Wednesday, July 12, 2006
New Car & GPS choice
We have been talking about getting a new car for me for over 2 years. My Altima is older than my 10 year old daughter by about 6 months. However, it has low mileage and still runs well. The clincher is that Andrew is now driving and needs a way to get to school.
On Fathers Day, the family surprised me by taking me car shopping. Due to a family connection, we were able to get employee pricing at Chrysler (ironically they brought back employee pricing for everyone after I bought the car). Anyway, I purchased a 2006 Pearl Blue PT Cruiser. Just the basic model. The only options I wanted were Air Conditioning, Automatic, and GPS Navigation. Why did I want GPS? It is useful for driving to new places, but mostly as a toy (I have to admit that). The dealer found me a car with AC, Automatic, and Sirius Satellite radio. I told them to keep trying, so they gave me the Sirius radio for free. They also setup a work order to install the GPS unit the following week.
First of all, the Sirius radio is cool. I'm not a Howard Stern fan, so that meant nothing to me. However, the comedy stations and the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s stations have been nice. I get 1 year free with the radio. I doubt that I will renew the subscription next year, but I will enjoy it while I have it for free.
The GPS unit turned out to be a saga. It turns out that the 2006 PT Cruiser has had the dash redesigned and the Chrysler Mopar in-dash GPS unit no longer fits. I found this out after leaving my car at the dealer one afternoon and returning to find that nothing was done. Instead they ordered a Garmin-built unit that would be installed on the top of my dashboard. I had to persuade them to dig out some specs for the unit. It was much cheaper than the one I intended, smaller, less functional, and sat in an obvious spot for thieves and blocking my vision.
At that point, I did some serious research into options. The dealer wasn't helpful. I found a Pioneer in-dash unit that was very cool. It was small and would slide the screen in and out of the dash as needed. It also was a DVD player. Lots of cool toy potential. However, the cost was more than I had paid and the dealer was not willing to eat the additional cost. I was not willing to pay additional cost.
A few days ago, I decided to think about portable GPS units. As it turns out, this was the obvious answer to make this more than a toy. A unit that could easily move from car to car and travel with us would be very useful. In fact, it would have been really helpful on our trip back East last April.
Yesterday this was resolved. The dealer is refunding what we paid for the GPS and I am spending less than that to purchase a high end portable unit. The order was placed last night. I can't wait to get my new toy!
On Fathers Day, the family surprised me by taking me car shopping. Due to a family connection, we were able to get employee pricing at Chrysler (ironically they brought back employee pricing for everyone after I bought the car). Anyway, I purchased a 2006 Pearl Blue PT Cruiser. Just the basic model. The only options I wanted were Air Conditioning, Automatic, and GPS Navigation. Why did I want GPS? It is useful for driving to new places, but mostly as a toy (I have to admit that). The dealer found me a car with AC, Automatic, and Sirius Satellite radio. I told them to keep trying, so they gave me the Sirius radio for free. They also setup a work order to install the GPS unit the following week.
First of all, the Sirius radio is cool. I'm not a Howard Stern fan, so that meant nothing to me. However, the comedy stations and the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s stations have been nice. I get 1 year free with the radio. I doubt that I will renew the subscription next year, but I will enjoy it while I have it for free.
The GPS unit turned out to be a saga. It turns out that the 2006 PT Cruiser has had the dash redesigned and the Chrysler Mopar in-dash GPS unit no longer fits. I found this out after leaving my car at the dealer one afternoon and returning to find that nothing was done. Instead they ordered a Garmin-built unit that would be installed on the top of my dashboard. I had to persuade them to dig out some specs for the unit. It was much cheaper than the one I intended, smaller, less functional, and sat in an obvious spot for thieves and blocking my vision.
At that point, I did some serious research into options. The dealer wasn't helpful. I found a Pioneer in-dash unit that was very cool. It was small and would slide the screen in and out of the dash as needed. It also was a DVD player. Lots of cool toy potential. However, the cost was more than I had paid and the dealer was not willing to eat the additional cost. I was not willing to pay additional cost.
