The sun shone today. The temperature made it above 60. WOOT! We rode home with the top down and didn't need the windblocker or the heat.

Since I'm not bike riding any more, at the "suggestion" of my wife, we have started to flirt with hiking. We have some friends that do and have tentatively scheduled a to The Len Foote Hike Inn at Amicalola Falls State Park for an overnight. In preparation for this we have bought some hiking boots (and the $14 hiking socks to go with them,) a Camelback mini pack and I talked her into buying a walking stick that doubles as a monopod for the camera. We are lucky that we have the 2000 acres of Hitchcock Woods within spitting distance, so we are going to plan on 2 walks in the woods a week as practice. A shorter walk on a weekday evening and a longer one on either Saturday or Sunday. Tonight we managed around a 2 mile hike (that is if the pedometer we got is accurate.)

Started up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 30

Rained all day, Part II. Not only that, it was cold, mid to upper 30s, and I thought winter was over? March is Saturday and damn it, it better bring spring!

Started up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 29

Rained all day. On the bright side I can leave the sprinkler off for another week.

Started down, went up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 29

Nothing much happened today. Top for the drive to work, top down for the drive home. Rollerblade for 40 minutes or so, eat dinner, monkee around on the PC and now it is time to go to bed.

Started down, went up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 28

As I loaded the trunk with the Miata caricature this morning in preparation for taking it to work, my wife asked, "Why don't you hang it here at home?" I responded with, "Huh?" She said that I could try and hang it here in the "computer" room. So that is where it is now. I pulled the giant map of Guam off the wall and placed it on the exposed nails. It is a little, no a lot, too high, so I guess tomorrow I'll fill in some holes and drill some more.

Started up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 26

Yesterday it rained in the morning, but cleared up later in the day. For the first time in a long time both Donna and I decided we didn't want to do a Master's Miata Club event. We went out to lunch (while it was still raining) to check out a place for a possible Club meeting in a town that is halfway between the two "big" towns that members come from. The food was good, but the atmosphere of the place was just so dumpy that we are thinking of other alternatives. When it came time to go out for the MMM...Time we just didn't feel like it, even though the rain had stopped.

Today was a normal Sunday, the Miata sits. Hibernated all day except for a quick outing for lunch at Moe's. They have been open here in Aiken for a while but we like to give a new place about a month or so to settle in before trying it. Not bad, but not so good that we will be hurrying back.

Started up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 25

Big doings today. It was Donna and my 1/2 day off and we had planned to go for a walk in the woods, but we got rained out. Instead we went out to lunch and then headed over to Michael’s to pick up the framed Miata caricature, before heading home. Looks really cool, but it is going into work on Monday because there is no place where it would fit in at home. When we got back to the house there in the mail was the Share The Road license plate. Now if I could only bring myself to go for a bike ride...

Started down, went up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 25

Ahh glorious spring! At least for today. Sunny, sixty and free. I had a doctor's appointment at 1:00 PM so I got to go for a couple (to and fro) small rides with the top down instead of working. To make things even better, the Dr. didn't take long to see me, so all and al it was a nice early afternoon.

Rollerbladed for about 3 miles this evening and actually had sweat drip from under my helmet onto the sunglasses. I know in about 2 months I will be complaining about the sweat, but today it was nice.

Started down, went up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 24

Are you as bored with this as I am? The temperature and whether the top on the car is up or down? Of course, who am I asking, there is no one out there. This is like talking to myself, out loud, in a crowded room where nobody is listening. Pathetic.

Started down, went up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 22

A return to near normalcy. Mid 50s and sunny so we got in a top down ride home.

Started up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 20

Today was almost as ugly as yesterday. But mercifully there was no snow or ice here. One of the Barndoor Fan Club members who lives near NYC sent in a photo of his car for inclusion on the site. YIKES!. To bad it happened now because that would have made on heck of an entry into the Winter Photo Contest.

