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Built For Adventure
July 16th, 2009 | Jeff Zutant
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I have been asked my many of you to introduce the third member of our party. The Jeep. I have mentioned it several times but included absolutely no background. Typical. English was never my subject.
She's 17 years old ("She" is her name. Creative, huh?), and was the first thing I ever really bought by myself. My first loan, if you will, and I just cannot seem to get rid of her. She's got somewhere between 106,000 and 110,000 miles on her. No one is really sure, least of all me, since I bought her used when she was 2 years old. I've had three other cars while owning the Jeep and would not even think about getting rid of her. Practical? No. Great gas mileage? No. Comfortable ride? Not even close. (My back is a mess right now, but that could be from sleeping on a cot for 12 days.) But everyday when I climb into her, I give her a little rub on the dash and thank her for her service.
I have an "adult" car, too. It's a very nice VW Passat that gets something like 32 mpg rather than the 17 mpg we are averaging with the Jeep. So, "Why take the Jeep?" you ask. Two reasons: My brother Jason, being the first. (He and my younger brother Jon are both Jeep owners. Don't ask.) Jason basically said if I don't take the Jeep, he'll have it painted pink by the time I got home. He would have pulled my "man card." I argued that an unemployed man who is trying to take this trip on the cheap, can't afford to spend an extra $500 in gas by driving the Jeep. So, he bucked up for fuel. Nice. Thanks Jay!
I also think I would regret not taking her. It's built for adventure. It's the very essence of a road trip. I also got some pictures that I would not have been able to take without her.
Now, I wasn't stupid about this. I bumped up the insurance, bought an extended warranty, and got her checked out before we left. All except for the noise the muffler is making (Covered! Cha-Ching!!!!) things have been running smoothly. Now my mechanic may not want to read that the old girl has been off-roading, but hey, it's her trip, too.
Update: Uh Oh.
It seems that adventure has found us. We lost 5th gear on the way to Crater Lake, OR. The Jeep runs fine in all the other gears, but the top speed has been reduced to 62 mph. So we can get there, it's just gonna take a little longer.
We are in a Boise hotel room where nothing is open on Sundays. The staff here has taken pity on us and charged us a reduced rate (They counted Jeremy as a child. Irony, how I love you so.), and had a beer with us when the shift was through.
All in all, it could be a lot worse. We are going to push through to Crater Lake with only 4 gears and try and get a little close to friends and family in California. Then, hopefully, the extended warranty care I purchased before the trip will help me out.
Maybe I should have given the Jeep a name.
Wish us luck.
Related Topics: Cars, Jeeps, Mishaps
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Jeff Zutant | Comments Off
Built For Adventure
(via Facebook, MySpace, Digg, email and more)
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