The 2007 U.S. MotoGP Grand Prix

Part I - Sightseeing in Monterey, CA

July 20th, 2007

Back in November, the fine folks at Tissot invited me to attend the final NASCAR race of the year in Miami (you can read about that adventure by clicking HERE).  This year Tissot invited me to attend another racing event - this time in association with their sponsorship of MotoGP.  This year the only MotoGP race being run in the US (MotoGP is primarily European sport) is at Laguna Seca in Monterey California - which just happens to be my favorite US race track, in one of my favorite cities in the world.  Needless to say the invitation from Tissot was enthusiastically accepted!

I flew out on Thursday night, with the intention of having all day Friday to do some sightseeing and maybe even time for a round at Pebble Beach.  Unfortunately, after a six hour delay into Denver, and a cancelled flight into Monterey, I was forced to re-route into San Jose and drive into Monterey mid-morning.  The Denver airport is giving O'Hare serious competition for the top spot on my list of worst airports.  The cancellation and re-route was unfortunate, but the morning drive south from San Jose toward L.A. on 101 to CA 1 was quite enjoyable - despite the Ford Taurus I was forced to endure by Hertz <shudder>.

My first stop after the hour drive to Monterey was to check in to my hotel - the Cypress Gardens Inn just on the outskirts of downtown Monterey.  My villa was comfortable, with a nice view of the garden and pool:

The hot tub came in quite handy as it was nice to rinse off there after a long day at the track - Laguna Seca gets quite dusty.

After unpacking, I was off to Pebble Beach - just about 10 minutes up CA-68, and then to 17-Mile Drive.  Here's The lodge at Pebble Beach - when I drove up it was like seeing  an old friend:

The practice green:

The Rolex clock on the practice green:

Here's some shots from the course:

The green at the 17th:

The tee at the 18th:

After an as always enjoyable time at Pebble Beach, I headed to nearby Carmel:

  Carmel not only has the best restaurants in Monterey area, it also has some of the best beaches:

After a nice walk on the beach, I picked up my media credentials, parking passes, and VIP tent passes for the weekend:

I then decided to head out to Laguna Seca - I needed to stop by the media tent and get some details worked out, and I wanted to make contact with the guys from Tissot.  

On my way to the vendor's area where the Tissot tent was located, I spotted the world famous Skip Barber Racing school in the Racing Paddock:

Skip has some good taste in the cars he uses at his school:

Speaking of BMW, BMW Motorsport had a very nice display in the in field at Laguna:

After I spoke with the folks from Tissot, we made some 8pm dinner plans (Europeans tend to dine a bit later than we do here in the States).  That meant I had just enough time to head over to another local attraction I had wanted to visit this weekend - The Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Having been to the Newport Aquariums just last weekend (click HERE to read about that) it was interesting to compare the two.  The experience was surprisingly comparable - Monterey has more otters, and Newport has more sharks.  The back of the Aquarium opens up to a beautiful outdoor observation area - ideal for whale spotting:

I didn't spot any whales, but I did see some seals that were sunning themselves on the rocks:

Here's a shot of a mother otter on her back holding her newborn pup:

Inside the Aquarium was quite dark and not conducive to photography, but I did get a couple of shots. Here's an otter swimming in the tank:

I'm not sure if this was a crab or a lobster, but I'm sure dipped in butter it wouldn't matter....

Jellyfish:

I was pleasantly surprised to find a display of work from what is perhaps my favorite contemporary artist, Dale Chihuly:

After an enjoyable tour of the Aquarium I ran back to my hotel so I could shower, dress, and meet up with Tissot brand President Olivier Cosandier and his associates for dinner.  They had discovered a fantastic little Italian restaurant a short walk from the hotel last year - the service was slow, but the penne pasta and meatballs was worth the wait.  After a very enjoyable meal and great dinner conversation, it was back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.  The next two days at the track would be full of activity!

 *All text and images contained in this review are the original work of the author, John B. Holbrook, II and are copyright protected. Use of any of the information or images without the permission of the author is prohibited.

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