Ready for the Trip Back Home!

The last picture of the trip. My car waiting for a driver to head home. With Mabry Mill in the background the sun is going down and it is time to head home from a really nice 68 degree day in the middle of January. Wow what a nice day in more ways than one.

Small World! Me and Dan Zipkin !!

As we headed towards our final destination for the day which was Mabry Mill http://www.brptrails.com/brp1762.htm I ran into someone I had never met but talked to several times on the phone. Dan Zipkin. Talk about small world...both of us were over two hours from home! Dan runs a shop that MINI owners all over the country know as Grassroots Garage. http://www.grassrootsgarage.com/ Dan had his family up for a picnic and we just happened to come by at the same time! Dan is the man in all the German car and MINI performance worlds so give him a call for help with your street or track car. I plan to get some help from him with my car as I add some mods. Can't wait!

Julie likes the Wine!

My co-pilot says all the wine is good! Our favorite was the "Black Dog" and a real surprise was the "Sweet Mountain Laurel" which I thought would be too sweet for me. But I really like the muscadine flavor. Tastes just like the local grapes in our region. I just this past Summer picked some mucadines from my kayak on a local lake while paddling. I like my Italian Chianti but there are plenty of great wines at Chateau Morrisette!

Two Nice Guys at the Chateau!!

Here are the guys who served us during the wine tasting this afternoon. They are holding a a real nice bottle of 2003 Reserve Tannat. http://www.chateaumorrisette.com/index.php?pr=wine The guy on the right is Kyle and if you zoom the picture you can see Robert Longo is on the left. Robert took us on the tour and really knows his stuff. He is also found at the restaurant up the hill at times as well. They have some great wine at this winery and I took several bottles home with me in the boot of the MINI. Thanks guys, we'll be back soon.

Oak Barrels as Far as the Eye Can See....

We were just a bit late for the start of the tour but we joined "in-progress." Here you can see a 'whole bunch" of wine in barrels. We took a look at all the tanks and packaging equipment. Check out the dog paw prints on those barrels... A very cool tour indeed. I am getting thirsty, where is the bar?

Refreshment Anyone?

My MINI right in front of Chateau Morrisette Winery. http://www.chateaumorrisette.com/
More on this in a minute. Let's go inside in the next post.

Looking back at some Fun!

My co-pilot of 28 years took this picture from the passenger seat this afternoon using her new Sony digital camera Santa brought her. Awesome roads and picture!

Lovers Leap, Virginia

Today we ventured up to Virginia to visit Lovers Leap and ultimately the Blue Ridge Parkway. As you can see in the distance there are some mighty twisty roads up there to motor on. Just down the hill is a real fun run in a MINI. Plan your trip now.

gomotoring.com !!

My pal Mark Vogler told me a couple of days ago that he had added my blog to his site http://www.gomotoring.com/

Very nice of him..Thanks Mark!

Go check this site out as it is full of very cool links to other web logs and MINI related stuff. I really like how the site automatically updates as posts are added to blogs.

Attached below is an excerpt from his "about" page:

Operating since 2004, GoMotoring.com was originally started as an easy way to keep track of some of the more prolific MINI Cooper news sites and weblogs. Since then GoMotoring.com has grown to include listings from not only MINI Cooper weblogs but also news and message board sites. Recent additions include headlines from some major automotive news outlets.

Jimmy Z MINI !!!

This is one cool ride. The Jimmy Z MINI commissioned by the clothing chain Aeropostale. California cool...the best of both worlds, a MINI and a Woody! Gotta' love that surfin' life! The whole story can be found at
http://info.detnews.com/joyrides/story/index.cfm?id=650

An Interior Picture per a Request.

Here is an interior shot per a request from a distant friend. Many folks ask me what the grey anthracite interior looks like so here is a photo to help understand. When I ordered my car there were hardly any cars on the lot so I sort of ordered off what I saw on the MINI web site.

A couple of things to mention for the un-initiated. I have the OEM chrome option. I really like it. I drove a convertible with the chrome and it sold me.

Also I want to mention the coco mats that Santa brought me for Christmas. http://www.cocomats.com/ I love these retro looking mats. They feel great and are perfect for the MINI. They come from Charlotte, North Carolina so I had them in just a few short days after ordering. The customer service is A-1 and the folks on the phone are great. The fit is as good as OEM on these mats. They are made just for the car. They are very thick I really like the way they "pop" the interior with the black color and grey dots. Excellent.

Next the OEM cup holder. Perfect for a large Starbucks cup I use on the morning commute to work. I have to have my fresh coffee on my dark commute everyday!

OK I know the steering wheel is upside down. I took this picture in my garage and the wheel was locked. Call me lazy for not straighting it out!

I tripped 2009 miles this morning. The car is somewhat "more loose" than it was brand new but I feel like we have a ways to go to get the real effect of engine break-in. I haven't revved my car very hard. I have pushed a few 4-5000 shifts in the first 3 gears but only after 1,500 miles. No red lines for me baybee...Trust me I want my car to last and I do not want to abuse it. I am averaging 26.6 MPG. EPA highway is 32 so I feel this is a combination of driving with the fun meter on the high side and probably still going through a break-in.

One of the things I really like about this car is the anthracite headliner. I almost didn't order it and saw one at the last minute. The headliner and all the trim is totally black. It really sets off the two sunroofs. I love the way it feels to look through the glass roof surrounded by the dark interior on a sunny day.

Oh yeah there are people who are all the time asking..."What is a Euro-parcel tray?" Well there is one in my car. I bought it before I got the car because BMW USA decided to quit selling them in the US for some DOT reason best I can tell. Whatever the reason it is tough to get one now in the USA but in my humble opinion they are very nice. Notice I have my sun glasses case down there as well as a green mile marker zero can cooler. This car is tight on storage space and that shelf is a real pleasure to have.