Welcome AutoWeek! Here's the Fleet

After some time, I finally get to announce that I will be writing for AutoWeek online!  My first post, Here's how the minivan stopped me from having more kids, was published yesterday.  The original title was "Minivans as a Form of Birth Control."  We've never ever considered buying a minivan, especially since we stopped having children at two, so I like to joke that the mere thought of a minivan stopped us from having more kids.  That is until now...

Check out the post over at AutoWeek to see why and how we caved with our latest car minivan purchase.  In the article, I mention that we love performance cars, but not which ones. Here's our fleet as it stands now.



Last year's family portrait in an antithesis of a minivan... my 2009 BMW 135i Convertible with the M sport package.  This baby flies at 300 HP.  The story of how this car came to be is here.



Doug's car is a made-to-order 2006 Corvette with the Z51 performance package. He beats me at 400 HP. Zoom!



Since my precious rear wheel drive 135i doesn't handle the New England ice and snow (and car-eating salt) very well, I kept my previous car, a 2001 BMW 325xi touring sedan (i.e. wagon), for the winter (and rainy days). This was my daily driver since 2003 and has been quite a trusty workhorse. Not to mention it is quite luxurious and sporty with a sport suspension and manual transmission. Now this is the only car that we have with a 5-speed instead of a 6-speed manual transmission.



Here's the latest edition, a Mazda5 with a 6-speed manual transmission. How much flak are we gonna get for this family portrait?

Sliding Down the Hoover Dam

Amidst all the smoke and glitter on our trip to Las Vegas, we made a point of visiting the Hoover Dam, a crowning achievement of mankind. The majestic curve of concrete seamlessly integrated into the beauty of the terrain, mixed with the sheer power of the water, left us completely in awe.  Sure, the Hoover Dam isn't the largest dam in the world, and it doesn't have goats precariously licking salt off the walls, but it was still one of the most amazing things that I have ever seen.

Then again, it was too amazing for me to take decent photographs, but here goes. We didn't go up to the bridge to take pictures, so this was my best attempt of capturing the width of the dam from the side.



We didn't realize that the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge only opened to traffic last October. What a view it must be from there! We were way too tired by the end of our visit to make another trek over the bridge.  Thankfully, the weather was a perfect 75F in March and not the scorching desert heat of summer.



Even the Visitor's Center was melded perfectly into the mountainside. I loved the mix of rock, concrete, copper and power lines.



On the other side of the Hoover Dam is Lake Mead, which was created by the dam. I can see why they call it Tapestry Wall.



The dam crosses between Nevada and Arizona, which are in different time zones during standard time but have the same time during Daylight Saving Time (which Arizona does not follow). So while it may look like Doug was pondering having one foot in each time zone, it was actually the same time while we were there.



But my favorite thought was, "Wow, this would make an awesome slide," when looking down the wall of the Hoover Dam.



Inside, we opted for the Power Plant tour for $11 each instead of the full dam tour for $30. Later we heard other visitors rave about the full tour, so next time! The engineer in me got all revved up over the huge generators (pun intended).



Look, they were really spinning and producing tons of clean electricity!



No kidding, the rotors and stators on these generators were huge!  And no, we didn't see the Transformer's Cube there.



There were warnings for people who experienced claustrophobia, and the tight, dark tunnels were some of the reasons why. The tour elevators were quite crowded as well. Doug felt it was unfair that they didn't list the reasons people may feel claustrophobic up front.



In the end, the best shot of Doug and me in front of the dam was this silly green screen portrait.



If you're ever in Vegas, don't miss the Hoover Dam. It will be worth your dam while.

Are You Ready for the Big Apple Circus?

First things first, if you're interested in saving up to $15 off each ticket to the Big Apple Circus Dance On! show in Boston, here's how:

• Online: http://bigapplecircus.org/bostonpop11.aspx and submit the code POP11 in the Promotional Codes box in the lower left of the page.
• By Phone: Call 888-541-3750 and mention code POP11
• In Person: At the Big Top Box Office Tues-Fri 10am-8pm; Sat-Mon 10am-6pm

We were all excited to see the circus this year, especially after watching many episodes of Circus featuring the non-profit Big Apple Circus on PBS.  From the documentary, we witnessed the huge amount of work it takes to put together a show and the trials of life on the road.  Once in the ring however, it is all effortless and magic.

Before the start, we settled in with some cotton candy. The circus big top is really a tent that they put up by hand. No seat is more than 50 feet from ringside, which means great views all around (except for the clueless people that let their kids STAND on their laps in front of me - see the very last photo).



And then we sat back and took in all the amazing acts.  This Kenyan troupe hopped up this pole effortlessly.



Dova's favorite act was the Mongolian acrobats. They were incredibly easy to photograph since they held each of their positions beautifully. Adam could not believe how incredibly flexible and strong they were.







There wasn't a flying trapeze act, but there was a high flying rope swinger who looked like she was thoroughly enjoying herself.



After intermission, the animals came out.  Since the last few circuses that we've seen have been produced by Cirque du Soleil, I was actually looking forward to seeing an animal act.  And unlike Cirque du Soleil, still photography without flash is perfectly allowed at the Big Apple Circus (Yay!).  My favorite animals were the majestic miniature white horses flying around the ring.



Even the clowns were multi-talented, here's one who juggled cups.



There was plenty of audience interaction as well, one lucky girl got to fly around the ring with Grandma.



This acrobat was mesmerizing as well. I'll call this one "head-turning" because he actually spun his whole body on this platform by making twisting motions with his head.



As if spinning lassos wasn't hard enough, try doing while standing three people tall.



The circus is backed by a live band and a singer/emcee. Their timing was right on, especially for the clown acts.

Hooray for the circus!

Disclaimer: The Big Apple Circus graciously provided tickets for my family for this review.