I‘m out of Orlando, driving over to Palm Bay for a fun model railroad ops session. Nobody else could go – the invite list is tight and my buddy has a cold and backed out. So it’s just me. And that’s fine.

I’m finally getting a chance to get my new Mini Cooper out of the city, to let it loose on the wide open road. I’ve got the windows down, the sunroof open, and its a balmy 74 degrees. The sun’s just overhead, so sliding the shade forward screens me. The car’s flying along at 80+mph, sipping gas in the upper 30’s range, and the ride is solid. I’ve got Heavy Metal on the CD, all the asshole FUV riders stayed at home, so it’s just brilliant.

Yes, this is my new car.

I love this mini. It gets 10mph better mileage than my old beetle (how could Volkswagen not pursue a greener path with their later bugs, given their client base?). This car is polished and waxed and just slides through the air. When I need to, I can boost around slower traffic easily enough. And I’m comfortable with all the controls in reach.

Yeah, I love this car.

Of course, on the trip back, I picked up a couple of bugs (not the VW kind, but the squishy kind) on the front end, so I’ll be washing her tomorrow. But still, fun.

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