What a beautiful day to be taking a ride. We packed the family up and headed to the "states" today. My intention was to go to a suburban Hyundai dealer, where I figured I could get my hands on a "souped-up" version of the Tiburon. They don't stock them where I live. We called ahead, and they were closed, but we thought we'd cruise the lot anyway.

On the way, we decided to stop in for a delicious lunch at our favourite Mediterranean restaurant, and we stuffed ourselves to the gills. Then, we dropped our son off at a record store before heading off to look at cars. When we got to the lot, they had the EXACT model I wanted, right down to the options and colour. I cannot describe how beautiful this car is, so I'll just have to show you...

Anyway, like I said, the dealership was closed. So, we started back to the music store to pick up our son. As we were driving, a brand new Tiburon, exactly like the one in the photo, came up beside us. It didn't even have permanent plates. It still had the temporary license. As it passed us, my wife was able to read the name of the dealer, and we called them. They were open for business! Of course, they were 20 miles away, but that didn't matter ... I was determined to go for a test drive.

After picking up our son, we decided to make a quick trip back to the original lot, where I had seen the perfect car. After all, I had no idea whether there would be cars on the lot when we got across town. My son, who is never impressed with anything I am interested in, truly was impressed. It was obvious from the way he eyed the car, from all angles, that he was picturing himself behind the wheel. Why I felt I needed this approval for validation, I can't (or won't) say. But, it made me feel good.

After heading across town to the other dealer, we found that he did have one car of the model I was interested in on the lot. It wasn't the right colour, and it hadn't been "prepped" yet, but it was driveable. I won't dwell on the glee I felt driving the car for a mere eight blocks (four out/four back). OK, I'll dwell. My top speed during the two-block-long "straightaway" was 80mph. The cockpit (which I hadn't seen properly decked out before) was better than I thought it would be (based on my first impressions looking at the "base" model), and the motor cries out for punishment. My search is over. The decision is made. I will order this car on Monday.

As if that wasn't enough good news, this particular dealership is located in a part of the suburbs I'm familiar with. There's a large theatre complex nearby, so we decided to take time out for a movie. Our son's taste is different from ours, so we fronted him some cash, and he went on his merry way to see "Resident Evil" while we watched the animated comedy "Ice Age". Ice Age was a hoot; children will really like the animation, but the dialogue is suitable for adults, with lots of puns, double entendres, and great one-liners. All our son would say about "Resident Evil" is that he wouldn't be surprised if blood was still dripping from the sprockets of the projector. YUKKK!!! Not my kind of movie.