Outstanding! Just did Napa to Malibu a few weeks ago over 9 days. In a Hyundai Elantra. Capped by a great visit to the Nethercutt Collection, about 15 mins north on 405 from the intersection at 101. The Nethercutt Collection I swear, next time ... I am shipping the t to the Other Coast. And will look up Hank at that time!
Day 7: We spent the morning and early afternoon today at Laguna Seca raceway for the Monterey Historic races. I drove in the Mondial with my Dad as passenger, leaving my parents' Dodge for my mother and wife to go places. Mustang Shelby GT350s were featured at the track this year, and there were several impressive examples. There was a lot of other really great stuff at the track, it's always inspiring to see these guys flogging their classics around a race track, driving these cars in anger the way they were meant to be. We got to the track about 9am, and parked in the hills. The track worker who was directing the parking traffic in our area guided me to a spot he said would be the least dusty, and even said he'd watch the car during his shift. Pretty nice, especially given than there were all kinds of exotics in the lot. I had my Spyder Top on, to keep at least the majority of the dust that was blowing on the hill out of the car. Today at the track was just practice and qualifying, but you still get to see all the cars in the pits. The highlights for me were the '50s and '60's Ferraris, Maseratis, and Alfas. There was a 250 GTO, a couple of 250 GT SWBs, 250 Testa Rossas, and an Alfa 33 Stradale. There were several pre-war Bugattis and a ton of other incredible stuff too. It's really overload for the car enthusiast. I love the Monterey events, but really, any one of the events alone should be enough to provide a car fix that would last for months. A person could spend days and days in the pits looking at everything. Instead, there's so much to see that you kind of have to skimp on some of the cars in order to get everything in. In the afternoon, we left the track, picked up my mother and wife, and went to Pacific Grove to view the cars heading out on the Pacific Grove rally. You can enter pretty much anything in that rally. It's a fundraiser for the local Rotary and a youth charity, and this year they had something like 300 cars entered. Some exotics, some hot rods, some 'Vettes and mustangs and other American muscle, '50s Americana, British post-war stuff, pretty much you name it. There was a 3.2 Mondial Cabrio, a black one, with California plates. We looked at the cars for a little while before they drove off at about 5pm, then headed into Monterey for a great dinner at a place called Montrio. After that, we headed back to the rental house to clean up my car for Concorso Italiano tomorrow. Cleaning the car was made a bit of a challenge given the severe drought on in California right now. I am trying this Griot's waterless car wash product for the first time. It was dark enough after dinner that I'm not entirely sure how clean we got the car! The cleaning process was a full family effort. I remarked that the cooperative effort was probably only bearable because my Dad had had two or three glasses of wine at dinner, to which he replied that it was only bearable because I had had two or three glasses of wine at dinner. Maybe we were both right. At any rate, the car is at least somewhat cleaner than it was. I've entered my car in Concorso Italiano tomorrow, but just for display, not for judging. Actually, entering the car is the cheapest way of attending the event, since I get two tickets as an entrant for only slightly more than a single admission would cost. Concorso is not quite the event it used to be, unfortunately. For most of its history at the Monterey car week, Concorso was held on the Friday, then the best day at the track was Saturday, then of course Pebble Beach was on Sunday. The Concorso organizers have moved the event to Saturday in the past couple of years, in order not to compete with the Quail event on Friday. I really preferred Concorso on Friday, though. The Quail is pretty exclusive, and Concorso is very inclusive. We'll be up bright and early to get the car on the field and then spend the day taking in the other Italiana. Hopefully, we'll get to converse with some other Mondial owners and it'll be a great day. And of course, the car will start getting dirty again right away... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Day 8: First of all, I can't believe I just typed, "day 8!" Where did all the time go? I can't believe how much of this trip has already passed by! Today was Concorso Italiano. This is the one event into which I actually entered my car. Like all the other Monterey week events, there are way too many spectacular cars to keep track of. So I walked the field and saw everything there, but just sort of took it all in as best I could. I had my camera "slung" for the entire day. I include pictures of the four Mondials that were on the field (including mine). My rosso 1988 3.2 Cabrio, a rosso 1985 QV Cabrio, a blue 1991 T Cabrio, and another black 3.2 Cabrio (year unknown, but his serial number is quite a bit earlier than mine). Oh, strange note: All four of the Mondials today were relatively high mile cars. I'm at about 64K, the '85 was just behind me at 62K, the blue t had 76K, and the black 3.2 had something just over 70K. And I thought my car had some miles on it! No Mondial coupes, today, though. Maybe at the Ferrari Club Concours on Monday. We'll see. I introduced myself to the owner of the other 3.2 Cabrio. He was a very nice guy named Joe who has owned his car since new! He told some great stories about driving it across the U.S. years ago, and then invited us to the party he hosts at his house here every year! The Mondial brotherhood is truly strong and truly special! I actually just got back to the rental house from his party an hour or so ago. What a great guy, generous in his hospitality. He has a wonderful house and this is the 8th year he's been doing this party on Saturday night of Monterey week. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Your post has been the first place I visit for the past week. Great pictures! I feel like I have been on vacation with you. Thanks for sharing your trip with us. Too bad about the crash. Hopefully the owner can get it back in shape. I hope to attend the event someday in my car. Monterey is an awesome place. I have spent quite a few weeks there a number of years ago. Bose, the company I work for, was a sponsor of the Monterey Jazz Fest so I was able to attend. My wife's family also had a house in the hills of Carmel Valley. I've often thought it would be a great place to live someday. Looking forward to the next post....
