SOMETIMES PARK'S PEAK ISN'T ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN!

Sometimes Park's Peak isn't about the mountain, though it usually is!  When I inherited Dad's Mini Cooper Sport it was a really fun car.  But my sister told me it would "wear off" and its quirks at some point would begin to outweigh its nostalgia.  (Dad bought it at Christmas when he turned 90 and loved driving it until about 6 weeks before he died at 92, a little over a year ago.)  I had driven it a year and had enjoyed the attention it would bring in parking lots.  I especially liked telling folks the story of Dad buying it at 90 and driving it until he was 92.

But my sister was right.  I didn't like that it had no back seat, which meant every time Emily asked me to transport the girls, we had to switch cars.  And invariably, I'd be shopping for something BIG and would forget to switch cars.  (Dave actually liked this aspect, as it would delay or forgo some of my purchases!!)  It also had terrible blind spots. 

So I began looking for a new car.  I knew that I had not gotten the "convertible thing" out of my system, and it had to be red.  I began a computer search for convertibles with back seats and after looking at a few at Car Max, I began to narrow it down to a Volksvagen EOS or a BMW.  Dave obviously preferred the BMW and after I drove them both I agreed with him.  (When I went to the VW dealership, I drove both an EOS and a Beetle convertible.  I really wanted to like the Beetle the best, but it was noisy and had many of the features I didn't like about the Mini, though it "almost" had a back seat! LOL)

Dave wanted a couple of work days at Park's Peak, and I decided to tag along to work on some reading and writing projects.  And that way he could do some chain saw and ladder work with someone around.  We came up Monday, and Tuesday morning we woke up to COLD weather and a dusting of snow on the ground.  Having not found a red BMW in Charlotte, I searched dealerships in Asheville, and boom!  One popped up that had almost all of the bells and whistles I wanted and checked all my boxes!  I made an appointment for 10 am Tuesday morning.  We gingerly drove the MINI down the mountain (thankfully it was mostly snow and no ice).  Four hours later I am the proud owner of a 2015 BMW 428i!!   Thank you Dad!  It was a little sad to see the MINI go, but I know you would approved of the trade, and Dave's negotiations. Just wish I could take you for a spin!  Stay on my shoulder and keep reminding me that red cars get pulled over more often and so for many reasons, I need to drive safely, and not too fast.