| Re: ALMS at Long Beach Info |
Subject: Re: ALMS at Long Beach Info by bogus on 2012/4/15 23:36:47 Quote:
Stupid parking: It was really my fault for being late in ordering tix. I had no idea that the parking I was getting was nothing more than one long street with cards nosed in on both sides! At the same time, we were sharing space with all sorts of trucks and haulers. The Corvette Corral has the best parking around, no question. If you look at the map, it's right behind the front straight. This was, by far, a comedy if my errors and bad weather. I watched the entire race from home, after finding my camera without memory, the entire experience just fell out of favor... odd how that happens... toss in my aching back, and I was about done. Oh, and I didn't mention this, my stomach wasn't feeling all that sporty, either, so something had to give. As I said, a comedy of errors. Next year, I will be parking at the Corral on both days. No questions asked. And if Corvette isn't racing? I won't be going. I will still watch on TV, but I won't be going. At the same time, the Corral was still full on Friday and I am sure packed on Saturday. So the popularity is still there, in spades. From where I parked to where I had to get to enter the track was 1 mile. They did have shuttles for that part of the trip. I then went into the convention center and spent the next 3+ hours checking out the various sights and vendor displays. This was MOST EXCELLENT! LB State had their SAE project cars out, Motul was there, Maguier's wax, Tamiya, auto art/posters, car customizers, time attack sanctioning body, and other like vendors. Very good variety and quality. I wish the LA Auto show's aftermarket area was this varied and interesting. From the convention center to the paddock is what killed me... With the limited routes - having to go over the track in multiple places - it would have been another mile of hiking and by then, my back was toast. The map lays out my annoyance. Again, the road I was parked on was full of cars, parked very randomly, intermixed with haulers and such. The red line as a driving route is approximate, but could you imagine the traffic upon end of race? At least I can hang in the corral for a bit! The corral exit rocks, cause I can take surface streets. Also remember, just because the map says I can go somewhere, roads are closed and limited on race day. I don't know what all was really open or not. The memo to self is simple: Get Corral passes... lose weight so my back doesn't go out. I am not blaming any of this - save the outdated directions on the back of the parking pass - on the organization. They did fine... I just wasn't thrilled with some of the results and my own pleasure was dinged by a back back and no camera memory. It really sucks when you plan on taking a few hundred pics and realize you are without the tool to do it. That's a let down. |