Started up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 19

It was an ugly day, not nearly as ugly as say Washington D.C. or some other Mid-Atlantic states, but cold and rainy. We drove the Miata on a small errand this evening, but that was it. Watched a couple of the DVDs sitting around on the coffee table this weekend. Saturday was Amelie, this French film is worth the watch, even if you absolutely despise subtitled films. I think I may buy this one. Sunday was spent watching Get Well Soon and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Get Well Soon was sort of typical indie fare and I watched it all the way through hoping it would get better. Ya Ya was the longest 116 minute movie I have seen in some time and I watched it all the way through trying to score bonus points with my wife because it was a Sandra Bullock movie.

Started up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 19

It was a spring afternoon here today. Mid 70s. At one point I just went out on the back deck and lay prostrate on the bench and basked like a lizard on a rock in the warmth.

Didn't do a big drive in the car, just a couple of short errands, but we managed a 3 mile walk this morning and Donna went for a 20 mile bike ride and I went for a 3 mile rollerblade excursion. Good thing we took advantage of the nice weather today as tomorrow is supposed to be 30 degrees cooler and raining.

Started up, went down, back up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 19

Predicted rain for this afternoon cruised right on by to the north and east. Now the rain guaranteed for tomorrow is getting chancier by the minute., they're still positive about Sunday though. When I got home I put the bike rack on the car to take Donna's road bike to the shop. She went for a ride yesterday with a woman friend and mid ride it wouldn't shift out of the big chain ring, luckily the ride was mostly flat.

In today's mail was a letter from the DMV. It seems the check for $30 wasn't enough, they want $42 for the specialized plate. The $12 is for the actual registration. I should get some of it back as I just paid in November. But now I'm thinking maybe I don't want the plate on the car, I never bike ride anymore...

Started down, went up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 17

It was such a beautiful day that I considered washing the car, it was filthy, but rain is predicted for Saturday and Sunday, so I didn't knowing it would be dirty again in 48 hours. Because a bird had mistaken the trunk lid as an outhouse I needed to clean just that part of the car. Then it looked so out of place that I broke out the Maguier's Qwik-Detailer and wiped off the whole car. Not perfect, but it looks 300% better and it only took me 20 minutes.

Started down, went up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 16

It was too nice not to put the top down for the ride home tonight. The sun was bright and warm. The only downside was there was a very stiff breeze. Didn't notice it in the car so much as when I went for a couple mile rollerblade skate after we got home. It was heck on the outbound trip, but coming back home was a breeze, literally.

Started up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 14

Up for the cold morning ride and for some reason just stayed there. Not that it wasn't too cold in the afternoon to put it down, but it felt so cozy and warm inside that I just didn't want to lose the womb-like atmosphere. After a couple of hundred yards it felt too warm so we put down the windows, just didn't feel like stopping to put the top down for that short a distance.

Started down, went up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 13

Up for the cold commute. Down for a photo op this afternoon with a fellow Barndoor Fan Club member who was in town taking advantage of a defenseless 91 in a salvage yard. He needed a cable that has something to do with the top, that no other salvage yard in the state had. I ducked out of work early for my doctor's appointment and meet him in downtown Aiken. We then drove over to the County museum and parked in front of the white serpentine brick wall and snapped some pictures.

Put the top back up while in the doctor's office because it was still kinda chilly. After I got out, I thought it wasn't that bad, so dropped it again for the ride to work and then home. It will have to go back up in the morning as it is supposed to be upper 20's tonight.

Started down, went up, went down, went up, back down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 12

Actually got the top down this afternoon on the trip home from NC. After dining on Maurice's Gourmet BBQ in Lexington, SC, we lowered the top and put the windblock on for the last 60 miles.

Last May 18th I pulled the car over to snap a photo of the odometer when it showed one tenth of a million miles on it. A hundred thousand miles is a milestone in any car's life, heck odometers only used to only have *5* digits, but today I repeated that process for one that is a little more interesting - 111,111.

