Dec 2 - it's Thanksgiving somewhere

Yesterday was a puttering day.

After hitting the gym -- which I did again this a.m. -- I got organized and power washed and stained the deck outside the kitchen and the step-up area leading to the dining room deck. The dining room deck I left for another day, figuring that Sandy and Marda might want to sit out there. As it turned out, I should have completed the job because although they did sit outside later, they took advantage of the sun at the dock and sat in the lee of the mangroves. That same wind helped what I did stain to dry quickly.

I finally got around to some Harley cleaning, taking soap and water to the bug stained windshield and generally giving it a rub down. It was dusty more than anything else.

I watched the episode of Torchwood that I'd fallen asleep in front of the night before. Interestingly enough, Torchwood is a joint production between BBC Wales (it's set in Cardiff) and the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company, for the non-Canadian readers :).

Over to K-Mart, I picked up some 2-cycle oil and made up some pre-mix for the little Whaler. Abby and I went for a ride, stopping at a small beach so that she could check out the minnow situation. The motor is running well.

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One of these days the X5 is going to die. Of course that could be a couple of years from now or it could be the next trip, who knows. I'm fully prepared for that eventuality, for if there is a major repair necessary (that dollar level TBD) we'll simply rent a truck or van and continue along our way. One of the sales people at the local BMW dealership is shadowing us at this point knowing that eventually, eventually, she'll get a sale out of us. That remains to be seen, however.

I've had quite a bit of back and forth with her lately as she's been pushing 2011 models at us; they're trying to clear those out since the 2012's are coming in. I've looked at the "on the lot" models before and always felt that it would be better to order directly, since the pre-built ones always have a lot of expensive options that I don't need or want, nice-to-have's that I don't want to pay for.

BMW NA, in its wisdom (or lack thereof) has changed their packaging strategy for the X5. There is no "base" 2012 model per se. They all come with lots of packages. As a result, the base price has jumped almost 30%. I guess that they've looked at their buyers and decided that no-one was choosing models without all those options. They don't even have a stick shift X5 any more ! BMW has clearly defined the X5 marketplace as different from the X3, which is not big enough for what we haul on a regular basis. Heck, I can't even get my bike in the trunk area of the X3.

Quite frankly this p's me off. Does Abby need leather seats ? Does fancy carpeting in the trunk area matter to us when I've got a greasy bike in there ? Does Abby need heated rear seats ? 4 way climate control ? an entertainment system ?

With the amount of driving that we do, a new car is worth nothing, from a practical standpoint, after five to six years. We've had the current X5 six years now, bought it with 20+k on the odometer and it now has 219k. All those options depreciate as fast or faster than the physical car.

We're going for a test drive next week. Sandy wants to see what it's like driving the 335d -- the diesel model -- but as much as that, the automatic transmission. We don't have many options in terms of full sized SUV's, however. I've found that even if we look at North American cars, by the time you add 4-wheel drive and must-have options like heated seats (good for the back on long drives, not for the heat), the price is in the same range.

The other thing is, once the option of a stick shift has been removed, our brand loyalty might die. I've been looking on paper at the base Mercedes SUV and it's quite attractively priced, compared to the BMW. It also has an excellent towing capacity -- 7200 lbs -- so that we'd be able to move our Hydra Sport around Florida. The BMW, at 6000 pounds capacity, is sufficient, but more is better.

I think that we might do a test-drive of the ML350 diesel at the same time as we do the X5. We were quite happy with the A180 in Europe ... now let's see what their larger vehicle is like.

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It's Thanksgiving somewhere -- in this case, here. Sandy, Marda and I tackled the bird, Sandy having worked most of the day on dinner. We have lots of leftovers ! Turkey, mashed potatoes, peas, cranberry sauce (Sandy makes her own), turnip, coleslaw, dressing/stuffing of course ... but shucks, no pumpkin pie. I had my PP on Canadian Thanksgiving, so I cannot complain.

Cheese anyone ? Marda ordered cheese for us which arrived yesterday. I met the postlady at the end of the driveway as she had a parcel. Well, that parcel was insulated with Styrofoam and had freezer bags in it, still cold. We now have a wonderful selection of cheeses. We'll have to bring some of those north with us because there is no way that we can finish all that we have and it won't keep forever.

It promises to be a lovely day. I've decided to leave my 200k until Monday, however, and I hope that wasn't a bad decision. I'll go for a "normal" ride today.

Onward !