2011 Long Beach Grand Prix

Another year means more fun for us behind the scenes at the Long Beach Grand Prix. We were sporting our all-access “Hot Passes” that get us everywhere. Thanks a bunch to driver Pat Lindsey for hooking it up as always. It’s great being part of the team. Marla got a special treat this year and was one of the flag girls for the start of the race. Good times!

 

Assateague Island, Maryland

I took a trip out east this summer to visit my parents and we camped at this National Park just south of Ocean City Maryland. It was pretty neat seeing all of the wild horses that the park is known for along with it’s undisturbed miles of beachfront. If you’re into wildlife check it out. Camping At Assateague

A day at the Getty

This was my first time visiting the Getty as it seems most locals around here don’t ever make it. What a shame! First off, all it costs you for a full day of excitement is fifteen bucks for parking per car. We ended up going because Marla is taking a photography 101 class at SBCC and she heard about a photographic exhibit that was in for the week. I recommend starting your day off with the garden tour. Your guide will take you around the grounds and show you the magnificent gardens from an architectural perspective. Quite unique, and they even throw in a shortened version of the architecture tour which saves you about 45 minutes. Anyhow, here’s a picture I snapped at sunset. It was a truly inspirational day up there on the hill.

Long Beach Grand Prix

What a great weekend for autoracing down in Long Beach this past weekend. Marla and I were lucky enough to get all-access passes to the Long Beach Grand Prix from my client and friend John Horton at Horton Autosport. Even though the event didn’t turn out to be what he was looking for due to unfortunate mechanical malfunction on the Porsche it was a great race. Pat Lindsey, the driver for Horton Autosport, demonstrated his abilities by passing about 5 cars right off the start of the race. If the Porsche held through the race they were looking at 6th or 7th position.

Anyhow, thanks John. We had an amazing time. See some pictures below or view my mobile me gallery

Birthday bash on the slopes

Well, I’m quickly approaching my 28th and my folks came out to Cali for a visit last week. Me, my parents, my aunt from NY and my girlfriend rented a cabin down at Big Bear Mountain for the week. Big Bear’s about an hour east of LA. I went skiing for my first time and had a blast. The weather and conditions were great. It had been snowing up until the day we got there and it warmed up in to the fifties. So, on the smaller slopes I didn’t even need a jacket and just wore a hoody.

The first morning I took a beginner lesson and by mid-day I was going down intermediate hills. Day 2 we went to Snow Summit for half a day, and on day 3 I was going down Black Diamond trails with my father and aunt. He was literally shocked that I was going down that steep of terrain my first time out there. Anyhow, the experience was like no other and I’m hooked for life! Here’s some pictures:

Leon Stamatis and Marla Carver

I highly recommend skiing at big bear: www.bearmountain.com