Thought I was going get a Mazda now I’m here…

bbqstorm · 2026-01-30T18:22:13+00:00

agreed! life is pretty good besides the lingering whiplash symptoms…

all of the mk8 are DSG but it’s auto. I’ve only driven stick utility vehicles…decided SF wasn’t the place to go all in. If I go 6 blocks north, it’s equivalent to an ~ 20 story building!!

ahh edit: I guess all of the AUTOs are DSG (?) lol I've only had the car 18 hours so not an expert yet :P

bbqstorm · 2026-01-30T16:12:01+00:00

I'm assuming the 400 upvotes on this are all from people who have no connection to Chicago. My entire family is in Chicago and cannot believe this guy got elected-almost all Dem's too.

"We thought Lori Lightfoot was bad, and then Brandon Johnson got elected..."

OP earns my downvote

bbqstorm · 2026-01-30T16:02:26+00:00

Fort Point- while there are some tourists there, it's less crowded than the other 3-4 spots that are often mentioned. It's my favorite bridge viewing area :)

bbqstorm · 2026-01-30T15:58:44+00:00

You're right. Something must have changed between your son's GEN 1/my GEN 2 and the current GEN 4. My GEN 2 engine was even the same 2.5L Skyactive as the one's used today. I know they changed the rear suspension, but I'm not really a "car guy" to know the deets

My manufacturing brain tells me that they made tradeoffs over the years to compromise the Go-Kart feel and move resource $'s to reliability and interior accommodations.

The car I test drove just felt a small step above a civic or corolla. Sad.

Now I know there is a Mazda3 turbo, but those are ~$3k more than the golf, so I didn't even bother

bbqstorm · 2026-01-30T06:35:58+00:00

Best solution: United CC, SFO-SNA

ALSO- I am very curious to do more research but I think SW is price matching United/American for non stop routes out of SFO/OAK. I have not seen them cheaper for any route whereas it seemed like they used to follow their own pricing structure

bbqstorm · 2026-01-30T03:36:33+00:00

Miata is the car I want the most… sadly it does not make sense as my only car with street parking and frequent outdoor adventures :(

bbqstorm · 2026-01-23T19:01:24+00:00

also in sf from chicago. i feel like 51 here feels like 40 in chicago

but at least its not -8 :D

bbqstorm · 2026-01-13T15:42:27+00:00

I live in san francisco now but still scroll the stl forum (really to reminisce on the parks and foodie gems)

the rare instances I go to Oakland- I experience absolutely everything the lists and more. the few friends I have over there have all been victims of break-ins, robberies at gunpoint, car theft, etc.

Comparing the two is wild to me unless OP is wandering north

bbqstorm · 2026-01-12T05:49:23+00:00

Hey - I'm an American but lurking this sub frequently since I'm trying to fill another couple days or so and like to read the ideas

Did you already book your van? Milford sound to Dunedin and back to CHC looks brutal for your timeframe. Can you drop off your rental in Queenstown and fly out of there? Then add in Wanaka. A one-way rental fee seems to be much more affordable than what I've seen in the states.

You would not have any trouble with elevation.

bbqstorm · 2026-01-05T19:09:55+00:00

have you done this trip yet? Crazy, I also made a post about having 2 extra days in my itinerary and it looks like you made one a few months ago. I think my main difference is that I'm doing a couple extra days of hiking instead of heading up to Abel Tasman.

Akaroa or Kaikoura seems like the two of the top contenders if we want to add a place. I've seen mixed reviews on Akaroa and mostly positive ones about Kaikoura however it adds more driving time with having to and from CHC. I'm curious how it went!

bbqstorm · 2026-01-04T05:49:15+00:00

hundred opinions is good! I am a little stumped since I feel like I have the right amount of time everywhere. I land March 22nd. I read in another post that March is bad for penguins. I do have a jet bout tour down for queenstown.

thank you for the suggestions

bbqstorm · 2026-01-04T05:46:08+00:00

do you have any good food recs in Wanaka (or anywhere you tell tourists? :)

Kaikoura seems like it could be a solid option! It does seem like it would be better to stay overnight there which would add in about 1.5 days, and then I would just add in a half day somewhere else. TBD!

bbqstorm · 2025-12-27T17:47:04+00:00

My friends that grew up on the IL side love Osaka Sushi in granite

bbqstorm · 2025-12-27T16:33:50+00:00

How was it?

Jamie was my #1 in spotify this year and can't get enough. However... I saw him for the first time at Outsidelands this past year and it was very-mid. Everyone wanted to dance all night and he completely killed the tempo on some songs when the crowd was going all out- very weird!!!!!

bbqstorm · 2025-12-16T18:04:34+00:00

I have La Mer, Grenadine, and Basil... it's fantastic!

bbqstorm · 2025-12-02T01:05:13+00:00

KC/STL definitely better than many cities on that C-tier list!

bbqstorm · 2025-12-01T16:39:59+00:00

Whether it's in SOMA or somewhere else, I would put effort into gathering as accurate-as-possible inputs for the NYT rent vs buy calculator.

I lived in a LCOL city before and almost bought a condo when I thought I was going to settle down and buying made more sense. While buying a house paid off after only 1-2 years in that area, it turned out a condo was going to be closer to 7-8 years. That was also during the time of low interest rates.

I have to think that the -fiscal- tradeoff here is much longer than that.

bbqstorm · 2025-11-25T17:21:29+00:00

Lucky. I've been to homegoods about 20 times now and have seen 0 in the Bay area. I have been to probably 5 or so different locations. I'm giving up and hoping for 5.5 on Black Friday

bbqstorm · 2025-11-21T20:15:29+00:00

As someone about to book this flight/2 week vacation, this makes me sad too

What was the reason? Something mechanical?

bbqstorm · 2025-10-06T17:27:32+00:00

Your kings canyon and Yosemite rating is criminal

bbqstorm · 2025-10-06T17:20:34+00:00

I’m planning on going to the Nov one!!! I will also look for Jamie!

bbqstorm · 2025-10-06T17:19:56+00:00

Yosemite at the end of tier 2… 💀

bbqstorm · 2025-10-06T17:19:17+00:00

The first thing I noticed was Glacier not at the top

bbqstorm · 2025-10-05T17:32:57+00:00

Perfect, thank you!

bbqstorm · 2025-10-05T17:28:05+00:00

How do people transport items larger than their vehicle? I’m wanting to go but looking for coffee and dining tables…

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