exotic car festival 2010,celebration,FL....been there

Florida has beautiful weather, sunny and warm ..so say the Americans..well, coming from India, I've seen enough of sun and warmth and did not really look fwd for that weather..but..wait a minute..good weather means everybody will want to live in Florida..meaning rich guys too..meaning  exotic cars too...aah..see, now you know where I'm headed..all this while, I was trying to see why I should be going to Florida and here I just found the reason..and just then with a weird stroke of luck, i saw some post about a certain car show happening in a town called Celebration in Florida. the show is called Exotic car festival 

saw some videos on youtube and i knew it.I had to go. this place is a cool 5 hrs drive away from where i stay. 

Now since I had no intention to go anywhere else in Florida, I decided that the most sensible thing to do will be to drive out early in the morning like 4 am and reach destination by 9.30 am. show was to start by 10.00am.

 As planned , i did leave at 4 am. multiple stops for fuel, breakfast, coffee, energy drink etc later, i finally reached Celebration,FL. as soon s i took the exit towards Celebration i realized there was something different about this place. the whole town looks different. a lil magical if i can say. it looks like a movie set. the entire town has this luxury and richness feel to it. very unlike any town/city I've ever seen in US. on reading, I understand that this town is developed by The Walt Disney company. So that explains the magical fairyland touch to the town. 
I drove all around town and found myself a parking spot and walked to the venue. most of the cars passing by are exotics of one kind or the other. Custom Range Rovers, AMG mercs,  BMW M's  are dime a dozen. matter of fact even the current gen muscle cars stay away from this place coz the competition is an all out european assualt so to say.  i was flabbergasted at the sight that i saw. long lines of ferrari's. the kind we'd go gaga over when we spot it on indian roads. why even in US its a rarity. this event is only a congregation of these rare cars. 

i reckon there could've easily been around 200 ferrari's in and around that event. now all these cars belong to either owners, dealers or auction houses and sadly, these cars spend most of their times idle. on shows like these or in their temperature controlled garages. the miles that these cars ever put on are the ones while driving into or out of a trailer. 

the Bugatti Veyrons were a sight to behold. they are some of the rarest examples ever made. the chrome and blue variant is the pur sang bleu version and was bought for 2.9mn $ !! yupp..thats what its worth.  and guess what,both the bugattis in the pic are owned by the same guy.wow. there was another Veyron in another part of the show and that was owned by yet another super billionaire. 

Now, ferrari had arranged a drive for all Ferrari challenge series cars at a racetrack called Sebring Speedway. those cars were displayed too. interesting to see was a ferrari 360 challenge with Force India Decals !! on close look it was an Indian who owned and raced it. the name India is flying high eh.
Also of particular interest was the 2004 Ferrari F1 car which belonged to one of the super rich collectors.
after seeing the entire line up, drove out of there by around 3 pm to reach home 6 hrs later. 


mindblowing show this one and I for once , did not mind the long drive. 

the pix in the below slideshow are a must watch.

discussions @
http://gearheads.in/super-cars-section/exotic-car-festival-celebration-t1676.html
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/international-automotive-scene/79849-exotic-car-festival-2010-celebration-fl.html

Incline Railways,Chattanooga,TN

The Lookout Mountain Incline Railway is an inclined plane railway located along the side of Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in the United States. Passengers are transported from St. Elmo's Station at the base, to Point Park at the mountain summit, which overlooks the city and the Tennessee River. The railway is approximately one mile in length. it is single track except for a short two-track stretch at the midway point, allowing operation of two cars at one time, and has a maximum grade of 72.7%. It is billed as the world's steepest passenger railway.



watch the photo slideshow below

Ruby Falls,Chattanooga,TN

Ruby Falls is a 145-foot high underground waterfall located within Lookout Mountain, near Rock City and Chattanooga, Tennessee in the United States.
 Ruby Falls Cave features many of the more well-known types of cave formations including stalactites and stalagmites, columns, drapery, and flowstone The Falls are located at the end of the main passage of Ruby Falls Cave, in a large vertical shaft. The stream, 1120 feet underground, is fed both by rainwater and natural springs. It collects in a pool in the cave floor and then continues through the mountain until finally joining the Tennessee River at the base of Lookout Mountain.
wikipedia told me all of the above.I did not know this at all LOL

 

pics @

SeaQuarium, Miami,FL

had a whale of a time and I mean it literally. where else can you see a whale dance to the tune .














pix @

The Mysterious Coral Castle,Miami,FL

About 30 miles south of Miami, Florida, in a town called Homestead, lies an unusual—some would say impossible—structure, composed of coral rock. Called the Coral Castle, it has a colorful past.  It was the life's work of a reclusive Latvian immigrant named Edward Leedskalnin, who built the complex after being jilted by his sixteen-year-old sweetheart on their wedding day.

source: livescience

Universal Studios,Orlando,FL

This theme park is mind blowing.







pix @