Miata Washings

Two Saturday’s In A Row

The Elusive Hilda Post OfficeDidn’t post last night, not because the wireless connection was crap in my room like last week, it was fine because we were home, but because it was such a full day and we got home too late to blog about it.

In the morning Donna and I went on a drive to photograph a half dozen Post Offices. In one I had to use the Emperor’s Mini Me because it was inside a building with no outside indication it was a PO and another that will have to be re shot on another trip that way because there were too many people in lawn chairs in front waiting for a parade.

True to the Postmaster’s letter the Post Office in Hilda was inside a car garage store. There was little section just inside the front door on the left that was set aside for that official function. If you look towards the bottom of the photo right next to a fuel filter is the Matchbox Garnet Red Miata. The other side was the cashier for the garage. Coincidently when we pulled up there was a white 1st Gen Miata just outside one of the garage doors with it’s hood up being worked on.

When we entered the town limits of Ehrhardt, SC the town sign said “Home of the Schuetzenfest.” I wondered to my self what that might be and when they held it. The answer to the second question was answered when we got to the intersection of US601 & SC64. There were people everywhere. The road was not blocked yet, but you could tell that people were staking out spots to watch a parade. The Schuetzenfest was today. How lucky could we be? Well, not so lucky, the Post Office was nowhere near the south end of town where the Google map thought it should be. We parked the car on a parallel street to the parade route and did a walk through. Found the PO and it was 100 feet from the center of all the action. This photo would have to wait for another day. The answer to the second question had to wait until we got home and checked Wikipedia. Leave it to South Carolina to misspell it and homogenize it to look like another “festival” with blow-up kids entertainment thingies, crafts for sale and deep fried dough.

When we got home we had some lunch and I went outside to wash the car for a couple of Miata events for that afternoon & evening. First up was the annual Sno-Cap Drive-In Anniversary hang out in the parking lot. Donna stayed home from this one as it was hot as the dickens and there is little place to hide from it over there, plus it is just a bunch of cars with a bunch of car guys standing around talking about cars. On the way over I found out how it looks to have a waterfall cascade over the windshield header. It looked a little hazy ahead and I didn’t didn’t see any oncoming cars with wipers on, so it couldn’t be rain. Wrong oh. It was a pop up thundershower and it happened so fast I had no time to prepare. Most times if you hit a shower and it is not too heavy the best defense is to roll up the windows and keep moving. This was no one of those times. Traveling at 60 MPH in a deluge just results in there being enough water and force behind it to make it come rolling over the windshield. After about a minute or so it was safe to pull over so I could get the top up, of course I had the boot on which just caused more of a delay in getting every thing closed up. The interior and myself were soaked. Almost turned around and went home, but seeing as I was halfway to the Cap I went anyway. About 2 miles later the storm was gone and the skies were blue so I dropped the top again hoping the sun would help dry everything out. Five miles later when I got to the Drive-In the only way to tell I had gotten drenched was the puddle of water surrounding the shift boot and the damp side of my clothing that I was sitting on. The whole hour and a half I was at the Sno-Cap it didn’t rain a drop, but wouldn’t you know it, a couple miles into the drive home it started to rain again and it kept it up for the rest of the trip. This time I was ready, I put the top up before I even left the Cap’s parking lot.

I had just enough time when I got home to dry off the recently washed car and listen to 4 innings of the FRS whoop up on the Chicago White Sox before heading back out the door for the MMC‘s Bug Splat Rally which I run. We had a good turn out (for our little club) with 9 cars at the restaurant. Eight of which went on the run. The bugs were not so cooperative though, there were a lot of clean Miata noses at the Dairy Queen finish. There were a few large splats, but the biggest bug trophy went to a car that came back with a large mosquito plastered near their turn signal. The highlight for us was the medium M&M Blizzard we split.

This morning we went out and did a 13 mile ride on the tandem, the first 50 feet my butt protested the return of the bicycles seat so soon after Friday’s ride, but I showed it who was the boss by continuing on. In truth that was partly the reason we did go for a ride today, because all we have been doing is short and very infrequent rides the limiting factor in our enjoyment is uncomfortable sitting. Most people who start bike riding as an adult think that the reason their hiney hurts is they need a wider, cushier tractor seat, but what they really need is miles. I don’t know what really happens, but it is like forming callouses on your hands from doing manual labor. If you are sitting correctly on a modern lightly padded skinny seat after a while of riding your sit bones won’t bother you even on very long rides.

After riding we did our weekly grocery shopping and were home and in the house for good by 10:30 AM.

