I just returned from car week in Monterey, had an incredible time, & wanted to share some of it with you!! I won't complain about the fact that it was chilly all week, because it gave me a chance to sport my new Ford GT jacket! :biggrin Saw several of the GT owners that were at the rally & met a few others! It was fabulous & everyone was in great spirits! :thumbsup
Friday night was Concorso Italiano. Bony was kind enough to let me drive him there in his lovely white stripeless GT. (Thanks buddy!! Your car & I are becoming great friends!) I was overwhelmed by the thousands of foreign cars, most of which I had only seen in car magazines before. More importantly, there were 6-7 Ford GTs adding a touch of American beauty to all those Italian toys. :wink From there I went to the Blackhawk Exposition & had my first taste of some REALLY old cars! This was definitely a weekend of firsts! I also experienced my first car auction (Russo & Steele) and was fascinated and confused at how the guys could keep up & tell who was bidding. :willy There was a lot of energy there & some interesting cars, including a good number of older Shelbys & Mustangs. Several of the GT owners (& I) also had dinner at Stokes Friday night (thanks to AwsumGT for organizing that). Both the food & company were great! The more I talk with you guys, the more impressed I get! There are truly some outstanding people! on this forum!! :cheers
Saturday I spent the day at the historic races at Laguna Seca. Again, there were 6-7 GT owners there, including Chris, a brand new CA heritage owner!!! Great guy! Great choice in cars (my favorite color scheme)! Great event! During one race, a women racer had her brakes go out 1/2 through & she still managed to finish the race. Talk about skill! 5 laps on a track w/lots of sharp turns & no brakes! :eek Although the races were fun to watch, I had even more fun in the pits. The sound of the engines was magnificant! There were race cars coming & going, some were being worked on, & others were just sitting there waiting their turn to get out & tear it up on the track! My pictures don't do the event justice. It was definitely something that had to be experienced firsthand. There were also a coulple of GT 40s there! Again, thanks to Bony for teaching me about the cars. The amount of knowledge this man has on these cars made my head spin! He seemed to know EVERYTHING about each one! I don't think there was one question I asked that he couldn't answer. Unfortunately, my brain is too small to remember most of it. Guess I'll just have to return next year! :lol
Jay Leno was there as well. Aside from wandering around the pits, he was also one of the drivers of the Mercedes SLR McLaren (there were 4 of them that went out for a few laps on the track in between races). What a nice guy! All 4 of the cars were ready to start up their engines & head out to the track & the SLR guys were trying to keep everyone back. A young boy got away from his mother & managed to make his way to the cars. The SLR guys ran over, but Jay got out of the car & let the kid sit inside. He then took a few minutes for the mom to get pictures of him with her son. The kid was bursting with excitement! Those couple of minutes he gave to them really went a long way!
Aside from the McLarens, there were what seemed to be hundreds of Mini Coopers that got to do a parade lap around the track. Unfortunately, the Ford GTs didn't get to go on the track. However... I got to do something even more fun than that! Bony (THANKS AGAIN!!!) let me take him & his GT for a cruise down Hwy 1. :biggrin All I can say is WOW! I didn't want to stop driving! The scenery was breathtaking! Winding roads over the cliffs & ocean. Spectacular!! Turning around was interesting though... I thought I'd be able to do a U-turn, but 1/2 way through realized it would be a 3-point turn. :bored Took longer than necessary since I managed to "accidentally" put the car into reverse instead of first! Oops! I remember you guys saying you need 2 hands to go backwards, but it takes 2 fingers in Bony's car to get it in reverse. Hmmm...
Walking to dinner Sat night, I saw Chris' new Gulf Heritage sitting under a light post looking glorious despite all the white. The birds in the nest above decided to leave Chris with a little gift... Actually, they left MANY little white gifts all over the car! :rofl I had to take 4 pictures just to capture it all!!!
Sunday was the last day. I went to Pebble Beach for the Concours d'Elegance, but had to leave shortly thereafter since I wasn't feeling well. I took a race simulation test & crashed more times than I care to remember. I'm great at accelerating. Not so great at braking. :frown Time for road racing school...
Big ribbons came off of the beautifully renovated cars that won awards. On the 18th green there were some crazy looking concept cars. Lots of men in suits & women in fancy dresses & heels. (I don't know if they realized just how much walking there was!!) I bought a few souvenirs & then went to the Italian tent, where I was offered champagne & treats during a presentation of their new cars. Yes Kevin, there was a cute Italian guy giving me books & trying to sell me their 2008 car. But... Just as I was leaving, I saw 2 Ford GTs, and they were getting more attention in the parking lots than a lot of the others cars were!!! :banana Chris' Heritage was there (without the bird droppings) & there was also a red w/white stripe.
