Mini Washings

Sunny Day

I know that Wednesday was just one of 300 advertised sunny days here in Klamath Falls, but because the mercury went higher than 50 in January, it was definitely time for a top down Miata drive. We dropped off a box to be mailed to Washington state, we bought a lottery ticket and then did a small loop south of town hoping to catch the F15s flying.

I think the Mini wheels don’t look too bad on the Miata. Speaking of the Mini, the weather was still nice enough after returning from the Miata drive to give the Mini an actual hand wash in the driveway. If you have ever had a flat vertical back on a vehicle, you know how dirty they can get. After the last snowstorm we had the combination of the crushed cinders used on the roads for traction and melted snow made for a very ugly combination on the back of the Mini.

At The Car Wash

Took advantage of the next to last nice day (tomorrow probably is the last nice day until spring) to wash both cars. The CTBNL needed it because we recently parked under a tree and there was lots of little sticky sap spots all over it. The Lady Bug needed it just on general principle (looks like the last time it got a wash was May!)

The next time the Miata gets washed will probably be April. The next time the Mini gets washed it will be at a local automated place.

Busy Bee

Yesterday afternoon I decided to wash both cars. First up was the Mini. I backed it out into the driveway, unfurled the hose and filled up two 5-gallon buckets (one with soap and water and the other with plain water.) After I finished washing and drying Ladybug I let it roll further down the driveway to pull out the Miata.

As I walked back into the garage I noticed that right smack along the middle seam of the RaceDeck flooring it was buckling up an inch or so. The sun was beating down on the first few feet into the garage and I guess the heat was causing the plastic tiles to expand. Odd that it was right in the middle, there is at least and inch gap between the wall and flooring on both sides for it to move into.

So I moved the Miata out and tried to stomp on and slid the edges outward to flatten the floor in the middle. Not that it really is a problem it would only happen on a sunny warm day with the garage door up for more than a few minutes, but it did upset my uncontrollable need for order. I have been thinking about moving the 24 carpeted tiles from between the two designated parking areas for a while. The carpet gets dirty from car tires hitting the edges and debris being blown in by the westerly breezes running straight up the driveway.

Now would be a good time to do it. Instead of washing the CTBNL I spent the next few hours rearranging the interlocking plastic floor tiles. First I started by basically breaking the floor in half, right up the seam where it was buckling. This gave me access to the middle “aisle” of carpeted flooring. Then I broke apart the inside extended section where the RaceDeck flooring stops by the second door, this was the replacement for the 2′ wide by 12′ long section of carpet. The carpet was then formed into a 3′ by 8′ area to fill in where the CircleTrac style tiles were.

 
This afternoon the CTBNL received its slightly delayed, but much needed, washing. I just started using the 2 bucket wash method here after I bought an orange Home Depot bucket to compliment my blue Lowes bucket I brought with me. It is probably overkill for the 18-year old Miata, as it came with plenty dings and scratches all over. And I’ve added more. But the paint on the newer and fewer miles Mini is in better shape and might benefit from it. I don’t think I’ll go as far as buying grit guards, but this should protect the finishes of the cars some.

Spring Springs

After last weekend’s chilly rainy weather it has slowly warmed up to above average temperatures and dry. In Aiken it feels like spring three weeks before the official start of Spring, here it arrived three weeks after. Flowers are popping up everywhere, trees are budding or flowering too. The sounds of lawnmowers permeate the afternoon air. And we mulled over buying a lawnmower or hiring someone to do it.

This afternoon Donna puttered around with some planters out in the front yard and I washed the Mini. Afterwards we sat on the front deck having a cold beverage and watching the neighborhood kids ride their bikes back and forth on the sidewalk. We came in after only 30-40 minutes, not because it was too cold, but too hot, the bright sun and 73 degree temperature felt too warm at this altitude…

This past week and a half we have supported 4 local restaurants: a pair of two-piece boxes from KFC, a couple of Club Lulus subs from Jimmy Johns, two bowls of clam chowder from the Mermaid Garden Cafe in downtown and fish tacos from our favorite food truck. Number five will tomorrow when we try for the first time getting dinner to go from the Red Rooster Grill and Pub.

Exercise in Futility


Both cars were covered in a layer of yellow powder, that is always around at this time of year. Pine Pollen. Around here it starts at the end of February and sticks around until the beginning of April, so it is sort of past peak, but still a nusience.

Both cars are covered in it. It is not like we are alone either, everyone’s cars are covered, especially those who live outside like the Mini. Donna was getting embarassed to be seen driving around in the Mini as it really shows on the red car. The Miata on the other hand didn’t look bad until you got about 6 feet away from it. Today both cars got washed.

The Mini got its bath first and then the Miata and by the time the second car was finished there was already a fine coating on the first car. You couldn’t see it yet, but you could feel it if you wiped your hand on the surface. We’ll see what it looks like in the morning. The CTBNL was dried and pulled immediately into the garage (not a total shield, but maybe 95%.)

72,000 Grains of Pine Pollen

I didn’t have an idea for how to use seventy two thousand in the title of this post, so I went back and looked to see what I used when the Emperor hit that mark over a little over 11 years ago: 72,000 Grains of Rice. Perfect.

Last Friday I washed both cars.

The Miata because it needed it. The other day I leaned into it to get something out of the center console and when I stood up there were dark smudges on the both thighs of my khaki hued jeans. Man, do silver colored cars hide road grime well.

The Mini because it needed it. When Donna got home from the gym on Thursday she complained because you could see of fine coating of about 72,000 pine pollen grains built up on the roof of the car. Man, does a gloss black roof show yellow pine pollen grains.

On our day trip Saturday to gather a few Moss Motoring Challenge points just outside Tennille, Georgia the CTBNL passed through the 72,000 mile mark.