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Tag: Mini Cooper

2016 Bulldog Fun Run with the Upstate Minis

Posted on November 8, 2016 By Tom No Comments on 2016 Bulldog Fun Run with the Upstate Minis
Entertainment, Local, Miscellaneous
"Ruby" at Greenville Animal Care with Upstate Minis
Photo by Abhay Bharadwaj

It had been a busy, trying week for both of us. Sunday provided the distraction we so desperately needed. Laura and I took part in the Bulldog Fun Run with the Upstate Minis.

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Bull Island with the Upstate Minis

Posted on September 26, 2016 By Tom 3 Comments on Bull Island with the Upstate Minis
Paddling, Photography, Rambling, Travel

Bull Island with the Upstate Minis-35

The Upstate Minis have been organizing some fantastic trips, lately, and I’ve been trying to take part in more of these. A few weeks ago Laura and I joined them for their X-Files Mystery Tour to PARI. This time, Jeff Goodman planned a trip down to the “Boneyard” on Bull Island to do some dawn photography. Sadly, Laura wasn’t able to go with us because of work. So, on Friday I swapped the Subaru for her Mini and joined the rest of the group for the drive down.

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Great Scot Parade 2015

Posted on May 25, 2015May 25, 2015 By Tom No Comments on Great Scot Parade 2015
Entertainment, Local

2015 Great Scot Parade-017

Memorial Day Weekend in Greenville means that the Scottish Games are once again coming to the Furman University campus. Last year we participated in the Great Scot Parade downtown in our Mini. This year we not only did the parade, but I made it over to the games themselves.

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Great Scots Parade in a Mini Convertible

Posted on May 24, 2014May 28, 2014 By Tom 1 Comment on Great Scots Parade in a Mini Convertible
Local, Miscellaneous, Weirdness
Great Scot Parade Minis-008
Great Scot! Parade in front of the Westin Poinsett Hotel

This Memorial Day weekend actually started Thursday morning, and it’s just barely getting started. So far I’ve been kayaking, gone to a midnight movie to see X-Men: Days of Future Past, attended a history lecture on old maps, looked for mythical meteors, visited an Irish pub, and had coffee and a great visit with old friends – and it’s only Saturday. The highlight so far, though, has been our participation in the Great Scot! Parade through downtown Greenville with the Upstate Minis.

A couple of weeks ago Jeff Goodman had posted on the Upstate Minis Facebook page about the group participating in the parade. I asked Laura if she were interested, and she jumped at the chance. So, Friday afternoon a little after 5:00 we lined up with ten other Minis on Townes Street. We would bring up the rear of the parade.

Great Scot Parade Minis-6

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Perseids on the Blue Ridge Parkway, with a Side Trip to Mayberry

Posted on August 21, 2013May 16, 2014 By Tom No Comments on Perseids on the Blue Ridge Parkway, with a Side Trip to Mayberry
Science, Travel

Parkway and New River Gorge-4

August 11, 2013

We hadn’t given the new Mini a proper shake-down road trip. When we got the Audi we took it completely across country, driving from South Carolina to somewhere north of Seattle. We didn’t have the time nor energy for such an adventure this time (Well, at least one of us didn’t :-)) so we decided on something a bit shorter.

It was time for the annual Perseid Meteor Shower. We figured the perfect way to christen the car would be to take it up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and try to find a bit of dark sky to watch for them. From there we would do some free form road tripping, hoping to wind up in Washington DC by the end of the week.

I had scouted a few potential sites on Google Earth, but there was no way to tell if there would be dark skies. So, shortly after lunch we set off, having somehow managed to pack our gear into the tiny trunk of the Mini. We wanted to make tracks, so we took the Interstate straight on up to Gastonia, then headed off toward Blowing Rock, where we hit the Parkway. We drove with the top back, enjoying the breeze.

There were quite a few clouds, but for the most part it was sunny and the day was spectacular. We pulled off at several overlooks, many of which looked like like they would work for meteor viewing. I didn’t take many photos along the way, though.

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Multiple Mountain Meanderings

Posted on August 3, 2013May 16, 2014 By Tom 1 Comment on Multiple Mountain Meanderings
Family, Photography, Rambling
Blue Ridge Parkway-1
Devil’s Courthouse

Three times this week I have made treks northward, crossing the Blue Wall into the mountains of Western North Carolina.  Two of those trips covered similar ground.  Only one was in the new Mini convertible.  All three covered ground I’ve traversed recently, so some of the photos may look a little…familiar.

Monday – Picnic at Davidson River

Last weekend Laura’s sister and mother were with us.  The weather looked good for Monday, so we decided to take a trek up to Pisgah Forest for a picnic.  We had done this trip with Laura’s cousins a couple of years ago, and her mom had loved the sound of the Davidson River rippling past our picnic area.

For this trip we loaded everyone into the Subaru and first headed up Highway 25 toward Hendersonville.  We took a brief detour through Tuxedo, then turned toward Flat Rock.  At Flat Rock we took Little River Road toward Crab Creek westward, toward Brevard.  The weather was clear and spectacular, with large fluffy white clouds and blue skies.

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34.9665828-82.4426861

Goodbye Audrey, Hello Mini

Posted on July 28, 2013May 16, 2014 By Tom No Comments on Goodbye Audrey, Hello Mini
Miscellaneous

The unusually wet summer has not been kind to our convertible. Twelve inches of rain in one week wreaks havoc on an un-garaged vehicle that already had leaky seals. When we got back from Florida the car was drenched, and all of the electrical systems were fried. It was finally time to look at a … Read More “Goodbye Audrey, Hello Mini” »

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