We are taking a tour group to America again this year in August. We will be flying into LA for a few days of fun and sight seeing before we head off to Plesanton CA for Hot Rod week and the Goodguys Hot Rod Nationals. There are a few spaces left, so read on for the full Itinerary. You won't want to miss out!.........

 USA TOUR AUGUST 2010

Here it is!  The Itinerary and pricing for our 2010 USA Tour.  As previously mentioned we are excited about what has been put together and we’re sure you will be as well. 

 

This is the luxury coach we have booked for our trip, plenty of room and comfort to ensure you get to relax in style.

  Day 1 – Thursday 19th August:  Depart AKL 5:15pm on Air New Zealand flight NZ6.  Arrive LAX 19^th August 10:30am.  Transfer via our Coach to the Hotel in Anaheim.  Once you have checked into your room hop on the A.R.T bus to Disneyland or take the short walk, spend some time looking around.  You can leave and come back to the Hotel for a swim and catch some sun, have an early dinner and head back to experience Disneyland at night.

 Day 2 – Friday 20th August:  We depart 8:30am for the Tour of Tom Malloy’s car collection/museum in Corona.  From Tom Malloy’s we travel north to the Nethercutt collection in Sylmar.  We will stop for lunch on route to Sylmar.  Today you get to see a fair amount of LA on our trip to Sylmar.  Leave Nethercutt’s collection 3:30pm - 4:00pm to Holiday Inn in Burbank.  Then at 6:30pm we leave for sightseeing of some of LA’s most renowned attractions, Sunset Blvd/Rodeo Drive/Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and more.  Then we head back to the hotel returning by 10:30pm.

 Day 3 – Saturday 21st August:  Today we depart Hotel at 8:30am for Universal Studios, to see the magic of Hollywood!  At 4:00pm the Coach will be waiting at Universal Studios to return you to the Hotel.  Note:  It is a very short trip, ten minutes max.  You will have a little time to shower and freshen up before we depart at 5:15pm.  Again the trip is short, less than 5 minutes.  This evening you will see three other collections with a couple of surprises that you will never forget!   The three shops are within 1/8 mile of each other.   Dinner tonight will be at our last stop.  We have arranged caters to make sure you are fed BBQ American Style with apple pie and ice cream.  There will be plenty of liquid refreshments provided.  The Coach will depart for the Hotel at 8:45pm.  For those of us who want to continue to enjoy the Hospitality of our hosts we can stay on and make the short walk back to the Hotel.

 Day 4 – Sunday 22nd August:  Rise and shine, it’s another 8:30am departure.  Today we farewell LA and head to Pleasanton.  On route we will stop for lunch and we already have the Restaurant booked.  Here we will be joined by a ‘REAL’ character, John Lawson.  After lunch John has agreed to show his magnificent collection of cars (100+) with the majority built by his team just for him!!  I had the pleasure of seeing his old shop in 2008 and I was blown away.  He now has a new 15,000 sq foot building to display his ‘toys’.  We depart Lawson’s to continue the trip to Pleasanton, ETA 5:30pm – 6:00pm.  Your home for the rest of the week is Four Points Sheraton in Pleasanton.  Once checked in, have dinner at your leisure.  The road trip on our Coach has hopefully given everyone time to rest up after the first three days and get ready for the week ahead.

 Day 5 – Monday 23rd August:  Monday 8:00am, be on the Coach.  It leaves 8:05am on the dot.  Today we join Hotrod week where we follow hundreds of cars to various points of interest.  See below for the Hotrod week itinerary.  7:00pm we have a group dinner at Eddie Papas restaurant, just a short stroll from the Hotel.

 Day 6 – Tuesday 24th August:  We depart the Hotel at 8:05am for day two of Hotrod week.  This evening you are free to have dinner at your leisure either at the Hotel or at any of the other Restaurants in the area.  We can help you with the options.

 Day 7 – Wednesday 25th August:  Same as previous day.  But, for the ladies if you want a day off this is the day.  The Hotel will take you to the Mall for free and pick you up.  Toni and Tania will be on hand to send you off in the right direction.  You can shop in the morning and lay by the pool in the afternoon.  This evening’s dinner is at your leisure.

