Custom MINI shop, Fresno

Posted on by Ian C.

Working at CMEC in Selma, CA this week, but hampered by the not-yet-ready-and-working condition of one of the machines I need to work on … so having noticed in a discussion on NAM that there is a MINI shop nearby in Fresno, I called them and spoke to co-owner Steve – he said I’d be welcome, and said they had “one and a half MINIs” in the shop …
When I got there, I discovered what “half a MINI” looks like – a local MINI owner had suffered a tree-related accident, leading to some serious damage; the car is written off and it looks like the driver could not have survived (the driver footwell is down to about 6″ width), and yet thankfully both driver and passenger are OK, with the driver back in another MINI now 🙂


Spent a cheerful hour or so chatting with Steve about MINIs, his other careers, good and bad mods, etc … thanks, Steve, for your hospitality 🙂

Savannah with Coastal MINIs

Posted on by Ian C.

It might be a little crazy, but the urge to have a MINI meet was too strong, so we drove 300 miles to meet up with (as it turned out) a small gathering of five other MINIs, in Savannah, GA – the first Coastal MINIs monthly meet of 2009.

We drove up yesterday, and met Murray and his wife Kathy for dinner – very excellent indian food (maybe the best we’ve had outside of England!); then this morning we headed over to a local Starbucks, where everyone met up …

After catching up with old friends, including Stephanie, and getting to know new folks (including Jay who just completed an 800 mile drive down from New Jersey!), we had a gentle 15 mile drive to Tybee Island, which offered a desolate beach view!

 

Afterwards, a fabulous lunch nearby … I ordered an incredible “Bear Burger”:

 

Then, sadly, it was time to drive the 300 miles back to Kissimmee … great trip, great friends, great city! For more pics of Savannah, head over to MargaretAndIan

OctoberFast 2008

Posted on by Ian C.

Another great day provided by MINI of Peabody – though it looked not so great to start, with overnight rain! But it stopped by about 9am, leaving a usefully wet parking lot for the auto-cross!
As the day continued, the clouds melted away and the sun came out strong, giving us mid 60s (warm enough to drop the top!) – and lots of friendly MINI owners chatting, and having fun on the auto-cross course (which they set up for the whole day).
I spent the day chatting with friends, and taking pictures …

 

A great day, made even better by the surprising weather – thanks to everyone at MINI of Peabody for putting it all together again 🙂