Whine & Cheese

Summer Vacation Plans: Part II

Another vacation countdown... only two weeks until our big road trip. I have hinted around (I think!) that it is MINI Cooper related...  so to make it "official"... we're heading to Copper Mountain, Colorado (about 80 miles west of Denver) for:

MINIs in the Mountains... Coopers at Copper... whatever alliteration you'd like! 

Even with our dry heat (which ain't so dry at the moment), taking a break from the hot desert (and having done "tropical" the last two years)... it seemed like a really good idea to head to the cool(er) Rockies.  This will be my first trip to Colorado (not counting those airport layovers) and our first time at a big national gathering of MINIs.  In just its second year, MitM is attracting owners from over 20 states and, as of this writing, 155 Coopers and 253 folks registered for the weekend event.

Not quite sure whether we are quite ready for the full-on MINI experience, we're skipping the first day.  If you think I am/was cuckoo about my MINI, believe me I probably don't even register on a Cooper craziness enthusiasm seismograph compared to some folks... we're talking seriously hardcore! 

So, MitM will be just part of our overall vacation... we'll be at Copper from Fri-Sun... and making few stops along the way.   Here's our trip map:

It looks like an innocent little loop... but folks, according to AAA, what you are looking at is about 1800 miles and 30 hours of drive-time!!  Plus, tack on at least a few hundred more miles for MitM... since the primary MitM activity (along with dinners, happy hours, vendors) is getting all those Coopers out caravaning around the twisty mountain roads for daily "fun runs." 

To give you some more perspective, my Cooper's odometer just passed 5400 miles... so given my meager average, that's like putting on 6 months worth of miles on my car in just one week!!

The yellow thumbtacks are the stops and our itinerary is:
1st Stop - Santa Fe, NM (541 miles, approx. 8 hours) - Overnight and some good NM food!
2nd Stop - Denver, CO (394 miles) - Rockies/Cubs game at Coors Field
3rd Stop - Copper Mountain, CO (77 miles) - For the weekend
4th Stop - Telluride, CO (287 miles) - Spending two nights
5th Stop - Home (500 miles, approx 9.5 hours)

The first and last days are definitely going to be killer drives... but we're looking forward to it... should be a fun and very scenic trip!

Dueling MINIs Commercial

If all is going to plan, right now we should be smack in the middle of our NYC side-trip... attending the Mets vs. Cardinals game at Shea last night and off to Broadway to see The Color Purple tonight.  Or in the "half glass empty" scenario, if Manhattan has been nuked... well, there's a couple of more entries to go before you read my last words. 

Today's entry was easy... and come to you thanks to Scott for sending me it along to me (last week!)... it's a quite humorous MINI Cooper commercial that is currently airing on TV (though I have yet to run across it).  Here it is (apologies if it has been yanked off You Tube):

I considered doing a pre-dated post about our upcoming MINI Cooper roadtrip... but then I realized it would be pretty obnoxious to blog about a vacation when I am currently on a vacation of sorts!   I know we are very lucky to get away twice in one summer.  So I'll give you the details about that in the upcoming weeks... and it will certainly be a 180 from what we're experiencing in the big city.

Blending In With The Crowd

It's not often that my MINI Cooper doesn't stand out in a group of cars... but even I had a hard time finding my Cooper in this picture...

It kinda looks like the second one in on the left... but actually mine is sorta hiding behind the palm tree on the right hand side (next to the red one).

So why all the MINIs??

Saturday was the MINI Cooper Owners Appreciation Rally... apparently every year the Arizona MINI dealership invite owners up for a get-together and a free lunch!  Of course, there are vendors... contests and prizes... and just the opportunity to gawk at MINIs.

As you can see, the turnout was quite good.  I knew the local Cooper club was going to have around 30 cars there... so I figured, maybe a dozen or so more and that would be it.  Did I get that wrong (and again, never underestimate the phrase "free food")... we pulled into the rally and it was just Coopers everywhere!  In one of my other pictures, I counted 85 cars... and there were more than that... easily 100+ Coopers.

And I doubt any two were the same... people really trick and customize them out... so while a car may have looked like mine, it only took a few dozen seconds to find out some difference.  It was cool to see the new 2007 models ... and there were even a handful of classic Coopers in attendance as well.

