California coast

California coast
Originally uploaded by eqdynamics.

I got a few good shots of the coastline along Highway 1

Hail fellow, well met!

Hail fellow, well met!
Originally uploaded by eqdynamics.

Sunday morning - throat still sore but feeling a bit better thanks to a mix of medicines so we decided to take a drive down the famous - and stunningly beautiful - Highway 1 south from Carmel toward Big Sur.

Stopped at Hurricane Point to take some photos of the coastline and who should pull in behind us but Steve Garran from the Denver Maserati crowd. We'd seen Steve a couple of times over the weekend - he'd driven his Lancia Scorpion (known as the Monte Carlo in Europe) from Denver to Monterey for the Lancia 100th Anniversary celebration at Concorso and was now on his way to L.A. for business next week.

It was the right time for lunch so we stopped at a place called Nepenthe that had been recommended. Situated on a promontory overlooking Big Sur the view from the dining terrace was magnificent. The food was ... OK.

Chat went on covering Bora rebuilds, the provenance of historic racing Maseratis and life in general ... till we realised how much time had passed. Steve needed to be on his way to L.A. and our plan to drive further south before heading across the mountains to pick up Hwy-25 north to Hollister had flown out the window so we hurriedly retraced our tracks to Monterey and joined the traffic heading out of the peninsula.

Four hours later we were back in Sacramento with just enough energy to eat an ordered-in pizza and crash into a warm and, for the first time in over a week, comfy bed.

"THE" Red Bora

"THE" Red Bora
Originally uploaded by eqdynamics.

Not even a concours entrant but the old girl got many an admiring glance nonetheless as she sat shining in the sunlight on the Concorso green.

More importantly, "my" red Bora (I've driven more miles in it than Paul has these past few years) got me safely around another 700 mile trip without incident or mishap.

Concorso Italiano

IMG_3725
Originally uploaded by eqdynamics.

Friday is, of course, Concorso day over the Monterey weekend and the show is bigger than it used to be when at Quail Lodge (which now holds its own, competing event)

Great to meet up with everyone again and see plenty of Maseratis standing on the greens - about half new cars.

We left the event around 4pm to get back for an hour's sleep before the TMC dinner at Tarpy's Roadhouse Grill ... an odd name for what turned out to be a very good restaurant in true California style.

I ate the buffalo!

Saturday was the turn of the MCI awards dinner which was again very pleasant - great to put faces to names I'd only spoken to over the Internet - Harry Garschagen and Elliot Siegel among others.

On Sunday, I had planned to go into Pebble Beach early (the crowds make it impossible to get near the place after about 8am - despite the public opening not being till 10) but a feverish sore throat and respiratory infection meant I stayed in bed until the medicine took effect :(

Reflected glory

Reflected glory
Originally uploaded by eqdynamics.

... or, come to that, this stunning Alfa Romeo

Otto Vu

IMG_3703
Originally uploaded by eqdynamics.

... though I'd have preferred to drive this home with me

a fabulous FIAT Otto Vu (literally, V8)

Envy

Envy
Originally uploaded by eqdynamics.

Looks like I got caught lusting after this OSCA MT4

Louise was extremely patient while I wandered among the cars, snapping photos, noting down chassis numbers and generally lusting after voluptuous bodies - luckily for Louise, all of the automotive kind!

Pebble grill

Pebble grill
Originally uploaded by eqdynamics.

Press credentials to the Pebble Beach Concours meant I just had to go - for the first time in about ten years.

Almost no Maserati interest (just a 4CLT and one OSCA among the entrants) but that didn't stop me from oogling a few of the cars.

Gus's place

Gus's place
Originally uploaded by eqdynamics.

It's good to have good friends. Especially when they go out of town each year just as you'd like to stay in their luxurious house which just happens to be conveniently positioned on a hill-side above the track at Laguna Seca - as the Historic Races are on!!

Not quite as it left the factory

Not quite as it left the factory
Originally uploaded by eqdynamics.

Jay's Quattroporte III engine bay - with just a few changes visible. The main one being the large, straight-cut-gears supercharger that help the venerable (and much internally modified) V8 push out a shade over 700BHP last time it was on a dyno.

I can attest that this car goes "quite well" for such a big old bus!! :)

To Monterey and the cars

Line up
Originally uploaded by eqdynamics.

After Sonoma it was time, on Wednesday, to drive south - stopping for just an hour in San Francisco at Fisherman's Wharf for old time's sake and for a quick burger lunch. The old Dehavilland Beaver seaplane we rode in a few years ago doesn't seem to be there any more. Shame :(

A quick dash to Pleasanton to meet up with Paul and Ellen at Jay & Bev Witham's house was followed by an even quicker dash down 101 to Gilroy and the "Pre-Monterey" party thrown by Don and Sandi Treadwell at their home.

An interesting group of friends, old and new, was assembled with some interesting cars. Check out the Maclaren CanAm car they had parked on their lawn!

The party went on late so it was very dark when I had to lead Paul and Jay out of Gilroy. Thank heaven for GPS ... but not for the Bora's headlights which are both as dim as a candle and point wildly heaven-ward! Not much use when you need to see where you're going along unlit country lanes!

At least once we reached 101 I could drop back and let Paul and Jay overtake - allowing me to follow their lights. About 20 minutes shy of our destination (Paul's friend Gus's empty house above Laguna Seca) Jay came to a sudden halt in front of me, clouds of smoke appearing from his (much modified) engine bay. The water-pump belt had snapped. Thankfully, AAA got there in record time and the only damage was the belt and a little lost coolant so the car was back on the road the following morning.