10 Days Out

It’s getting so close, I can hardly contain my excitement. I spend last Saturday with the Austin Mini Cooper Car Club at Eurocharged Performance ATX. They were offering a special on the dyno and I succumbed to the peer pressure after watching the others get tested. Even a Classic, which got 60 HP, by the way. AMCCC had a bit of a competition so I wanted to see where Snoopy fell in the group. Since Snoopy is 5 years old (and now fully paid off) and fully stock parts, I was curious how it’d perform. Snoopy placed pretty solidly in the middle of the pack with 178 HP and 209 TQ. Not too shabby! I think the new stickers might have added a few extra horses. :)

MINI USA posted the route sheets so I’ll be embedding the maps into the pages as we go so you can follow along! I’m excited about all of the small towns we’ll be passing through and the pit-stops that they have arranged for us.

And, today, thanks to a generous donation, my Feeding America fundraising is over $200! I’m at 41% of my $500 goal. Thanks to everyone that has contributed already - a little goes a long way - each donation provides up to 11 meals for people that food insecure. So even $5 provides at 50 meals! See the Feeding America link to the right for more details.

This time next week, I’ll be heading to New Orleans!

The Countdown is on...

We're 19 days out from the official start of Mini Takes The States 2016 in Atlanta. My car, Snoopy, is essentially ready. My brother and I added all but one of my decals this weekend after I spoiled Snoopy with a full detail. Well deserved, I believe, after 5 years of service.

For the uninitiated, or those who haven't spoken with me in the last few months, MTTS is a two-week biannual cross-country drive. I participated in a few stops during the last trip and I'll be doing the first half this year. So that's Atlanta, Charlotte, Richmond, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Detroit, St Ignace, and Green Bay. My mom will be my co-pilot and we'll be trying to document as much as we can along the way. I hope to post pictures, videos, playlists, pit stops and mileage along the way.

Additionally to all of the fun, Mini has partnered with Feeding America. Collectively, we hope to raise $75,000 and my personal fundraising goal is $500. Please follow the link on the right to make a contribution. Every dollar helps provide 11 meals, so every little bit can make a big difference!