There are a few more pictures from the rally over on my Flickr page... the above pic "exclusive" to W&C, so you can only see it here... don't you feel special now?!

As I think I have hinted around, our "big" vacation plans this year are MINI-centric.  The destination is a MINI Cooper gathering, but our journey will be a 30-hour, 1,800 mile round-trip road trip.  Hopefully, our relationship will survive... in all these years, we've never been in car together (let alone a MINI) for that long.  We've started to shop around at hotels and such...  once we make some reservations and officially register for the event... I'll fill you in on all the details.

Cooper Is Gay?

I first caught wind of this over at the (212), then it starting popping up elsewhere... so I figured I'd address it over here... it was all about this article in the New York Times (and you can actually look at this one without registering, at least for now).

Apparently the Cooper is gay... and now I'm not talking about Mr. CNN 360, which he is, but he doesn't talk about... but anyways, what I meant was the car... the MINI Cooper.

It may come as a surprise to some of you... but I own a MINI Cooper. (joke!)

The real surprise is that it was not until well after I had it in my possession that I started hearing this buzz that it was a "gay" car...  the unofficial gay car of Thailand... more recently, one of the top lesbian cars (and owned by one of the ladies on Showtime's The L Word).  The NYT article even has this quite funny exchange:

And when Joe LaMuraglia, the founder of Gaywheels.com, an informational site modeled on the likes of Autoweb.com, told his partner he wanted to buy a Mini Cooper convertible, the boyfriend joked that he would not be seen in it because the couple “would look like such a gay cliché,” Mr. LaMuraglia said.

So how did I not know beforehand?  Was I subconsciously attracted to it?  Was I "just born this way" to want to own and drive this car?!

That said, I am not surprised... I understand the gay appeal (I can I am Exhibit #1)... and sure I know that there are gay Cooper owners out there... but more so than gay Honda, Ford, and Toyota owners?  It's never struck me that being a male MINI owner is a similar sexuality tip-off as say being a male audience member at a Kathy Griffin stand-up show (sidenote: Kathy tickets go on sale Monday for a June show here in Phoenix... hurray!).

I have been around my fair share of Cooper owners over the past year or so... dozens of owners thanks to the local Cooper club, folks I have "met" here thanks to blogging about my Cooper, even a friend back East (Hi Bill!)... and, believe me, they are overwhelmingly heterosexual!  I not sure how they feel about owning a "gay car"... not that there's anything wrong with that!

But if this article is on-target, shouldn't I be tripping over gay Cooper owners by now?!  Plus I have yet to ever see a Cooper with an HRC or Rainbow anything on it!   I will just keep on looking.  Next weekend, the dealership is having their annual MINI owners get-together (free lunch!) and since my Cooper didn't come custom-equipped with gay-dar (wait a minute, maybe it is that one switch), I will just have rely on my own skills to  figure out if any of my fellow MINI owners are queer as folk.

Oil & Lube Day

Get your mind out of the gutter!!

As you may remember, I marked my one-year anniversary with MINI Cooper a few weeks ago.

Now, you didn't think the folks at MINI would forget about the big day, did you?  Granted it was [gasp!] two days late, I did receive this e-mail:

So while it did get a recent washing (thanks to Todd!), today we're off for our first service appointment (well, if you don't count the 4 tow truck trips and the 7 weeks it was in the shop last year... repress!  repress!)... even though I did not get even halfway to the 10,000 miles oil change alert.  However, the owner's manual says oil must be changed at least once a year... sound reasonable!

One of the very nice things about MINI is that most services and repairs are covered for three years... including oil changes!   Unfortunately, all the work needs to be done at the dealership... and those are few and far between!  There is only one MINI dealership in Arizona and only 30 miles away (now those MINI owners in Tucson, Flagstaff and beyond have a drive!).   If you told me a few years ago, I would be driving 30-45 minutes for an oil change I'd offer you some cocoa puffs, since you would have been cuckoo!

And while there are not a ton of Coopers out on the road, with only one service department in the state, getting an appointment can be a challenge.

