GOT ONE!!!!!

Heck with the schmuck in SC... I found my MINI!!!

Who'da thunkit? I was looking south when I should've been looking north.
So there it was, sitting in EBAY from Southampton, NY,
So I pack a bag, kiss the wife and kids, and board a bus headed for the big city. I get there at about 4:45am and make my way to Penn Station (with a little help from this guy named Dante who pointed me in the right direction before going to court for drug trafficing charges.) I hung out in Penn station for a while until my train arrived headed for Southampton.

Oh yeah, here's a pic from Penn Station.
I boarded the train and arrived at Southampton, NY at about 11:00am.
It was great... I finished the paperwork, hopped in the mini, and cruised to Staten Island to visit my brother. Little do I know, being from the south where we don't have tollbooths, there is no alternative to ez-pay or cash... that's it. So I'm sitting in the naughty lane at the toll for not having $9 in my pocket at the time and this cop walks up to the mini. "Are these things even legal in the States?" he asks as he sees I am driving from the right side of the vehicle. "Yes sir." I reply. He comes back with, "Who'da known?".

Now at this point I could have made no comment at all... I probably should have held my tongue, but that damn smartassery came out again...

"Oh, I don't know, maybe someone tasked with enforcement of traffic regulations?"

Did I really just say that out loud?

To my extreme luck, either he:
a: got it but though it a witty retort and decided to let it slide
b: did not hear me, or
c: did not get it.

From the looks of the guy, I'm guessing full well it was "c".

Anyway, the visit with my brother went well. I only spent one night and headed out on the road the next morning. OOH! I almost forgot... Me being from a small town thought I would encounter a LOT more snobbery and selfishness from the high-speed NY-ers. Wrong. This trip was very pleasant and whenever I needed help, people were friendly and courteous.

With that being said, I will not go back to Western Beef again... not for a while anyway... and it's not just because they're only in NY and I'm not. Even if I lived there, I would do my little boycott. I went in with my very small, but purposefull list... beer and diet coke.

After finally finding my way through the quaint little maze of a store, I get to the front to pay for my items... 2 lanes, 20+ customers, 4 clerks sitting off to the side in conversation, 30 minutes, 20 customers, 2 lanes, 4 clerks sitting off to the side...

I go over and finally get the attention of one of the clerks to ask if they are going to open another lane... "Oh, I don't know, maybe."

I briefly contemplated putting my items back on the shelf and walking out. I decided, rather, to walk to the middle of their conversation and tell them, "I was planning to put these items back and leave, but I thin I'll let you put them back on the shelves instead." and THEN I left.

I bet those two items are right where I left them.

Next day, I head home.

Rain, dark... catalytic converter goes out.
I get towed to somewhere in NJ where I am charged $110 for the labor of removing the caty, pounding out the insides, and sticking it back on the exhaust.

THEY wanted to wait, order the new part, diagnose, blah blah blah... I AM THE ONE WHO HAD THE IDEA OF BORING THE THING OUT IN THE FIRST PLACE AND THEY CHARGE ME $110!

Well, I continue on and now have no battery... my wipers are stuck vertical, I have no headlights, and am forced to stay at the Days Inn in Bridgeport, NJ for $100. (They actually charge MORE for the military rate than the standard fare?!? Absurd.)

I get the car's battery charged the next morning, and drive back home stopping for gas and battery charges along the way.

I'm home, I have since fixed the alternator problem, have tuned the carburateur, and only need an alignment to get the mini running in tip top shape.

YAY!!!!! no more adventures for a while!!!

What's that dear? We need to lay a wood floor in the kitchen? Ok... one more adventure.

t