This year for our son Jack’s 5th birthday, we decided to do a “destination birthday party” in Destin, Florida; instead of having a party with his friends back home in Tennessee.
We figured if we were going to spend a few hundred dollars either way, we might as well make a fun family vacation out of it; especially right now, before the new baby arrives in April.
Something that made the trip extra special is that we were able to drive a 2015 Lexus GX 460 there and back! Therefore, our road trip was luxurious, large and laid-back.
Since we currently only have a family of 3, we kept the 3rd row seat folded down and used it for cargo space instead. Therefore, we packed our largest suitcases for the trip.
Usually on a road trip like this, we all try to pack light- but with all that room in the Lexus GX, we were able to pack liberally:
So in addition to the 2 giant suitcases, there was also my camera tripod, 2 of giants beach toy buckets, our plant-based food supply (we’re a vegan/vegetarian family), and all of Jack’s birthday gifts from us. And I was able to fit all of this under the cover too; which maintained the wonderful driver’s seat visibility, which I shot a quick video about.
We had so much fun on our trip. I’ve actually highlighted the main events in previous blog posts. (I put them in bold links below so you can click on them to read those separately.)
Before we even left for our trip, Jack drew and colored a special map so his Mommy and I would know were to drive.
As for some highlights of our trip; first, my son got to pet and feed dolphins at the Gulfarium.
And we had so much fun playing out on the beach. There was a lot of water underneath the sand and it kept sprouting out the more we would dig trenches for our sand castle.
Having a destination birthday party for my son’s 5th birthday was the right decision for us! It was such a special time for our family.
So last weekend I broke my Grandma out of the nursing home without anyone knowing it, then I pushed her in her wheelchair a mile down the road while she wore a “seatbelt” we made from a rolled up blanket…
Wait, actually, that’s probably not the best way to start this story. Let me try again.
The last time my Grandma had seen her younger brother Bob was back in the summer of 1987, back when I was six years old, when we took a family vacation road trip to Buffalo, New York where my Grandma and my mom are from.
That was 27 years ago…
But then randomly this year, my great-Uncle Bob decided that he wanted to visit my Grandma (his sister) by train with his girlfriend (he’s never been in a plane and he’s only left the state of New York once).
So I decided it would definitely be worth the 2 and a half hour drive from Nashville where we live, to my hometown in Alabama; taking my own family (my wife Jill and my son Jack) to witness this great reunion- 27 years in the making!
And to make things even more fun, we were able to review the 2014 Lexus GX 460 in the process. Which, for the record, was my personal favorite out of all the many Lexus vehicles I have reviewed within the past year.
The way it drove reminded me of the Toyota Tacoma, my favorite Toyota vehicle, which I reviewed on my 33rd birthday back in April.
My wife Jill appreciated was how spacious the 2014 Lexus GX 460 is. We had to transport some of our son’s toys to my parents’ house; as we are in the process of building a new house (as I recently wrote about when I reviewed the 2014 Lexus GS 450h) and needed a place to store some things.
Meanwhile, my son Jack loved the stadium seating in the back because he could see everything that I could from the driver’s seat. Also, it has a 3rdrow seat from can fold up from the very back.
He convinced us to let him sit in the very back for the entire round trip! Not to mention, to and from school a few days as well.
I was surprised at how easy it was to hear Jack and Jill all the way back there. (I’m sure many educated people at Lexus have labored countless hours over making sure the sound carries that well!)
The visibility from the driver’s seat also greatly impressed me as well. I can’t remember the last time I drove a vehicle with better visibility than the 2014 Lexus GX 460.
So we arrived at my Grandma’s nursing home and along with my dad’s help, were able to lift my Grandma from her wheelchair to the car.
In the process, I also “re-met” my great-Uncle Bob while there, who of course didn’t recognize me as a grown adult. As we talked, I learned from him that it was nearly 100 years ago, in 1923, that his own parents moved to New York from Michoacán, in southern Mexico; though he nor my Grandma ever really spoke Spanish.
The whole family met as a whole back at my sister’s house, just a mile away from the nursing home.
First, we celebrated by brother-in-law (who apparently happens to look a lot like me) turning 30 years old.
Then we headed outside to the “jumpy castle” as Jack and his cousin Calla burned off extra energy they mysteriously gained from not having to take a nap that day.
