August is upon us and this means one thing! The hills and valleys will be alive with the sound of high performance engines powering exotic cars of all make and model. From Pebble Beach to the bucolic Carmel Valley you will see Bentleys, Aston Martins, Shelby Cobras, Porsches, Ferraris, McClarens, Roll Royces, Lamborghinis, Bugatti, Paganis and many other rare and exotic vehicles plying the highways and byways.
Besides the cars there are parties. Lots of parties! There is the “Quail” and the McCall Jet Center party, both of which will put a dent in your kids education fund if you want to attend. They are a great place to people watch and eat and drink. If you want to eat however, you better get there early because the lines are long.
There is also the day they close Ocean Ave in Carmel and display an amazing collection of cars. This is an opportunity to get up close (but not to close) and personal with the cars and their owners. Every owner will regale you with stories of how they lovingly restored a rusting pile of junk to become the beautiful machine you see before you.
If you want something more vintage there is the Historic Car Races at the legendary Laguna Sec Race Track. Here you can see cars navigate the “corkscrew” turn on something less than 20″ tires and top speeds that won’t come close to the supersonic speeds of todays race cars, but at least you will be able to get a good look at these beautifully restored machines in action.
The main event of the week is the venerable Concours de Elegance at Pebble Beach. Come early and bring your blanket and a picnic lunch as it’s an all day affair. Of course if you’re lucky enough to have a connection to one of the car makers you can feast and drink at one of the many hospitality suites overlooking the festivities.Rolls Royce, of course, puts on one of the nicest spreads featuring fine Champaign and gourmet food for their guests.
All in all it’s a week to dream and watch these beautiful machines negotiate the narrow streets of Carmel and Pebble Beach and to people watch. If you want to come and stay for all of this you will need to book early as many people will book a home a year in advance just to insure they get a location they want.
By the end of the month peace will prevail and we will get our roads back but it will be a fitting way to wrap up the summer.