The tour started with a trip to Zachary's Pizza in Berkeley. We ordered a Chicken Special deep dish pizza (with chicken, basil, mushrooms) that we split between the two of us. Three slices each led to an extreme feeling of full-ness.
After the filling lunch, we hit up the UC Berkeley Campus for an informal tour since Grant had not been back since graduation. We saw many of the main sights, including the (under construction) Memorial stadium and the (pictured) Campanile. Grant also did a bit of shopping to pick up some goods from the campus store in order to show off his school pride.
On sunday, we headed to Monterey, CA for a trip to the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to watch the 2011 US MotoGP race.
The famous "Corkscrew" (aka Turn 8). Pretty impressive to see in person I must say. One day, I hope to ride a car (or motorcycle) 'round here.
After watching a really cool electric motorcycle race, where the bikes flew swiftly and silently around the track, we (Grant, Brian and I) checked out some of the vendor tents setup near the track. I love carbon fiber. But, in this case, I'm not allowed to touch it.
They briefly opened up sections of the track for spectators to walk across. Here, we took a stroll across the straightaway leading into Turn 4. Our seats for the race were actually located in the grandstands you see in the background.
And they're off! The riders head into Turn 4 as quickly as they can during the first lap of the MotoGP race. We brought earplugs to the track because those MotoGP motorcycle engines produce an obscenely loud sound. Sweet, but eardrum shattering.
By the later stages of the race, it became a two-rider battle between Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo (pictured in the lead here) and Honda's Casey Stoner. In the last few laps, Stoner's superior speed finally allowed him to overtake Lorenzo and win the 2011 US MotoGP race. Impressive victory for Stoner as Lorenzo had led the majority of the laps after starting on pole.
In case you want to see a little piece of the action, here's a brief video of the MotoGP bikes flying out of Turn 4 and disappearing around Turn 5. These bikes are technological marvels and the riders are superhuman. Simply amazing stuff. Click the image above and it should bring up the video in a new window.
Thanks for dropping by for the weekend Grant. We may just have to make this MotoCP race an annual event...
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