drivetofive

Odometer (Legend):  528,279

Odometer (ILX):  63,525

Trip Distance:  236 Miles

Each year, I receive a visit from my dad & stepmom between Christmas and New Year’s Day.  This year, they showed up in their new 2013 Acura MDX.  It seemed only fitting that we lined up the available Acuras for a quick driveway photoshoot.  My neighbors, without a doubt, were watching out the windows and rolling their eyes.

• 1992 Acura NSX:  98,500 Miles
• 2013 Acura ILX:  63,525 Miles
• 1994 Acura Legend:  528,279 Miles
• 2013 Acura MDX:  10,800 Miles
• 2004 Acura MDX (friend’s):  90,400 Miles

Interestingly enough, the 4 other Acuras in the picture still don’t add up to the mileage of the 1994 Legend.  In fact, their combined mileage of 263,225 is still less than half what the Legend has alone.

As part of dad’s visit, we worked on a bunch of home improvement projects and also celebrated my birthday which was on 12/28.  I like having a birthday that’s sandwiched between Christmas and NYE.  The below picture must have been taken around my 5th birthday or so.  Long live the 1980’s!  Check out those stripes.

My friend Cody wins an award for this fantastic Acura-themed birthday wish on Facebook.

Later in the day, I received a very nice visit from world-famous automotive spy photographer Brenda Priddy.

And best of all, my 2-year-old niece, Vivienne, made my day with this sidewalk chalk message sent from Utah.

We dined at one of my favorite Mexican joints in the Phoenix valley, called Nando’s Mexican Cafe.

To celebrate my #32, my dad and Tanya and I took the ILX to a 1939 movie set called Old Tucson Studios, just west of Tucson, Arizona.  The 200-mile round-trip drive from Phoenix was a great chance to visit with them.

I’ve blogged about Old Tucson before back in April and it was every bit as interesting on the second visit as the first.

We learned about some of the 300+ Western films that were produced here.

Standing at the cemetery entrance

With Tanya, in jail!

And inside the lobby of the Grand Hotel

This set was used as an 1863 bank in various films.

The star of the show was this 1897 steam locomotive that was used in such movies as Tombstone and Wild Wild West.  It is a Virginia & Truckee Railroad No. 11.

Parting shot before we rolled back to the Phoenix area in the ILX.

I’m one year older and a little bit wiser.  The adventures will keep on coming.  My friend Ami’s post said it best!

This entry was posted on December 29, 2013 at 8:20 am and is filed under Arizona, ILX, Road Trip. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.