Before I even heard what our theme for January would be, I had been itching to get out to another Cars & Coffee event.
I had been long over due for a trip down to Irvine on a Saturday morning, but would I be able to show this fantastic event from a new "behind the scenes" perspective? Let's find out.
Instead of just showing the automobiles that come out to Cars & Coffee, I thought I would try to show what it's like to be there.
As with any trip to Cars & Coffee, this one started off early – I fired up the Mustang and rolled out of my driveway around 5:45 am. Yes it can be tough to wake up this early on a Saturday morning, but once you are up – it's a good feeling. The rare chance to roll down the deserted streets of LA and Orange county is always nice.
On the smooth flowing early morning freeways, I was able to get down in Irvine in less than a hour. I tell you, there's something peaceful about driving alone on a (mostly) empty freeway before dawn with some good tunes coming out of the speakers.
As daylight began to break, I hopped off the 405 at Irvine Center Drive and made my way down the street to Mazda's North American Headquarters.
It's pretty awesome that Mazda is willing to open its parking lot to thousands of car enthusiasts every Saturday. A great way to support the automotive hobby.
Since it was still early, I figured I'd roll in and find a spot near the back of the lot.
It was a little after 6:30, and the lot was still pretty empty. How would the day's turnout be?
Some of the more dedicated folks were already there, holding on to their valuable parking lot real estate.
As I walked around, cars were continually rolling into the parking lot. Ones of all ages, shapes, and nationalities.
The early riser crowd was already assembled in a prime spot to watch the cars roll in.
As I sat in the cold and watched the cars cruise into the lot, I noticed quite a few of Ferraris heading in – like this black Enzo.
It turns out that Ferrari was the day's featured marque. That would be sure to draw a good crowd.
ZR1…awesome!
The machinery continues to roll in. Here a GT3 leads in a couple of Mustangs.
By 7:00 or so, the lot was getting full and the people were out in numbers.
The turnout seemed even bigger than usual. I'm sure it was the dry weather that brought everyone out after a few weeks of big rain storms.
Some folks prefer to join in with their two-wheeled forms of transportation.
If you visit Cars & Coffee, you'll probably notice all the dogs you'll see sniffing the automobiles – and other dogs. Canines & Coffee?
You might be wondering where exactly the coffee fits in? Well, here's the line for a hot cup.
It's definitely cool to see people bring their little ones out to enjoy the cars. Whenever I have children, places like this will be a regular stop.
I began to lose track of time as I walked around checking out the cars, and before I knew it was already 8:30. People were starting to head home.
Of course one of the funnest parts about going to Cars & Coffee is watching the cars leave. These folks would certainly agree.
Irvine PD takes up a post outside though, so don't plan on smoking the tires or doing anything silly unless you want a run-in with Johhny Law. Everyone keeps it civil and mature.
After spending some time watching the cars roll out, it was time to call it a morning. Before 9:00am had even rolled around, Cars & Coffee had pretty much wrapped up for another week.
For me it was back into my car with the heater working hard…
…and back on to the freeway to head home.
Once you get back home comes the hard part – deciding whether to do something productive the rest of the day, or take a long nap…
I'll be back soon with a more traditional look at last week's Cars & Coffee and the cool cars that came out.
-Mike Garrett