March 18th, 2011
Driving down Highway 27 from Orlando, it soon becomes clear that somehing is going on. First you see a couple of Corvettes on the road, then a few Porsches. RVs are everywhere in this part of Florida anyway at this time of year but there is a definite concentration around Sebring this week.
It is expected that 100,000 people will descend on the town of Sebring for this weekends race, and 2 of them will be from Travel Destinations. Andy and myself (Richard) are here in the USA to meet with hotels, race officials and members of the media to add to our programme for this race.
This year is the first year that we are offering travel, ticket and accommodation offers for Sebring, but we hope that we will be able to offer more and more in the year’s to come.
We arrived in Sebring on Tuesday night, but come sunrise on Wednesday it was obvious we were in a special place. We are staying at the Majestic Cove Condos which are lakeside in downtown Sebring, just 10 minutes from the track. Having breakfast on the balcony watching the sunrise, it was difficult to justify why we live in London at this time of year. It is beautiful here.
The weather is hot. At the track temperatures have been near 30 degrees centigrade. This causes problems for drivers and spectators alike as there isn’t much shade at the track. There are some trees on the infield but they have been claimed by the first race fans to arrive at the circuit when the gates first opened.
The similarities between Sebring and Le Mans are everywhere.
February 7th, 2011
Wednesday 2nd February 2011
I woke up this morning to the strange collective sound of about 30 wild turkeys! Ugly things really but can’t help feeling sorry for them – Thanksgiving soon comes round.
I can’t believe how lucky I’ve been with the weather here and everybody I meet tells me so – apparently I should be wearing gloves and a hat instead of shorts and t-shirt. It gets a bit chilly at night though. At the Ranch there is absolutely no ambient light – they are very sensitive around here to uplighting, so there is an opportunity to star gaze in the true sense of the word – I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many stars. It’s a pity I don’t know my Orion from my Big Dipper!
Spanish Bay Golf Course
After a leisurely breakfast I decided to take a drive down into Carmel and a have a good nose around at the multi-million pound houses that look like they’d blow over in a small breeze, before going back to Carmel Valley Ranch for a guided tour. Although this place has a very nice golf course, they can’t compete with the courses down in pebble Beach – and at $500 a round at Pebble Beach who would want to?
So in order to make this facility more than just a golf course they offer various educational classes – cooking, bee-keeping, organic farming, guided tours as well as fitness classes and lesiure facilities. Sounds like Butlins? Believe me it’s far from it – shame I’m not staying longer.
H.
Thursday 3rd February 2011
Time to leave the Carmel Valley Ranch, it’s wildlife, tranquility (and fabulous infinity pool overlooking the links), and head to the other end of the scale – Laguna Seca Raceway. Set high up in the hills in a National Park, this track is like most race tracks when there is no event – pretty desolate – but the scenery and views up here are stunning.
Pacific Coast
I am really here in Monterey and Carmel for two reasons – the Pebble Beach Concourse and the racing events at the track such as the Moto GP and the American Le Mans Series. All good so far, so keep an eye on our website www.traveldestinations.co.uk to see whats happening.
After being driven round the track at a very ladylike pace by the lovely Jeannie, (which was a bit of a relief really as the corkscrew is a 10 storey drop!), I head back to Monterey for what I can only describe as the best steak I’ve had in along time. Can’t remeber the name of the place but will get back to you on that!
H
Saturday 6th Feb
Well my job here in Monterey and Carmel is pretty much done.
Travel Destinations are now able to get you here, book you a nice hotel, get you to the Pebble Beach Concours D’elegance and the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) at Laguna Seca.
Pacific Highway
But I couldn’t leave here without fulfilling my duty completely – after all, when you call the office to book, we need to be able to tell you about the area and what you can do here, so purely for ‘educational purposes’, I took a drive down the coast from Monterey to Big Sur. For some reason I always thought Big Sur was ‘surfers paradise’ – but is in fact walkers, hikers, twitchers, nature lovers and campers paradise. Needless to say I didn’t do any of those things, however just cruising along the coast I was extremely privileged to see a pair of Californian Condors, which I am led to believe are extremely rare, whales migrating south along the coast, sea otters, seals, sea-lions and a humming bird – all in one day. Just amazing to see all of these animals in their natural habitat. For some though their natural habitat is dwindling, so I also took a trip to the Monterey Aquarium which is highly educational and a wonderful opportunity to see many creatures of the deep close up.
I am now off to San Francisco for a few days holiday. I know, I know – it sounds like I’ve been on holiday all week!
Have a nice day now y’all and come back real soon.
H