Hi Ron! Glad you're enjoying my posts. I'm really enjoying writing them, it's a way of thinking about my trip and all the activities that really enhances the experiences for me. Monterey and Carmel really are incredible spots. My wife and I have looked at the real estate here, and even just window-shopping gave me some near-fatal sticker-shock. But you can see why people with the means live and retire here. It's beautiful, the weather is terrific, and there are a ton of wonderful activities in the area. What more do you want?
Day 9: Today was the big day. The 65th Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. There were some special Ferrari classes, classes for Pope and DuPont, and my favourite, a class on bodywork by Touring. On top of this year's special classes, a family friend of ours from Calgary had entered his 1953 Ghia-bodied Abarth (a one-of-a-kind). He did the restoration on it himself over the past couple of years, just finishing it this spring. The car hadn't been seen in public in over 60 years. It was in really rough shape, and he actually fabricated some of the missing bodywork just working from photographs! He is a car-guy guru, and this is the first time he has shown a car at Pebble Beach. Long story short, he won his class! There were some really wonderful cars in his class, so there was certainly some suspense, but even putting bias aside, I'm not really surprised. It was really exciting to see though, since it was a car I had seen occasionally in various states of need during its restoration. There was also a Mondial on the field. A 1954 500 Mondial. It won its class, too, the Pebble Beach Road Racing class of Ferraris. Pebble Beach is really the pinnacle for concours in North America. This field of cars was as good a field as I've seen at Pebble, and I've been coming off and on since I was a kid. However, this was also the most crowded I've ever seen Pebble. I remember times when it was difficult to photograph the cars, but this year, and to a lesser extent last year, were the first times I've found it really difficult to even view the cars. The cars were constantly mobbed, and you really had to fight through the crowds to even get a decent look at the cars. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi Jon, Still enjoying this Thread! Thank you for posting your experiences on this trip. I'm curious...what are your thoughts on the Griot's Spray-On Car Wash. The photo you posted of your car at Concorso Italiano looks great. I was just wondering what you thoughts are of that product? Bill P.
Hi Bill, I was a bit skeptical about the Griot's, but willing to give it a try. I think the results were relatively successful. The car got fairly clean. I believe that to get the clean results without scratching the paint, you do need to follow the instructions pretty carefully, and continually switch to a clean edge of the towel/microfibre. For me, it won't take the place of a water wash, but I could see myself using it to get the car clean sometimes.
