In July 2006, my wife (girlfriend at the time) were about to begin our final semester of college and wanted to take our first "grown-up" trip together: we decided on San Francisco.

We were broke, of course, but I worked at a hotel and managed to get a free room. We spent a few days sight-seeing in the city, then decided we better get out to the wine country. I remember my dad telling me to "splurge" on a rental car so we could enjoy the drive on the historic Hwy 1 North of San Fran, so I asked what the rental car company had...and you guessed it, they had a MINI convertible!

I'll never forget getting across the golden-gate bridge, dropping the top, and punching it on those curves (it must be where they film car commercials, right?). Though the redwood forests, to the beach, in the sonoma and napa valleys, and around the city, the MINI made the trip so memorable, and my wife (only 4'11") fell in love with it and decided it was her "dream" car. I saw the light as well. The only fight we had on the trip was over who got to drive it!

3 years later, we get stationed in Germany, and finally have the means to get a slightly used 2009 Cooper S Manual, and we proceed to happily Motor all over Europe for the NEXT 3 years.

2012: we finally order our "grown-up" car, the Countryman S All4 straight from the factory, and even though our new MINI has 4 doors, we both still fondly remember that first trip together as the trip we fell in love with each other AND mini: and yes, we still use the "sport" button.

 

My wife bought her MINI in Turlock, CA (she already loved them as I have one) and drove it back to Washington State via San Diego, then the LA area and finally through SF and across the Gate and up 1 and 101 through the Redwoods. We had a great time on that trip and it's nice to hear about another MINI owner that enjoyed those roads as well. It's like they were made for MINI's!

Val

 

good stuff, man. I can't wait to take my Countryman back on the same roads 7 years later! Agreed.

 

Great story.

 

awesome!

 

Great story! I drove my moms justa vert one day and was like "this little car is peppy and fun". A few months later i found my S at the Mini of Monrovia lot and was sold.

 

Thanks for the story! Where were you at in Germany? I spent three years there myself at Rhein Main AFB in the 80's. I was fortunate enough to own a 1972 BMW 2002 tii while there. It was a blast to drive on the Autobahn there! Good times indeed.

 

Hey, Robert... I was stationed at Sembach from 1983-1986.

Went back and was stationed at HQ USAFE, Ramstein from 1996-1999.

Drove a 280ZX my first time over there, what a blast.

 

I was there from '83 to '86 as well! Small world.

 

It surely can be !

I still remember being "held" in Germany two months after my tour expired because of the Gramm-Rudman act. Had I known what Blytheville, Arkansas was going to be like, I would have asked them to involuntarily extend my tour by two years.

Sorry... didn't mean to hijack the very cool thread.