Ford Focus on My City

On our first full day with the Ford Focus, we certainly put it {and ourselves} to the test.

We loaded up the trunk for a full day of activities: snacks, water, changes of clothes for my sporty son and potty-training toddler, hockey equipment and various layers to take us from the cool morning to a warm afternoon, into a cold hockey rink and back out into the sunshine. Yes, I had planned so much for this first day of our "Ford Focus on My City" weekend that I was not going to be home again between the hours of 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.

As we departed, my kids were doing THIS, and I was seriously questioning my plan for the day. But, as every mom knows, the gong show must go on!

Our first stop was my son's flag football game at Ernest Linder Park. The trees there had definitely gotten the message that fall was on the way, and they were all dressed up for the party.

It was a gorgeous morning, and I could feel the stress from the rush to get out the door slowly melting away. It was going to be a great day! {Watching these darling 6-year-olds having fun in the sun is enough to melt just about anything.}

Having been a mini-van mama for the past couple years, the Ford Focus is quite a departure from what we are used to. But, I have to say this little number is a lot of fun to drive. My son thinks it must be a race car because it is red and has a stick shift and a rear spoiler. {Needless to say, he was thrilled with our weekend ride.}

It has been a long while since I last drove a stick shift. This was embarrassingly punctuated by it stalling on me as I pulled out of the lot when I went to pick it up. However, it didn't take long for it to come back to me, and with it, that indescribable power that I feel when I am manually shifting gears.

As I left the park and headed into Downtown Saskatoon, over one of Saskatoon's beautiful bridges, down shaded streets with golden canopies hinting of the impending fall, I kept getting this peaceful, yet powerful, pull in my chest. It is hard to describe, but I think it resembled a mix of independence and freedom.

Perhaps shifting through the gears was bringing me back a few years {ahem} to my first Ford vehicle -- a sweet little refurbished '65 Ford Mustang I drove when I was 17. A sunny September day, windows rolled down, good tunes on the radio, shifting gears. Yep, there it is...freedom.

Then my 2-year-old screams "Mine!" from the backseat and a recurring tug-of-war ensues between her and her brother over an old Blackberry that has been stripped of its battery but has somehow become a coveted treasure for them both.

I roll down their windows in the back to get their attention. It works. "Isn't our city just beautiful?" I ask.

"Wow!" he says. "Woo!" says she. Ahhh...peace, power and freedom return. I'm ready for the next stop -- the YXE Street Food & Music Festival near Saskatoon's River Landing.

{ Itinerary }  { Stop 1 }  { Stop 2 }  { Stop 3 }  { Stop 4 }  { Stop 5 }  { Stop 6 }
{ Stop 7 }