Day 10: Today was the first day of the FCA events. Actually, last night was the kick off with a reception, but I did not attend. Today was the FCA concours. I did not enter my car. I'm not looking to get it judged, and I wanted the option of coming and going as late and early (respectively) as I wanted to. The FCA concours was way more relaxing than Pebble Beach. It's just not an event on that scale, so the field wasn't mobbed by an unbearably large mass of humanity. Also, those in attendance were pretty much all car enthusiasts, which I think is no longer the case at Pebble. Pebble Beach has become a society event at which it is fashionable to be seen, and that is reflected in a sizable proportion of the attendees not knowing or even really caring much about the cars themselves. Not so at the FCA event today; people were really appreciative of the beautiful cars people had brought and worked so hard to make presentable for the concours. There were only two Mondials on the field today. Actually, that's not true: There were four Mondials, but two of them were 1954 500 Mondials (one of which was at Pebble Beach yesterday). There were two modern Mondials, the blue t Cabrio that was at Concorso on Saturday, and a black t Cabrio. The black t was pretty low mileage relative to the other Mondials I've seen this week, only 28K or so I think. I have included its picture below. I actually saw two other Mondials this week that I didn't get a chance to look at, a 3.2 coupe I saw parked on 17 Mile Drive going into Pebble, and a t Cabrio driving through Carmel today. I wandered around the concours for the morning, and a little bit after lunch before leaving. I would have been happy to spend the day at the FCA concours, but my wife is not as into cars and she had had her fill. After the concours, we drove the Laureles Grade which was nearby. It's a kind of famous road here. It snakes around as you climb 1200 feet and drop back down to sea level again very quickly. It's a great fun drive, and I had it to myself for almost half the distance before getting stuck behind slower traffic. It was still a lot of fun. After that, we went into Carmel. My wife shopped in Carmel and we did some wine tasting there, and she was quite happy with the day. I want her to enjoy her time at Monterey car week, so I'm happy she was happy! I'm very impressed with the organization and the number of activities for the FCA Meet. At the concours today, they had organized a "hat party" for the wives (mostly, I think, but any gents were welcome to attend as well) where Bruni Nigh did a presentation on hat fashion. My wife enjoyed it, and I'm glad the FCA organized it. There are track events tomorrow. I'm passing on the competitive rally tomorrow, but I am registered for another event tomorrow that I'm looking forward to, and looking forward to reporting back on! Image Unavailable, Please Login
You car looks awesome. I love the picture of the 1954. I think I'm going to start a " Anyone looking to pass down their 1954 Mondial" thread.
Day 11: The FCA had organized a "competitive rally" for today. I passed on it, because "competitive" was the last thing I wanted to be while on vacation. However, that was probably a mistake. It seems as though the event was more of a scavenger hunt style rally, where you drove a specific route and answered questions from clues along the way. It sounds like it would have been fun. What I did sign up for, though, was the track touring event at Laguna Seca. So while the serious hard-core track guys were having lunch, those of us without really fast racing aspirations were allowed to parade around the track at relatively low speeds. I got 7 laps of Laguna Seca (actually I kind of lost track of the laps. I think it was 7). We were kept to no more than 60mph, and that was really only on the straightaway, and even at low speeds it was a blast! My Mondial was the only one at the track today. My Mondial has now been through the famous Corkscrew at Laguna! Image Unavailable, Please Login
What a great memento! That picture might need to be blown up poster size and hung on the wall in the garage.
Day 12: Today was the last day of official events for the FCA annual meet. The track guys were still doing sessions at Laguna Seca, but there was a pleasure drive arranged for the rest of us. It was a nice drive through the hills around the Monterey peninsula. They issued us a map and directions in the morning, along with info about points of interest along they way. Whoever plotted the route did a lot of work collecting interesting facts to enhance the sight-seeing along the way. I learned all sorts of things about towns and ranches around Monterey. It also kept my wife entertained more than she would have been if we had just been driving around. We passed on the second leg of the pleasure drive, which would have taken us over the Laureles Grade again, and on Sunset Drive, and 17 Mile Drive. We'd already driven all of those roads this past week, so we ducked out and headed for an early lunch. And that is it for the official events of "Monterey Car Week." However, Mac's Mondial Car week(s) continues! We drove back up to wine country. We are now in Petaluma for the night. We walked around downtown, taking in a mid-week farmer's market and a farm-to-fork place for dinner. My wife has a strange reaction to riding in the Mondial. When I planned our first overnight trip in the car, I was a bit worried she would find the ride a bit uncomfortable. I got gel pillows in hopes that they would provide enough additional cushioning that she'd be all right. I needn't have worried, because she not only finds the car as comfortable to ride in as I do, she also is lulled to sleep by the sound of the engine. It's kind of uncanny. She has almost never ridden without falling asleep within about an hour of the start of a drive. She snoozed after we left Monterey today on I-680. I still find it amusing, even after two and a half years of drives.
