This is a fantastic RV destination if you are a sports car lover. We are here at the holy grail of Corvettes, the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. So yes, plenty of RV parking, but we’re going to go inside and get some history of this iconic American sports car. Let’s go in and drool a bit. If you’re a car or a Corvette history buff, you’ll get your fill here of historical facts and information. Shall we enter to win that Corvette, Laurie? Take a look at that. The National Corvette Museum conducts a series of raffles each year as a way to raise funding for the day to day operations of the museum.

Corvette Museum history film, loops every 15 minutes. Shall we? That was a sweet look back at Americana.

What was the earliest name given to the Corvette? How much do you know about ‘Vettes? Fun interactive games to test your knowledge. A hundred fifty? Correct.

This was perhaps an option R8C we witnessed. It’s available through any Chevrolet dealer when specified during ordering. R8C customers are welcomed with signs and a VIP tour of the museum, where their car is displayed, followed by an orientation and presentation of their new vehicle. Can you imagine the excitement of picking up your new ‘Vette here at the museum and actually driving it out with the applause of fellow Corvette lovers? Talk about a great memory for this driver. New car smell, and oh doesn’t that sound sweet?

There are some very interesting and unusual displays, like the entombed Corvette. “In 1954, Richard Sampson of Brunswick, Maine bought a brand new ’54 Corvette. He drove it for five years, but he was disappointed his wife didn’t enjoy going with him. At the time, he was constructing a new building for his chain of grocery stores and decided to have the Corvette sealed in a brick and mortar tomb within the new store. In his will, he specified the Corvette was not to be removed from the tomb until the year 2000. In 1982, the store was purchased, and the new owners requested that the car be removed. In 1986, Richard’s daughter Cynthia took possession of the car after it was removed. The Corvette remains in the same condition it was in when it was removed from the tomb in 1986.

In 1957, Corvette was a milestone model due to its optional fuel injection and optional four speed manual transmission, both Corvette firsts.

Can you imagine Christmastime receiving one of these back in 1956? It’s a Corvette pedal car. Do you know any kids who received one?

The bumper car rides are a staple at nearly every amusement park in the United States, and have been since their invention in the early ’20s.

In 1967, this was Roy Orbison’s personal car, used daily to drive to the studio during the making of “The Traveling Wilburys” and “Mystery Girl” albums. Roy Orbison.

The 1973 Bethke Corvette, built by Doug Bethke. This Corvette was known for being the fastest stock frame 359 horsepower Corvette ever built. On March 2, 1990, Tommy Morrison, along with a team of engineers and racecar drivers, including John Heinricy, Jim Minneker, and Kim Baker broke the 24 hour world speed endurance record that had been held for 50 years, averaging 175.885 miles per hour for 24 hours straight!

Here’s a question for you. Do you know what happened February 12, 2014? This is the Corvette Cave In, the Skydome Sinkhole Experience. Let’s go see. I can’t help but wonder who the genius was that realized this tragedy that happened to the Corvette Museum was actually a genius stroke of luck? “The National Corvette Museum made international news headlines on February 12, 2014 when a sinkhole collapsed in the Skydome of the museum in the wee hours of the morning. Thankfully, no one was in the building when it happened, but security cameras were rolling to catch the incident on camera. Museum visitations skyrocketed that same year as people from around the world were drawn to witness for themselves the destruction mother nature had caused.”

Here, you can see the actual depth of the sinkhole. It was estimated to be 30 feet deep and about 40 feet wide. What a great job they did of making use of all of this so people can actually see it.

The next exhibit you see after the Corvette sinkhole is “Cartoon Creatures, Custom Cars, and Corvettes: the Art and Influence of Ed Big Daddy Roth.” Back in the ’50s and ’60s, kids who liked cars bought hot rod magazines along with t-shirts, models, stickers, and toys from Roth Studios. They featured caricatures of cars with giant smoking slicks and fire coming out of the exhaust, with blown engines and cartoon monsters at the wheel. Tom Peters would begin copying those drawings, and in the process, he learned how to draw cars with personalities and attitudes. The monsters were just cool.

There’s so much to see and do at the Corvette Museum, which is located off I-65 exit 28 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. To learn more about this 501(c)(3) museum, visit corvettemuseum.org. Time to shop.

Well, that was exciting. I wish we could’ve sat in one and maybe started it up, right Laurie? This is a great RV destination for anybody coming through Kentucky. And yeah, you got to do a little bit of shopping while you’re here too. Michelle and Laurie in Kentucky.