Sunday, October 11, 2009

The Gatherings of the Next Generations...



While the older ones busy with their Pumpkins Picking the little one was asleep all the time...only to wake in time for Snack...as usual at MacDo..



Josh got his Pick...




child and mother..Francine with mom and Josh with his...



getting acquainted

Cousins: from Hatboro, PA, U.S.A. Francine and sister Emily and from Toronto (host) Joshua..






It was a Long Trip and mom and dad decided to start early dawn to let the two "babies" spend most of the 10 hours drive continuing their sleep..They will be driving from Hatboro, (Philadelphia Area) to Toronto for a Long awaited meeting of the Next Generation, Cousins, two growing up in the U.S., one just Landed in this side of the Border...Introducing my Brother's Grandchildren..from Hatboro, U.S.A. Francine and Emily and from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Joshua...

Let us all say our Thanks for the Blessings we have had in the Past, and always hope and wish for the best for the Coming Generations...HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY TO ALL !!!

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Multi-Activity-Vehicle (MAV) Mazda 5 GT

UPDATE:....26 September, 2009....We welcome Joshua and Mom, arrived Toronto from Manila, Via Hongkong 24 Sept. at 7:57 PM Air Canada Flight 16...my Brother only Grandson, all of four years...and very good looking...to the New Immigrants, Welcome to Canada and feel at Home!!





During one of the Occasion of our Gatherings, a friend who is following the entries in this seldom updated blog asked me why I did not post an entry about my recently acquired wheels...here Iggy, for you and the rest...the Zoom, Zoom forever post...

Been driving and owning cars for so many years, actually as soon as I get my Canadian Driver’s License first issued in the City of Winnipeg while trying my Luck there way, way back then, and all I got for 6 weeks was the Driver License and the rest is History.

The last car I had was a Dodge Spirit mid-size sedan, one of Lee Iacocca series of the Famous K cars, which among others Introduced to the world the Iconic Minivan...it was good and it was bad...after about four years of trouble free driving, it became a proverbial “white elephant” and one day I just told a co-worker if he wants it, can have it...and all it needs is an engine from the junk yards and his son drove it for another 5 years...so for the time being I was driving the other Family Car, my sister’s which was also the baby sister of the mid-size Dodge, the Dodge Shadow, which is also our Middle name (our Mother’s Surname, Anino) which lasted without any trouble for 17 years, until May of 2007 when it just said, I had enough and to the Junk Yard she went...the man who picked it up said that the body is still in shape-shape that he might check the problem and spare it from being chop-chop for parts.

I was just happy taking the “quite” efficient and relatively Very Cheap mode of going places, the Toronto Mass Transit System, known for its acronym, TTC (Toronto Transit Commission)..the monthly expense was lower than even the Car Insurance Premium, any car by very much.

Then a Text Message coming from our only Sibling left in the Philippines, our Brother (retired) that her daughter and her 4 years old son are both coming over as immigrants any time soon, (but decided to let them go after celebrating his 70th Birthday this September) as his other son and family, (see the last entry, a week with Francine and Emily) are already been away and the house will be an empty nest now, with just him and his wife..Update..Septemer 12...the Big Boy is scheduled to Arrive Toronto Pearson International, September 24...

So over the cup of coffee with the visiting youngest sis from New York, we talked which car best suited to move the 4 year old grand nephew and the rest of the family...I already made up my Mind to go for the Six, three rows seating Mazda 5... it is not a minivan, not a crossover and Mazda gave it a very appropriate description...MAV (for Multi-Activity-Vehicle)..

So off to the Dealer, Scarborough Mazda check the specs here>/> to make a deal, and if less than 30 minutes the deal was sealed and the car will be ready after its body rust proofing, window tinting and registration were done, about a day or two...and off to Hatboro, PA we went and it was a very Nice Driving Car, with its Low Profile wide tires, riding in Nitrogen, and all operations can be set in Auto, (wiper, headlight, climate control) and even the 5 speed Auto transmission has a Manual Option, known as Steptronic, a flip to the left and tap-tap-tap up and down the car is in Manual Mode without the Clutch Pedal...or just stay in Auto and let it shifts by itself (can be shifted back and forth on the fly)...Power is transmitted to Front Wheels by a 2.3 liter DOHC 16V EFI engine and though there is no specs and how many seconds it can get from 0-100 km( maximum hway speed) I timed it somewhere between 8 to9 seconds, not bad for a small engine...fuel efficiency is quite good in Highway Driving, but not in City Driving as the Car is slightly bigger and heavier than conventional sedan.

So the “Big Boy” will have to learn to accept to ride in the second row seat as compared to always sitting beside Grandpa, the driver...and has to be buckled to his booster seat...It is not advisable to have a passenger less than 12 years of age occuppying Front Seat as the Air Bags and the possibility of impact with the dashboard is dangerous for younger passenger. It is even Illegal.




The Front...you may klik at the pix to view the enlarged image in separate window...



Parking alongside the "girls" own movers (francine and emily), the Toyota Sienna and the Kia Sportage.



The view from the Rear and passenger side...


Side view with sliding door wide open,(easy close door system)access to the Third row is thru the folded second row side seats pushed forward, the Centre or Jump Over, just like Francine does everytime...


The two seats middle row with hideaway tiny snack centre table for the "special passenger".




The Cabin





The Mazda 5 side view, the GT model.


The Twins (youngest in the family) visiting from the U.S. posing with the Mazda 5 somewhere in Niagara...the other is a Torontonian sis...July 11,2009


Special Bonus: Lolo Natic and Lola Mart, brand spanking New Chrysler Journey Crossover...love the scent of a new car...says lola Mart (as the kids would call them)...

Friday, April 10, 2009

a week with Francine and Emily









with lolo gene and sometimes her Physician


and lola joy her Pedia...



Emy with dad and mom and lolo natic and lola mart






Emy with mom







walking Francine to the School Bus P.U. Corner (junior kin)














the house the girls call "home"












emy with "lolo"






















Francine and Emily


Got snowed on the way somewhere in Buffalo, missed a few turns and a few more misses with the first use of the GPS, but this new tech guided me and sis right to the door of our grandnieces Francine and Emily in Hatboro, PA with very little delays as it re-calculated the route as soon as I missed the highlighted 3d maps plus the play by play (turn by turn) instruction of the pleasant voice prompts of "Samantha".