That was great Bitzie. Thanks!

Everybody at work thinks I'm crazy but I'll share with my husband - he's almost as excited as I am (he 'thinks' he's going to get to drive her - well maybe a little bit).

Just a couple more weeks. Going on 8 weeks Saturday and they said 6 to 8 weeks ... in all fairness though I did switch from the base to an S which requires a different production slot. I called just a few days later to make the change (my husband convinced me I needed more power and I know he's right ... I'm not exactly the slow lane type) ... maybe they waited to make sure I wouldn't change my mind again ... no way ... what was I thinking ($$$ - I'm an accountant).

 

I hear you, MinnieMama. Coming from a former speed demon, I must admit that it's something of a risk for me to "settle" on a JustaCooper, but I've gotta tell you that I was blown away by the basic model's get-up-and-go! And that was with the A/C cranking (ice cold) and with two passengers in the car, my partner and my MA.

My decision to go with the base model was largely financial. I love the performance the S promises, but couldn't reconcile it with my budget, or my newfound "less-is-more" mentality. At any rate, it's gotta be better than what I'm driving now...nothing!

Okay, I know I've got a little O.C.D. going on here (gee, ya think?), but I noticed something rather odd about the two pix I scrounged up of the AIDA. One shows "Wallenius Wilhelmsen" in one position on the ship, and the other shows it in another. WTF?

Here's the first:



And here's the other:



Will the REAL Aida please sail forward?

The second shot clearly shows the name "AIDA" on the bow, and the first one kinda sorta shows it (and it was obtained from WW's own sources), while the second was an independent site called "www.allthatfloats.com" (which doesn't appear to be a viable site anymore).

Here's my quandry: Why would the WW name be in two different positions on the same side of the ship? Was the name repainted at some point? If the ship is only two years old, why would the name have to be repainted?

There are also some other minor differences in both of the ships in the photos. Was there an AIDA before the current AIDA? The ship in the second picture is much older-looking.

Again, this may just be my O.C.D. speaking here, and this is purely rhetorical, but really, what's the deal?

 

Interesting...! That is five days from today!! If you extrapolate on the map we've all been looking at, it looks more like seven days to port. Right now, it seems the Aida is not making many miles in a 24 hour period. Maybe she'll pick up speed and daily miles as she gets further north due to improved wind and current conditions?? It will be interesting to see how this plays out...great fun! BTW, my order was placed 7/13, so it's only been five weeks...well ahead of schedule so far for me!

 

Dude, I would have ordered your car if I could afford it!

I see one near where I live that sounds a lot like the one you've ordered. Too bad they don't offer Laser Blue with the base model. Call me a hypocrite, but I could live with a little more than "less"...

 

AvidMINI I think there was a previous AIDA and ours replaced it so maybe the website was showing the "old" AIDA. Although, working for navy, I know that they repaint their ships constantly - the salty air wrecks havoc if you don't.

I drove both the base and the S on my test drive but they only had the base with manual transmission and I've had a manual transmission for 20 years. With the increase in traffic volume and continual shifting, I developed syattica (sp?) on my right side (a 'real' pain in the ***). I decided I just had to get an automatic ... but I was afraid the automatic with the smaller engire wouldn't have enough power when passing those old ladies on the freeway. I think they have plenty of power once they get going though.

 

I totally hear where you're coming from. My '05 Mustang GT was a manual and I loved it, until I had to drive on the hills in San Francisco! It was just scary trying to start up a hill at a light. More than once I thought I'd fry my clutch, and I still haven't mastered the skill of heel-toeing the gas, clutch and brake pedal, nor the crafty use of the parking brake! For my next car, I chose an automatic-equipped '07 Mustang GT. The irony is that I never took it into SF! So that, coupled with the thought that I would rarely drive my MINI in SF, nor do I get stuck in rush hour traffic (a nightmare), I decided to go the cheap, but fun route of rowing through the gears in my MINI.

And I agree with what you said about the ships needed constant painting and maintenance. I guess they only look "showroom fresh" when they're Christened at sea!

 

I believe your car will have DSC with Hill Assist. Next time you're in San Francisco, the brake will hold for two seconds after you release the pedal. No more endangered clutch

 

Really? That's pretty cool. I'll have to check that out. Thanks for the tip, oldsbear!

Maybe a trip to SF is in order after all!

 

Bad news, everyone. The Aida has struck a mattabubu.

 

what's a.....nevermind

 

Ahh! Almost gotcha!

 

Pickin' up speed again...



Only five more days of this silliness.

Boy, the wait wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

 

I think the standard Mini is a great car!! After reading a test drive write-up, I'm thinking the non-S would have been just fine for me. This write-up said the S has an annoying jerk when the turbo kicks in, and how this became very tiresome after a while (I did not find this to be true during my test drive). The article went on to say how the non-S is more fun because its all useable horsepower/torque all the time. I think you will love your car.

