New all seasons are going to be fine for winter. My car had the original factory tires on it from 2005 and were bald so then new ones made a huge difference.

I got mine on tire rack for about that same price and it wasn't even a close out price. I asked around the area and no one had them, but Dunn could order them in for $200 a piece. Glad I knew about tire rack you don't even feel the snow when you drive over it, I sure did last year when I had the balding all seasons.

Well this thread has been taken over.

I went and bought some legos for the toy drive yesterday...

I know I've been quieter Mitch. Had a big project I've been working on over the last week and it really cut into my MINI board time.

The voting for the time closes on Tuesday, 12/20. I'd like to keep it open that long so people like me (and you) who have to contend with weather and driving a ways have a peek at the weekend forecast. Stay tuned, and thanks for your efforts!

tedscar wrote:

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Scott, I'm guessing our admission tickets come with a tour of the fleet at Engine 12, right? But maybe we should wait until next summer when the latest & greatest arrives? (Plus, we'd get another MINI adventure out of the deal!)

I think we're up for dinner pretty much anywhere the late afternoon / night of the 20th. Personally, I'd prefer not mall or fast-food, but we're probably not too fussy. We'd have to make arrangements for Ted 'cuz we don't want her to have to wait in the car too long, but that's doable for us.

I am letting the vote play out until the 16th, unless Gary the Pirate tells me he's got to know before then. Our weather has been so nuts. We get feet of snow, then it rains, then cold again, then rain. I actually need a bit more time before I vote just to see how we'll deal with the weather and the trip. Here's a picture of what was on the roof last weekend...

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 I'll keep you and your MINI in mind if at bobcat we ever need to do any testing of Snow removal attachments

OK, WE HAVE A TIME TO MEET!

The voting has closed and we will meet at MightyMo's firehouse at 2 PM on this coming Saturday, 12/20! That's the Engine 12 Firehouse at 160 Wisconsin Street in Rochester. Once we get organized there, we will "Motor" less than a mile to the Pirate Toy Fund!

Gary the Pirate and I played phone tag today but I will talk to him tomorrow afternoon and firm up details at that end. If there is any change, I will post it on this thread.

We have probably about a good 1/2 a MINI (not a Clubman) worth of toys. Right now, everything is in bags, but I'm thinking it will look better loose in the MINI. We had originally talked about filling a Clubman. Dumpnrun or laurendesigns, are one or both of you in for this? Who wants to be the toy hauler?

If you would, please jot a note to this thread if you are going to participate. 13 people voted so I'm hoping we have at least that many MINIs. Ted and her fam are really looking forward to seeing everyone on Saturday. My email address is on my "info" page. E-mail me if you think it would be helpful to exchange cell phone numbers.

All right--this is going to be great! Thanks everyone! See ya Saturday...

Sorry to hear about your accident Mitch. Hope you and Oblio are in fine shape for Saturday. Looking forward to seeing both of you. Kind of ironic that we're traveling from far-western NY and will actually meet in Ra-cha-cha! See ya there!

I'll be there as well. I have a good carload of toys for the kiddies. Mitch, I'm very grateful for you that your airbags didn't go off. You'll have to tell us about it on Saturday.

There is a widespread Hazardous Weather Outlook for all of WNY as of now with snow, snow & freezing rain / ice, hitting the area Friday and another storm lining up for Sunday. I hope this does not affect our plans but we will have to watch it closely. I will talk to Gary today about Plan B, just in case it's not safe to travel (for any of us) over the weekend.

Ok, I think I will attend. After all I should go to work----I do live there half my life....lol.. If it does snow I will make sure the lot is clear. As Tedscar said the firehouse is at 160 Wisconsin Street. It is a brick house with 2 bays on the corner of E. Main and Wisconsin. Fairly nice area of the city so no need to worry about the mini. If you all can, As you arrive please back in the side driveway as far as you can so as to make room for the other MINIs. That should help to keep the street clear. As for Tedscar, feel free to park near the street end of the driveway so you can be directly behind the firetruck when we pull out. And lastly and PLEASE, PLEASE to not park in front of the bay doors or directly across the street.
Scott

After everyone has done thier thing be it dinner or what not, you might wish to check out after dark the house on the corner of Amsterdam and Atlantic. It is two blocks form wisconsin. It is one of the MOST decked out houses in the city and this is the LAST year the displays will be up. Yes it is the LAST year.

I talked with Gary today and we're all set. In order to make it work for Channel 10, we must have our convoy at Pirate Toy Fund headquarters at 2:30 PM!, which means we MUST meet on time (2:00) at MightyMo's Fire House. We need a little bit of time to put all the toys in one "rig" (as we used to call it out west) and get in formation. Gary stressed that Channel 10 isn't going to want to wait around.

Regarding the news coverage, Gary said he's talked to the Assistant News Director for Channel 10 and unless there's a major news story they need to cover, they'll be on hand for our special delivery to the Toy Fund. I told him we understand, and it's more important for us to get these toys delivered than to be on TV.

Looking at the updated forecast, it looks like the worst of the weather is going to be over by Friday night. Hopefully that's the case and we can proceed as planned. We're lookikng forward to seeing everyone. I'm really glad you're IN, Bagpiper!

If all goes well, we're up for getting together for light viewing / dinner etc. afterwards, but will have to take Ted to her babysitter before we do too much galavanting...

Miss MINI is IN! Lets load up my clubbie and get this done!

I have yet to grab some goodies for the kids...can someone please tell me whats needed? Age range? I'm ready to SHOP!

~Lauren
aka laurendesigns ;)

-- Edited by laurendesigns at 20:17, 2008-12-17

PepperMINI wrote:

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...so I was annoying all of my coworkers playing with them today. It's ok to play with the toys before I give them away, right?

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That sounds totally reasonable to me Holly!

Have any of your co-workers cracked yet?

I didn't know that kaybee was closing! How sad. Now there'll be no oinking pig trying aimlessly to escape from the store anymore.

OK, I hate to say it, but I need a backup plan...

I was A-OK with the weather forecast for tomorrow. Fine getting up early Saturday AM & clearing out our foot of snow or whatever we get, and driving the 2.5 hours to Rochester. However, I'm a little hinkey about Sunday's forecast, which is for more snow and substantial wind. I'm not crazy about putting all of us at risk for the drive home.

So...just thinking ahead, not ready to change anything yet, but wanting to have a plan in place. In the event that we decide it's just not safe for us to travel there and back this weekend, could / would anyone be willing to pick up the pile of toys I left at my sister's place in E. Rochester? It's about 1/2 - 3/4 of a MINI's worth.

I'm not pullng the plug just yet, but I like to have a backup plan. It would be kind of ironic if we couldn't make it, but in the big picture, it's not worth the risk if it just doesn't make sense. And there's little fun in rushing up Saturday for the delivery and turning around and heading right back home that afternoon.

Please PM or email if you might be able to help implement Plan B--thanks!