Cars, Coffee and California...

[oldgrayleather]

Has surely been a busy 8 months. Thanks for taking the time to sum them up! I know this is a car forum, but would also love to see some of the house stuff/build here too.

Thanks Harry, still a lot more catching up to do but feeling motivated! Given the rabbit hole a build thread for a house could be, I’ll ping you some shots when I get caught up on the Roadster stuff ��.

This post reminded me that it has been nearly 10 years since I moved from California. I wish we had met before I left.

Though we do enjoy Atlanta, we are always open to relocation. That would preferably be Oregon or Washington. Moving abroad is a short list, but I monitor that possibility as well. I have no intentions of ever returning to my native state.

I’ve felt the same for a long while Steven, especially since you’d made so many great KINOD connections. Funny story but when it looked like I was going to be stuck in Atlanta en route to Miatapalooza and was going to miss the whole weekend I was going to reach out to you and see if I could swing by to say hello. I still count on that happening someday, somehow, wherever that may be.

[oldgrayleather]

The great thing about impending changes is it is a lot easier to say “yes” to opportunities as they arise or at least for the default to be “why not?!”. So much better than making excuses. Now if only I chose to live my life like that all the time, right? Make note, must work harder at that…

Vu and Kevin suggested a crack of dawn drive up to Lake Arrowhead to enjoy each other’s company over some waffles. It required a pre 6am wake-up call and a nearly 80mile drive east to meet up in San Bernardino but at that time of day the freeways are typically nice and quiet so a fantastic place to take time for some reflection…



The next 20 mile drive to Belgian Waffle Works was spectacular as were the peach/ raspberry waffles, the company and the drive back down.




Ten years of living in LA and somehow I had never found a reason to go to Lake Arrowhead. Shame but I’m not a big fan of regrets so will file that under “duly noted”.

[oldgrayleather]

KINOD was always a weekly Friday night ritual but I had to bring the BRG to at least one meet up before I changed his citizenship...


Also managed to convince Louie to come out with his stunning BRG. That’s been much harder after he became a first time parent and now has #2 on the way but frequency isn’t a necessity for connections, certainly not compared to authenticity.



And filed under “amazing what you might bump in to at KINOD” was this NC with the GV top…

[oldgrayleather]

The Petersen automobile museum hosted a Japanese Car Cruise in at the end of May so though it would be a good idea to take eldest son, a couple roadsters and meet up with some other fellow Roadster friends. We agreed to meet up with JonB nearby so we could roll in together. Seems like a local group of NSX owners had the same idea…


Truth be told, we spent the bulk of the time enjoying the cars in the parking lot though took advantage of the free admission to peruse a Porsche exhibition, the movie cars (the Landspeeder did not disappoint!) and the usual eye candy like the McLaren F1GTR, the BMW M1, the new Tesla Roadster, et al but surprisingly I didn’t take that many pics of the latter. Here’s what the parking lot held…








I absolutely love the fact my eldest son has developed exceptional taste in cars and enjoyed the vintage JDM cars as much as anything else.

During the inevitable clearing up I came across a few pics of the first vehicle I ever bought.. my cherished 1988 Nissan Pathfinder SEV6 with my Dad’s 240SX parked up next to it. Ah, the stories those two cars could tell…

[MaRcOp01o]

I always love seeing your updates Pete! It is amazing that it has been 8 months. This year has flown by so fast.

[oldgrayleather]

I got a text from Kev with an invite to an early June photoshoot in the darkest reaches of DTLA. RedDotSpeed wanted to assemble some of their 510 friends and were interested in having a smattering of roadsters to join in. Another 6am weekend departure to somewhere I hadn't been with other car nuts sounded just about perfect, right?

Pretty sure I was the first car there and was very certain I messed up the address but slowly some absolutely stunning and very well loved 510’s started rolling in – coupes, sedans, wagons. And what a delight it was to see…


Vu doubled the Roadster count…


And then tripled with Kevin


Such a fantastic backdrop for a few hours of shooing…



The best part of if it all was connecting with a whole new group of passionate owners and hearing their stories about what got them in to the car scene, what fueled their passion, how they found their cars, the ones that got away, etc. Perhaps there’s a universal spark from groups that fell in love with a marque that had its own unique charm even if it's cache wasn’t universally appreciated. Who knows but I'm pretty sure we all had a blast...






