I am sure that I'm not the first to come back.  I now have a 2001 C5, and it's great for what Corvettes do.  But I miss my 1987 4+3 Z51, and the new owner appreciates it, too.  I am trying to get her to join this group.

  In a matter of hours, I begin an adventure.  I scored a 1988 Anniversary Corvette on eBay.  As I live just 7 blocks from the Pacific Ocean, in Washington state, picking up my new car in Charlotte, N.C. will already be an adventure.  I'm going to take a series of busses, mostly Greyhound, to get there.  I am relying on my experiences with the '87, and a couple of years in auto shop while my wife dealt with cancer treatment just up the street.

  I have put together a bunch of my most effective tools, but most importantly carry a charge card!  This late in the year, I suspect I will need to deal with weather as well.  Not really sure how this is going to end (I am hoping well!), and not even sure which route I will choose for the trip back.  I could visit NCM for the third time, before I resume my trip home.  Or I could pass through the southern states in a bid to stay a bit warmer on the road.  I'm going to have to learn new tourist traps if I do that.

  I hope to drop updates as the trip unfolds.

Very cool! Congrats!  I wish you well on your adventure. Make sure to take pics along the way so you can post about it and show us.

WOW...!!!  That sounds like an EPIC trek - in both directions...!!!

A more southerly track may be a wise choice due to the time of year.  It will be a tad longer to be sure, but potentially more "weather friendly".  Ol' Man Winter is beginning to flex his muscles in the mountains of Colorado (where I live), Wyoming and Montana.  Not saying you can't sneak through but once you decide to take a more northerly route you're pretty much committed.  I'd suggest taking a middle route to Kansas City and once there make a decision.  You can still easily go north from there but it isn't that far to go south if the weather turns sour through the mountains.

Be careful but most of all, ENJOY THE TREK...!!!

btw - CONGRATS on the new (to you) ride...!!!  👍

Now in North Dakota.  Last night the Greyhound negotiated about 150 miles of snowfall as we passed through the Rockies.  I now know that this northern routing (I-90) will not be a sure bet for the return trip.

Based on that observation I'm going to guess that I-80 through Nebraska and Wyoming to Salt Lake City or I-70/US 6 through Kansas, Colorado and Utah to Salt Lake City are going to be just as iffy weather-wise.  I don't know what the weather would be like west and north of Salt Lake. 

I-40, or even I-20/I-10, and then I-5 may be better bets to avoid winter weather.  Those routes are roughly 8-10 hours and 500 miles longer but may be worth it.

Been on I-90 and I-94 across the northern plains many, many times.  I-80 as well.  Loonnngggg stretches of nothing out there.  Hope you have plenty of good reading material to pass the time on the buses.

LOVE a clean '88 Anny car! That, and the '95 Pacer are my favorites of the C4 era. Congrats on the acquisition, and best of luck on the trip home! 

Epic trek for sure - look forward to the updates and hopefully some pics of the journey. Very impressive taking on that cross-country trip in a new (to you) corvette. Longest trip in a C4 was about a 1000 mile  North - South endeavor from Washington State to southern Nevada, in spring/summer time :). Enjoy the adventure and here's to favorable weather! 

Well.  I am home now.  I hadn't anticipated just how horrible riding Greyhound has become.  Not a very nice way to see the USA anymore.  Nasty attitudes about passenger comfort, horrible truck stop cuisines, and the ever - present need to change busses early in the morning.  When my trip ended in Charlotte, it was 5:30 am and I was so woozy from the din of the tires roaring on the pavement for 3 days.  Thankfully the seller was pretty gracious about getting me along my way that the taxi trip to his home was begun while it was still dark.  It was Saturday, and the town was heavily packed with weekend warriors who seemed from what I saw were taking advantage of a final couple of weekends before winter set in.  I was unable to make good time and seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time stopped waiting for a green light.  So, without really getting a chance to see the town, I fled, away to the flowing roads leading me back to home.  Almost immediately, I started to nod off.  I found a rest stop, and nearly passed out in my new ride.  I woke, cleaned the car up and organized a bit, then allowed myself to rest more.  A gentle rain started, and I had an immediate drip due to a bad roof seal.  Still slept for 6 hours.  I pulled back onto the highway and noticed that the roads were much less congested, and made my way into Tennessee for my first night in a real bed in 4 days.  After getting reset there, I pulled onto the path that would take me to NCM, only after removing the roof and stowing it in the back.  Nice ride.  I got to NCM a bit late in the day and decided to get more rest and come to the museum the next day.  I had a chance to visit a Valvoline oil change facility, and had the oil and filter changed.  I didn't like seeing it black that first meet, and I was reassured by the crew at the Bowling Green Valvoling place.  Highly recommended.

There's more!  The NCM is having a special exhibit on Callaway Corvettes, and I was surprised to see that they did an Annie up and it was on display.  I wanted to see its plaque # (mine's 0771).  I had attended a car show the Portland / Vancouver folks know well, called "Beaches", held at Portland International Raceway a few times each year.  One time I saw a CERV replica there.  This time at NCM, it was on display!  Same one!  A reminder of home so far from home!  I think that this time I was mostly impressed with the Falconer V12 somebody stuffed into a C4.  Wow!

Sure glad I don't have to feed it, though.  Eventually, it became time to wrap up my third visit to NCM and plan the next phase of the trip.  There was a nice fellow in there who is there to help in those things, and he routed me out and onto the most direct path to my next objective:  I bought Annie under the expectation that the instrument panel was broken.  My next night was to be in Rolla, home of Batee.com.  Salvation for my instrument panel!