Tag: Poppy
So as we crossed over the boarder to Iowa on this epic adventure we did end up getting one cache (GC2A17V) before calling it a day. After that we headed for the hotel in Iowa City. Sue had made the arrangements looking for something cheap and near the interstate (so we could make a quick getaway if needed 😉
We pull up to the hotel (in the dark) and we are greeted by something we might have seen in England… kind of, sort of, in a weird midwestern surreal way. Yes, we had found the only Tudor inspired Best Western in the world! There had to have been a sale on gargoyles… Sadly, there was no cache in the parking lot. Secondly, when I checked into the place on Foursquare one of the tips was “bugs.”
We were tired and headed to our room…
Life when you aren’t a “diehard cacher” sometimes isn’t fair… then again I did finally get a chance to drive Poppy- Sue’s new MINI. I was even behind the wheel when we broke 1000 miles!
One nice thing about motoring & caching I have discovered is you tend to be able to go a bit further. When I was younger I could deadhead over 1,000 miles in a day (now- not so much). Stopping for a cache every once in a while actually helps me not to get tired, it breaks up the monotony of a long straight drive.
What do you do when you get a new car? Go on a trip, of course. Sue didn’t let me anywhere behind the wheel for a least one tank of gas… I don’t think she trusts me after what happened to her Honda Del Sol- even though the insurance company agreed it was NOT my fault. That said we did have a trip on the books (the concept of a trip, just needed an excuse) “Poppy,” Sue’s new MINI, just gave us the excuse. Where did we go? If you follow me on Twitter you got tweets with every geocache Cecil logged along the way. If you don’t… stay tuned. We will be announcing that before Apple tells us anything about the iPad2 on Wednesday.
So when all the numbers were crunched Sue decided that it might be time for a new MINI. What caused this? Sue could probably explain it better, but I’ll give you some of the basics. Recently another MINI owner I know bought the newest MINI, the Countryman. They checked out the trade-in price and one of the limitations (MINI’s do retain their value) was the mileage. So since Penfold (my MINI) has almost 90,000 miles, and has a few mods I figured I would get nothing for him. Sue’s MINI was stock, and wasn’t that bad when it came to mileage, although now out of warranty. So I thought it might be a good idea to check out the Countryman, & see about leasing one for a couple years (use it a a cachingmobile) since Sue really is looking at the two-seat convertible coming out in a couple years. So the Monday before her MINI went into limp mode, we had been in the dealership looking at a Countryman. The numbers at that time didn’t work out for us. Then Sue’s MINI broke. Was this the first time? Sadly no. Sue’s MINI has had some issues so when Sue found out how much the repairs & regular maintenance was going to be she checked to see if the offer from Monday was still on the table. With some deals being given on the hatch (R56) Sue decided to go for it and we now own “Poppy” a 2011 MINI Cooper S.
Yes, another MINI. Why? If you talk with some MINI owners you’ll see that after MINI introduces a new model they do what is called a “refresh” after a few years- fixing those things that people complain about. In the case of the 2007-2010 MINI there was: the cold start rattle, the amazing melting hood scoop, and the poorly designed center stack. Personally there are people who say that any MINI pre-2004 should also be avoided since the refresh happened in 2005 (when I bought Penfold). Is this scientific? No, anecdotal data, but still… When Sue was asked about leasing or buying (she wanted the two-seater so a two year lease seemed about right) she decided to buy. She says she’ll wait until the refresh comes out.
So now the question is what is going to be Poppy’s first road trip?