Day 3

Well, today was a semi-relaxed day at my parent's in Fort Mill, SC. Was up early to eat eggs, grits, home made biscuits and gravy! When my Dad and I went outside to run a few errands, we saw there was SO MUCH rain last night that debris was washed down from the pine forest area across the road. There was over 3" of rain fell during the night!

The errands for the day were to stop by Costco to pick up some items that I couldn't find in NY (for some reason, folks in NY don't feel a need for fix-a-flat, tire pumps or jumper cables.. Turns out, they don't need them in Charlotte either!) I guess I'll stop by an auto parts or Wall Mart tomorrow on my way out.

Once we left Costco, Edgar had a noon appointment at Hendrick MINI in Charlotte to get his first oil change. Even at only 800 miles, I wanted to get a sample of the oil to send off for analysis just to see how this engine with the turbo treats the synthetic oil. There have been reports of the oil breaking down much earlier than MINI expects. The cost of analysis ($20) is a small price to pay to see exactly how the car is doing.

After leaving Hendrick MINI, we stopped by to see Jeff at Cocomats (www.cocomats.com) to pick up Edgar's floor mats. What I found when we got there escapes my description. I have added some pics of the floor mats online, but they don't do them justice either. In short, they are a FANTASTIC product, VERY well made and the fit couldn't be any better. "LIKE A GLOVE" I spoke, at length, with the owner about maybe becoming a distributor for his product in the Phoenix / LA area - one of my goals when I get back...

After getting back to the house, I was SOAKED in sweat from all the humidity. With all the rain, of course the sun came out and was like walking around in a sauna! I took a shower and got ready for my brother and his family to stop by for dinner. It was nice to see them again and to see Julian, my nephew for the first time!

I took them all for a drive, (Yes, Virginia, I got 5 PEOPLE, 3 adults and 2 children inside Edgar at one time!) and they all loved it. Julian said "it rides like a go-cart" and he's 4!

So, tonight, I'm posting this blog, will upload some pics and get to be early for tomorrow. I'm leaving towards TAIL OF THE DRAGON in Deal's Gap NC. It's not a long drive - only 350 miles or so. But I will be driving through the parts of NC that I grew up in, served in rescue and fire departments in - so I'll likely spend a bit driving through these areas to take some pictures.

Tomorrow, I spend the night in Deal's Gap , but that's AFTER I introduce Edgar to the true meaning of "twisties"!