Haven't been to this show in quite a while, maybe, ten years? This edition wasn't as good as some I've been to . . . but good enough. It's always a good idea to get to this show early. Although there aren't a lot of cars or ground to cover, the field is small and the place gets busy --- as in packed --- so that, after 9 or 10:00, its pretty tough to get decent pictures.
Also, its almost impossible for me to absorb all the details in just a few hours, even on cars I'm not all that familiar with . . . or even fond of. I'm the Guy Who Reads All the Captions in the Museum, so Pebble is hugely frustrating that way. Some cars have full-on 2000-word detailed accounts, with placards and photos, pictures of the restoration, while others have only a small entrant card . . . . written in hung-over.
Plus --- all the details: emblems and hinges and swatches of fabric and leather and curves of bodywork and colors and textures and . . . Fat Guy in Trench-coat who blocks all my pictures!!! Frustrating.
And, of course, $8 for a bottle of water. Do I look 'special'? You'd think, for $150 --- and no program (they ran out) ---at least I could get a happy ending. No.
Last time I attended, I was there (somewhat bright but definitely early) at 6:30 am, for car placement. The rules require that every entrant get out on the green on their own power (that's the car only --- owners can be pushed, or, sometimes, dragged), and so, for me, anyway . . . . hearing some of these motors running (even if its only a few hundred yards) and seeing some of these car actually move is a huge bonus. It just means an early start on a Sunday morning . . . after a long night in Monterey. We got there at ~9:30, pretty much in the middle of things. Photos were tough, so . . . I suck.
The venue's basically the same except the Organizer's have made some changes and added a gauntlet of tent/pavilions as you enter the grounds. There was a vintage motor-cycle auction house/vendor as well as a Retromobile-type vendors pavilion (clothes, posters, services, art-work -- small area, utterly packed), right as I came in from the parking areas. There were also some manufacturers with small dealership-showroom-style areas set up ---- Porsche, Lexus, SAAB, and, most prominently, Cadillac.
Weather was typical --- starts out cold, dreary, almost misty, then the sun comes out . . . . and its just beautiful. I've never heard of rain at this event. Tickets were $125 on-line, $150 at the gate.
And they ran out of frickin' programs! . . . @%&$#
Rick Kreiskott