5:30AM Sharp was our departure time. A small group of us, only 4 cars total, made the trip from Newport Beach to Monterey the Thursday just before Monterey Car Week. Packing a McLaren 12C with luggage to support a party of 2 for a trip up north lasting 4 days is quite a testament to not only the storage capabilities of the 12C, but also the comfort that would allow both driver and passenger to endure hundred of miles in a ridiculously fast supercar.
We started the drive early to avoid any headache-enducing traffic that we all know and love about the Los Angeles area. Thankfully, as planned, we missed the stop-and-go traffic which provided the McLaren 12C with plenty of breathing room on the highways.
With only 4 12C's, there wasn't much traffic issues that we had to worry about. With open highways, good friends, a comfortable yet powerful ride, the drive up was quite enjoyable.
Even in dim low-light conditions, our photographer was sticking his upper-half out of the window since the morning gloom provided the perfect lighting for the brilliant McLaren paint to really shine. And when we got a few hundred miles into our journey, it was the early sun that really made the paint pop.
With a quick stop for breakfast in San Luis Obispo, we filled both our stomachs and the 12C tanks with much needed fuel. Even something simple as a parking lot for breakfast or gas station fill up invited most onlookers to whip out their phones and cameras and snap away.
From San Luis Obispo, we took the Coast Highway 1 up all the way to Monterey. Accompanying the clear skies were the fresh vegetation and picturesque views that most only would dream of driving a McLaren 12C on. It was then that we realized we were living most peoples fantasies.
A few stops here and there were taken to relax our minds from the endless curves and to give the cars a quick chance to cool down with the fresh sea breeze.
One our favorite stops was this dirt turnout that literally had a 500ft cliff that overlooked the endless Pacific Ocean. We'll let the pictures do the talking.
Although the stops were few and far between, we still were quite a ways away. The funny thing about miles is that they seem to disappear when having fun in relatively tame-behaving supercars with good respectful company. And before we knew it, we were at another stopping point to take in the fresh air and beautiful views.
Driving along these cliffs and taking the time to appreciate the views often don't exist simultaneously, so we hit the road. With only a few more miles to go, we were on our way to Monterey.
You know you've reached Monterey during Monterey Car Week when traffic literally starts up out of nowhere. From open twisty roads to clogged roads around town, the scene in Monterey was literally a Dupont Registry magazine in real life. Upon our first few miles, 1970's Porsche's to 1980's Ferrari's were littered everywhere in town. At last, we have arrived.
To view more pictures of our drive up north, visit our Flickr Gallery by click here -->
Drive Up Photo Gallery
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