It was in Bowling Green, Ky., that I learned about the difference between Corvette owners and the rest of us.

I was there for the National Corvette Homecoming, an annual festival when thousands of Vette owners from all over the country bring their cars home to the factory where they were born and show them off with the sort of parental pride you might see in the father of a starting quarterback.

Homecoming (July 18-20 this year, www.corvettehomecoming.com) includes a Vette parade, tour of the General Motors Assembly Plant and vendors selling every Vette accessory and bit of memorabilia imaginable. It's amazing what Vette owners will buy.

It would never occur to me to tour the plant where my Toyota was built, but more than 50,000 people a year tour the Corvette factory (www.bowlinggreenassemblyplant.com). Vette buyers who want to see their very own car under construction get a VIP tour, meet the workers who build their baby and sometimes autograph parts of their own car.

And for those who still haven't had their fill of Corvette lore -- though that's hard for me to imagine -- there's the National Corvette Museum (www.corvettemuseum.com) across the street from the factory.

This is one in a series of postcards by Marjie Lambert, assistant Travel editor, who has been to all 50 states.