MINI Takes the States has started and will be rallying through my backyard on Monday.  Sue & I (and the monkeys) are ready to go.  We will be meeting everyone at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the afternoon.  People have asked how you might spot me along the route- I’ve been replying “Easy! I’ll be the one in the MINI.”  With that said I’ll be the one with the “Cartoonist” sign on my MINI.

Which MINI are we taking?  Picking a MINI for a trip is kind of like saying to one of your kids “We’ve decided to take your brother on an Alaskan Cruise with us this year… not you.”  Not always the best way to show you care.  For non-MINI owners let’s just say MINI marketing has done a bang up job to get you make your MINI a family member.  So Sue and I did discuss which we should take and decided on Penfold (My MINI) for a few reasons.  First, Sue wanted to keep the mileage down on her  MINI (always practical Sue).  Penfold is already way out of any thing that would resemble a warranty with 81,000 miles.  Sue’s MINI also is still stock, and while that isn’t a bad thing, Penfold has a few modifications which help him to stand out.  MINI United mirror caps, and a “Zoomer’s” exhaust that the kids at the dealership car wash on Saturdays always comment on.  So does Sue’s mom but not in the same positive tone.  Penfold missed out on MTTS 2008 and Mini Meet East meets West, so… for these reasons Penfold will be taking us to Denver.

Why not Tink? If the date for MTTS had been this weekend so I had a week to get back- I would have taken the Tink and had a great time.  I just can’t push my luck when I need to leave Denver Sunday morning and be back in Indy to meet my students Monday.  Tink will be at the Motor Speedway taking a lap so she doesn’t feel left out, then again so will Barrett (Sue’s MINI), we wouldn’t want any of our MINIs to feel left out or unloved.

We did arrange with Todd (of White Roof Radio, Toddsmods, Motoringbadges, etc.) to get some MTTS graphics for each car.  Why haven’t they been added to the cartoon?  I haven’t put them on yet.  Sue and I right now are going for the “artistically asymmetrical” look, but who knows what will happen before Monday.

Yes, Monday starts the comic strip for MTTS (this one was an extra added bonus).  So starting Monday I will be doing 7 days straight of double sized color comics.  You’ll be able to find them here or on the official MINI Takes The States site.  Enjoy!