We ended up at an unexpected oasis amongst the madness of Monterey Auto Week when we drove up into Monterra Woods to join friends at the Aston Martin Estate. They took over a beautiful house and filled it with a brilliant mix of lifestyle brands from Far Niente Wines and Louis Roederer Champagne, to Emanuel Andren’s Chocolates from Sweden… Vizio 3D tvs and CxC Driving Simulators, to Flexjet by Bombardier and Worth magazine… There was even a tailor, diamonds, non-alcoholic cocktails (test drives happening!), and of course Aston Martins ~ from the V12 Zagato and One-77 to Virage Coupés, Vantage S Roadster, and Rapide. They created a beautiful space with relaxing indoor and outdoor areas, and endless things to do. Favorite? While waiting for test drives, the garage had two 3-large-screen simulators with racing seats that throw you around almost as hard as a real F1 car. (Of course, had we planned a bit better ~ i’m sure test driving the Astons would have been the favorite!) All in all, there was so much to see and do, and it was the perfect way to get a feel for the lifestyle they imagine around the marque. There were even herds of deer and flocks of turkeys roaming nearby! Take a peek and explore the estate and details on the next page!

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Tags: aston martin - cars - driving - games - gifts - luxury - shopping - video game

We went offroading in the new Range Rover Evoque! I had no idea while wandering around between the beautiful cars on the golf course at The Quail that just behind the course is one of 4 Land Rover Driving Schools. It takes you straight up into the lush trees of Carmel as you twist and turn along their dirt track… occasionally with a camera man popping out as you round a corer ~ after all, this was fun test drive experience Range Rover set up for Quail visitors to experience what the Evoque can really do. The highlight? The glass roof is amazing! And when clean, the pictures and view you get through it are incredible! While having grown up in many SUVs, i must say the clearance in the front was a bit tough, particularly while trying to navigate their offroad course, but there are some UI details that are pretty interesting… take a peek on the next page at the mini-adventure and some Evoque details!

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Tags: cars - driving - travel

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Ok, so i just spent a week with a 2011 MercedesAMG C63 in my garage (yes, the BRIGHT mars red one)… and i forgot how much i LOVE driving. Sadly just had Mercedes come pick it up a few minutes ago… So, that combined with being asked to share some of my travel dreams for these Amex Membership Rewards posts… i had to show you the Mercedes AMG Driving Academy Winter Sporting classes… in Arjeplog, just 80km from the Arctic circle! The pictures are just stunning ~ definitely dreaming about doing these some day ~ though i can’t decide how i’d ever pick between driving and photographing! See it all on the next page!

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Tags: cars - driving - gifts - Mercedes-Benz - shopping - snow - travel

On weekend adventures ~ the timing couldn’t have been more perfect with the GoPro HD Hero and Bentley arriving at the same time. So, while cruising around, mounted the GoPro upside down suction cupped to the center ceiling console and took off. Tested out photo still mode (making pics like above!) as well as video mode for the majority of the drive… took about 40 minutes of driving and compressed it 20x into about 2 minutes. Ready to take a lightning fast tour from the tops of Malibu’s canyons down to the ocean, along pch, through the tunnel, on to the 10, to the 405, to Sunset and back around to Pacific Palisades? It’s a fun drive ~ pieces of many of my favorite roads in LA. Video on the next page ~ see it in HD even!

p.s. I left the audio unaltered ~ it sounded like a crazy video game…

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Tags: bentley - california - camera - cars - driving - los angeles - video

Between trips, i’m currently hiding out at Gleneagles in Scotland, before joining up with the Macallan on Monday… while here, i just ended up on a surprise of an epic one day road trip all over the highlands to go find Nessie… and the scenic drive, seeing so many towns and villages, lochs and locks, glens and munros, castles and churches, not to mention a run in with a flock of pheasants in the middle of the road, a lone stag running through a field, gorgeous rainbow (though it was no double rainbow), sheep and chickens and cows, oh my! I adore the lumpy bumpy rolling hills (don’t be fooled, they are HUGE mountains up close) really feel like they are covered in the lushest of carpets… It was the most incredibly eye opening journey to see so much of the gorgeous countryside ~ architecture ~ signage ~ and more ~ in a day! And Pat caught me up on much Scottish history, phrases, and stories, it was incredible to get lost in Scotland for a day! (Pat! It was amazing! Thank you so much!) So, while, i’ll show you nessie over here ~ firstly, take in some of the views on the next page!

