This afternoon when I got home, you and your neighbor friend Aiden were having a silly string fight! It obviously was a lot of fun for you guys.
But mainly, this week has been all about preparing for our upcoming road trip to Pensacola, Florida.
You have been explaining to Mommy and me that we may be able to dig up some dinosaur bones and treasure chests when we get to the beach. (See Mommy’s drawing below.)
Let’s just say that a recent trip of mine to the Dollar Tree will help make that preconceived idea of yours come true…
In the little bit of time I’ve driven it so far this week, here’s my initial assessment of it:
It feels like I’m driving a luxurious stretch SUV. It’s so spacious inside. The 2 passenger seats in the 2nd row are captain’s chairs that recline just like a normal recliner does.
Not to mention, this Toyota Sienna has a dual screen DVD/Blu-ray player in front of those “recliners.” Sounds like a limo to me!
So here’s to our biggest family road trip to date; other than when you were just a baby. But as an actual boy, we’ve never driven more than 5 hours one way with you.
This trip will be closer to 7 hours. However, I think the vehicle we will be travelling in will definitely make our trip that much more fun!
You are so excited about this van- almost as excited as you are about our treasure hunt…
We will be doing a “Plant-Based Restaurant Tour” of Pensacola, as well as driving out to Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park, where you hope to see a real dolphin and buy a stuffed one as a souvenir.
Obviously, a lot of what I do on this blog is review cars from a family friendly perspective. All you have to do is click on the Family Friendly Car Reviews page on the upper left side of this page to be able to see the dozens of different vehicles our family has now reviewed.
What happened over Easter weekend was a little bit different though…
You and Papa got to test drive his the 1980 MG MGB convertible he is fixing up for his Daddy!
He installed your car seat in the only passenger seat the 1980 MG MGB convertible has and you guys drove down to the end of the road and back. This marks your first time in a convertible and your first time in the front seat of a car.
Granted, I doubt you two even reached 30 miles per hour, and it was basically on a closed course, but still… that’s a big deal for you!
This weekend was basically Papa’s official debut of his 1980 MG MGB convertible. He’s been spending a lot of time working on it; getting it into drivable condition.
You took your “new” stuffed animal who you named “Killer Whaley” with you. I got him back in 1987 when our family visited MarineLand on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls during my only visit to see where Nonna grew up; in Buffalo, New York.
After Papa gave you, then your cousin Calla, a ride in the 1980 MG MGB convertible, we had planned to follow everyone else in the Toyota Highlander down to the park. However, right as we were all about to leave, Papa realized one of the tires had lost a lot of air.
So it look like you were pretty lucky to get to cruise in it… I didn’t even get to myself!
I had wanted to spotlight the new Sienna’s “Easy Speak” feature, by loading up my extended family in the vehicle and taking a road trip to Birmingham for my son Jack to visit his best friend Sophie; as they recently met up at Opry Mills Mall to meet Santa, while we reviewed the Lexus: Dear Jack: Meeting Santa With Sophie At Bass Pro Shop (Lexus RX 450h Weekend).
Turns out, all the Siennas were booked for Christmas. So instead, I was given a 2014 LX 570 to review instead.
Imagine how nice and wonderful a Toyota Land Cruiser is. Well, this is the Lexus version… the $89,805.00 version, to be exact.
To say it was a privilege to be trusted with a $90K vehicle for a week; that would be an understatement.
Another change of plans occurred when Sophie’s parents had to work the day after Christmas, the day we were supposed to meet her family in Birmingham.
So since those plans got cancelled, I made sure our family still got to take advantage of the Lexus LX 570’s awesomeness, as you can see featured in the stories below:
Also, I made a walk-around video so you can get 360 degree perspective of the vehicle:
This is an 8 passenger vehicle with 383 horsepower, 403 lb.-ft torque, built-in DVD players, and even a built-in cooler in between the front 2 seats, which runs off the vehicle’s A/C.
A few weeks ago in preparation for my son’s upcoming 4th birthday, I requested to review “something special” for him. Therefore, a 2014 Scion FR-S was delivered to my home for me to review the week of his birthday.
I explained to my son, “This is Lightning McQueen.”
It really does look like the character from Disney’s Cars, doesn’t it?
Obviously, this is a very sporty, sharp looking car. There is no denying that.
And to make sure I got the full experience on this sports car, I asked for the manual transmission.
Let’s talk about that…
I’ve driven a stick shift since I was 15 and the Reverse gear has always been the bottom right section.
Not with the Scion FR-S, which is also known as the Subaru BRZ and/or the Toyota 86, depending on which part of the world you are in; more on that in a minute…
It actually required some research to figure out how to use this apparently European style of a gear shifter. I noticed there was a lack of information on the Internet and even YouTube on how to shift the gears.
The main problem I was having was simply getting the car into Reverse.
Here’s the trick, as demonstrated in the video I made for you:
You have to pull up on the “ring” of the shifter before it will allow you to move the shifter left into the Reverse gear.
Once you move the shifter into 1st Gear from there, you will probably feel a slight vibration, sort of like a “triple click” so that you know you’re in 1st gear, not 3rd.
