On Saturday March 29th at 12:00 noon there will be a picnic in Gastonia, NC at Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens. The purpose of the outing, besides having fun with our MINIs, is to discuss the formation of a "Club". The "Club" will be for those that are interested in MINIs and live in North and South Carolina.

A group of about 25 people met in Charlotte on February 22nd to discuss this idea. This is just the next step. Please bring your ideas and your own food for the picnic. All are welcome. For more information here is the link to DSBG
Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens (http://www.dsbg.org/)

mininc -

You can count on myself and my 2 year old son (he loves my driving!). Sounds like a lot of fun and I'd definitely be interested in talkiing about a regional club. God knows we have some of the nicest roads in the country for the MINI to shine on!!!

G,

Count me in as well.

What are the arrangements for food (provided/BYO)?

G

Glad you can make it.

Food is BYO.

G

I'll be there and am looking forward to meeting other MINI owners and fans in the Carolinas.

George I'm planning on coming down / over. Looking forward to seeing everyone again.

G,

What's the roll call for the meet? Not that I'm bailing if numbers are low (I AM NOT), - just curious.

Any RTP'ers heading down there?

G

Molly sent out an email today, should have numbers soon, I guess.

Howdy folks,

I've already talked to mininc and told him that I won't be able to make the picnic. But, I definitely want to be included in future meetings/get-togethers.

This is a bit of a cross-post from MCO, but I finally have my production number after switching from Flow to Century MINI, and I should have a MINI in early June.

Here's the deal:
Chili Red/White Mini Cooper S with sunroof.
Spots and Stripes
Cloth Seats with silver interior. Black bolsters and door panels.
Options Pack #1 and #2.
Silver 17" S-lites to be replaced with R90's shortly after arrival.
Auto Dimmer/Wipers
Euro Shelf
Full 6-switch toggle panel
Glovebox organizer

Planned mods: Borla Exhaust, Madness Intake, brake pads, shift knob (maybe).
Planned mods after warranty is 'bout up: 15% reduction pulley

And to think I was going to go conservative at first with dark silver and chrome MC grill, etc.
Woohoooo! Can't wait until June.

Y'all have fun,
JS

And somehow DS is conservative? :~) Please tell the NCHP, LOL

Glad to hear you've made the switch to Century, good people there. I never got on Flow's list but when I checked back in June 02 it was 9 to 10 months for an S, while Century's was only 2 months

Thanks for the route for this weekend's run, BTW, JS, but it looks like our season is finally picking up and I'll be at the airport this weekend.

Later
P.S. I talked to Dan the other day, he says hi.

I hope the NCHP leaves me alone. I'm thinking of getting a window decal like yours, only mine will say "Too old too race." ;-)

I hope the route is OK, Smokey. Gaston County isn't the most scenic place in the world, so I did the best I could with what I had to work with. :) I basically keep the route as rural as possible. It sure isn't like the area you live in.

Sorry you won't be able to make it to the picnic, but it may get washed out due to rain. The forecast is a moving target, though. Hopefully the rain this weekend will put out any fires you're dealing with.

Hey, I was up near Saluda last week, down near Big Bradley Falls (Green River area), and I noticed half the mountain top was burned off near the road. Did you have to deal with that one? It looks like erosion is going to be a real problem there, too.

See ya,
JS

Smokey

All that rain should be on Friday, so you can Motor on Saturday when the sun shines.

We need the "Enforcer" there on Saturday.

Nope the green river area was the us wildlife. I cover the 32 counties on the west so need large scall rain.

Originally posted by MINIMENC
G,

What's the roll call for the meet? Not that I'm bailing if numbers are low (I AM NOT), - just curious.

Any RTP'ers heading down there?

G

I might just try to make it. PM me if you want to caravan down there?

Markie and all other RTP'ers,

If you want to convoy down there, let's meet at 8:45am at the Morrisville Outlet mail car park. I Mapquested the directions and they reckon about 3 hours, obviously at non-Mini speeds! If you feel this doesn't leave us enought time and want to leave earlier, please let me know. I'll check the board tonight.

If you have FRS radio's please bring them!

G

Thanks to everyone that attended the picnic and drive on Saturday.

We are well on our way to forming a MINI Club for people in North and South Carolina.

More information to follow.

Originally posted by mininc
Thanks to everyone that attended the picnic and drive on Saturday.

We are well on our way to forming a MINI Club for people in North and South Carolina.

More information to follow.

I'm sorry I wasn't able to attend. The girlfriend reminded me that we had "other" plans we committed to on Saturday.

Keep us informed on the MINI Club, I'm really curious about the formation.

Thanks to all who organized - it was a very productive meet!

Below are a couple of pictures of the event - click for the larger version:

http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/MINIMENC/miniv_thumb.jpg (http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/MINIMENC/miniv.jpg)

http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/MINIMENC/chlt1_thumb.jpg (http://www.mini2.com/gallery/personal/MINIMENC/chlt1.jpg)

Nice Pics MINIMENC,

So sorry I couldn't make it, looks like a fun outing. I just got Molly's email and sounds like things are on the way in forming the club.

See ya, next time

Missed ya Smokey! Hope you stayed safe this weekend - bet the snow helped some!!

Had a good time Saturday, Sunday we had to dig out 4" here at the house. We'll never have a good season with all this moisture, they say that's a good thing :~(

Maybe you need one of these!

http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/monstergarage/episode/gallery/15_10_hzoom.jpg

:D :D :D :D

Ha, ha I saw that and cried the whole night. Chopped up a very nice CR.

Oh, and congratulations on your appointment!

Back on subject: Anyone else take some pictures of the picnic?

sorry i could not make it...i had to work! sniff sniff..

MINIMENC
Thanks for the pictures from the picnic, they turned out great.

scottnsc
Sorry you were not able to attend. The club is coming along nicely. There will be more information posted soon.

Smokey
We missed having you at the picnic. See you next time. We needed you; we only had 4 Dark Silver MINIs at the picnic.

Was it the prettiest color once again?

Only kidding, looks like red was a close second.

Originally posted by Smokey 4
Was it the prettiest color once again?

Only kidding, looks like red was a close second.

Never, LY is always the best color (or is that colour?)! :)

Hey bud, long time no hear!

You coming up to the dragon?

And just to end the debate before it starts; they all look great!

Originally posted by Smokey 4
Hey bud, long time no hear!

You coming up to the dragon?

And just to end the debate before it starts; they all look great!

No, I can't make the dragon, work won't let me take the time off. But I will be at "The Gathering" British car show in Winston-Salem on Saturday May 3rd. The MINI is one of the featured cars but with everyone at the dragon I may be the only one there holding up the MINI name.

Could net you a trophy, you going to show or just go?