Monday, July 10, 2017

#SaturnSky .. Crossed out from His Bucket List

Some of  the many things my husband wants to do before he finally retire from work includes visiting Europe.  He wants to visit the grave of one of his Uncle who was killed during the D-Day in Normandy, France.  He was buried  in Normandy American Cemetery and his family never got to see him again after he departed  to serve the military.  So my husband wants to do that in behalf of his family.  I can't imagine  what his parents must have felt when they  informed them that their son got killed and  that they will never see him again.  

The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France is located in Colleville-sur-Mer, on the site of the temporary American St. Laurent Cemetery, established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944 as the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II. The cemetery site, at the north end of its half mile access road, covers 172.5 acres and contains the graves of 9,387 of our military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. On the Walls of the Missing, in a semicircular garden on the east side of the memorial, are inscribed 1,557 names. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified.

The memorial consists of a semicircular colonnade with a loggia at each end containing large maps and narratives of the military operations; at the center is the bronze statue, “Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves.” An orientation table overlooking the beach depicts the landings in Normandy. Facing west at the memorial, one sees in the foreground the reflecting pool; beyond is the burial area with a circular chapel and, at the far end, granite statues representing the United States and France. - source
Technically, my husband  have been retired  from his 20 years of service in  the navy but since we started  our family late, he has to  work again after his military retirement as his retirement alone won't suffice for  a family of four especially that we send our children to  private school and I am a stay-at-home-mom.  I work part time online which isn't practical if we want a sustainable living but we decided that I would stay  home with the kids   instead of  hiring someone to take care of them.  It is good for the kids growth and development.  But anyway, another thing on his bucket list is  owning a sports car.  His  desire  was awaken by our son's love for cars.  He has been looking through  cars online and he has been showing his Dad all the available options out there.  
 He finally found one  down in Ohio and we drove  down there last Friday but then the salesman called him  when we were about a mile to their garage that the car has been sold.  It was not meant to be  so we shrugged it off.  He found another one one up in Pennsylvania so we drove out there last Saturday.  I like the color of this one  and it is priced  lower than the one in Ohio.
I might not be able to fully  understand the fascination of men  for cars but I take it the same as women when we go shopping for clothes and stuff.   My husband doesn't have any vice but travel, food and well, cars so I  agreed for him to buy this Saturn Sky. That way he will be able to  ride in style when he fully retires in few more years.  His goal is to retire at the age of 60 so that would be in 12 years.
According to Wikipedia, The Saturn Sky is a roadster that was produced by Saturn, and was initially released in the first quarter of 2006 as a 2007 model. It uses the Kappa automobile platform shared with the Pontiac Solstice and Opel GT. The Sky concept was shown at the 2005 North American International Auto Show, with the production version following at the 2006 show. It was built at GM's Wilmington, Delaware plant, alongside the Solstice and the Opel GT. The Sky featured 18-inch (457 mm) wheels and a 2.4 L Ecotec LE5 straight-4 engine that produced 177 hp (132 kW), a new straight-4 2.0 L turbocharged direct injected engine that made 260 hp (194 kW) as well as an optional dealer-installed turbo upgrade kit that made 290 hp (216 kW). Both five-speed manual and automatic transmissions were available.

The styling for the Sky, penned by Franz von Holzhausen, was based on the Vauxhall VX Lightning Concept's design. It was available in some European markets as the Opel GT. A rebadged version named the Daewoo G2X was unveiled as a concept vehicle for the South Korean market in 2006. The production version was released in September 2007.[1] The Sky, Solstice, GT, and G2X were built in Wilmington, Delaware. The aggressive styling garnered praise as a welcome departure from traditional Saturn design. The Wilmington Assembly plant closed in July 2009, ending production as both the Pontiac and Saturn nameplates were retired 
They call this car their  Sexy Baby, my daughter and I just  looked at each other and giggled lol.

Thanks to the friendly people in Colonial Toyota in Indian, PA. Thank you also to my husband's friend Ralph, for driving  him to Indiana last Sunday to pick up the car. 
 It is now sitting in our garage and my husband took each of us for a spin around Weirton when he arrived yesterday.  We also drove to the cemetery and paid respect to my in-laws.  My FIL  also loved sports car so he would have loved to see his son drive one.  
He refer this car as his #MidLifeCrisis car lol.  So there you you go Hon, one more thing crossed out your list.  Now, it's time to save  for your Europe dream  travel.  It might take  10-15 years before we  realized that dream but it is possible.  

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She won an international smile contest for the month of October 2009. This contest was sponsored by Division of Pediatric Dentistry, Department of Oral Health Sciences, University of British Columbia, Canada.

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