Countdown to SCCA's Crows Landing Pro-Solo (April 24-26, 2015)...
And to dovetail onto the preceding 5toGo for the Crows Landing Championship Tour, yes, Virginia... someone named Crow actually landed here back in the California Gold Rush days, had a few sons, bought a few (thousand) acres, made a few bucks, and got a tiny town named after him. The little burg has one major intersection and other than that, it鈥檚 a path normally taken to get anywhere else. Fortunately, the US Navy found the place, liked the flatness of it, and in 1942 built an Auxiliary Air Station to assist their main facility near San Francisco about 80 miles to the west With the base decommissioned with non-use, we鈥檝e autocrossed here off and on for the past two decades and I can tell you that you won鈥檛 find grippier concrete, uber-long runways, and fast, flowing Solo courses within a days drive of this place. Seriously you autocrossers, it鈥檚 THAT GOOD!! But enough about courses and cones. If you鈥檙e coming for the Tour the week before, definitely stay for the Pro. And while the neighboring towns and cities are nice, if you drive a couple hours or so to the north, east, or west, you鈥檒l find some a whole lot nicer.
If your non-solo family is tired about another weekend standing around in hot, dusty/rainy/sleety/snowy (take your pick) plots of concrete, then arrive a couple days early and treat them to some cool neighboring areas that aren鈥檛 infested with orange cones. Close to Modesto are Yosemite (about two hours drive east), San Francisco (due west about 90 minutes away), Napa (to the north), and Monterey (about two hours south and west drive time); all are worth visiting if you鈥檝e never been there before.
Living on the Monterey Peninsula has it鈥檚 perks and what鈥檚 unfortunate is I take a lot of what鈥檚 around me for granted. The Monterey Aquarium and Monterey Wharf are tourist-friendly and if you love gorgeous scenery with spectacular multi-million dollar views with awesome real estate that see them, take a side trip to Pebble Beach and drive Seventeen-Mile Drive. You can finish your day with a trip into Carmel and then walk about Ocean Avenue and shop 鈥榯il you drop. And if you really want more car action, enjoy a meal at Baja Cantina or Turn 12 (both famous for everything and anything automobile and racing) for good nosh and great ambiance. And there鈥檚 always Laguna Seca Raceway a mere 15 miles inland.
San Francisco has the Ghirardelli Square, the SF Wharf, Union Square, Chinatown, and if you plan ahead and book tickets early enough, Alcatraz. All are sight-see worthy and make sure you take in some of the culinary awesomeness that the City is known for. Ride the Trolley and do a Rock Star Recon in the twisties of Lombard Street. Make San Francisco a day teaser so you鈥檒l want to return for a 鈥渞eal鈥� vacation later.
And as for Yosemite... whether you stay behind the wheel or park and then hike, the area that鈥檚 a hunk of rocks, trees, waterfalls, and just plain WOW is a must-see if you鈥檝e never been there. Make a day of it and include a drive up Ebbetts Pass. Bring your hiking gear and camera, too.
Oh yes... back to the Pro. Get your entries sent and reserve your hotel rooms early as lodging in the nearby towns fills up fast (note: the Best Western in Patterson is pretty much "apre-Pro Solo Central" for those not staying on site). Pack your bags for warm but not overly scorching hot temperatures the Valley summers are known for and bring comfy shoes for your miles and miles of course walk. The battles will be epic and I鈥檓 predicting that class wins won鈥檛 be settled until the last run is made. And as for those courses, I鈥檝e been told that if you liked what you ran last year, you鈥檒l love what鈥檚 coming this April. So get your entries in, accommodations set, and plan for the Pro... and the week in between.