Ford Driving Skills

Ford Driving Skills Class

This past November my son attended the Ford Driving Skills day. What an experience! For 5 hours the students were behind the wheel learning to navigate in difficult situations.

• Hazard Recognition / Accident Avoidance
• Vehicle Handling
• Impaired Driving Simulation
• Speed / Space Management, and distraction

This program is FREE  for all newly licensed (permit and graduated) drivers. Parents are welcome to stay, watch and learn along side their kids. Students receive memento phot, t shirt and certificate of completion. 

Everyone should sign up for alerts when this program comes to your state. Word of advice - sign up immediately.  It fills up fast!  My daughter won't be ready till October 2019. Yes, it's on my calendar and I will be sending her also.

shttps://www.drivingskillsforlife.com

The Art of Survival exhibit @ Chandler Museum

The Art of Survival exhibit @ Chandler Museum 

The Chandler Museum just premiered a special exhibit of The Art of Survival: Enduring the Turmoil of Tule Lake. Tule Lake was a Japanese American internment camp / "segregation center" in Northern California where over 120,000 Japanese Americans - many who were American citizens - were forcibly relocated from their homes along the West Coast after the February 1942 Executive Order #9066 from President Franklin D Roosevelt. The exhibit was a glimpse into a very dark and embarrassing era of American history where people were incarcerated en-masse for several years (without being charged or convicted of any crimes) based on what a 1981 Federal Commission stated was due to "wartime hysteria, racism, and a failure of political leadership."

The exhibit features the evocative artwork from individuals who were in the camps as well as video interviews of the individuals who survived the camps. Throughout the exhibit are drawings, paintings, placards and posters focusing on specific aspects of the camps, what life was life for those living in them for 4 years, and what it was like for the families afterwards to attempt to rebuild their lives in a mostly unwelcoming society. The exhibit is honest and moving and worth the effort to find and attend. If you cannot attend in person, research Tule Lake on Google because if we do not learn from the past we are doomed to repeat it.

Las Vegas for the Saturnalia Holiday?

Las Vegas for the Holidays

This Festivus was spent in Las Vegas. Again. The kids actually asked to go back and we happily complied. Vegas has changed a great deal since I was kicked out of the Golden Nugget as a child. To be fair, no one told me I could not put that quarter I found in the slot machine. I successfully avoided getting in trouble on this visit. 

We enjoyed the lights on the strip, exploring the shops in the Venetian and the Forum Shops at Caesars, saw classic cars at the Linq, visited the the State Natural History Museum, visited the 7 Magic Mountains outside Vegas, and the Mormon Historic Park (hey, its history, interesting, and even though we are not LDS they let us in!). A big hit was the Linq High Roller - at the top you are at 550 feet above ground giving riders a great view high above the Las Vegas Strip (we rode it at twilight providing an amazing view of the city as it lit up for the evening). We explored the "original Strip" and found  lots of iconic neon signs and historic markers. Nearby to the original strip was a neat little artisan shopping center made from shipping containers with a play area for kids and a stage for live music. 

The most important aspect of going anywhere is the family time. Of course its easier and faster to fly, but if you travel by car you see what what most others only read about or find some "hidden gems" along the road. On I-93 we found Santa Claus, AZ (sadly it's dilapidated), visited Nothing, AZ (lived up to the name), and saw a lot of historic markers and beautiful landscapes. If you make the trip, try to take some time to pull over and take a picture, explore, be silly, and try new things. 

http://www.lasvegas.com/things-to-do/
http://parks.nv.gov/parks/old-las-vegas-mormon-fort/
http://downtowncontainerpark.com

Happy Birthday David Bowie

David Bowie Birthday Remembrance Murals

Ground control to Major Tom...  Who can read that sentence and not hear the music play in their head? Whether you are a product of the 60/70/80/90's or a teen discovering the magic and brilliance and magic of yesteryear, going down to Phoenix is worth the drive for these murals created by local artists celebrating the various Bowie album covers.

Located in Phoenix on a wall on 7th Street just 2 blocks North of McDowell Rd on the East-side of the street.