It comes with no surprise that the only way to kick off Monterey Car Week is to take a lovely evening stroll through the Monterey Jet Center, where a private hangar evolves into a picturesque venue for some of the world’s most exclusive and renowned cars to be displayed.

Previously, I’d never been able to actually attend this event due to conflicting work obligations. I’ve typically found myself indulging in the event’s highlights covered by various friends who would post to social media. But not this year.

Private jets, fancy catered food, and a first the look at ‘VIP’ cars that would be found throughout other Monterey Car Week events – it was enough of an incentive for me to make arrangements to finally attend the gala. And of course, I wanted to be able to share the experience with you all as well.

Fancy attire buttoned up, we set forth into the venue, only to be greeted by an astronomical amount of people. I immediately knew that it was going to be a bit of a struggle to get proper compositions for photos of the cars in attendance.

Constraints aside, the gala’s start time was at peak golden hour, so I tried to make do with the situation at hand and proceeded to crawl under people, subtly shove people, and even tell people to move.

Maybe I was a bit harsh on them, but to be honest, I think I was one of only a few people actually there to see the cars. But I won’t go off on that tangent…

As the evening progressed, I made way around the outskirts of the venue, taking advantage of each and every chance to get decent shots of the epic cars scattered around.

I will admit, the diversity at this Monterey Car Week kick-off event was a major highlight for me. There’s nothing more important than being able to display every spectrum of the automotive culture at a show, and it’s safe to say that McCall’s did this quite well at their gala. Everything from supercars, to resto-mods, concours-level restorations, and even motorcycles were in attendance.

But let’s not forget the main characteristic that makes this event as special as it is – the private jets.

As the sun finally set and the lights came on, we made our way into the hanger to further discover some seriously cool machinery.

One of my favorites was a sleek sled-looking thing; I wish I had the chance to meet the owner to further discuss the basis of the car, but I believe he was in the roped-off VIP area, busy indulging in bottomless glasses of champagne. Surely I wouldn’t dare interrupt that type of scheduling (a joke for those who didn’t catch that), and there were other cars to drool over anyway.

Needless to say, the Jet Center Gala by Gordon McCall was an interesting event. The cars, planes, and motorcycles were truly out of the ordinary, and the venue and entertainment was just as epic. I was pretty stoked to finally attend an event I’ve admired seeing coverage of every year, and it did not disappoint. Perhaps it really is the best way to start of Monterey Car Week…

On that note, Trevor and I will be bringing you guys a lot more coverage of the events that took place throughout the week here very soon, so stay tuned.

Naveed Yousufzai
Instagram: eatwithnaveed