 Day 8 – Thursday 26th August:  Final day of Hotrod week.  Again we depart the Hotel at 8.05am.  We miss the afternoon visits as we return to the Hotel for some rest and relaxation before a unique experience.  Today, we also farewell our Coach/driver as he has to return to LA.  At 4:30pm you will be collected from the Hotel in style and taken to San Francisco for some sightseeing before being dropped off in the heart of the tourist area.  Take a romantic dinner with your partner or in groups at one of the many restaurants.  Have a look around then we get back into our unique transport to take in some sites of San Francisco at night.  You will be back at the Hotel at 10:30pm - 11:00pm.

 Day 9 – Friday 27th August:  Now the new driver for the next two days is yours truly – JR!  For the next two days, I will transport you in groups of 15 at a time (along with 7 in the Hotel shuttle van) to the Alameda Country Fair Grounds for the Good-Guys West Coast Street Rod Nationals.  This year they moved the age category from 1957 to 1972.  This will see hundreds of muscle cars involved.  They regularly get 3500! cars to the event, hundreds of vendors and the displays are like nothing you would ever have seen outside the USA.  There is a swap meet, as well as cars for sale; you name it you will find it at this event.  Friday night’s dinner is at your leisure.                  

 

Alameda Fair Grounds 2009

Day 10 – Saturday 28th August:  Saturday is the same as Friday, except this evening we have a fare well group dinner.

Please Note: As well as transporting you to and from the fairgrounds we do two return trips during the day for those who just want to get back and relax beside the pool or go to the Mall.  The trick is to go early before the midday sun comes out.

Day 11 – Sunday 29th August:  Today we leave the Hotel at 10:30am for a day of sightseeing in and around San Francisco before being dropped at San Francisco Airport.  This evening you return home to New Zealand, arriving back into Auckland at 5:15am Tuesday 31^st August OR our travel agent can arrange an extension to your travel to any destination for you.  Tell us what you’re thinking and we will get Brent to call you.

There are limited spaces left, so If you are interested please contact Toni at admin@americarna.com or phone 06- 759 0027 for more information and pricing. 

Cheers

 John Rae & The Americarna Team

 

Hot Rod Week Itinerary

Monday 23 August – North Bay Area
Hot Rod Week 2010 starts off with a bang, heading to three of the North Bay area’s most treasured stops. We’ll start the day in historic Santa Rosa with visits to Fred Stoke’s Old Gas Station & Oil Can Collection and Vern Tardell’s “Flathead Ranch.” Opening Day will conclude at Steve & Glenda Castelli’s auto and memorabilia collection in scenic Healdsburg. It doesn’t get much better than this folks!

Tuesday 24 August – Sacramento Valley
Day two will head east to visit California’s Capitol City, long a hot bed for hot rodding, with stops at John White’s “Rams Head Auto Collection” –which features some of the rarest and most pristine Chrysler, Plymouth and Dodge automobiles you’ll ever see, So-Cal Speed Shop and the day’s final stop - the Taj Mahal for traditional hot rodders – Sacramento Vintage Ford!

Wednesday 25 August – South Bay Area
The Hot Rod Week tour moves to the Silicon Valley for day three with the first stop of the day at Larry Carter’s Car Collection featuring an eclectic blend of American and foreign autos. From there we’ll head deep into the Santa Cruz Mountains for a scenic drive and a stop at Canepa Design (home to some of the world’s most exotic race and sports cars) then back over the hill to San Jose for the day’s final stop at historic Goodie’s Speed Shop – former home to Lew Arrington’s Brutus Funny Car as well as the legendary “Jungle Jim” Liberman car.

Thursday 26 August – North Bay and Wine Country
Wrap up Hot Rod Week 2010 with a visit to Al Engel’s car collection in Richmond featuring a wide array of classic cars and some great memorabilia. Then it’s up to the beautiful Sonoma Valley to the B.R. Cohn Winery for a visit to the exclusive wine property (which holds weekly classic car shows) and a look at proprietor Bruce Cohn’s private vehicle collection. The final stop for Hot Rod Week 2010 will be at Robbie Azevedo’s Pacific Coast Customs in American Canyon for a look at what this hard charging young customizer and his team are working on!