As difficult as it is to believe, not everyone in this city loves the musical lilt of screaming high-performance engines on Grand Prix weekend. There are those among us who turn up their noses at the sweet bouquet of an 85% ethanol fuel blend peppered with the perfume of burning rubber.
They have marked their calendars for Race Weekend not so much as to be prepared to don their orange Chip Ganassi Racing caps and get ready to scream for driver Scott Dixon, but, rather, to be on time for the shuttle bus to quietly sneak out of town for a day of shopping or art, beauty and tranquility.
It’s not a loudly advertised fact that during every Grand Prix Saturday and Sunday, the race organization, by agreement with the city, provides an escape by way of day trips to out-of-town attractions for certain residents of the city—those who reside in about a half-dozen older apartment buildings near the track that have been in existence since 1975, the event’s inaugural year of racket-making on the streets of Long Beach.
This year, track-dodgers will be shuttled to the Outlets in San Clemente on Saturday to shop at H&M, Lululemon, Nike, Cole Haan and more than 50 other shops and restaurants, and on Sunday, the shuttle goes to the Getty Villa Museum in Pacific Palisades, where those abandoning the roar of the race will find peace, tranquility and beauty while roaming the museum’s gardens and colonnaded walkways enjoying Greek and Roman antiquities. If there’s such a thing as the opposite of Grand Prix racing, a day at the Getty Villas is probably it.
Every year, about 30 to 40 residents avail themselves of the escape route, says Grand Prix spokesman Chris Esslinger.
The Grand Prix offices send notices of the getaway to the managers of the eligible buildings, which include such long-standing complexes as the Sovereign and Blackstone apartments on West Ocean Boulevard, and the Long Beach Towers and International Tower on East Ocean. Residents can sign up and be informed of where the shuttle will pick them up at around 9 a.m. both days, with returns around 5:30 when things have simmered down a bit.
In addition to the free transportation, participants are given $10 to handle their lunch expenses.