And of course, we checked out the storm shelter, which has sort of become the routine when we visit.
Next we had a plant-based (vegan) lunch, prepared by my sister…
Followed by an instantly made-up game of “bean bag bumper cars”…
That’s about the time we got a call from the nursing home. Turns out, none of us even thought to actually sign my grandma out. And coincidentally, no one working there noticed us wheeling her out the front door!
The workers were so glad to hear that we had Grandma with us instead of, I guess, her somehow escaping (?) on her own.
However, by that time she was ready to get back to her home. The thing was, she was afraid to be lifted back up into a vehicle for the 0.925 miles back.
We did what every all-American family would have done in the same situation:
My sister and her husband rolled up a large blanket, then I MacGyvered it into a home-made seatbelt. And now this particular photo collage begins to make more sense…
After all, despite it only being about a mile away, the journey was all hills.
Fortunately, my daily routine of mountain biking during my lunch break had conditioned my body to be able to get my Grandma to her destination in less than 15 minutes. She even got to catch a glimpse of the County Fair a few blocks away.
Before we left the next morning, we made sure to snap a few pictures of our family.
Since my brother-in-law/look-alike turned 30 recently, and until Jack turns 4 next month, it means that we are living in a time when my wife and I are both 33, my sister and her husband are both 30, and their daughter Calla and our son Jack are both 3.
So we figured we should take an official picture of this cool “3-30-33” moment.
And that just goes to show that anytime my family gets together, it’s never “normal.”
But it is fun.
If you were entertained by this story, then be on the look-out what happened after we drove back to Nashville to see a Dierks Bentley concert that my wife won tickets for!
Car Review Stats:
2014 Lexus 9700A GX 460 5-DR SUV
4.6 liter V8, 301 horsepower
17 mpg average, 15 city, 20 highway
as shown: $55,505.00
See all 4 posts on the 2014 Lexus 9700A GX 460 5-DR SUV:
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Third row seats in SUVs are so hot right now! And chances are, if you’re reading this, you’ve recently purchased a 2014 Lexus GX 460; or you’re leasing or renting one.
Even though it would have been much more practical for my son to have sat in the 2nd row seat for the past week, which included a 5 hour round trip road trip, he liked the very back better.
Now, let’s get to what you came for. In just a few simple picture collages, I hope to show you that it’s actually pretty simple to fold up and down the 3rd row seats of the 2014 Lexus GX 460.
The 1st step is to unlock the back door using your remote. Then pull the door handle open, on the left side of the license plate. Once you swing out the back door from left to right, you’ll see some interesting things.
On the door itself are two panels, which after you open them, you’ll discover a roadside tool set on the left and a 1st aid kit on the right.
Turn facing the front of the vehicle and on the right interior side you will see a convenient power outlet; AC 120 V, 100W. That’s the kind you need for your electronics!
If you face your left, you will discover a secret compartment to hide and store whatever you can imagine; whether it be rare golden coins lifted from the Titanic (I won’t ask how you got them), or simply just tickets to the upcoming Dave Matthews Band concert.
Oh yeah, the seats. Let’s learn how to fold them up and down now.
Pull the lower handle you see on the back of the seat. What that does is automatically pulls in the base of the seat in front you. See my “action shot” below.
Now you want to pull up the ribbon handle which allows you to fold in the head rest.
To actually fold the seat down, left up the latch on the back shoulder, then push the seat down until it becomes the floor.
Follow those same steps for the other 3rd row seat and you’re done. Your view should look like the upper left corner shot in the collage below.
So now, real quick, let me show you how to fold the seats back up:
Just lift up the “back shoulder latch” and push the seat up, while standing next the vehicle with the back passenger door open.
Now you need to pull out the base of the seat again by pulling a tray right underneath the seat base. And don’t forget about those head rests!
While it may have taken 2 minutes and 13 seconds for you to read and process this information, I’m confident that once you do it a few times, you’ll be able to fold the 3rd row seats up and down in less than 30 seconds.
Hopefully this is now officially the most entertaining review of how to fold down and up the 3rd row seats of a 2014 Lexus GX 460 that exists on the Internet!
That’s sort of what I was going for, at least… Thanks for reading!
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