We spent Saturday in New Jersey first, driving around to see several Mini Coopers since we're considering buying a second car.
Car #1: "The Russian"
Stats: 2004, 59K miles, manual, sport turbo, heated seats, sunroof, window problem.
Although Stephen was initially suspicious of the Russian dealors trying to give him a deal, they ended up being the most honest people we worked with all day.
We learned that Stephen likes stats and Ginger likes features.
Car #2: "The Internet Deal"
Stats: 2007, 56K miles, manual, upgraded design.
The small print on this company's webpage explains that the listed price is $2,000 less than the cost of the car. ($1000 off for recent college grads, $1000 off for loyal customers.)
Stephen hates scratches and Ginger hates weird colors.
Car #3: "The Bait and Switch"
Stats: 2009, 49K miles, sun roof, heated seats, manual, upgraded design, busted bumper, ipod jack.
This car had everything we could want, but was too good to be true. Their online price was only available with a 3-year warranty of over $3,500. We spent hours here fighting over the price- at first Stephen demanded the listed price, then they added a $900 "dealer inspection fees" (though they had obviously done nothing to improve the car.)
We left pretty annoyed, but glad not to have done business with liars.
Ginger's favorite part of the post-2007 design is a key that looks like an alien saucer.
Car #4: "The Purple One"
It was dark by the time we got to this one, so no photos. We spend a long time debating whether it was purple or navy.
This company was also owned by the maker of internet deals. He absolutely refused to compromise on price, and made a big deal out of it being a sports turbo model (a feature we didn't care about.)
Stats: 2005, 45K miles, automatic, heated seats, sunroof.
(Stephen would prefer Ginger to drive an automatic, but she wants to be brave and drive a stick.)
The dealor was helpful, and this was the best deal of the trip, but just wasn't quite right.
Our experiences were educational, so we're still waiting on the right car.
New York City, New York
After the weekend in New Jersey, we took a train to Manhattan.
We returned to the Metropolitian Museum of Art.
Sunday evening we attended Simon and Jeannine's church, Trinty Grace Church on the Upper West Side. They are sharing a building with four other congregations. They previously met in an elementary school, but currently the law in New York prohibits religious meetings in public education buildings.
This year, we were able to visit the World Trade Center Memorial. (Remember to print a ticket before you go! Long security lines.) The museum is still under construction, but around 500 people are allowed to see the memorial at a time. The design is two voids going down several stories where the twin towers used to stand. Water cascades down the sides and drains in a center square. The names of the victims are written around the sides.
There are computers near the memorial to look up names. Stephen looked for the man from his home town who was a flight attendent. It gave a short info, a photo, and a key to find where his name was engraved.
Wandering around town, Jeannine trying to find the perfect place to eat on her iPhone.
We love NYC food carts!
Simon is working an architecture internship for Morphosis. Jeannine works as a nutritionist at a hospital in Brooklyn. Our last day, we met them for Coffee at "Moda" in Chelsea near Simon's office.