A few days ago, I decided to think about portable GPS units. As it turns out, this was the obvious answer to make this more than a toy. A unit that could easily move from car to car and travel with us would be very useful. In fact, it would have been really helpful on our trip back East last April.
Yesterday this was resolved. The dealer is refunding what we paid for the GPS and I am spending less than that to purchase a high end portable unit. The order was placed last night. I can't wait to get my new toy!
Labels: Day Trip, Driving, GPS
Monday, May 08, 2006
Kayaking with the Girl Scouts
Yesterday our family went with the Girl Scouts to Newport Harbor for a day of kayaking. There were 8 girls, 2 moms, myself, Andrew, and 2 Sea Scouts as our guides. It was a great day, although some of the girls were getting tired before the day was over. We were out there from 9am to 4pm -- so it was a long day.
Our adventure started at the BSA Newport Sea Base. We had some basic instruction to get started (including a training video designed for very young boys) and then moved on to row boats and the swim test.
The low point of rowing was the dead possum that came floating along. The girls got the willies a bit from that, but the Sea Scouts got rid of it before it was a major issue.
The water was not too cold, but it was somewhere in the low 60s. The girls were required to take the test, but the adults were not. Several girls complained due to (a) the cold water and (b) swimming in the harbor vs. a nice, clean pool. However, they all ultimately took the test.
Hayley was the youngest girl there at 10 years old (since it was Bethany's troop of 12 and 13 year olds). She was really not wanting to take the test. I volunteered to do it with her. While I was up changing, she took the test anyway. However, she also made me keep my word so I had to do the swim test too. That put her back in a happy mood. It was not as cold as I expected. I was also able to shower off and change afterwards (although the showers were cold).
After the swim test we started the kayaking part of the day. The Sea Scouts had motor boats to follow us, take those not kayaking, and carry gear. We started with lunch on a beach we boated to. Next we went to an area with a bunch of moon jellyfish. It was really neat to float among them and see them up close. We then went on to another beach and did some exploring which including another dead animal: a small stingray. The girls seemed more interested than concerned about the dead ray. They "buried" it in the sand and left. We then unburied it and sent it back to sea so that it would not get stepped on. We then paddled to the Fun Zone in Balboa and got treats. The girls were pretty tired then, so we towed the kayaks back to Sea Base.
After cleaning off the kayaks and putting them away, the scouts took the girls out motor boating for a while. When the girls got to drive, that was the big highlight of the day for many of the girls. We then headed home to get some rest from a long but fun day.
Our adventure started at the BSA Newport Sea Base. We had some basic instruction to get started (including a training video designed for very young boys) and then moved on to row boats and the swim test.
The low point of rowing was the dead possum that came floating along. The girls got the willies a bit from that, but the Sea Scouts got rid of it before it was a major issue.
The water was not too cold, but it was somewhere in the low 60s. The girls were required to take the test, but the adults were not. Several girls complained due to (a) the cold water and (b) swimming in the harbor vs. a nice, clean pool. However, they all ultimately took the test.
Hayley was the youngest girl there at 10 years old (since it was Bethany's troop of 12 and 13 year olds). She was really not wanting to take the test. I volunteered to do it with her. While I was up changing, she took the test anyway. However, she also made me keep my word so I had to do the swim test too. That put her back in a happy mood. It was not as cold as I expected. I was also able to shower off and change afterwards (although the showers were cold).
After the swim test we started the kayaking part of the day. The Sea Scouts had motor boats to follow us, take those not kayaking, and carry gear. We started with lunch on a beach we boated to. Next we went to an area with a bunch of moon jellyfish. It was really neat to float among them and see them up close. We then went on to another beach and did some exploring which including another dead animal: a small stingray. The girls seemed more interested than concerned about the dead ray. They "buried" it in the sand and left. We then unburied it and sent it back to sea so that it would not get stepped on. We then paddled to the Fun Zone in Balboa and got treats. The girls were pretty tired then, so we towed the kayaks back to Sea Base.
