Recently, Concours Week came and went for the Monterey Bay Area.

Premiere events such as the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance never fail to grab the media spotlight, but the entire week is chock-full of a variety of events in the Monterey Bay area - all devoted to the love of things unique and automotive. I have to admit that, despite being a resident of the area, there is an event that has stayed completely off my radar... until now.

As such things go, the Seventh Annual Carmel Concours on the Avenue hasn't been around for long, but for me its going to become the highlight of the week.

A friend clue'd me in on it, and having been before he knew the smart way to see the show.

We first stopped by the parking lot in the Valley where a lot of the cars were being prepped, off-premises.

This gave us a chance to chat with the owners and hear some of the cars running as opposed to a static display.

From there, we drove into town and parked near the actual staging lane for the show.

This was the real treat. As dozens of cars arrived one or two at a time, they staged up into a 4-wide queue where, when arriving at the front of the line, were driven to their assigned spot on the closed-off streets of Carmel by a pair of volunteers riding one of what must have been dozens of golf carts commandeered for the occasion.

As I mentioned, this was the real treat of the show. Why? Because the cars were moving. With the owners inside and the motors running.

It completely changed the character of the event. I and others happily walked up and down the queue, chatting directly with the owners sitting behind the wheel of their unique rides.

Afterwards of course there was the outstanding show itself. This was my first time attending the Concours of the Avenue but I look forward to making it a staple of Car Week on the Monterey Bay.