Today I got my first real chance to drive our 2008 MINI Cooper for a long-ish jaunt. I decided as an anniversary gift for my hubby that I’d get the windows tinted on the MINI. One of the things we noticed about the car was that it’s abundance of glass makes it very hard to block the sun when it’s beating down on you.

A good friend of mine works at a car dealership and he offered to have the work done. They did the work on my Volvo XC70 and I’m very pleased with it, so I decided to take it up there to get the work done. Lucky for me, another friend who lives in the same area asked me to take a ride to NYC with him to meet up with a friend of his from out of town. I checked with the window tinting people and they were available that day so it seemed as if it was a perfect coincidence.

I headed out early on Sunday morning. The forecast was for clear skies, ample sunshine and a temp of about 60F (15.5C), a perfect day for a drive. I’ve driven the MINI a few times and even to work (about 25miles) quite a bit, but I hadn’t taken a 2-plus hour, 120-plus mile trip in it yet. Being used to the Volvo’s large, wide and over stuffed seats, I was worried that the MINI would give me some discomfort in the back department, but I’m happy to report that it didn’t. The seats are very comfortable and not too narrow. The seating position though is low, much lower than my Volvo’s but I was never uncomfortable for a single moment.

Our MINI is an regular Cooper and not a Cooper S, it’s also a six-speed automatic and not a manual. I prefer to drive the MINI in manual mode instead of automatic as I think it makes me feel a little bit more sporty and it does make it easier to get power out of the smallish four cylinder. Don’t get me wrong the MINI is not a slow car, or under powered either. It’s just the difference between a laid back easy going ride and a more sporty, fun one. Add to the “manual” mode of the transmission the obligatory BMW “sport” button and the MINI changes it’s character completely. The shifts are quicker in both “manual” and automatic and in automatic, the transmission holds gears longer and downshifts more purposefully. The suspension seems firmer (if that’s even possible) and the steering is much more sharp. The car is an absolute blast to drive in SPORT mode. So far we’ve covered that the car is quick, fun and comfortable to drive and these are all important things for a long drive, but perhaps the most important thing (to me at least) is the interior, how did the interior and the “car tech” fare?

In a word it was GREAT. On the whole everything was easy to find and use. I personally still find the center speedometer to be completely useless. It is possible for the LCD in the tachometer to show you a digital read out of your speed and it’s essential as the speedo is out of the line of sight and it’s too vague. It’s damn hard to tell if you’re going 55 or 65. 50 or 60… no problem but 65… yeah… not so much. The radio (we have the upgraded HD radio with 10 speakers) is good. The speakers aren’t bad.. they could be better. The iPod integration is terrific with access to everything on your iPod btu the display (3 lines in the bottom of the center speedometer) is a bit small compared to the much larger display on my Volvo, but it does it’s job very well. I also made use of the built in bluetooth which was not bad though people have mentioned it’s a little hard to hear me. The iPod integration also extends to the iPhone and even does some neat tricks my Volvo doesn’t. It actually pulls your entire phone book into the radio so you can dial from the radio. Down side to this is… it’s hard as hell to find a name on that little display while you’re going 65mph.

So over all, my trip with the MINI strengthened my affection for this cute little ride. It’s comfortable, functional, fun to drive perhaps most importantly… fuel efficient. I averaged 33MPG on my trip, a far cry from the Volvo’s 22MPG.

For our anniversary, my hubby surprised me with an amazing gift, a LEGO Creator’s Series model of the Eiffel Tower. It is a 1:300 scale model which means that it checks in at just over 42 inches (108 cm) tall. It’s by far the largest (in size) model I’ve ever worked on. There are 3428 pieces in the set and it took me about 20 hours to complete it. It is impressive once built and is so tall that I had to clear an end table to fit it in to the decor. It is built in 3 sections for easy transport. Thank goodness because if it was all one piece I don’t know how I’d ever be able to put it together. It was incredibly fragile during the construction of each stage. Once the “top” was on each section it was by far more stable but the 3rd section of the tower alone is over 2 feet tall!

I have posted a set of photos of the construction over on my mobile me page. Click here to check them out.

Me, my niece (almost 1 yr old) and nephew (almost 3 years old) at the Rusty Scupper for Easter Brunch!

Today is the 13th anniversary of my first date with my sweetie. It’s also the 3rd anniversary of the day we exchanged our rings and took our “honeymoon”.

Thanks for being so wonderful and putting up with me for so long !