 

Thanks, I'm sure I'll be happy. I haven't enjoyed the anticipation of getting any car as much as this one. I think my decision to get the basic model was a wise one; I'm living within my means and I still enjoy being part of the MINI community!

 

Going to hi-jack the thread for a bit. My sister (Who bought a 'foster' MINI (it was a demo with no designated owner) didn't get the chance to go through this process of waiting for delivery. So she's been sort of living though me as we wait for mine. So tonight we got to wondering if the WW site tracked cargo back to when her's was built. Sure enough, her MINI came over to the States on the WW Topeka and was tracked through the canal on this thread -- https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ghlight=Topeka

The funny part is .. the movie of the Miraflores locks shows the SAME BIRD as was in the crossing of the Aida ship.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...500/Topeka.mov

Must be the guardian MINI watcher of the Panama Canal!

 

P.S. I almost got a standard MINI myself but my Sister got a MINI Cooper S and we figured since they would be brothers that they wouldn't fight and would get along better together if they had the same toys under the hood ('cuse me bonnet).

When I was test driving the S versus the non S, it was really hard to tell the difference in "normal" street driving (the way I drive anyway, probably not the way my Sister drives around town).

It was really hard to tell any driving difference.

 

http://www.ship-hunters.be/Images/Ca...sen/WWLine.htm

BTW there are two Aida's . It appears the 1991 one is the one in picture number 2, and the 2006 is the one in picture number 1.

The wording that spaces back farther on the ship (2006 era Aida) matches up with the ship that went through the Panama Canal.

 

Bitzie, you TOTALLY ROCK! That's so awesome, and it's no hijack whatsoever, but a great story. It relates perfectly to what we're currently experiencing. I'm glad your sister got to enjoy a little taste of the excitement and anticipation we're experiencing. (On a side bar, I don't feel quite so INSANE anymore, considering that others have shown the same level of enthusiasm!)

How did you ever dig up those pix of the "new and improved" AIDA? Great pix! I copied them and here they are:





It certainly puts my mind at ease. Now I'm sure beyond a shadow of doubt that we did in fact, capture images of our ship as she made her way through that famous canal!

In the meantime, I PM'd the guy who created that GREAT video of the Topeka heading through the Miraflores locks to ask what program he used to generate his video. I was hoping it would help me make a better one. I'm just not thrilled with the ones I uploaded to YouTube.

PS - That is pretty funny about seeing the same bird in the pictures. I wonder if it really is!

 

Here's a VIDEO of the Aida entering the Gatun Locks of the Panama Canal on August 12, 2008. It's the second ship in the clip.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...nama_Canal.mov


Music courtesy of Bear McCreary, "Admiral and Commander" from season 3 of SciFi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica."

 

AvidMINI I'm sure you'll be more than happy with your baby - if I hadn't really wanted an automatic I wouldn't have changed to the S. Plus since they didn't have any base with auto meant I wouldn't even get to 'test' it first and then I started thinking maybe there's a reason why they don't order them with auto so ...

Then, of course, I started thinking maybe I should have gotten Laser Blue w/white top and chrome mirror caps ... And then, the multifunctional steering wheel ... well, you get the picture. But when I start thinking like that, I pull up my picture of Minnie and I know she's going to be perfect just the way she is. If she'd just get here!

Looks like the AIDA will be almost to the tip of Baja by this time tomorrow. Looks like clear sailing. The Port Hueneme Oxnard Harbor website now has the AIDA scheduled #4 on 8/20.

 

Thanks for the reassurance! I'm so stoked about getting this car, that I can barely stand it. I think I'm driving everyone around me nuts. It wouldn't be so bad if I already had a car. Going seven months without one, or even access to one is an exercise in patience!

Here's a VIDEO of the AIDA as she passes through the Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal on her way to Port Hueneme, California on August 12, 2008.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...nama_Canal.mov


Music courtesy of Bear McCreary, "Fight Night" from season 3 of SciFi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica."

 

Believe or not I found the old/new Aida pics while looking for Topeka pics :-)

 

That's cool. Good detective work.

You're a good sister, btw. It's nice that you went through the trouble to find and share the record of your sister's car's voyage!

 

Here we are... Only FOUR DAYS REMAIN!

 

THREE DAYS and counting...



Here's our position in relation to a few other ships:



Here's something cool I've been toying with, it's a real-time topographical (?) map of the cloud cover of the Earth. It shows imagery of the actual sky within a specific time frame.

Here's the current cloud cover in the vicinity of the Aida:



...And what it may look like to those on the bridge of the Aida, given their course heading and location:



PS - When you look up the definition of "obsessive" in the dictionary, don't be surprised to see a picture of me!