Figuring I'd just hang around while it's taken care of... I innocently asked how long it would take?  Ready? 3-4 hours... apparently this not Jiffy Lube... though the appointment gal did try to suck up and say it was a very conservative time estimate (I would hope!).  Now, I could get (and pay) for a rental vehicle, but it seemed kind of silly to do two-round trips (at that 30-45 minutes each way) in the same day, especially when it wasn't a major service appointment.

I asked about Saturday appointments.  After the gal stopped laughing, she told me they were booked out on those for over a month.

So!  Since my workload was agreeable, I am off for a mid-morning appointment today (as they do not do Friday afternoon appointments either)...

To keep me occupied... I'll bring a book... my iPod... perhaps some Sudoku... since it is also a BMW dealership maybe they will have some nice stuff in the waiting area... and I'll have to check out to see if any of the new 2007 MINIs are on the showroom floor.

There is also a Borders about a 1/2 mile north of the dealership.  A bookstore is pretty much my ideal "time killer"... so perhaps once my Cooper gets settled in, I'll walk over there (got to get the new Oprah book!)... and then back to the dealership. ..

The 1 Year Old

While our attention has shifted to our new four-legged baby, look who's one year old today... my four-wheel baby!

Hard to believe, huh?!  Time flies!

Technically the "actual date" anniversary is tomorrow, but it was on this Friday in March that I drove my MINI Cooper home from the dealership.

If you've been around here for a while, you know it wasn't the easiest first year a car has ever had.  (If you are a newbie or don't remember the devastation... check out the full Chronicles and page down to May 2006. Ugh, it still pains me to think about it).

In its first year (well, minus 7 weeks), I only managed to notch a skimpy 4,027 miles... most of that thanks to a Vegas road trip in October and a handful of trips to Tucson.  It's agood thing I had an appointment with my accountant yesterday just to get it beyond the 4k mark! 

So my resolution should be to drive it more... there's a pretty tempting MINI Cooper gathering over the summer in a considerably less hell-ish climate than the Valley of the Frickin' Sun... so we're considering that road trip (1700+ miles round trip, pretty big... for us!).

I still love the car... with the bad karma out the way, let's hope it's second year is a better one!

Back Seat Action?!?

One of my greatest amusements in maintaining this blog is checking out search hits. 

I would guess 70-80% of the time, folks will not find what they are looking for... one search word/phrase coming from one post with (an)other being pulled from a completely different and unrelated entry.

A perfect example of this is item #12 below...

...since I don't quite recall ever doing the horizontal shuffle in my MINI... let alone blogging about it.

But I couldn't help but wonder ... what exactly was this person hoping to find?!?!

Tips? Pictures?  If it's at all possible?  And if so, how to do it with any kind of comfort?!

But it put a smile on my face.

Now as far as the other searches go, while I dabble in #11 at W&C occasionally... I would likely send them over to Scott's if they are looking for that type of home.

And, believe it or not, I can help with the other one... on a lark, I posted some pix from a certain episode of Desperate Housewives that featured #13 (well kinda)... and over the past year, it has proven to be one of my most steady and popular search hits.

First Cooper Fun Run

This was originally supposed to be a Monday post, but you just never know what life will throw your way... so here we are on Wednesday!

I joined the local MINI Cooper Club last summer, but thus far have just attended a couple of events... both of them social (a car show and one of their monthly ice cream meetings), but none that involved any group driving.  I really don't think we have a terribly busy social calendar, but there always seemed to be one odd conflict or another with the "fun runs."

Well that finally ended this past Saturday evening with a sunset drive up Phoenix's South Mountain.  It was a perfect first run for me since at least I was familiar with the road... it has been my "test run" a couple of times (my Cooper's first ever weekend and a "check" after the overheating incident).  It's conveniently located, not a huge time commitment (15-20 minutes one-way), you climb up a couple of thousand feet with sweeping views of the Valley of the Sun, and most importantly lots of twists and turns.

If you've been reading this blog of late, you know it has been a little chilly (according to my car, it was 46 degrees, with some "wind chill" around the time of this picture) ... so not a huge turn-out, but here are 6 of the 7 cars at the pre-run meeting spot.   

The run was really a blast.  I was 3rd in line up the hill... and I can only describe the group's driving strategy as a "slingshot" approach.  The "lead" car would slow to a crawl... allowing any cars in front of our MINI "convoy" to get way ahead of us... then zoooom we were off and running!  Even though we were driving up the mountain, it felt, at least to me, like we were on the downside of a roller-coaster.  Ummm... we were probably likely well beyond the 20 mph speed limit.  It's amazing how tight a Cooper can take turns... and let's just say I confirmed that my car has dynamic stability control!