And the only way to really wrap up a morning like that was a drive over to Philippe The Original for lunch. Clearly there’s a reason they’ve been famous for their French Dip sandwiches since 1908!

[oldgrayleather]

Sunburst needed it’s final SMOG and registration since there was no way I could get it to Canada and converted in time so off we went. Stressful as always but to date still never let down. Finally realized that part of the issue is perception.. it takes about 3-4 times longer to test a non OBD2 car so psychologically you see a lot of cars coming and going while yours is still going through the ringer.

[oldgrayleather]

One random day I received a random package. Well, a mostly random package. I could tell it was from RevLimiter with the signature Miata drawing and LevRimiter sticker but random in the sense I hadn’t ordered anything. Pretty certain I hadn't ordered anything at least so wasn’t really expecting anything. Lo and behold I had been visited by the Miata of Happiness!!!! Adam sent me a Mariner blue from a Japanese gachapon machine!!!


The detail on this model is crazy. It weighs a fraction of a HotWheels diecast but seems impossibly well built. It has pop-ups!!! The softtop can be put on. Or not. And if you’re have more hand-eye coordination than say a wooly mammoth you could actually line up the soft top much better than I did for this pic.



This was a most exceptional surprise. What could be a better surprise than this?...

[oldgrayleather]

Well, the KINOD 15th anniversary celebration was approaching on June 18th. And we were starting our drive up to Canada at the end of the month so it was really starting to sink in that this was likely my last anniversary meet with one of my own Roadsters (at least for the foreseeable) so I was excited to fully enjoy it as much as humanly possible but looking at it with a huge dose of trepidation too. The distraction from living in a house full of moving boxes made it easier to focus on the excitement side of things.

Oh, and on top of that Jerry had a crazy idea. And then he co-opted Daniel. You see, these guys both work at Mazda. And they started campaigning. Hard. To get Mazda to let us have the meet at Mazda R&D in Irvine! And Mazda said yes!!!! And then you know what happened?? Adam called to say he was going to drive out from Albuquerque!!!!! And then Willis said he was going to come down from NorCal too!!!!!!!!

And just like that, days before the anniversary meet I was getting to have a last hurrah with some of my favorite people who I don’t think had even met each other face to face despite year and year of connecting on MRNet! This was shaping up to be as they say, so much wow.

Mona! On my driveway!!!


And Willis’ stunning 1028 inspired Roadster out front



First things first. We needed to eat and Popeye’s fit the bill. Can I just say, I don’t care how old I get.. I don’t think I will ever lose the excitement of heading out on the road in a pack with great friends in our respective motors. This was definitely the start of what was going to be an amazing 24 hours!


We drove up to Palos Verdes to stretch our legs and take in the views


before the (very) long rush hour drive down to Irvine


The KINOD dinner was at a nearby In N Out because. Well tradition damnit! Bench, JonB, Sonny, Andrew, Kevin, Bill, and the list goes on (and on, and on)…


We made our way over to Mazda R&D and started to see more and more and more. The San Diego crew arrived en masse and had a fantastic showing…


And almost just like that the parking lot was swamped and the place was bustling. We’d exceeded capacity almost before the event officially started and needed help to turn people away. The estimates vary but the lot held 170-something but there were at least 30 or more Roadsters that managed to find a spot. And another parking lot offsite that exceeded capacity. I’d wager the number was comfortably north of 400. And somehow, despite the disappointment that everyone couldn’t fit and the crowding. Everyone was welcome. The atmosphere was fantastic. Joy, happiness, camaraderie and nothing but positive energy.




If you haven’t yet, go over to Adam’s blog thread and see his recount of Kinod15 along with his far superior and most excellent pictures.
https://revlimiter.net/blog/2021/06/kinod-15/

Given we started early in the day, I think Willis, Adam and I were completely spent by the time we got back to my place sometime after midnight. But that didn’t deter us from carrying on til \a whole lot later.