For those of you who have never gone to these events, I highly recommend them! Enjoyed every minute & am looking forward to next year!
MJ
Friday night was Concorso Italiano. Bony was kind enough to let me drive him there in his lovely white stripeless GT. (Thanks buddy!! Your car & I are becoming great friends!) I was overwhelmed by the thousands of foreign cars, most of which I had only seen in car magazines before. More importantly, there were 6-7 Ford GTs adding a touch of American beauty to all those Italian toys. :wink From there I went to the Blackhawk Exposition & had my first taste of some REALLY old cars! This was definitely a weekend of firsts! I also experienced my first car auction (Russo & Steele) and was fascinated and confused at how the guys could keep up & tell who was bidding. :willy There was a lot of energy there & some interesting cars, including a good number of older Shelbys & Mustangs. Several of the GT owners (& I) also had dinner at Stokes Friday night (thanks to AwsumGT for organizing that). Both the food & company were great! The more I talk with you guys, the more impressed I get! There are truly some outstanding people! on this forum!! :cheers
Saturday I spent the day at the historic races at Laguna Seca. Again, there were 6-7 GT owners there, including Chris, a brand new CA heritage owner!!! Great guy! Great choice in cars (my favorite color scheme)! Great event! During one race, a women racer had her brakes go out 1/2 through & she still managed to finish the race. Talk about skill! 5 laps on a track w/lots of sharp turns & no brakes! :eek Although the races were fun to watch, I had even more fun in the pits. The sound of the engines was magnificant! There were race cars coming & going, some were being worked on, & others were just sitting there waiting their turn to get out & tear it up on the track! My pictures don't do the event justice. It was definitely something that had to be experienced firsthand. There were also a coulple of GT 40s there! Again, thanks to Bony for teaching me about the cars. The amount of knowledge this man has on these cars made my head spin! He seemed to know EVERYTHING about each one! I don't think there was one question I asked that he couldn't answer. Unfortunately, my brain is too small to remember most of it. Guess I'll just have to return next year! :lol
Jay Leno was there as well. Aside from wandering around the pits, he was also one of the drivers of the Mercedes SLR McLaren (there were 4 of them that went out for a few laps on the track in between races). What a nice guy! All 4 of the cars were ready to start up their engines & head out to the track & the SLR guys were trying to keep everyone back. A young boy got away from his mother & managed to make his way to the cars. The SLR guys ran over, but Jay got out of the car & let the kid sit inside. He then took a few minutes for the mom to get pictures of him with her son. The kid was bursting with excitement! Those couple of minutes he gave to them really went a long way!
Aside from the McLarens, there were what seemed to be hundreds of Mini Coopers that got to do a parade lap around the track. Unfortunately, the Ford GTs didn't get to go on the track. However... I got to do something even more fun than that! Bony (THANKS AGAIN!!!) let me take him & his GT for a cruise down Hwy 1. :biggrin All I can say is WOW! I didn't want to stop driving! The scenery was breathtaking! Winding roads over the cliffs & ocean. Spectacular!! Turning around was interesting though... I thought I'd be able to do a U-turn, but 1/2 way through realized it would be a 3-point turn. :bored Took longer than necessary since I managed to "accidentally" put the car into reverse instead of first! Oops! I remember you guys saying you need 2 hands to go backwards, but it takes 2 fingers in Bony's car to get it in reverse. Hmmm...
Walking to dinner Sat night, I saw Chris' new Gulf Heritage sitting under a light post looking glorious despite all the white. The birds in the nest above decided to leave Chris with a little gift... Actually, they left MANY little white gifts all over the car! :rofl I had to take 4 pictures just to capture it all!!!
Sunday was the last day. I went to Pebble Beach for the Concours d'Elegance, but had to leave shortly thereafter since I wasn't feeling well. I took a race simulation test & crashed more times than I care to remember. I'm great at accelerating. Not so great at braking. :frown Time for road racing school...
Big ribbons came off of the beautifully renovated cars that won awards. On the 18th green there were some crazy looking concept cars. Lots of men in suits & women in fancy dresses & heels. (I don't know if they realized just how much walking there was!!) I bought a few souvenirs & then went to the Italian tent, where I was offered champagne & treats during a presentation of their new cars. Yes Kevin, there was a cute Italian guy giving me books & trying to sell me their 2008 car. But... Just as I was leaving, I saw 2 Ford GTs, and they were getting more attention in the parking lots than a lot of the others cars were!!! :banana Chris' Heritage was there (without the bird droppings) & there was also a red w/white stripe.
For those of you who have never gone to these events, I highly recommend them! Enjoyed every minute & am looking forward to next year!
MJ
