What an amazing event! Held every 2 years, this is a benefit for the Wounded Warrior Project.
Could you even imagine 350 Corvettes on the deck of the carrier USS Lexington, along with a bunch of fighter planes?
5 Corvettes from my club, the Vets with Vettes and Corvette Owners, elected to find out!
Thursday, September 12
Departing Decatur AL, 8:29 am
OK, so that's what caused this backup.
Never did see a reason for this 1/2 hour delay!
Overnight on the south side of Houston; 782 mile day... with one (1) stop!
Friday, September 13
Friday the 13th was always a bonus anniversary for Sandy & me: on Friday the 13th of October, 1967, we went on our first date; we were married 2 1/2 months later, on December 30!
There's the Lex (the USS Lexington) from the parking lot of the host hotel.
Saturday, September 14
Talk about Oh-dark-Thirty: 4:26 am, and our 5 Alabama Vettes are lined up to board! The lights on the bridge continuously shift patterns and colors to provide entertainment. The Vettes had to remain on board until the event concludes Sunday afternoon.
5:33 am; On the ramp at last.
There's the elevator!
5:47; we're parked, in some very good company!
OK, time for breakfast!
Yes, the first of the many brief showers (or "sea breezes" as the locals call them) provided us with the first (faintly double) rainbow.
The evidence.
The rainbow is still with us.
The bridge, and the view.
In the hangar deck.
The hangar deck stage was the site for the ceremonies and auctions, and a GREAT bagpipe band!
Back up on deck, it was HOT!
The Alabama gang lined our chairs up in the shade of that Blue Angels F-18 Hornet. By afternoon, the shade went away, so I just moved my chair UNDER it:
The view from underneath:
Sunday, September 15
Fly-by of a vintage Stearman
$50 for two new hood signatures at $25 donation each was sent to the American Cancer Society, Corpus Christi. THANK YOU!
Surf's up!
About 6:00 pm the unloading can begin.
As we lined up to go ashore, here are all 5 of the Alabama Vettes in one shot: one ahead, 4 in the mirror.
Ken caught me on the elevator, through the windows of another Vette that separated us.
Dinner
Photo above by:
Monday, September 16
7:52 am - What's with all these double rainbows?
Final pose before we hit the road @ 8:05 am.
The rest of the Alabama gang planned to stop for the night, but I pressed on, figuring I could make it in one shot. (and save the $)
"Love Bugs" - UGH!
Straight through; back home, 10:30 pm.
See more photos and videos of this event on Corvetteblogger.com:
http://www.corvetteblogger.com/2013/09/19/pics-vettes-and-jets-on-the-lex-2013/