And…We’re Off

Meet Shadowfax. You know Penny. Our Zeus Metallic Bronze C8 Corvette who saw us through a 2 month trip across the US during the worst of Covid, allowing us to see a bunch of National Parks, drive the iconic Pacific Coast Highway, and then the even more iconic Route 66. And you might think that would be the end of Bob’s automotive fantasies, but you would be wrong. The next big thing is the Z06 C8. Which is actually billed as a street-legal race car. And correctly so at that.

Bob tells me he used to race cars in his youth. And there are pictures of his race cars straight out of American Graffiti—lovingly held together with duct tape by boys on the edge of manhood. I’m not sure which character Bob sees himself as, but I’m sure that movie is part of his youthful identity. So when the Z06 C8 came on the scene, Bob was in line. Not as a replacement for Penny, mind you—she’s still in her primary space in the driveway, and now she belongs to me. But boys will be boys, right?

Shadowfax is an Anniversary Model Z06 C8. The first Corvette was offered 70 years ago and was white with black interior, so Shadowfax is built to celebrate that first car. Our trip this time is to take Shadowfax back to her birthplace; the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The annual Corvette Bash is there this week and Bob has the opportunity to drive Shadowfax on the race track. And for those readers who aren’t big LOTR fans, the name Shadowfax comes from the horse ridden by Gandalf. In fact, Shadowfax was too wild to be ridden by any mere mortal. Hewas the only horse unafraid of Sauron, and was the fastest horse in Middle Earth. He was snowy white, and silver at night, but could travel great distances tirelessly and without being seen. Bob actually played the front end of Shadowfax in New Zealand, and was hilariously the slowest Shadowfax ever.

I was warned that I probably wouldn’t be a big fan. Shadowfax is wider than Penny, much louder, and clearly wants to go fast. Even Bob is a bit put off driving him in street traffic. I say “him” because Shadowfax is clearly a boy. His engine growls constantly, and you can feel him wanting to go faster, downshifting frequently as though to say, “C’mon! C’mon! Let’s move!!”

In order to meet the requirements for putting Shadowfax on the track, we needed to get 1500 miles on him. And driving to Bowling Green didn’t quite make it. So we decided to head first to Memphis, to spend some time with Jess and Ben, which would satisfy the requirement. Both Truman and Bob warned me that I wasn’t likely to be as big a fan of driving Shadowfax as I am of driving Penny, but I knew I would have to take my turn. So once we got on the interstate, I took the wheel.

Now there is clearly a difference between Penny and Shadowfax. Just starting the engine shows you that. Shadowfax growls, “look at me! I’m loud and fast!” But truly, I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all on the highway. Once again, you feel like you’re in a cockpit, comfortable and secure. The pick up is awesome, and I have yet to feel that I can’t maneuver around anyone, quickly and efficiently. The radio is outstanding, Plenty of room for packing enough clothes and stuff, and Shadowfax even came with leather luggage because of his rarefied position as a 70th anniversary model. I do not at all like driving in city traffic—he feels big and unwieldy, but the highway is a blast.

We stopped for the night in Knoxville, then on to Memphis. Which is truly one of my favorite places. Tennessee has been in the news lately, and not in a good way, as the old guard struggles to join the 21st Century. And because we were there during the week, both Jess and Ben had to work, but as always, we ate terrific food, and enjoyed time with our grandkitty, Peter. Jess and Ben are off to LA this week for Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday concert and that sounds like a great time. We had Memphis ribs, a killer salad fresh from a local grower the first night, and went to Gus’ Fried Chicken the next night. I challenge anyone to prove that there is better fried chicken than Gus’.

I have written before about how lucky I feel to have Ben and his family so important in Jessica’s life. Ben is one of the sweetest guys ever, and his mom, Carolyn, and step-dad, Tim, feel like family. Jess loves them all, and they clearly love her. One of the things about having children is that you do come to realize that those little people who consume so much of your life, time, hopes and dreams eventually become fully fledged humans with their own lives. And you can’t control that. Control freak that I am, that is hard for me. And having a child as far away as Jess is, can be terrifying. I will never forget the awful year that Jessica was bit by a mosquito and came down with West Nile Virus, ending up in ICU. She was alone, and we were a thousand miles away. Her father, Andy, and I both jumped into our cars and headed for Memphis, he from Pittsburgh and me from Virginia, and I can’t remember a more frightening drive. She was lucky, no lasting effects, but the idea of your heart in danger so far from your body is something you never forget. And I feel so lucky to know that Ben, Carolyn and Tim are there, just in case. I think the best you can hope for in this world is that your children have good people around them who care.

So, after a good night’s sleep, we gave Jess, Ben and Peter a hug goodbye and headed to Bowling Green, birthplace of both Penny and Shadowfax. The drive was pretty uneventful and we were booked at the Embassy Suites Hotel near the National Corvette Museum. This is a brand new hotel with a big room, a pool and an attached restaurant called Tony’s which had just opened earlier in the week. There was plenty of free parking and we asked for a room so we could see Shadowfax from our window. We drove over the the museum to check in and headed back to the hotel for dinner. Bob has numerous things scheduled for tomorrow, and I planned to hang around the hotel, swim, read and blog.

The following day we had breakfast with a bunch of Corvette enthusiasts and then Bob had the opportunity to drive Shadowfax on the National Corvette Museum Motorsports race track. This was really what he was excited about and we had managed to get the requisite 1500+ miles required to do this. I could have ridden with the lead guide, but not being a fan of roller coasters, I wisely declined. I was able to oversee the track from a viewing area, and got some videos. Shadowfax sounded very loud and growly as he and Bob passed by and Bob had a great time.

Our final destination was Pittsburgh PA, where our granddaughter, Cameron Bray, is graduating from the Business School at the University of Pittsburgh, Bob’s Law School Alma Mater. Cameron has done a terrific job, graduating cum laude in 4 years, and we’re very proud of her. Graduation happened at the Pittsburgh Paints Arena, so we booked a Marriott across the street. The drive from Bowling Green to Pittsburgh was the worst part of this whole trip. It rained like crazy, there was road construction everywhere, and I’m not sure where any road improvement funds in Kentucky are going, but they sure aren’t going to improve the roads. We finally made it by 10:30 pm, after agreeing that our combined vision would qualify us for legal blindness benefits. Nice hotel, though, and the valet staff took great care of Shadowfax.

Finally, we began the long drive home. And it was memorable because of the torrential downpours in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. We took the PA turnpike and I always forget how much I hate that road. With family in eastern PA, I have traveled the turnpike my whole life and it has always been under construction, with potholes and irregular paving. And in the rain, it is a miserable ride.

I was able to form some observations about Shadowfax vs Penny on a roadtrip, and Penny wins the best of show award hands down. In the rain, Shadowfax is an unhappy camper. Built for the racetrack, his tires don’t hold the road and driving fast, even the posted speed limit at times, was not pleasant. But we were in no hurry and the sun finally came out in Virginia.

All in all, it was a nice trip. Bob got to put his car on the racetrack and he really enjoyed that, and we got to spend some quality time with family. Ya can’t beat that.