A lot of really nice things came together for this purchase. First, I mentioned we had zero intent of buying another E53. My mother in law doesn't drive anymore, so her '01 was the kid hauler when my wife didn't want to cram them into the E46. As neat and clean as it was, my wife admitted she likes the exhaust on my 4.8is. She liked the fresh Alpine White paint. She liked the tinted windows on this rear climate package. She liked LCII. I think she even liked the fresh black leather interior and sport seats over the '01's non-premium, standard 'leathertte'. Especially since the dog rode shotgun for bank runs, the passenger seat was, well.. ruff.

Next, we found a reasonable seller who found a reasonable buyer. We didn't have much to coordinate to finance it. The '01 sold to the 1st person who looked at it- and did so a week before we were really ready. We always expect selling a car to be tough, but I am reminded each time how taking good care of a vehicle has rewards throughout ownership, right up to the end.

Finally, my daughter's Spring Break started last Friday. We were headed in the 4.8is to tour schools in NC and GA starting mid week. She took a few exams early and we busted out for a cheap Wednesday flight. 6,000 miles each and $12 total, we were in Philly. The seller picked us up for the ride from the airport. It was an early start at 0330 wake up, but we made up for some of that.

Oh, that she would be back on my shoulder a few more times.

You guys have seen the shop, so no need to revisit there. We *LOVE* Philadelphia. Specifically, we love staying right downtown and running around to all the places, but especially the Reading Terminal Market. The choices and amount of food available here just makes for a fun time. We felt fortunate to visit twice, including a late lunch on our arrival day.

We settled in to the hotel less than a block away and waited for nightfall. We'd return to the Reading Terminal Market the next morning, before our drive South..

Sunset in Philly..

Morning sun from the same spot..

Make no mistake: Even as comfy as an E53 is, it was no match for the teenager who wanted a few more minutes..

From there, the 1st official mileage pic was quick and trouble free...

A hop skip and a jump from Philly is DC and NoVa. With one exception, we didn't stop until time to visit family a bit further South.

In an unexpected twist, she found she really liked University of Richmond. I have family there in the graduate program. I liked it too. Very quiet.

The next day was UVA. We were fortunate to have a tour from a friend's undergraduate daughter, a 3rd year student. Of course, the grounds are beautiful, even in Winter. This is inside Jefferson's Rotunda.

We had another stop for a short day to Norfolk to visit friends there. We so enjoy our time there that we camped out for 2 nights. We stopped in to another school on the way down..

If you've never spent time in Williamsburg, it's worth a stop. So much history around there, and a cute twon with University buildings dotting the area.

Speaking of history, You can take a peak over Jefferson's shoulder while you walk around.

From there, it was down to Norfolk. We don't get this experience around my hometown, so I always enjoy trying not to freak out when we're in a tunnel. I just have to keep telling myself how cool it is. I lie to myself a lot.

I only took one picture in Norfolk that I'll share. I qualify that we *did* take some pictures of a different journey we've been working through.

About 5 years ago, we were new to the National Parks. We never had left the car. I mean- not *really* hiked. But we did that year, for the 1st time. We loved it. There was only one problem: I nearly died on the side of an overlook in Yellowstone. Ok, not really a medical event per se, but I was in some bad shape. My 8 yr old was really worried ab her daddy. I needed to change. And it's been a slow and deliberate process. Slowly cutting out the things and bad habits I'd come to think of as 'normal'. A doctor's visit few months ago was the last signal my concrete skull needed. I cut out the one thing I've loved since before I was old enough to drink it.

Yesterday, I purchased pants in a *regular* store that were a full 10" smaller than the largest pair I own. If I'm honest, I'm probably at 50 lbs lost, but I like to say 40lbs cause I've *seen* the high and low.

The last bastion of resolve for this year's bad habits is going away thanks to Lent. Now, I'm not a terribly religious person, but my family was/is. I did not grow up Catholic nor did I know anyone who was. Or if I did, I never realized that everybody's church experience was different from each other. So, when time came to discuss what we were giving up for Lent, I named something easy to give up and then forgot about it the next day. I was so frustrated with this lack of commitment from myself, I simply stopped giving things up.

But this was the year. If I can give up beer, I can give up sodas. It's been since Tuesday. It's gotten easier every day. I still want a soda. This *has* to be what quitting smoking is like. So, I'm still watching for results. I love my new pants- all 3 pair. And whether any of you find the interest, I will share when the update holds a special meaning for me and the family.

For now, back to the E53! We're at the University of North Carolina's Carolina Hotel tonight. We tour Duke tomorrow and head to Charlotte. We have a seriously 'down day' on Tuesday while we await my wife's flight in on Wednesday. From there, it's Spartanburg (of course), Clemson, and University of Georgia to close out the roadtrip tour of colleges. Stay tuned!

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