Friday, September 26, 2014

MRLS Trip - Part 1: The Journey to Monterey

This blog is about 3 weeks over-due.  I've decided I'm going to separate the blog from the trip into 3 basic parts to make it easier to write and organize.  Part 1 will be the trip to Monterey, part 2 will be the actual Miatas at MRLS event coverage and part 3 will be the trip home.  Part 3 was very eventful! I'll post low-res pics and phone shots here in the blog, and links to the high-res edited shots on my website.

Low-res pics from the journey are on this page below.  High-res landscapes from the trip are in my Landscape Gallery. High-res car shots and MRLS photos are in my Automotive Gallery.  I took over 700 photos over the course of the trip, so I'll slowly be editing and adding my favorites to the website as time permits.  


MRLS Part 1 - The Trip to Monterey, CA

I've known the guys from Flyin' Miata for a few years now.  They are very cool people, who are very good at making Miatas go very very fast (if you couldn't tell by the name). When the opportunity came up for me to go with them to the 2014 Miatas at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca event, I obviously jumped at the chance!  This year's event was special.  MRLS was celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Miata in true style, with a record breaking Miata gathering and the first public unveiling of the 2016 Miata.  I was obviously very excited.

The plan was: I would help drive one of Flyin Miata's high-performance cars to the event, work the Flyin' Miata booth while at the event, and drive the car back to Colorado when the event was over.  The FM crew would travel at least a day ahead of us, meeting us in Monterey the day before Miatas at MRLS started.

That may sound like a ton of boring roads and driving in a very tiny car, but let me explain something... I love road trips.  There is something very Zen about being behind the wheel of a performance car, watching the sun rise and set as the miles of asphalt roll past.  It's relaxing, and very enjoyable.... especially in a good car, and I was in luck. This was a VERY good car.

I have to be honest... before this trip, I was never a big fan of the NC Miata.  In my opinion it was like the chunky, un-athletic younger brother to the much lighter and no-nonsense NA and NB versions.  This particular NC is not your average Miata.  Nancy, as it is known in the FM fleet, is a 2006 Supercharged Miata used by Brandon Fitch and Zach Bowman in the 10th Anniversary Targa Newfoundland race.  At about 240 horsepower, it is no slouch. Not withstanding the outrageous racing vinyl livery on the outside, "Nancy" is primarily a pretty mild looking car, but underneath it sports a big list of Flyin' Miata witchcraft to make the car go faster and handle better.  And before anyone starts laughing at our misery for driving a race-prepped car on a cross country trip, let me mention that, beyond the roll bar and fire extinguishers, the interior is almost completely untouched from the stock trim.  Meaning we had air-conditioning, decent seats and a good stereo for the entire 1000 mile journey.

My co-pilot for the trip was Rick Barnes, a fellow Miata owner and FM compadre.  I didn't know Rick very well at the time, but I had talked to him at several events and knew his reputation of being an all-around good guy.  We set out on Wednesday morning at the very, very early time of 6:30 AM.  Ungodly early.  I am not a morning person.  No.... really. I don't do well before 10AM.  Mumbling and grunts sufficed as conversation until we hit our first stop, the Coffee & Donut shop.  Fueled up on caffeine and sugar, the morning was looking much better by the time we left!

Rick and I are both into photography, so I couldn't ask for a better person to road-trip with.  We took turns driving, stopping occasionally to take pics of the landscape and, of course, the car.  I've driven a lot, especially around the South East, but I've never driven to California before.  Visited there a few times, I even drove the PCH once in a crappy rental car, but never had the chance to drive there. I was a lot more excited about it than I should have been.  The scenery was breath-taking.  We made several photo-stops to take pics of the San Rafael Swell and Black Dragon canyon before finally coming to a stop for lunch at In-n-out burger.  

We drove on, only stopping to grab coffee and wi-fi to watch the live 2016 Miata unveiling on the i-pad.  Then, it was back on the road. The rest of day one was pretty uneventful, leaving us in Bakersfield to spend the night.