That’s something else that may take some getting used to: the gears are not so much in the tradition squared “U” formation. They are more of a “V”; very tight.
Again, this all takes some getting used to. It might literally require driving around the block a time or two, literally.
I suppose that’s sort of the qualifier for the manual transmission version of the Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86:
You have to be pretty confident in your abilities to drive a stick shift to enjoy it. I feel this car is designed for that corner of the market that is still passionate about driving a stick. After all, if you’re like me, you probably see the ability of driving a stick shift as a lost art.
This car is not for most people, which is probably why you don’t see an abundance of them at Toyota/Scion dealerships. Chances are, if you’ve made it this far in to my review, you’re part of that demographic that the Scion FR-S is intended for.
I am 5’9” and 143 pounds. Sitting back in the seat, the top of my head was against the back windshield. Sitting straight up, my head cleared the ceiling by a half an inch.
As long as my knees weren’t together, leg room wasn’t an issue. I sort of have to straddle the front passenger seat; which was not pushed fully back; only about half the way.
And here’s a video I made on on that too:
A child will easily fit back there, given that your wife is okay with it…
Adults my size or smaller shouldn’t have too much of an issue for shorter trips. Granted, I don’t think anyone is expecting a “road trip worthy” back seat from the Scion FR-S.
After all, it’s a 2 door sports car. However, it does indeed have 4 seats and 4 seatbelts should the occasion arise.
Lastly, I want to point out the obscure fact that the motor for the Scion FR-S is made by both Toyota and Subaru!
If you’re familiar at all with Scion, you know they are the sportier, younger sister of Toyota.
So I wasn’t surprised to see a Toyota engine in it, but I definitely was surprised to see the Subaru name. Check out my video on that now:
Apparently, overseas, Toyota and Subaru team up for special projects; unlike here in America, where it appears those two companies are competitors.
Notice the “86” emblem on the sides of the car. I suppose that’s a sort of “Easter Egg” that points to the fact that outside of America, this vehicle would be a Toyota 86, or a Subaru BRZ.
As you can see from the dashboard display, I was averaging over 28 miles a gallon in this $25,000 sports car.
I get a free tank of gas with each car I review, and sadly, I didn’t even get through the first quarter tank. I could have easily spent another week driving this one!
At least my brother-in-law and I got a chance to take it out for a spin down Broadway in Nashville late Saturday night.
I’m all for answering any questions you have about the Scion FR-S. I really do feel there’s a lack of information on the Internet about this car, so I’m hoping to change that.
Over the weekend I made it “Facebook and Twitter official” that our family bought a new house two weeks ago. To be specific, we’re building a new house in the “bedroom community” of Spring Hill, TN. (Our new home is currently a concrete slab.)
I know this sounds strange, but other than going to our lot on the day we “bought” it (meaning we put down the honest money), that was the only time we saw it. We didn’t even check out the surrounding neighborhoods on that day.
Granted, we had well researched the neighborhood online, making sure it was in the “right county for schools,” which is Williamson if you live in the Nashville area.
Plus, our real estate agent Dave Stanley also verified it was a good neighborhood, too; as did another real estate agent in my office, along with about 4 or 5 other co-workers who live in Spring Hill.
(The picture directly below, looking out the car window, is a shot of our new home.)
So our family decided, now that we’ve signed all the proper paperwork and got all the financial approval and all that fun stuff… that we should officially check out the neighborhood.
Plus, we were able to pick out the color of our house (sort of a sea blue), carpet, and granite countertops. You helped the in-house agent enter the info into the computer.
To keep you entertained, I played “Easter Egg Hunt” with him using balloons in the model home; which is the same floor plan as we will have. We also played “Balloon Basketball” using a shelf on the wall.
Afterwards, our family did a “neighborhood drive-by”, checking out the elementary school and new rec center which you can see from our street.
It’s also convenient that the church we will be attending is right around the corner too.
We were also able to meet our next door neighbor; a really nice lady from Detroit who has a 5 year-old granddaughter who happens to live in the neighborhood too.
I should say right off that I very much appreciated that it averages 31 miles per gallon. (The “h” in its name stands for “hybrid.”) Considering all the driving we did to, around, and from our new home, I never had to think about fueling up.
After having driven the 2014 Lexus GS 450h for an entire week now, it’s still not down to half a tank yet.
Your favorite part about the car was that the windows have sun shades that pull down. I think it made you feel like you’re in your own private limo. You also liked the Sirius XM station, Margaritaville, (Ch. 24).
On the way to school this morning, you begged me, “Turn it to Jimmy Buffet, Daddy!”
(Speaking of the radio, you can control it (along with the air) from a special console that folds down from in between the back seats.)
Needless to say, Mommy thoroughly enjoyed getting to test-drive the car. You and me had as much fun while she did, as we apparently pretended to be pirates, I think…
I also enjoyed one particular safety feature it has where it beeps anytime it senses another vehicle as you’re backing up. That’s really cool- came in handy a time or two.
As always, people’s heads turned the entire week as we drove this Lexus around. It happens every time we review a Lexus.
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