I was pleasantly surprised by Stranger Than Fiction that we watched this afternoon, it would have been perfect if not for the happy ending, I would have given it a 10 out of ten, had it stopped right after the bus accident part.

Started down, went up, back down, up for the deluge, back down to dry out, up again, down once more, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 352

16 & 1

PaxvilleWe hunted loads of Post Offices today while coming back from Florence. Found all 17 locations we were looking for, but it turns out one place wasn’t a PO anymore. At the intersection of US15 and SC261, AKA Paxville, SC, there was a convenience store at the correct address with a really cool mural on the side, but the only remnants of postal activity was a faded Blue Mail Box out front squeezed between an empty newspaper box and an overflowing trash can. There was no outward signs proclaiming that is was a Post Office. I went inside and looked around, there were no internal signs either, not even a “Buy Stamps Here” sticker on the cash register. Other than that, we had quite the productive day. We traveled around 250 miles to go the 130 miles between Florence and Aiken because of all the zig-zagging around.

Even though it was only 11:30 we decided to eat lunch in Santee because it was probably the last civilization we would see until we got back to Aiken. We actually pulled into the Cracker Barrel parking lot before making a hasty retreat to a Maurice’s BBQ next door. Donna kind of wanted soup, but I didn’t really want to eat at the CB at all. I guess she took pity on me. I had a Little Joe Basket and she had a Garden Salad and a side of Chicken Tenders. She had water to drink while I sipped some southern nectar, Sweet Ice Tea.

Meal Cost: $17.36
Tip: $2.00
Spent Today: $19.36
Year to Date: $1732.78
Meals out, 101 of a possible 645.

We had breakfast out to, but it was free. Donna had Biscuits & Gravy with a couple of mini blueberry muffins and I had a bowl of Raisin Bran and a Cinnamon Bun for dessert. That’s right, we Stayed Smart©.

I’ve got Saturday’s four Post Offices up in the gallery, but it will probably take me a few days to get today’s online.

When I got home I gave the Emperor a well deserved bath.

Started up, went down, back up, down again, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 312

Being Prepared

YemasseeLast weekend I mapped out a bunch (20) of Post Offices in the northeast part of the state because that is where we would be. I covered all the POs we hadn’t already gotten from I-77 on the west to I-95 on the east, and between North Carolina on the north to I-20 on the south. The first thing Donna did when we got in the car to leave was open the South Carolina map and say, “If we go this way we can get these Post Offices.” Well, she was pointing to a section of the state that I didn’t have close up maps for the PO locations inside the actual towns. This is the second time something like that has happened, so my new project is to go ahead and make maps up for the remaining 277 Post Offices.

I’ve got 40 done so far…

Tonight I washed off the filth that had settled on the Emperor when he spent the night Wray’s place. Which reminds me, when we got to the shop to pick up the car the Service Hostess told me that the car would be out in just a few minutes as it was in Clean Up. Twenty minutes later they pulled the car up in front and gave me the keys. As we loaded the trunk and climbed inside I noticed that the car was dirtier than when I dropped it off (no doubt because it did spend the night outside.) So what did they clean up?

Started up, went down, back up, down again, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 286

New Britain 2

Friendly'sThis is the 3rd memorial service in the last two months and I hope this doesn’t become a trend. First, in April, it was Donna’s Aunt Mary, then Jerry the Condo King in May and now my Mom’s in July.

Tonight’s for my mom was a nice little service and even though the minister had never met her he did a credible job. Mom was not real religious, but in the early years she would take us kids to Sunday school and church, but when we moved to the other side of town my dad wouldn’t drive us back over to the church on Sundays (Mom never got her license), so we just stopped going. I wonder how my life would have differed if my church going days hadn’t ended at the age of six?

After the service my brother had arranged a little gathering at the VFW hall with finger foods, etc for anyone who attended the service to go to. We went, ate a bit and chatted with my step dad’s kids, but most of the folks there were Paul’s friends or co-workers. We had a request for soul soothing ice cream from the family table, so Donna and I, younger sister Diane and her husband Allan and big sister Ginny headed to Friendly’s.

Top made an extra transition today because I washed the southern bugs off the nose in preperation for gathering some northern species of insects the next couple of days.

Started up, went down, back up, back down, up again, down, up yet again, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 245

R.I.P. Mrs. Feeney

A $1,000,000 We Didn't WinAfter a bad month and a half, that started innocently enough with a fall that a broke a vertebra, my mother passed away in the Hospital of Central Connecticut this morning. We knew her health was failing with the reports I was getting from my siblings, so even though we had visited a couple months ago in April, Donna and I put in for vacation for the week of the 4th of July for another visit. Turns out it was a little less than a week too late. Oh, well, Donna and I spent a few very nice days with her back in April, including a wonderful day trip to see covered bridges in western CT.

