I knew that Marlo loved cars, used to race, and of course, knew his share about it all. We invited him, planned it out, and decided to go on New Year's Eve. The boys were excited! Every time we passed by the "red pokey thing" I would remind them that we were going to the Corvette Museum with Paw Paw and Daddy after Christmas.

Well, it didn't turn out exactly like we planned. Marlo wasn't feeling well on the morning we were going to go. He had been feeling bad with his high blood pressure, so he decided to stay at home. We, of course, couldn't let the boys down (plus Heath had never been!), so we packed the boys in the car and headed out!

When we got there, the boys checked out all the newer models in the foyer. They were so nice! After paying our $2 admission (and after being scolded for touching the ropes!), we entered the museum. 

Heath had some extra change, so we let the boys "squish pennies" for souvenirs. They held onto them most of the way through the exhibits. I put them in my pocket later for safe keeping.

Of course, B had to turn the handle, too! "My do it!"

This was my favorite model. Isn't it sharp? White with red interior...

The boys loved this. They wanted to play with it. Cash kept pointing out the "broken cars" around the fence.

It was hard to keep the boys away from the exhibits. They kept trying to touch the cars and get on the other side of the barriers. After being scolded once, we tried hard not to get in trouble again.

There was a hands-on exhibit that allowed visitors to pretend to be in the pit crew. Here's a shot of Heath and Cash changing the back tire of the race car.

And here's B and I changing the front tire. It was pretty cool. Heath and I tried our hand at filling the gas tank. I'll have to say that I spilled less gas than Heath! He caused a great fire under the back of the car. :)

Beautiful mosaic of my favorite model. All of the pictures are of people and their corvettes. 

We tried our hand at some corvette trivia, too.

I think Heath knew most of them. I really need to brush up on my corvette facts!

Here's B pretending to drive one around a closed track.

Heath and I were surprised at this. It's a future look at the area across the interstate from the museum. That whole field will soon be turned into a race track of some sort. I'm not sure how I feel about that...

I didn't take many more pictures. B started getting tired, and the excitement of actually being in the "big yellow part" and getting to go inside the "red pokey thing" was just too much to handle! We viewed the rest of the exhibits (the boys and I a bit quicker than Heath - as he was more interested in reading the details than we were), and then we exited through the gift shop. We ate lunch in the Corvette Cafe, and then we headed home. It was a great outing. I think Heath really enjoyed the exhibits, models and information, and the boys enjoyed the running and seeing and experience of it all. I just enjoyed being with all my boys! What a great way to end the year...