MAZDA RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA

Petrol-head day today as we spent the morning enjoying the sights and sounds of the racetrack at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca circuit for the 2014 SCCA National Championship Runoffs.  The other half is beside himself and doesn’t know where to point his lens first.  It’s wall to wall cars, monster trucks and frog dogs (no frogs were killed in the making of this hot doggy snack). 

Racing delayed due to fog

Some of the competitor cars

One of my favourites

Despite the foggy start to the day (yes, you guessed – another pea souper), we walked the track, drank beer and patiently waited for racing to begin.  Eventually the fog lifted and the roar of engines filled the air.  It was all very exciting.

Racing finally starts

You'd never think it was the same day

To make up for yesterday’s lost grockle time in Monterey, we split our day between the circuit and sightseeing so back to the hotel after lunch for a quick change into tourist mode.

Monterey is a beautiful town located at one end of a large horseshoe shaped bay, Santa Cruz being at the other end.  There’s a main street (Alvarado) lined with an assortment of shops and restaurants leading down to the harbour. 

Golden State Theatre - Alvarado Street

Monterey harbour

The harbour area is where most of the tourist attractions appear to be centred, beginning at the Fisherman’s Wharf and ending with the aquarium at the bottom of Cannery Row made famous in the John Steinbeck novel of the same name.

Fisherman's Wharf

Cannery Row

It’s a place that is teeming with wildlife.  From the harbour footpath we spotted seals, pelicans, cormorants, white egrets, sea otters and the infamous (fishy smelling and very noisy) sea-lions that live at the end of Coast Guard Wharf.

Pelican preening

40 winks

Sea-lions at the end of Coast Guard Wharf

We’ve signed up to a whale watching trip tomorrow morning so that should be fun.