Started up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 8

Saturday, February 8

Off to another Disney inspired shopping experience for today, a place called Concord Mills, 200 stores around a mile long loop. It has 24 theaters on one end and a giant Bass Pro Shop on the other and in between, arranged in "neighborhoods" is a shoppers paradise. We spent a couple hours and a couple hundred dollars before we caught a matinee of "About Schmidt." There are about a half-dozen of these places around the country and Donna and I had been in the one in Dallas, Grapevine Mills, in 1999 when we were there for the 10th annual national Miata gathering and have never forgotten the experience.

Started up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 7

We drove a short bit of I-20 before escaping to the back roads for the trip to Cornelius, NC. After checking in to our motel we headed out for some dinner. We ended up one exit back on I-77 at a place called Birkdale Village that is sort of a mix of outdoor outlet mall and a Disneyesque small town with apartments above the stores. It is an interesting concept. There were a few places to choose from for eating and we picked a place called Planet Grill. The dining concept was as interesting as that of the surrounding development. (Click for a review of a sister restaurant in Charlotte that explains how it works.) Even found a parking spot right up front too. The only down side was that I had to parallel park (I know what you are thinking, "That shouldn't be too hard in that little car.") Well it isn't, but because I do it so infrequently, I'm out of practice and it took a couple of tries to get the car close to the curb.

Started up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 7

Has rained pretty much all day. Been cold too. Tonight's monthly meeting of the Master's Miata Club went well with 17 members in attendance. A few of the semi-new members came out too, which is encouraging, not that there is anything wrong with the same ol' faces. The Chinese buffet wasn't half bad either. dinner conversation ranged from the birth of a baby to the relative sanity of an ex-club member who has a bright purple vinyl top and a 3-foot high decal of Tinkerbell on each side of her car.

Started down, went up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 7

Up for "to work" and "down for home."

Started down, went up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 6

We did make it to work with it down. Because it was so cloudy the temperature in the morning was almost equal to what it was the afternoon before. But it had to go up upon arrival as rain was predicted and they were right it rained liked mad for about an hour not long after we got to work.

Started down, went up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 4

Went ahead and changed the date to this year and started over with the Top Transition count. I may keep track of something different starting on 03/03/03 and add it to the bottom as well, maybe miles.

Chickened out and put the top up for the commute to work. Down for the trip home and stayed down for the evening outing. Supposed to rain tomorrow, but maybe it won't start until late morning and we can eek in a top down drive to work.

Started down, went up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 2

Got a real nice day today, mid 60s & sunny, so we took a longer drive this afternoon than we did yesterday. Going to leave the top down tonight, it will get into the 40s overnight, but tomorrow it is supposed to hit 72.

My Miata caricature arrived Friday from CarArtz.com. In today's newspaper was a coupon from Michael's for 1/2 off custom framing so that is where I'll be heading this week.

Also in the mail Friday was a flyer from our favorite B&B in Western North Carolina, the Blue Boar Inn, offering a return guest special in April. We are going to a Deal's Gap weekend with the RoadsterChat group the last weekend in April. They are charging just $99 a night and we were going to be staying at a Microtel Inn at $89 a night. Let's see Bed & Breakfast, Microtel, Bed & Breakfast, Microtel - no brainer. We changed our reservations.

Started down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 0

Well it has been a year since I started keeping track of the movement of the convertible top of the Miata. Here is the post that stated it all. You'll notice that somewhere over the period of the year the date changed from 02/01/02 to 02/02/02. I don't remember when, but I think I did it because I really liked the alliterary quality of the 2nd's date written like that. Not sure where to go from here, should I keep up the top thing, keep track of something else like how much money I spend on the car (gas mileage is so overdone) or do nothing.

Watched the rest of the Rumpole today. The last 4 episodes of season 2 and the movie Rumpole Returns. Alone. No one else in the house gets it. I just couldn't help myself. There is something about that kind of humor that I love. I wonder when the other 5 seasons worth will make it to DVD?

Started up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/02: 371