Emmy Go Bragh :)

I donęt plan this stuff. Well, sort of- I knew it was going to be snow hell 2days ago when I had to drive to Philly, and that there would be salt and residue everywhere, there was nothing I could do about that. I also knew it was supposed to get warm today so I planned on taking care of Emmy on the trip out of Philly, back to New York City. When I took her out of the garage (remember this is the big city~ I have to park my car in a garage below my building and let the garage guys park her... and cover her....) they asked "Youęre NOT taking her out TODAY are you?" I was almost too embarrassed to say "yes". Although snow had passed, there were big dirty snow drifts, patches of ice... I had made a tape of my favorite album tunes (yes ALBUM tunes- I had to buy a turntable to play them, the kid at Circuit City said "Donęt you have go to an antique store to get those?" Oh yeah? Antique my Procol Harem, kid.) So of course, the drive was excellent- but when I got out of the car- ewwwwww. How could she possibly have gotten so much white caca all over her? Hmmmm.

Then give her to the hotel attendant to valet park- no other way to park her in Philly. So she sat in the white gook for 2 days :(....


Maybe its because sheęs green and this is St. Pattyęs day- we had one of those incredibly excellent days- it was supposed to be 65 but it felt like 80. Now look, I donęt want to get competitive but- Bryan babe, if you only drive in Texas, youęll never know how fabulous it is to drive top down when itęs 65+ and crisp clean air with patches of snow all around in a world of freshly washed and dried roads. (Monkey Boy ;-p)
Which brings me to why I will not buy a hardtop for Emmy. I told cousin Lisa (LiZeeęs mom) I was going to buy one and she (actually her husband, Bill) said, "Just remember, if you have a hard top, when there is one of those warm days in the winter, you wonęt be able to take advantage of it." Today really made the point. I would have had the hard top on going down, and been stuck with it going back. Everyone has their priorities. Mine is driving top down. I did not see ONE Z3 on the road either way. I saw a Boxster- HAD THE TOP UP! Hey, itęs great if you can have a nice little Boxster Porsche, but... well seeing that one top up on this day surely make them look ridiculous in my eyes. I also saw a Viper- and felt sorry for them- it was a hardtop version. I could feel their pain when they saw me. :)

Some of you will know why I will mention that this was a trip consisting entirely of back roads, with as many twists and turns and one lane bridges as possible, although great big highways are available and would cut my trip time in half. Having a superduper fast car today would have been a hardship. I was in 1.9 heaven.
I stopped by cousin Lisaęs to wash the crud off Emmy- it was so hot I had to strip to a bustier and Billęs shorts. (Hey, that was all the summer wear that I could find at their house.) While I was there, guess who showed up home early from work? Is it just me or is her windscreen different? Behind the headrests hers looks opaque- mine is see- through.We were all scurrying around to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE while Emmy and LiZee played out in the driveway- I guess not using the boot cover and leaving the clips up is a family thing :)

She got out early to spend time with her daughter who was home on Spring Break from college. I taught this kid to drive a stick shift in Emmy. Nice eh? A kid like this makes you want to run out and have a baby sheęs so great.

Soon we were on the road again. Wow, what a nice view in my rear view mirror. What a nice Mom, she lets the kid drive!
(click on this image to see what a Z3 grin looks like)

So its amazingly beautiful and I remember Robert posting pics he took while driving- just shoot it and sometimes you luck out. I think I did.
I tell you, my dealership is jinxed. I stopped in to ask about a little rubber piece that fell out of the gas tank lid-(thanks Bruce, you were right, of course). They were great, got me the piece and sent me on my way. This time there is NO WAY it was their fault, but every time I go there for anything, something breaks in Emmy. Last time I left there my brake fluid light came on- (the Thanksgiving fiasco) with the broken fuel pump. This time it was the "Check Engine" light.
I am trying all the while to remember all those posts about the Check Engine light~ and I think I remember the outcome was that most of the time its nothing- but sometimes its SERIOUS and the best thing to do is to have it checked out. By this time I am halfway to New York- where the mean Manhattan BMW service manager is the Wicked Witch of the East (the Thanksgiving fiasco), but I know this part of •Jersey is chock a block with BMW dealerships. I called BMW roadside assistance and a nice guy there named Mike helped me out. He was really nice. He found a BMW dealer for me, but they neglected to tell him their service dept. was closed (it was 530pm by this time, fair enough). They did, however, advise him to tell me that it can sometimes be the gas cap and yes I had just filled up (drove her to reserve of course) and yes I remembered that one from the MB. Points to them for knowing to tell me about that. BMW in Springfield. So, the check engine light is still on.

Man, its all worth it.
Happy Z3ing all :)
Happy St. Pattyęs Day!

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