Day 2 took us through the long, flat valley of California.  It was hazy, dusty and honestly, a brutally boring drive.  We struggled to keep ourselves entertained, taking pictures of the Miata's reflection in truck hub-caps and tanker trailers.  Rick even found a disco CD.  Yes... I said disco.  Just when all hope was lost for keeping our sanity throughout the trip, we started seeing signs for the Estrella Warbird Museum.  This looked promising!  The Warbirds Museum was actually two museums in one: The Warbirds Museum and Woodland Auto Display.  This was a play ground of military memorabilia stretching all the way back to WWI, with tanks, armor, weapons and of course.... fighter jets.  Of course, I was transfixed with the F-14 Tomcat, icon of my youth.  The F-14 was showcased in everything from GIJoe to Robotech to Transformers to Top Gun.  I don't think I've ever seen one this close before.  The urge to photograph and document EVERYTHING took over!  I think Rick and I spent hours there!  The military memorabilia was slightly shabby, due to sitting out in the rough weather.  Exposed to the elements, it looked slightly faded, and much older than it probably was.  I think that made me love them even more.  The cars, on the other hand, were pristine.  The Woodland display was an interesting collection of vintage race cars and rare one-offs.  Every car had a history and a story, and some of the cars had real racing history and pedigree.  The staff was very friendly, knowledgeable, and patient with our need to photograph it all.  This was a lucky find indeed.

Even with our loitering at the Museum, we still hit Monterey fairly early.  Once checked into our little hotel, the Otter Inn (affectionately known by us as "The Seagull Inn" due to the seagull population on the roof), Rick and I took off to see some of the local sites.  Rick was a California native before moving to Colorado, and turned out to be an excellent guide for our little walk down to the sea.  We were within walking distance of the famed Cannery Row, once home to one of the biggest fishing and canning operations in the US.  The coast line contained an odd mix of ruined, abandoned cannery buildings, empty piers and jutting concrete being slowly eaten away by the tide. All this felt unusually at home next to the high-end restaurants, tourist traps and beautiful coastline.  It was some of my favorite things about California, all rolled into one little spot.

The highlight of our first day in Monterey Bay, was a complete surprise.  While walking on the docks, we found a very clever sea lion who had some how managed to push his way up past the barriers and on the docks.  He was very leisurely sunning himself, until we interrupted him.  I've seen sea lions in aquariums, at the zoo, and in pictures, but never this close, and never in the wild.  So, of course, I had to get a picture! Not wanting to be featured on the next episode of "Animals Attack!", I quietly slipped onto the walkway directly above the lounging sea lion and leaned over the railing to get a better shot.  I think this annoyed Mr. Sea Lion, because he decided that would be the perfect time to start baying VERY loudly in my direction.  To Rick's delight, I jumped and almost dropped my phone.  I think the sea lion was very proud of himself, because he then sat straight up, posing for a  few shots with my phone before we decided to leave him be.

After some sight-seeing, we met up with some of the FM staff for dinner and planned our Friday. Friday was the first day of the Miatas at MRLS event, and the hopefully record-breaking Miata gathering!

Stay tuned for Part 2!


Fueling up before the trip.
The San Rafael Swell view from Nancy.
Nancy- the 2006 supercharged NC Miata we were driving for this trip.
Myself and co-driver Rick.
Photo pit-stops were a must on this trip!
This trip was educational too!
Utah was strikingly beautiful in places.
Lunch!
The view from the passenger seat.
Trying to photo the car's reflection was good fun for a while.
Into the sunset.
Early Thursday start.
Artillery at the Estrella Warbird Museum.
Just some of the history at the Woodland car display at Estrella.
BBQ was needed.... this photo, probably not.
The always interesting Otter Inn.
Just outside Cannery Row in Monterey Bay.
My new sea lion friend.
The Bay at Monterey.
The Bay at Monterey.
It took me at least 6 tries to time this shot with my phone.
The Cannery Row memorial monument.
25th Anniversary Mazda Miata.
Ocean View.
Because no trip is complete without at least one bad selfie!
Greatest restaurant sign ever.

No comments:

Post a Comment