Planning our August trip to the USA back in March I wondered why I had trouble reserving a room for 1 night in the Carmel/Monterey area w/e of 14/15 Aug and why it was so expensive -but I went ahead and did it anyway. Becoming an avid reader of this board recently I have now discovered why!(Historic Car Rally) How bad is it going to be? Will there be no pleasure to be had for a family with 2 girls aged 11 and 13 in all the crowds? Would you recommend a detour? (The night before will be spent in Cambria and after 1 night in Monterey we travel on to Yosemite). Or, since we're travelling from the UK and won't get the chance to visit again in the near future shall we just go anyway?
Any opinions? Thanks.

While it will be a very busy weekend in August I don't think you will have any real problem with the crowds.On Saturday most people will be out at Laguna Seca Race Track watching the Historic Automobile races.So actual sightseeing in Monterey/Carmel won't be all that crowded.
However Saturday evening will be busy in dowtown Monterey with car auctions going on, and crusiers in their cars making their way about town.
On Sunday their is the Concours d'Elegance in Pebble Beach so unless you plan to attend this event the whole of Pebble Beach is closed to the public.This also includes 17Mile Drive.
By the way this year the featured Marque at Laguna Seca is Ferrari which means you will see more of these cars this weekend than you will probably see for the rest of your life.
Enjoy the weekend it really is exciting time to be on the Monterey Peninsula.
Here are two links for more info.
http://www.pebblebeachconcours.net/
http://www.laguna-seca.com/Events/index.cfm?EventID=2

As Lovejoy says - if you spend your time in/near Carmel during the day on Saturday you will be OK. The crowds will be over at the raceway which is northeast of Monterey.

And then on Sunday the biggest crowds will be in Carmel/Pebble Beach so if you spend your time in Monterey you will be OK. There will be crowds but they will be manageable. If you want to go to the Aquarium either day you should try to book the tickets ahead of time.

Meant to add - the Ferrari marque will be a huge draw so the crowds will probably be even larger than normal this year.

Thank you so much for your replies - they are a great help! I will stop worrying and go ahead with our trip to Monterey.

Janis, you mention getting tickets for the aquarium. Since we will be visiting Sea World earlier in our trip I was going to give it a miss thinking it would be more of the same sort of thing. Am I wrong, is it still worth a visit? (bearing in mind we only have one day)

Personally, if I had a choice between Sea World and the Monterey Aquarium - it would be the aquariun hands down. But since you only have 1+ day in the area you could give it a miss and concentrate on other sites.