After going to these events since the early '90s, I've learned to plan ahead.
Each year, the planning begins in January -- rates are cheapest then.
The weekend gets substantially more expensive as the August date draws nearer. This is nothing new, and has been the case for years.
While I do bring my Italian cars, and show them at the Concorso Italiano, I mostly enjoy walking around both at the show and around Monterey and see/hear/smell all sorts of bella macchina's cruisin' around. So, in my book, it's worth the price to stay in Monterey, Pacific Grove, or Carmel even though it's more pricey than Salinas.
You simply don't run into a Ferrari 250 GTO parallel parked on the street, behind a Pantera, a few blocks away from several 2600 Spiders in Salinas
The auctions are fun to attend too ... people get really emotional at these events. Since I don't watch much soap opera, it's fills my quota for the year and it's car related!