And just like that it was a wrap. Morning came and both started their homeward treks North and East in the early hours and I was left to enjoy a coffee with a ridiculously content smile on my face before turning my attention back to the number of empty boxes that needed sorting…

[oldgrayleather]

With KINOD15 in the rear view mirror, there was effectively just ten days left before the end of the month which would mark the real start of our adventure. Jen and the boys saying a true farewell to California as our roadtrip to Canada began. There was still a lot to get done but a few things along the way were poignant reminders of how real this was all becoming. Like when my phone rang and the truck driver let me know that he was at the top of our street and ready to load up the Sunburst and BRG for transport…




The next time I’d see them would be while going through the importation process to get them registered in Canada.

[oldgrayleather]

And as the count down continued, it was great to still take time for a break from moving logistics to have some fun with KINOD. Like going to Fast 9 at the Drive in!


We took over the front row and made space for a lone NB that was coming to see the movie on her own (not something she felt she wanted to explain to her other friends). And just like that new friends were made…

[oldgrayleather]

The drive back to the home country was uneventful and surprisingly pleasant given we had three boys, a dog, a crested gecko and a trailer in tow. We were trying to make time so passed up the beautiful coastline for the most direct 1,286 mile route up the I-5.

Our arrival was greeted by two weeks of strict quarantine (effectively house arrest) with sorting of countless boxes and papers and rooms to occupy and numb our minds. I grossly underestimate the toil that would take and was exceedingly ready for some kind of break or at least a change of scenery. The day our quarantine lifted we made our way directly to the border to fill out the official paperwork in person with customs, pay some taxes and, most importantly, take delivery of a pair of roadsters!

BRG on Canadian soil!


And welcomed by his… cousin? At least I’m guessing that’s what my nephew’s roadster would be, right? They’re also his photos as well (more on that later)




I lived in Vancouver for years back in the mid-nineties and know the city very well. Driving around in a Miata was an almost entirely new and wonderful experience and so good for the soul, especially during the perfect summer weather.



Roadster family from the kitchen window along with my brother’s Toyota Van


And this in itself, a simple new license plate, will so grossly understate the headaches involved in convincing the federal and provincial governments that this Miata would pose no great risk to fellow motorists and could be deemed fit for importation. It involved no shortage of paperwork and tests and some modifications (day time running lights) and returning some things to stock (quarter lights, etc) but after four attempts we finally passed.


True story, since the Sunburst was effectively 100% OEM I was certain that one would be a breeze. The existence of a roll bar was enough for them to cast doubt but more surprising was the response to the federal inspection. You see, we drove the car straight from customs to the testing site. The contact there noted that even though we had been in Canada for the requisite two weeks, the car had just crossed the border and thus had not passed quarantine itself. No shortage of explaining or escalating would have them change their policy. It seemed they were not prepared to put their staff at risk by exposing them to a motor vehicle that had not safely quarantined to ensure if wasn’t carrying the COVID virus. Seriously.

[oldgrayleather]

Back on my nephew, besides having developed what I think is exceptional taste in modifying roadsters, he is also super passionate about photography and (if I may also say so) damned talented at that too. He suggested we go out for a drive and give him a chance to find a nice backdrop by Kits(alano) beach to shoot some pics. This was such a tangible case for how amazing it was going to be close to family after nearly twenty years of living in different countries…

[★ revlimiter ★]

All these updates together. My face literally hurts from smiling for the past half hour of reading.

[oldgrayleather]

While in the middle of July and August’s estate work, eldest son took turns driving the Sunburst over the Coquihalla the five or so hours east of Vancouver to Kelowna to check in on progress on the house, see the other family and to take a break from estate things. Please note that when that time happens in your life, pacing will be everything to help you get through it. For me at least, this was *not* a project that you can just throw in the extra effort to expedite.


Back to Vancouver with closing out the remainder of the house things getting it ready for sale. That gave us the chance to bring the other Roadster back. Here they were safely parked up at the interim rental.


This is where the family will be settling, younger two boys starting school, completing the rebuild of the house and taking advantage of being close to family, particularly Jen’s parents. Unfortunately the need to be close is also built on their own end of life challenges that we will be trying to help.