Ok...this is stupid, but for some reason it struck me as funny. I'm sitting here in Vermont wishing there was a White Castle nearby, and wishing I could jump in my RDX and go get a couple....or 16. Then I got to thinking about all the trips to my favorite White Castle when I lived in Jersey, and the fact that it is no longer there. In fact, our sponsor, DCH Montclair Acura is sitting right where my favorite White Castle USED to be. So in a really twisted way, the RDX is somehow the reason I can't get my ratburger fix...

Ok...it's late and I'm tired...
Mike

 

mmm the three whitey double cheeseburgers and onion rings went down great last night,,, Sorry Mike, I couldn't resist. They sell boxes of frozen single burgers and cheese burgers here in Chicago. All ya need to do is add the pickle. You might check a large grocery store in your area?

 

Yeah...unfortunately I haven't been able to find them here. Truthfully though, I have had the frozen ones, and they're just not the same. You can't replicate the fresh ones - and you have to eat them immediately after forking over the cash.

I'll tell you, there aren't many meals out there that you really get your money's worth like ratburgers. They just last and last and last, and then they come back and back and back

I now return you to your regularly scheduled RDX discussion.

Mike

 

I've grown up and lived entirely on the West coast and wasn't exposed to White Castle until a trip to Chicago. A friend of mine who grew up there was astonished I hadn't heard of WC and insisted on taking me there. I thoroughly enjoyed them (and won't admit how many I had). I returned the favor and insisted he have a burger at the original Tommy's in LA. It's not a good comparison but we're even now.

 

Hehe....I haven't been to Tommy's, but when I was in CA last, I fell in love with In & Out Burger. Dang, those things are addictive. We need some of them on the east coast!

Mike

 

Catnip...... You left the rat race of NJ and moved to God's country? What a smart man! Forget the greaseburgers and go get some good maple syrup for your waffles!
Did you buy your RDX in NJ or VT?

 

Hmmm....where to start. I grew up in NJ, and moved out after college, so technically, I never was really part of the rat race. As far as Vermont being God's country, it's probably pretty accurate - because in a few years, only God is going to be able to afford to live here. Frankly, I don't like it. I'm here because my job is here. Sure, the scenery is beautiful and the air is clean, but the politics of this state are really screwed up. Vermont is so business unfriendly that business are leaving in herds. At every turn, the tree huggers are there to stop progress - without considering the long term effect on Vermont's economy. On one news report you'll see the governer talk about how he's trying to attract more businesses, and the next report will be about a bunch of town officials complaining because the best buy sign is too big - when in reality they should be thankful they HAVE a best buy to help offset the cost of property taxes. Oh well...sorry, you hit a hot button.

I got my RDX here, at our one and only dealer. According to them, I got the second one delivered to VT. Incidentally, the dealer here is GREAT. It was the best car buying experience I've ever had - and the service has been just as good. Regardless of how this thing competes with the CX-7 or the X3, I am loving this car. I've never been so attached to a vehicle. With the exception of a few minor things, most notably gas mileage, I think Acura got it right...

Mike

 

What I find so unusual is that Acura has only one dealership in VT in Burlington and none in Maine. Northern New England is not Acura country is it? I would expect the MDX would be popular in the NE snow territory but I guess not.
Since I like outdoor activities like hiking, kayaking and X-country; I have always viewed VT as a good place to retire.

 

[sorry for another sidetrack]

I grew up in CT and skied in VT a lot. After moving down south for grad school and then work, I always missed VT. Then a few years ago, I discovered the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia which are quite similar to VT, except less developed and even more rural (and in the case of WV -- higher mountains and more snow! woo-hoo!). There are areas in West Virginia that were not disrupted by glaciers in the last ice age, and represent unique forest environments unlike any other on the continent. The downside is that between logging and mining, large parts of West Virginia have been trashed, and continue to be. Some parts are recovering (slowly and differently -- with new growth forests replacing those virgin old growth pre-glacial forests) but other parts (subject to mountaintop removal mining and strip mining) will never recover. So maybe the defensive Vermonter attitudes are justified. On one hand I agree they could loosen up about technology, business, and jobs; on the other, I wish West Virginia had some of those Vermont tree huggers before it was too late. West Virginia is a state that is continually raped for big business. Here are some pics of mountaintop removal -- notice the scale of the destruction:

http://www.ohvec.org/galleries/mountaintop_removal/007/

BTW, I am not a tree hugger, but when I saw some mining sites while traveling to ski, it caught my interest and then I learned the sad story about WV.

 

Hey Craig. Thanks for the alternate point of view - and I don't completely disagree. I'd love to continue this discussion, but at some point, I suspect that the moderators are going to decide the sidetrack is too political. So I'll attempt to add one more post...

Frankly, I'm not against what the tree huggers here are trying to do. I just completely despise the way they do it. They protest EVERYTHING, with no apparent concern for anyone else - in much the same way they claim big businesses act. There has to be a middle ground somewhere, so that we maintain parts of the green mountains, while still not scaring good companies away in the more populated areas. The way things are going, taxes are growing at out of control rates, and businesses are giving up. This state needs to start thinking about and planning for it's future.

The bottom line is that if I lose my job, I will leave Vermont. There are no other options for me here. A native Vermonter's response to that would simply be to say 'Good, we don't need you. You're not a Vermonter anyway'. And that, is the problem. They're not thinking about their future. They don't realize that I am one of many who are helping to pay for them to live here - and if too many of us leave, they won't be able to afford to live here either.

Mike

 

Hunter, This is great info. I never would have expected that WV would have higher mountains and more snow than VT. It might be the only state I have never been in.
I live in CT and ski VT and upstate NY. I went to grad school in CO...... and nothing compares to the Rockies for good conditions and less crowded areas if you stay away from places like Aspen and Vail.
OK...... How do I get this back on track? WY does not have a single Acura dealer either!

 

Yeah, I was surprised to find some killer mountains and weather in WV myself. I ski a lot at Snowshoe WV, and the summit elevation is 4850'. I think that's about 450 ft higher than Mt Mansfield at Stowe VT. The downside is that the skiable vertical is less than most places in VT -- max of about 1500ft. But the high elevation is really cool -- gives it a Western feel/look with all the spruce trees.

 

I agree with all your points. And I remember what it was like being an outsider in VT (despite being active in the community up there) so I understand where you are coming from. That Vermonter attitude is quite something....