Well, despite our early start on the day and relatively short drive, the heavens opened and it POURED throughout. This was the first significant rain day of the trek. Fortunately there was little drama, particularly with Doug’s Yoko 048 tires that can be treacherous in the rain. I was glad I had stuck new tires on the car before the journey.

 

I had ditched my “touring top” in favor of the base top that originally came with the car. The base top had some warranty issues so the dealership gave me a touring top. Unfortunately, I hate how the touring top stows... it has a headliner and doesn’t pack up as well. Besides, fluffy bits don’t belong on this car. Despite having my windows adjusted for the new top, it doesn’t appear that the old top is leaking. Not quite cricket for a British car I suppose, but I’ll take it.

 

The Elise is typically optioned with a choice/combo of two packs. Base is no options. Touring adds carpeting, leather seats, power windows, thicker softtop, and sound insulation. And Sport is forged wheels with slick tires, stiffer springs/dampers. There are some “Premium” additions to those two options as well. Since I intend to drive as much as possible sans the top, nothing in the Touring pack seemed particularly essential. And the car is set up so well from the start, the Sport pack is overkill IMHO. But everyone has their preferences.

 

I suppose the weather is payback for yesterday. I didn’t bother to blog. I spent the afternoon at South Miami Beach swimming and didn’t bring a camera. Not sure if cameras are allowed there, come to think of it. The weather was fantastic. Sunshine, low humidity, pleasant temps. And the scenery was pretty good too.

 

I mentioned to Doug how I didn’t recognize the flag of England when I saw it for the first time (thinking it should have been the Union Jack). He explained how the current “Union” flag came to be. I’ll never look at the UJ again in quite the same way.