After cleaning off the kayaks and putting them away, the scouts took the girls out motor boating for a while. When the girls got to drive, that was the big highlight of the day for many of the girls. We then headed home to get some rest from a long but fun day.
Labels: Day Trip, Family, Scouts
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Hollywood
In 4th grade, our school has the students do a "California Landmark Report". When Bethany did this, she chose Catalina Island. It was a decision made with family input. One of the options for the report is to visit the landmark and write about the visit. This made a nice family day trip to Catalina which coincided with Mothers Day. We took a couple of tours, did some shopping, visited the Catalina Island museum, and walked around the city of Avalon.
Anyway, Hayley got input from the family and chose Hollywood. I have lived in California all my life and never visited the tourist sites of Hollywood. It had to happen sometime.
Not too many years ago, I understand that Hollywood was not a great place to visit. However, they have done a lot of revitalization of the area and it was a fun family day.
Highlights:
* Movie at Disney's El Capitan Theater
This is designed to be a movie experience like in the "old days" of movie going. The movie we went to see was The Wild. It started with an awesome organist playing a medley of Disney tunes while we were settling in. We chose to sit in the balcony since the family has never done that before. The curtains opened (multiple curtains of various sorts -- cool effect) and they showed previews of upcoming movies. The curtains then closed and the Los Angeles Zoo had representatives there to give a "wild" bird show. The theater is large and has lots of room for the birds to fly around and show off.
* Hollywood Visitors Center
There is a large shopping/entertainment complex at Hollywood and Highland. This includes the Kodak Theater where the Academy Awards are held. The Hollywood Visitors center is buried in this complex (they are building a new place for them at the front, but they are pretty hard to find right now). A lady at the Hollywood Visitors Center, who grew up in Hollywood, gave Hayley a lot of good info for her report and also gave us brochures with discounts for various tours, museums, etc.
* Hollywood Blvd.
The "Walk of Fame" with stars names on the sidewalk runs along Hollywood Blvd and along Vine. We were not close to Vine, but saw many recognizable stars where we were as we walked around the area.
Another interesting part of this street is lots of people come out in costume to let tourists pay them for photos (seems like $1 per photo was typical). Some were kind of cheesy, but some were really good. The guys dressed as Batman and Superman stand out. Also, there was a good Darth Vader and Storm Trooper (and one really cheesy Darth Vader further down the street). The crowd was well behaved, but it was a crowd to deal with when walking anywhere.
* Graumans Chinese Theater (owned by Manns Theaters now)
Saw the famous walkway with stars hand prints, foot prints, etc. That was pretty cool, but a smaller area than I expected. We had Hayley make a handprint souvenir that she can use as part of her report.
* Hollywood Landmark Tour
We took a 1 hour driving tour to see the Hollywood highlights. Celeste didn't like it much and Hayley was kind of bored. I enjoyed the information. Bethany was about 50% happy with it. Andrew liked how the driver used many voices and impersonations to tell corny jokes and give information along the way. However, it did take us to a great location for a photo of the Hollywood Sign behind Hayley (it is pretty distant for photos while down in Hollywood itself).
I also learned that the original Hollywoodland Realty that built the original sign still exists. We drove through the area a little bit.
* Disney Soda Fountain / Studio Store
We returned to the area next to the Disney El Capitan Theater to visit the Soda Fountain. The store was basically like any other Disney retail store. However, on one side they had a soda fountain with some food and lots of old fashioned ice cream treats. The family sat at a counter and enjoyed a nice mid-afternoon treat.