We arrived at the top just in time for quite a lovely sunset. 

My Cooper is next to last in the picture.  One thing I have to learn is to better stagger my parking for the required group photo session at all these Cooper club events. 

Afterwards we headed off to dinner at one of our favorite food places, Chino Bandido... a Chinese-Mexican restaurant.  Yes, you read that correctly!  I got my usual combination plate... a chile relleno, jerk-chicken quesadilla, black beans, and chicken fried rice. 

tags:  mini cooper

REPLY:  Figured I just reply here to my Scott x 2 comments...

Scott "O":  Yep, Todd was well on his way to France by Saturday evening.  Actually, I kind of surprised myself by going out and being somewhat social, usually I tend to cocoon while he is away.  It's very easy to do nothing when you are by yourself (or should I say.. nothing productive).  However, it is probably a good thing he wasn't there.  My heart was pumping real good on a few of those turns and hills... so probably a good thing I didn't have a passenger!   

Scott C:  I totally know what you mean.  I don't know what is says about us that we have an "extra" car for those times when we need to transport animals... haha!
 

Vanity (Plate) Fair

Not too much time today.  This morning, I am off to my PCP (that's Primary Care Physician for you acronymically challenged) for the first time ever.  Well, my current PCP that I have been assigned to for the past three years or so. It's been longer than that since I have seen a non-dental, non-cosmetic, non-animal doctor!  According to my first pay stub of the year, I am scheduled to pay over $6,000 for health insurance this year, so I figure I should at least meet the guy!   Though it'll cost me $35 for walking through the door.

However, this is not a mere "meet and greet"... don't worry, nothing serious (I think!).  Well, it took 3 full business days for them to find an appointment for me, so that probably says something about the "threat" level.  However, it is a "Do I or Don't I?" blogging dilemma... for now, I have decided not to share (this is where you, dear reader, imagine something far worse than the truth).

So, I am finally getting around to sharing this photo I took at the car show way back in November.

I get search hits pretty regularly about vanity plates  particularly those related to a MINI), so this seemed like a good picture to share... a good brainstorming session if you are in the market for a personalized plate.

It has been fun having a vanity plate of my own.  At a traffic light stops, I often look in my rear view mirror and see folks smile or laugh when the figure out my MINI Cooper plate. Granted EZ2PARK, is not the most cryptic one out there... so the light bulb usually goes on pretty quick.

I think my favorite plate is the above photo is: P B4 UGO.  I am pretty sure no DMV would approve that one.  At least on my vanity plate request, you had to explain what the meaning of the plate. I am guessing bodily functions are likely not allowed. 

Merry Christmas (Indeed!)

I have not heard a thing about my car accident since July.  While certainly curious, the whole thing had put me in a funk for far too long... so I tucked it away and placed my faith in the 'ole adage "no news is good news."

In today's mail, lurking among a handful of Christmas cards, was an envelope from my insurance company.  My heart sunk... no way was this crap going to resurface just days before Christmas.

I cautiously opened it...

December 19, 2006
We have concluded the handling of your insurance claim (date of loss: May 12, 2006) in which we were attempting collection.  We were able to make a recovery which included your deductible.  We are attaching our payment which is your proportionate share of your deductible based on the same percentage as our recovery.

Out popped a check for $500 -- 100% of my deductible. 

Like some sappy Christmas movie, the music began to swell with "The End" popping onto the screen.

I kind of feel like Jimmy Stewart running through town...  Merry Christmas, movie house! Merry Christmas, Emporium! Merry Christmas, you wonderful old Building and Loan!

So, political-correctness aside, Merry Christmas to all!

Here is the Christmas card that I sent out to most of the folks on my snail-mail list:

Inside: Wishing You Peace and Happiness this Christmas and in the New Year.

Todd is home all next week... I am working "as needed"... so I am going to try to detach myself from the computer as much as possible... thus W&C likely won't be back in full-gear until the New Year... stay safe, don some gay apparel, remember to breathe... eat, drink, and be merry!