Well folks, here we are...



Nothing to worry about except for sea monsters...

 

hey MINIs also share the boat(s) with Rolls-Royce's

 

Those are some pretty distinguished cousins, eh?

One interesting thing I learned today. It's how to pronounce our first port-of-call, Port Hueneme, California.

It's pronounced "wye-nee-mee," NOT "YOO-NEH-MEE" as I've been pronouncing it!

Who knew? Wikipedia straightened me out, in a manner of speaking.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Hueneme%2C_CA

 

Just call it Oxnard :-)

 

Ya its Oxnard. I may try to go down and take pictures of it at dock unloading. Im just not sure if I can get close enough to take anything decent.

 

Oxnard works for me! Ironic, in that the MINIs originated in OxFORD, England.

It would be beyond cool for you to capture ANY MINIs being offloaded from the ship! Only if you can do it without getting into trouble.

I'll keep watchin'...

 

"Land Ho!"



Well sort of... Our ship is nearing Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti in the Caribbean Sea. We'll be at the gates of the Panama Canal before you know it!

So, to date, at least NINE MINIs belong to posters on the NAM site. That's pretty cool, considering not everyone is hip to online forum communities.

Here's the roll call thus far:

AvidMINI (duh!)
gregp84
ckgibson
jhbjrpdx
RSXtoMCS
pigzoom
mitemini
Bitzie

sequence chimed in to tell us that we'd be sharing the ride with some prestigious company, but I don't think he's on the ship since his location reads "Week 40 MINIs Rule!"

Any other shipmates out there?

 

I recently vacationed in Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. and I'd like to share these pix with y'all...

"Wheels When You Want Them?" I want my MINI now!



MINIs appeared to be the car of choice for the "Zip Car" company. They were everywhere! I didn't rent this one because I didn't need a car, but I certainly would have if I did.

Everything seemed to conspire to remind me of my MINI. Even this Seattle bus bore an ad for an opera named after the SHIP carrying my MINI to the states!



I told you guys I had it bad!

 

Looks like we picked up a little steam since yesterday's progress report!



Monitoring this journey has been something of a lesson in geography for me.

So are we set at EIGHT NAM users? Are there any others that are booked on the Aida?

 

Well, with the weather being so nice and all, between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic...



I decided to jump ship for a while and catch some waves!



Let me know when it's time to go...

 

I got an email from my MA a couple of days ago - my MINI is on its way (which I knew of course). He said they usually get their shipment about a week after arrival and if they get it in the morning it'll be ready the same afternoon. Looks like the AIDA is on time so ... maybe the 26th!

 

That's AWESOME news, Minnie Mama!

As you may have heard, I'm actually hoping to take delivery the weekend of the 30th, so I can lay down some more cash on my baby (it's the day after PAY DAY). Every penny I can apply towards the down payment helps bring my monthly car payment down!

I hope you get your car ASAP. I hope you post "delivery" pix. Taking delivery is always cause for celebration. Who tires of getting a NEW car?

 

Somewhere I read that AIDA may be going through the canal on the 10th but the official info says Panama on the 11th. Does anyone know which day is it?

(and yes how many are going to be watching the web cam?)

 

I'll be watching!

http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html

My source tells me the ship won't be "transiting" until the morning of August 12th.

Click on this link, then scroll down until you see the "Aida."

That's where I'm getting my info. If anyone has another source, please feel free to share. We're all in this together!

http://www.boydsteamship.com/daily_traffic_report.htm

 

Time for another update! Past Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, Aida is now in the heart of the Caribbean Sea and has Panama in her sites.



Our cars will be here in no time at all!

I'm going to try and snap pix of the Aida as it goes through the locks of the Panama Canal. It won't be easy, though because I'm not sure what time of day it will be there, or if my work schedule will allow, but I'll certainly give it a go...

 

Any thoughts on how long it will take to go through the canal?

 

Excellent question.

Wikipedia says it typically takes around 9 hours.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal

 

Not bad. Thanks for the info, AvidMINI.

While Wikipediaing the Panama Canal, I found another WW ship. I saw the picture of our Aida and thought I'd share this one of another Roll On \ Roll Off (holly scheiße (schiza) this ship is huge). If that F250 looks that small next to this ship, as well as the people, then think of how our MINI's would look.

 

Here's everyone's 6 hour dose...

 

Cool beans... A fellow plotter! And nice find, RSXtoMCS. That ship is the "Tourcoing," a RORO ship built in Norway in 1978. Our ship is much newer; it was built in 2006. Hopefully, that means it has much greater stability on the high seas. Not that I'm worried or anything!

 

Has anyone ever seen such pinpoint precision in steering a ship in a specific direction? If you were to connect-the-dots, you'd see the Aida hasn't veered from her straight path since leaving Southampton!

My guess is there's no reason to vary her course as there are not many obstructions between there and Panama, and that it reflects fuel conservation. I'm sure it costs quite a bit just to use the Panama Canal!

So here we are...

 

Yep, I check on the ship's progress multiple times a day. I'm sure my OCD is showing here but, since I'm in good company on NAM I think it'll be appreciated , I print out each map update and post it to the bulletin board in my office.

Took this shot a few months ago while I was "Testing" a 32in LCD.

 

Ya know, normally I'd worry about how much I'm into my car, but after having spent the past seven months on the bus to and from work, I'm happy to say I don't worry if I come across as anything less than fanatical!

Besides, this car is more than just a "grocery getter" to me. So, I'm okay with being a little over-the-top with my enthusiasm. I know that a year from now, this thread will serve as a valuable time capsule of sorts, demonstrating the degree to which I enjoyed sharing my enthusiasm with others.

In short, it's "all good."

 

Is it me or is the Aida moving quicker?

She'll (and by proxy, WE'LL) be through the Panama Canal in NO TIME!



Check out this VIDEO:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_r08HiYltE

This one's pretty cool. It's the Benny Hill version of transiting the Panama Canal!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NoLcrd1ggc

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vi19z4LEi0
That one is cool as well.