Christmas in July

Lately, being a part of the MINI community has been like Christmas in July. While I didn't receive all of this loot in one month, I am thinking about it now because I need to find a place to put it all. Up until now, my automobile choice has been a Corvette, with select Corvette goodies placed through out the house. The stuff started arriving shortly after I ordered my MINI

So here's a list of my loot!

• Unauthorized Owner's Manual (2)
• "MINI Parking Only" stencil
• When I picked up the car I got some standard loot; a couple of MINI Motoring CD's (urban soundscapes and the Monkees), although I haven't listened to either of them. Floor mats, a tank of gas, an oversized cup holder (MINI cupholders are a bit lacking). OK, these weren't really "free" since I know I paid for them in my dealer prep. Oh yes, can't forget my MINI Motoring Atlas. Let's me know where all the MINI dealers are as well as some quirky things to see in some states. Sadly, the Big Chicken was not in GA. Though I am happy to learn the Salt & Pepper Shaker Museum is in TN.
• Next came the much anticipated MINI Welcome to the Neighborhood Kit.
• Followed by "MINI Motoring Games, The Offical Rule Book" which I got at one of my SMM Club meetings as well as a very Nice MINI calendar as a gift from the guy that runs one of the largest MINI/Mini message boards.
• From my trip to MINI of Nashville I snagged 3 MINI frisbees, a poster and a T-shirt. I could have had an antenna topper except since I have the Nav System I don't have a regular antenna.
• Finally, at our last club meeting the previously mentioned Message Board Owner who is an honorary member came to our meeting bearing gifts. A very nice T-shirt - he said they were seconds, but there is nothing wrong with htem really. There's an american flag on the back made out of MINI's. : )

I know this isn't the end of the loot, rumor has it I should still be getting a travel mug from MINI.

Mini of Nashville Homecoming

road trip: Knoxville, TN to Nashville, TN & back
Odometer:  6000 miles n ticking

On July 10^th and 11^th I made my first motoring journey with the Smoky Mountain Minis club. We were headed to Mini of Nashville for a Homecoming. I was nervous about this trip because as you’ve read earlier, the Navigation Lady went a bit bonkers in Nashville. I made the group promise, promise, PROMISE, they would not lose me. : )

We met at a BP station in Oak Ridge to start our convoy up to Nashville. A rest stop provided the setting for a leisurely picnic lunch. I gotta tell you, it was pretty fun driving in a line of MINIs down the highway. It was, however, a bit difficult to drive the speed limit.

Along the way we had some terrible weather. That really sucked since I had spent a few hours the night before making sure Mr. Q sparkled and shined. I was only anticipating touching up the wheels once at my destination. I’m afraid Windex, paper towels and wheel cleaner wasn’t going to make a dent in muck that now covered Mr. Q.

Holiday Inn is where we stayed. Not too bad a place. My room had a lovely view of the roof AC stuff and a hill of dirt. When I had checked in, there was a sign on the lobby desk warning us that because of the construction, there may be some blasting. BLASTING??? I was really hoping I would not have a rude wake up call!

Oh, at this point I must commend the Nav Lady for keeping her head about her, and guiding us safely to the hotel. Not one glitch. Now back at the Mini dealer, it was hotter than hot. This is after all the south, it’s July, and there had just been thunderstorms. Nav Lady said it was 95 degrees and I would guess the humidity was a 95%. It’s a dry rain ya know.

To me, the parking lot was the fun place. There were so many MINIs lined up. I loved seeing them all and how even with all those cars, no two were really a like. I spent a little time in the parking lot showing some folks who were thinking about buying a Mini convertible, the navigation system. When I ordered it, I did it site unseen. They never had a car on the lot with one in it. Definitely not a common option.

Guess I got ahead of myself; the Homecoming was also to introduce the new Mini Cooper Convertible. I ooooed and ahhhhed appropriately … though I’ve never been a fan of ragtops. HOWEVER, that’s not to say if you didn’t GIVE me a 62 Vette that I wouldn’t take it. : )

While I am leaving out a lot of the highlights and details of this trip, it was fun and I had a great time getting to know some of my fellow car club mates. Mini of Nashville is hoping to make this an annual event. It makes for a nice weekend trip. They put on a good show … even if the band sung “Rocky Top”. (Shaking my head). The English Ale was good; it almost made up for the Fish n Chips. : )

Sunday at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel

“Oh My Gosh.” This hotel is definitely on my list of places to revisit. A few of us stopped here Sunday morning for Brunch. I can see, where with more time and perhaps while staying here, brunch could become an event. It was worth every penny. The food was lovely and plentiful. So many choices, some quite decadent. The gardens were so lush, I felt like I was back home. Actually the scale of the hotel reminded me a lot of something you’d see in Las Vegas … though perhaps just a touch smaller scale.

If you’re in the area for breakfast, definitely check it out. You won’t regret it!

The trip home was uneventful. This is a good thing. Ol Nav Lady didn’t go bezerk and got me home safely. : ) I’m looking forward to the next Mini trip.

No Two Alike

Let's Motor

Car Clubs

road trip: scenic route through my mind

Having driven a classic corvette for almost 20 years many times I had contemplated joining a Corvette Club. Mostly because it is so cool to see all those Vettes lined up some place. When I moved from Southern California to Georgia I considered it because I left all of my car connections 3000 miles away. Tire Shop, Alignment Shop, Mechanic, Electrical Guy, Body Shop, Race Shop, and so on. In other words, if it broke, I knew where to take it. When I moved to Knoxville 7 years later again, I meant to join a Corvette Club. Even looked them up on the web … I never got around to it.

All these years of meaning to and never joining. Why? First it was a testosterone thing. Arguably one sees more men driving pre-1982 corvettes than women. That’s not to say there aren’t female owners, there just aren’t as many. I have a theory on this. Have you ever tried to open up a C3 door with long fingernails? Ain’t gonna happen. Anyway, I always figured a car club would be a bunch of guys talking about how to fix their cars. Not that it’s a bad thing … but I don’t really fix my own. I figured it would just be an extension of my mechanic’s shop.

By the time I moved to Knoxville and was SOL in the mechanic department, I thought “sure why not.” However now my Vette looks like crap (though for some reason people still drool over it.) A friend I once worked with recently asked if my Vette was still painted “flat stealth gray”. I had to laugh, but he correctly assessed the state of my paint. Though he didn’t mention the black spots where the once silver paint has come completely off. Now my excuse is I can’t join a Vette club where all of the classics ones are going to be show ready … way too embarrassing!

My MINI was a whole different animal. It’s new, and it’s cool. Before it even arrived I decided I was going to check out the local Mini Club I hoped joining this group would help be get a little familiar with the town as well as make some connections for shops to get work done. (Granted the corvette needs tons of work and the Mr. Q needs none, it might!) As a group they go on drives and to various events. I’ve not been able to join in on a drive yet, but my first one is coming up this weekend.