Not too early to mention Mini Thunder II. Looking for Christmas Gift Ideas? Here’s is one that every Miniac will love. http://www.minithunderhill.com/

All that's missing is your Mini!

Best wishes to all of our friends heading off to Mini Takes The States festivities this weekend! If you are going, post here with your comments and great stories. Share your pictures! Email to califzeph@miniology.com. If you are not going, have no fear, Miniology reporterettes will be on scene in SF, LA, NY and Denver to help us all live the experience vicariously.

This just in from Vance at Sierra Nevada Minis:

The Sierra Nevada Mini Cooper club intends to enter the Nevada Day Parade this year. The parade will be held on Saturday, October 30, 2010. The theme this year is “100 Years of Aviation in Nevada.”

We have decided that we will dress up our MINIs as Mini Bi-Planes and are in the process of constructing prototype wings and tails our of corrugated plastic and metal coat hangers. We hope to have a suitable prototype soon that we can use to build custom wings for each of our cars that will be in the parade. Our intent is to either match as closely as possible the body color of each car or to just go with white (like most of our roofs). With that in mind, we will need an inventory of the MINIs that intend to participate in the parade, along with the body color of your car.

Due to the expense associated with constructing the wings, plus the entry fee for the parade, we will be asking for a small fee to offset our costs. We haven’t set an amount yet, but we expect it to be around $10-15 per car.

Please let me know as soon as possible, but no later than August 31, if you intend to be in the parade with us.

With your help and participation, we hope we can continue our tradition of winning an award at the Nevada Day Parade.

Denise and Dan (and Diabolita) are ready to cruise to Colorado.

Denise Mueller, pictured above with her son Dan, is headed to Mini’s In The Mountains and Mini Takes The States 2010 in the Denver, Co. area.

While there, and enroute to the events, Denise will be reporting on everything for the benefit of Miniology viewers.

Be sure to tune in starting in mid-August for the best coverage of these huge Mini events.

The Redwood Empire Mini Enthusiasts hit the road again for The Captain’s Pink Thong Run. Norm filed this report:

Well everyone is back home safe & sound. We had a great run that started with a pre-run dinner at Cool Hand Lukes in Redding. Several of us attended in our themed “pirate” costumes. After dinnner we went to the Sundial Bridge for an evening stroll to walk off dinner and get a chance for some cool breeze of the Sacramento River. Saturday morning started with clutches out at 9:00AM at J’s Market in Old Shasta and we headed our SR-299 through Whiskeytown Lake, over Buckhorn Summit, and a stop in Lewiston to pickup Bob & Linda, Rob & Leeta and Taylor and Logan. We continued weat on SR 299 through Weaverville and out towards the Pacific Coast. We stopped at the Trinidad Eatery for lunch and then headed soth along the coast to our hotel in Eureka. There we enjoyed a relaxing hot tub before our social hour and dinner at Marie Calendar’s.

On Sunday we headed for the Samoa Cookhouse for breakfast and a visit to the beach before heading south on US 101 and a departure East on SR-36 on the “Roller Coaster”, a stop at Wildwood for a break and dinner at the Riverside Bar & Grill in Red Bluff.

A fun weekend which brought out 14 Minis/MINIs and 23 REME members to enjouy all or part of the event.

Glad you could all join us and we will see you next year for Captn’ Bob’s Pink Thong Run III

Miniology Radio: MMW 2010 Recap! Listen HERE: http://bit.ly/a2OtFJ Or subscribe in iTunes: http://bit.ly/cSe3HN

Here is the lovely Denise on site at MMW 2010 enjoying all of the fun!

Join Rob, Norm, Denise, Dan, Bob and Linda as they share their experiences at Mini Meets West 2010. And Denise still has her top down!

More pix and video coming this week!

3rd Annual Motoring through the Hills of Texas – Friday, September 24th through Saturday the 25th

Here is your chance to experience some true “Hill Country” roads out near San Antonio / Bandera / Fredericksburg areas.

The drive consists around twisty, curvy, hilling, roads made for MINIs! There is a professional photographer outfit stationed along some of the drive route that will give you an opportunity to purchase photos of your MINI and You in full Motoring action! You can learn more about TxMotoFoto at their website, www.TxMOTOFOTO.com.

The route and starting place will be posted by July. Plan to start at 9 AM and wrap things up by 4 PM on Saturday, September 25th.

