GreenCactus

Are you going to share? This will likely be my weekend project.

Cricket was really slow to start this morning. I realize it was 18 degrees, but she's also 4 years old, with the original battery. Does she just need a beach, palm tree and umbrella drink, or is it time to replace the battery?

I'm very happy to report that the total raised for the Wounded Warrior Project was $2000! This is great because we had fewer participants than last year! Thanks to all of you for your generous donations!!

My parents arrived yesterday. I am happy to report that Ali's naming services are not needed. Their car has been named "Louise".

Since we're going to be a small group, I say we try for the back room. I'm not going to make a reservation, since there's only a few of us, but if RSVPs pick up, I'll let them know.

I'm very happy to say I was wrong. I thought it went really well!!

My parents had to replace their heating system unexpectedly and will not be arriving until Friday, so they won't be able to make the happy hour. However, I'll still be there, though it might not be at 6:30. I have to let the dog out, unless I can run home at lunch.

I'm stuck in awful traffic on 66. I'll be there as soon as I can.

I've been there a few times and I really want to like the place, but the service has never been that great. We had a much smaller DCMM dinner here last February and we were there for over 2 hours because the server was incredibly flustered. I believe she was new, but they didn't have any other servers to help her out. I'm just saying we should be prepared for things not to go smoothly. :itsme:

We typically have a post-holiday party in January or February where we do this. Also, there isn't that much space at Mad Fox (I was just there last night), so I don't think this is the best time to do it.

I think the same applies to you. :rofl:

Yep! That's it! Same color, too. It's definitely an SUV, but it's not huge. They get a lot of snow, so they need something with decent ground clearance. A Countryman would be perfect for them, but they bought this before the Countryman came out. However, my dad has a 2004 Sebring Convertible that might need to be replaced soon. I know he really likes the MINIs, so there's a possibility he will look at them when he's ready to replace Roady. Two things he's said about MINIs: After taking an entrance ramp pretty quick, he said, "Um, you don't slow down for turns." All of the MINI owners are really nice! I had no idea it would be like this. (after MINI Takes the States).

Geno- That's pretty harsh about Passport. Like any dealership, their labor rates are higher and their parts are more expensive. It's not exclusive to Passport or even to MINI. You're paying for techs that are trained by MINI and OEM parts. If those things are not important to you, there are lots of other options, as you've found. Also, Passport charges $80 for oil changes, not $128. I believe Mach V charges around $80 as well. I think you will find that any dealership or repair shop has unhappy customers. You cannot make everyone happy all the time. However, if you're going bash a shop, you should be able to back it up. Simply being more expensive is not a good reason to say "they suck". Many of us have found Passport to take very good care of their customers and to work with us on the costs when possible.

Ali - I have a job for you!! You need to name my parents car. They've had her for over a year and she still doesn't have a name. She's a purple (I think it's called "cinnamon") Ford Edge.

We saw JAMINI last night at Lost Dog Cafe on Washington St. Again, topless! We tagged him/her on the way out.

How about a happy hour before the holiday weekend starts? When: Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 6:30pm Where: Public House No. 7 6315 Leesburg Pike Falls Church, VA 22044 For those of you who have not been here before, the pub is located across Rt. 7 from Red Robin. It's next to a Sunoco station (with a touchless carwash!). There is plenty of parking. Bonus: You get to meet my parents (if you haven't already).

Very nice!!! :motor:

The barefoot driving thing comes up occasionally and since I drive without shoes fairly often, I looked into it. There is currently no state that has any regulation about footwear when driving a car. Unfortunately, I can't find an easily quotable source for this. If you google "driving barefoot laws" you get all sorts of information, though. Apparently, AAA has a book that states it, but I'm not going to buy a book. I guessing the guy wearing flip flops got a ticket not for wearing flip flops, but for failing to maintain control of his vehicle. Even though, that may have been caused by wearing flip flops. Personally, I can't drive in flip flops, it's just not comfortable.

I'm not going to make it to this one. I need to be in DC by 11:00am, so that doesn't really work.

I didn't mean that it was crazy they are offering the shuttles to the malls. I just meant it would be crazy to go! Ali- I'm getting my winter wheels put on and an alignment, so I'll get the $25 off.

And free shuttles to go shopping. :stupid: I'll be there, but I made my appointment before the email came out.

I did a preliminary count of the donations last night and we're at about $1400. This doesn't count Paypal donations or the proceeds from the t-shirt sales. I'll post the final amount in a few days.

In case anyone is interested, we will be having a t-shirt clearance sale tomorrow. T-shirts from past events will be $10 each. We have shirts from MTTB 1 and 2 and MOTD 2010 and 2011. No pre-orders on these.

The spider is pretty cool...