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Tags: driving - macallan - roadtrip - scotland - travel

I showed you my dad's experience at the Mercedes AMG Driving Academy at the Laguna Seca track in Monterey... but as i went through his pictures, this carbon fiber wrapped Mercedes AMG SLS really deserved a post of its own. It's stunning! It's so overwhelmingly carbon fibered! Biggest downer for anyone lusting after it enough to try to purchase one, they aren't for sale, but i'm sure you can get someone to get it done for you, or even DIY it yourself if you're feeling handy. I can't seem to stop staring at the pics on the next page... see for yourself!

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Tags: carbon fiber - cars - driving - luxury - Mercedes-Benz - travel

I'm jealous. Above is a pic of what my dad just told me is the "US-Spec AMG SLS for us to play with on the drag strip, slalom course and time trials." So, while i was traveling, my dad (i blame my jetsetting inclination on him) took off to the Laguna Seca Raceway up in Monterey for the Mercedes AMG Driving Academy. He got to drive the brand new AMG SLS and was lucky to be one of the first to experience the new AMG Driving Academy launched in the USA. 16 cars were specially flown in from Germany to accompany the 20 full time cars availble for the course. Luminary driver/instructors included: Tommy Kendall (USA), Bernd Maylander (F1 pace car driver) and Susie Stoddart (Mercedes DTM team driver from Europe). Basically i came home to emails of his incredible adventure... from giddy stories about how mindblowing the drives were (teasing me how much fun i would have had going 160 around the track in one of those beauties) to tales of the chef grilling alongside the track for lunch to inside looks at the stunning carbon fiber drive shaft to the amazing friends he made on the trip and stories he heard... bottom line? The course was totally worth it, and he'd do it again in a heartbeat... in fact, there are 5 levels of courses happening around the US as well as Europe... i think he's caught the bug, since he's already dreaming about Sweden. I think i might have to try and convince him to take me along next time! But for now... i've convinced him to let me share his pictures with us ~ take a peek on the next page to see the experience!

p.s.
There is also the amazing carbon fiber wrapped car that looked amazing ~ pics to come of that one soon!

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Tags: california - cars - dad - driving - luxury - Mercedes-Benz - race - travel

Rumor has it i've been a bit of a workaholic the last few months, and lacking at indulging my inherent wanderlust... so today was supposed to be a quick drive up to SF from LA with dan, but one thing led to another and it became a spontaneous roadtrip/adventure - leading to everything from lunch in a danish town (solvang) - trying danish pancake balls (aebleskiver) - feeding ostriches and emus - a giant tree stump turned treehouse/pirateship on the side of the road in a tile/bricklaying yard - 1797 Mission San Miguel Arcangel - driving by Hearst Castle - seeing beaches filled with elephant seals - cruising up the coast through state parks on cliff hanging roads to big sur - stopping off to admire the view constantly - buying 99 cent chips for $1.79 (cliff view markup?) - seeing otters playing so far below they looked like tiny dots - sunset in Big Sur - martinis and dinner watching the sun fully disappear - and now i'm in Monterey Bay in a luscious king sized bed overlooking Cannery Row and the ocean as i try to get this post up as my photo excuse as to why the posting and editing was a bit quiet today.

Tomorrow ~ Monterey Bay Aquarium and then back to regularly scheduled working... but for now, catch up on the roadtrip in pics first (as well as a full map of where i've been and where i'm headed)?

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Tags: animals - california - driving - nature - ocean - roadtrip - travel