She was a great mom (even if she did saddle me with this very painful Red Sox Fan illness thing) and I’ll miss her. My mom and dad split up when I was around 11 years old, so not only did she have to be a mother, but she also had to be the father to me and my sister and brother. Sometimes for the heck of it I would call her and wish her a happy Father’s Day. That’s Mom 3rd from the left in the bottom row from about a dozen years ago when we went to Las Vegas for Donna’s Mom’s 65th birthday. We are still heading up north starting tomorrow, just now for a different reason.

Lunch at the Evergreen Buffet. Various Chinese foodstuffs consumed by each with water to wash it down with.

Meal Cost: $12.30
Tip: $2.00
Spent Today: $14.30
Year to Date: $1394.90
Meals out 79 of a possible 528.

 
I was planning on washing the car before our trip up north anyway, so when I got home I pulled the car under the awning instead of into the garage. Washed the inside of the windows and gave it a quick waxing as well.

Started down, went up, back down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 226

Spontaneous Debadging

The Emperor has been surviving on sponge baths, AKA Meguiars Quik Detailer, for a while now, but today after work I gave him a proper washing. Then I decided to lay a coat of wax on there too. I used some Meguiars paste cleaning wax I had under the cabinet. Looks a whole lot better now, but the finish doesn’t feel baby butt smooth. Maybe tomorrow when I get home from work I’ll put another layer of wax on. I have a bottle of something else under there, I think it is called Black Magic and maybe that is what I used last time. If one layer is good, two have got to be better. Right?

While I was taking off the wax, getting it off around the edges of the chrome Mazda logo on the back end, it came loose and one side fell down. The badge is held on by 2 pins and one was broke, so I pulled the badge off the car. There are usually these fancy one way push washers on the pins, but there wasn’t one on the non broken pin and there was some adhesive behind the lettering holding the badge on. What the heck, I might as well take off the MX-5 Miata badge on the other side too. On my ’95 the Mazda was held on by two pins, like this one, and the Miata was just held on by double stick tape. I went in the house and got a piece of dental floss to “saw” through the adhesive. The floss broke three times in about the same spot. That is when I realized on the ’03 the MX-5 Miata badge was held on by two pins as well. I wrapped a screwdriver in a rag and pried off the badge. Turns out it was held on by no adhesive and only one push on washer.

I now have 2 small holes on both sides of the license plate. With the dark color car they are hardly noticeable, but I think I may fill them in with something and then use touch up paint to hide them better. When I debadged the rear on the ’95 I replaced both badges with hand cut replicas made of blue reflective vinyl. The blue on blue was very subtle in the day but really stood out at night when headlights hit them.

Now, as I write this, I know why the badges were held on so haphazardly. The body shop weasels did it when they repaired my little trunk bender from last year. The adjuster put in the cost of new badges when he did the estimate. Satcher Ford’s Body Shop reused the old badges and charged the insurance company for new ones.

Started up, went down, back up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 135

Cross Country

EllenOur neighbor’s kid (well she’s no longer a kid, she’s in college) has been horsing around for for quite a while and we have been to see her do a few events in the area over the years. Today Ellen was competing in the cross-country portion of the 3 day event at Jumping Branch Farm in Montmorenci, where we had seen her show jump before a few years ago. Ellen’s mom invited us this morning to watch with her and she made an excellent guide, filling us equine novices in on the intricacies of 3-day eventing.

All that spectating made us hungry, so we stopped at Maria’s Mexican Restaurant on the way home. Carrnitas for me and two tacos for her. We both had agua helada to drink. Even though I list what we ordered separate, today, like last night, we pretty much divvy up each dish between us 60% what the person orders and 40% of the other’s item.

Meal Cost: $12.65
Tip: $2.35
Spent Today: $15.00
Year to Date: $616.99

I gave the Emperor a proper bath this afternoon. It was already needing it and after driving a mile or so of dirt road to see Ellen jump fences, it was really time. While washing, I noticed that I have a nice scrape on the lower portion of the front chin spoiler. Wonder how long it has been there? It is on the driver’s side, so I would see it each day as we walked back to the car after work, but… The only reason I probably haven’t noticed it before now is that the primer showing through is white and the parking lot lines are white and it must look like their reflection in the spoiler. Because I am forever parking in the farthest out spot and as close to the curb as possible to avoid door dings, I bet I scraped it ever so gently on one of those curbs. I think I have a bit of that spray can of car color left that I can use to touch it up.

Started down, went up, back down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/07: 76