* Hollywood Entertainment Museum
We had a choice of two main museums with Hollywood history and memorabilia. The one we chose sounded more interactive. I'm not sure that we made the right choice since a lot of the "interactive" exhibits were not turned on. They had a lot of costumes and props that were mildly interesting. The highlight was when we got to visit 3 sets that they have on site: Cheers Bar, X-Files / Mulder's Office, Bridge and Transporter Room of USS Enterprise-D (Star Trek TNG). That part was really cool. We were able to sit and interact with the Cheers and Star Trek sets for photos (no video though). We were only able to look at Mulder's Office and take photos from the edge.
Anyway, Hayley got input from the family and chose Hollywood. I have lived in California all my life and never visited the tourist sites of Hollywood. It had to happen sometime.
Not too many years ago, I understand that Hollywood was not a great place to visit. However, they have done a lot of revitalization of the area and it was a fun family day.
Highlights:
* Movie at Disney's El Capitan Theater
This is designed to be a movie experience like in the "old days" of movie going. The movie we went to see was The Wild. It started with an awesome organist playing a medley of Disney tunes while we were settling in. We chose to sit in the balcony since the family has never done that before. The curtains opened (multiple curtains of various sorts -- cool effect) and they showed previews of upcoming movies. The curtains then closed and the Los Angeles Zoo had representatives there to give a "wild" bird show. The theater is large and has lots of room for the birds to fly around and show off.
* Hollywood Visitors Center
There is a large shopping/entertainment complex at Hollywood and Highland. This includes the Kodak Theater where the Academy Awards are held. The Hollywood Visitors center is buried in this complex (they are building a new place for them at the front, but they are pretty hard to find right now). A lady at the Hollywood Visitors Center, who grew up in Hollywood, gave Hayley a lot of good info for her report and also gave us brochures with discounts for various tours, museums, etc.
* Hollywood Blvd.
The "Walk of Fame" with stars names on the sidewalk runs along Hollywood Blvd and along Vine. We were not close to Vine, but saw many recognizable stars where we were as we walked around the area.
Another interesting part of this street is lots of people come out in costume to let tourists pay them for photos (seems like $1 per photo was typical). Some were kind of cheesy, but some were really good. The guys dressed as Batman and Superman stand out. Also, there was a good Darth Vader and Storm Trooper (and one really cheesy Darth Vader further down the street). The crowd was well behaved, but it was a crowd to deal with when walking anywhere.
* Graumans Chinese Theater (owned by Manns Theaters now)
Saw the famous walkway with stars hand prints, foot prints, etc. That was pretty cool, but a smaller area than I expected. We had Hayley make a handprint souvenir that she can use as part of her report.
* Hollywood Landmark Tour
We took a 1 hour driving tour to see the Hollywood highlights. Celeste didn't like it much and Hayley was kind of bored. I enjoyed the information. Bethany was about 50% happy with it. Andrew liked how the driver used many voices and impersonations to tell corny jokes and give information along the way. However, it did take us to a great location for a photo of the Hollywood Sign behind Hayley (it is pretty distant for photos while down in Hollywood itself).
I also learned that the original Hollywoodland Realty that built the original sign still exists. We drove through the area a little bit.
* Disney Soda Fountain / Studio Store
We returned to the area next to the Disney El Capitan Theater to visit the Soda Fountain. The store was basically like any other Disney retail store. However, on one side they had a soda fountain with some food and lots of old fashioned ice cream treats. The family sat at a counter and enjoyed a nice mid-afternoon treat.
* Hollywood Entertainment Museum
We had a choice of two main museums with Hollywood history and memorabilia. The one we chose sounded more interactive. I'm not sure that we made the right choice since a lot of the "interactive" exhibits were not turned on. They had a lot of costumes and props that were mildly interesting. The highlight was when we got to visit 3 sets that they have on site: Cheers Bar, X-Files / Mulder's Office, Bridge and Transporter Room of USS Enterprise-D (Star Trek TNG). That part was really cool. We were able to sit and interact with the Cheers and Star Trek sets for photos (no video though). We were only able to look at Mulder's Office and take photos from the edge.
Labels: Day Trip, Family, School
