I've been meaning to talk to you guys about my dream car for a long time now. Seeing as, my dream has finally come true (thanks to my amazing husband) I figure it's about time to tell my story.
Starting here...picture this, a roly-poly, chubby, cute-faced, curly-headed girl of about 5 (not the one pictured above, but a younger version). Her eyes are set on a Jeep for the first time and she instantly falls in love. It's a bright red, leather interior, Jeep Cherokee (I would give you more details but that's about all I remember.) It was my aunt's car and oh how I loved riding in it with her.
Fast forward about 10 years to my freshman year in high school when I couldn't help but stare when a purple Jeep Cherokee screeched into the school parking lot. Who cared about the cute senior boy driving it – I was in love with his car.
Multi-colored Jeeps were all around me, making my heart skip a beat each time they passed by. I wished so badly that one could be mine.
But, of course, I was stuck driving a Dodge Mini Van. I couldn't complain though, at least I wasn't stuck in Carp anymore, and I could load about 6 other people in it, AND if I really wanted to, I could pull out the seats and sleep in the back for more adventurous trips. It sure wasn't something to show off, but it got me through high school nonetheless.
That mini van somehow stayed alive just in time for me to meet my prince charming who swept me off my feet and bestowed upon me a shiny, crimson red Toyota Camry. Lucky for me, because that van had just about seen it's last days.
One year later and I'm married to that man who rescued me from my little ol' mini van. Yet, even though he had already done such a noble deed, he still said he wanted to some day get me the car of my dreams. This man is too good to me!
We took a road trip this last September up through Oregon and the whole time we felt like something was missing – an adventure mobile! As we drove along scenic byways and down tree-lined dirt roads, our desire (well, mostly mine) grew even stronger for the day we would finally have ourselves a bigger, stronger, more awesome car, to pack with stuff and go out romping into the wild with.
After that trip I couldn't help but talk about Jeeps all the time. It was like, all of a sudden, I NEEDED one. (Not really, but it sure felt like it.) Many people tried to tell me that the Jeep wasn't the car for me – "there are better vehicles out there", "J stands for Junk", "blah, blah blah". They couldn't shake me; I was set on being a Jeep girl. So, I ordered up a sticker from my friend's overlanding website to save for my future adventure mobile that would prove them all wrong! (P.s. Check out his blog, it's awesome!)
David could tell I was getting antsy so he began scouring Craigslist, looking for the perfect Jeep and after a few months one finally popped up. This was the first one we were going to see, and I was hoping it would be the last!
The Jeep was green (yay!), it was four wheel drive (yay!), it had a "lift kit" (what's that? yay!), it had an after market muffler (kinda loud, but yay!). It definitely had some wear and tear but I thought it was just beautiful. I felt like it was mine the minute we hopped in to take a test drive.
Just three hours later and I was driving home in my very own Jeep! I couldn't believe it! This was the best Christmas present ever (and it wasn't even technically my Christmas present...). My hubby is so good to me and it has been my joy to see how much he, too, loves being a Jeep owner.
Since then, we've cleaned 'er out pretty darn well, pulled some of the trim off, replaced broken parts, drove up to Big Sur, slept in the back, and enjoyed passing other Jeeps and feeling like we're finally a part of the family.
And just so you know, my heart still skips a beat each time I walk into a parking lot and realize that pretty green Jeep is mine, and I think it always will.
Till our next adventure,
Happy Dreaming!