A Fond Farewell to My Jeep.

It might be difficult for some people to understand what I'm blogging about today.  I realize that to most people, a car is just a steel frame with tires and an engine.  A tool.  A means to an end.  A way to get from Point A to Point B.  However to me, my 2003 Jeep Liberty has been more reliable than many people that have come and gone over the past 8 years.  It's been with me through so many changes in my life, and has moved and transported me (and my family, friends, and animals) safely in all kinds of weather.  I'm about to get a new car, and I've found myself getting very emotional at different points throughout the process, realizing that I won't be driving around in my Jeep anymore.

My Jeep was a gracious, unexpected gift from my parents.  I still remember the day they told me I was getting it.  It was spring break my freshman year of college- April of 2003.  They were picking me up at the end of Term 2 at Elmira.  We stopped in Binghamton on the way home for lunch.  There, at Ruby Tuesday's, my mom said that they had some news for me.  My dad was the one who told me (while fighting back the tears because he was so excited) that they were buying me a car.  I remember being ecstatic.  I had always loved Jeeps.  I considered them to be some of the coolest cars around.  My friend Kathleen had a yellow wrangler and I had always thought it would be so great to have my own Jeep someday.  When we went to the dealership to pick it up and it had "CCK" plates, so close to my initials, I knew it was destined for me and it was love at first sight.

In the 5th Street Lot in Elmira

  

Having a car in college was the ultimate ticket to total freedom.  It allowed me to visit friends in Potsdam, Ithaca, Alfred, and Albany.  It gave Amanda and I an escape from the land of purple and gold whenever we needed it, taking us to the Arnot Mall, Rochester for some concerts, a variety of pubs for great dinners, and yes, it took us home through the catskills to Grahamsville more than anywhere else.  Amanda and I have so many great road trip memories in the Jeep, blasting any variety of show tunes, country songs, and a little old-school rap.

The Jeep made a one year appearance in the beautiful city of Boston where I had to quickly learn how to drive like a "masshole."  This basically involved leaving all concerns for my safety and well-being at home and driving like I was in World War 3.  Thank god I had Amanda in the car with me most of the time so she could point out the constant hazards- pedestrians, bicyclists, city buses, and oh yeah, the train in Boston that drives right on the bleepin' street.  The fact that the only "incident'" I had in Boston was busting the mirror on a pillar in the parking garage @ NU was the sheer grace of god.  Then there was the time the Jeep got locked in the parking garage over night & we took a cab at 5AM to go get it.  Fun times.

Albany brought much more comfortable driving conditions.  I had a 35 mile commute to work- it was mostly I-90  the whole way.  I actually really enjoyed that drive; especially in the morning as the sun came up over the Hudson river & the city.

  

The Jeep is a monster in snow.  One day, back in Elmira, the Jeep was parked in what we always referred to as the "Davis" lot on Washington Ave.  There had been a snowstorm and there was about 2 feet of snow encasing the car.  Amanda and I worked to clean off the top, the windows, and the back. We then realized there was still a ton of snow behind the car from the plowing of the lot.  I got in the Jeep, put it in 4-lo, and backed right out of all that snow with no problem.  People around me had to shovel themselves out.  Since that day, I've gotten myself out of snowbanks and driven safely on snowy trips to Maine.  You can't put a price on that kind of security. 

So it is with sadness that I acknowledge that the Jeep is becoming too old to be our main vehicle for travel anymore.  Not surprisingly, I do not have the heart to trade it in; so my parents will be using it as a second vehicle for trips to the dump & their "around town" car.  I'm glad that the Jeep will help them save some mileage & wear and tear on their new vehicle.  That small gift is something I'm glad to give them after all they've done for us.

Also, this way, I'm only about 7 miles away from a quick joy ride in my old jeep whenever I'm feeling the urge :)