This is "Splash", the best cure for the blues I've ever known. She's a 2003 LS automatic, and her color is called Splash Green Mica (hence her name). It's somewhere between teal and turquoise. Splash is my daily driver, but that doesn't diminish the fun I have with her on the weekends. I'll either just pick a direction and go somewhere, or I'll go on a run with my car club, the Mt. Hood Miata Club in Portland, Oregon.
In September 2009, I finally took Splash on a long road trip (2,200 miles). I went to San Luis Obispo, California to visit friends and took my time getting there (three days). I stayed off freeways as much as possible on the trip south, and stopped to look at touristy stuff along the way.
Below on the left is a picture of Splash that I took along the Oregon coast, somewhere between Lincoln City and Coos Bay. I don't remember exactly where it was, but I stayed there for a bit because the ocean is just so damn beautiful. On the right is a state park that I stopped in to take a break. Not sure which one it was, but it was in Oregon. Hey, I was on vacation, and record-keeping is WORK!
If you're 40+ years old like I am (OK, 50+ in my case), you probably remember seeing pictures in your elementary school geography textbook of that drive-through tree in the Sequoia National Park in northern California. If you were really lucky, you got to ride through it on a family vacation (I didn't, even though I grew up in L.A.). Unfortunately, that tree fell down in 1969, but there are still three or four privately owned trees that you can drive through. This is one of them, the Chandelier Tree in Leggett, CA. For all of five bucks, you too can drive through one big honkin' tree.
At first glance, the opening looked almost too narrow for Splash to pass through. But if a minivan could fit, a Miata certainly could! I was lucky and the guy who was in that minivan offered to take my picture as I drove through. Sweeeet!!
My wife and I collect smashed pennies (some call them "squished", "pressed" or "elongated" pennies) when we travel. They're cheap - usually 51 cents including the penny ($1.01 at Hearst Castle!) - and they always fit in your luggage. Plus they're fun to display with travel pix when we get home. Well, as a side activity, I went to www.pennycollector.com and made a note of places along my route that have smashed penny machines. I came back with over 30 pennies from about a dozen places. Here are my favorite ones from the bunch (yep, I got one with the drive-thru tree on it). Tip: Use pre-1982 pennies. They are made of 95% copper, with 5% zinc or 5% zinc and tin. From 1982 on, pennies are over 99% zinc, with a pure copper coating. When smashed, the copper separates from the zinc and the design ends up with zinc highlights.
Sea Lion Caves, Florence OR Morro Bay, CA
Hearst Castle, San Simeon CA Chandelier Tree, Leggett CA
Here are a couple of pix from a club run in September 2009 to Hood River, OR. Our destination was the Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum, or WAAAM. First time I've seen a parking lot with Cessnas parked next to Chevrolets!
Along the way, we drove through the Mt. Hood National Forest. Spectacular views! Even the places where we stopped to take a break were pretty. This is a rest stop at the Ripplebrook ranger station just off Highway 224.
Here's Splash on the first club run I ever did. Oddly, it wasn't organized by my club, but by the Willamette Valley Miata Club in Salem OR. It was quite the rush for me to be around more Miatas than I'd ever seen in one place, other than at a Mazda dealership of course.
Splash gets a lot of attention from other club members because of her unusual color. I've been asked if it's a custom paint job; nope, it's a factory color that was only offered in 2003. Only 738 Splash Greens were made that year. I have to tell you, it's a love-it-or-hate-it color. Some people absolutely swoon over it, while others think it's hideous. I love it, obviously, but my wife detests it. That doesn't stop her from riding in it on occasion, however. :)
Splash now has a sister! Meet Crystal: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3392639