There is an informal gathering Friday night for those that are arriving on Friday. We will meet at the Sonic Drive In located in Boerne.

SONIC Drive-In 121
WEST BANDERA BOERNE
TX 78009
Phone: (830) 249-1547
This Meet and Greet is from 8 to 10 PM.

With that said, Friday evening is unofficially the start of the event. For those that are driving in from other parts of Texas you may wish to arrive on Friday night and stay near the Bandera, Texas area. There are a few local Bandera motels to consider would down the road from the starting point for the Saturday, September 25th drive. Alternatively, approximately 35 minutes away on I-10 you my consider lodging at Exit 539 or 540.

There is a La Quinta hotel at Exit 539. There are no group rates at any of the hotels, basically you are on your own if you wish to get lodging. The La Quinta is the official choice of MINIFunDrives for Friday night, September 24th and Saturday, September 25th.. Because there are no group rates, nor a set of rooms blocked, you should make your reservation sooner than later.

La Quinta Inn & Suites – Boerne; 36756 I H-10 Johns Road; Boerne, TX 78006. (www.lq.com)

The rates per night as of this June 27th were: $92 for a Regular room, $102 for a One room Suite, and $112 for a Two room Suite.

When you make the reservation online; provide information under the Optional Information: “Do you have any special requests for your stay?” Submit “Group: MINIFunDrives.com”

The event most likely will have an event shirt, all proceeds benefiting a charity. Confirmation of the charity should be posted soon.

Take Aways:

The route and event guide will be posted in July.

This is a free event, no registration needed! However, we would like to know if you are coming so we can anticipate the crowd.

We’re stopping off for a late lunch and would like to give the restaurant a heads up.

If you are heading over Friday night, make lodging arrangements ahead of time if possible. Again, the La Quinta at Exit 539 is the unofficial but official choice for MINIFunDrives.
Let’s make this a TEXAS size event, MINIs from the Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas areas, down to Corpus City, across to El Paso up to Amarillo and back down to Beaumont are encourage to make the track!

Event flyer will be posted soon.

Will have FREE event registration in July.

Durham Mini Clubs Mini run http://www.facebook.com/l/2c5bfDr0CcfSGV7hMAqO4iYUyfA;18.07.2010…
The Geordie job 8.08.2010 single day event
Mini In The Park http://www.facebook.com/l/2c5bfgPxU_lBmAMQUPzkC5H34Mw;15.08.2010 camping on sat night.
Northern Mini Show 20-22 08.2010 camping all weekend.
Mini Mania http://www.facebook.com/l/2c5bfri4Ck75LiEZ9thzOukDrzQ;05.09.2010 single day event
Durham Mini Clubs FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY http://www.facebook.com/l/2c5bfri4Ck75LiEZ9thzOukDrzQ;05.09.2010
ideas needed for big birthday bash.

please check the mail website for updates on dates + mini runs

http://www.facebook.com/l/2c5bf3RYCC2wlHB9b50Pao-9NEA;www.durhamminiclub.com

Heather and crew have filed THIS REPORT from Minis On Top… It’s loaded with hot cars, hot babes and even an interview with MiniUSA bigwig Jim McDowell.

It’s a long one (over 30 minutes!) so grab some popcorn! Miss Moxie gives us the full-on experience of MINIS ON TOP footage, featuring the following Miniologists:

00:07 – June MINI babe LaLa, with Jessica and Heather
01:51 – Loon Mt. Resort, NH
04:16 – Chatting with Jim McDowell (MINI USA)
06:28 – A proclamation from the Governor of NH (MINI day!)
09:30 – Starting the climb up Mt. Washington
13:00 – Heather is afraid of heights, but then the fog comes..
16:21 – Stuck in the fog, traffic rolls to a stop
18:09 – Chilling with MOT Organizers Sarah and Richard
37:00 – Closing comments (yes, still with Sarah and Richard!)

Camera by Todd Derkacz, Editing by Rob Saunders (aka Califzeph), sponsored by MC2 Magazine, with some proceeds of production cost given to the Make A Wish Foundation.

InfoBabe Heather

You may also download an m4v version from this link: HERE, enjoy the show, and comment below!

…here is some of what you missed out on!

Miniology Ace Reporterette Heather

Nice boot, eh?

LaLa, Miniology's June 2010 Babe of the Month

Reporting can be sooo tiring!

But have no fear, because Miniology was on site and a full video report is now in the making for release very soon!