Jeeps are Bad

Back in 2004 we were thinking of celebrating our anniversary with a trip to Hawaii. But, we really did not want to spend that much money on such a short little trip, so we decided to buy an old jeep instead. Years of enjoyment for a third of the cost, that was the mindset behind our big decision. Little road trips, days at the beach, cruising town in the evenings, star gazing with the top down, picnics, maybe a little kissin'. You know. Easy, simple, fun times. And to top it all off, the jeep we bought was built in 1987, the same year we were married. Perfect, right?!

WRONG!
Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Instead of road trips and picnics and cruising, we got a toxic waste leaking, smoke billowing, stalling in intersections, breaking down on the freeway, refusing to start, driveway hog.
That's right. A big POS, (and I say that with a smile).

Here is a picture of her on one of her better days.

My guy LOVES this jeep. Never mind that it is a driveway hogging, time sucking, environmental nightmare of a money pit. To him, she is a DREAM. His baby. A little piece of heaven on earth. I think every time he looks at "her" the heavens open and little birds start to sing and the smell of pumpkin pie fills the air!

So, just over a month ago, he finally got her running. "For sure" this time. He started asking me if I wanted him to drive me anywhere. Everyday! At first, I declined, having had more than my fair share of experiences in that thing. But then, it started to seem safe, and my guy was SO happy! I decided to let him take me to places that were pretty close to the house. Then it was all the way out to church, and then to the beach, and then I even drove it myself a goodly distance from the house. Finally!! We had our jeep!

And to top it all off, my guy had made a little wager with a friend to see who could get their jeep running first. Surprisingly, my guy won! And so, last week we drove the jeeps over to the beach for fish and chips courtesy of the loser. Yum. Things were starting to look up.

So yesterday, I didn't hesitate to hop in that jeep and head over to my bff's house at the beach for dinner and a movie. I even complimented my guy on what a good job he did getting it running and how nice it looked.

And that's when it happened. That's right, just when I let my guard down and started to repent from my jeep bashing ways...BAM!

We got in our jeep and headed for home about 9:30. By 9:40 we were sitting in his POS on the side of the road. Nowhere near anything, in the dark, on a highway. Out of gas.
An hour later, after pushing that thing for miles, someone stopped and helped us out. He had gasoline, hurray! But sadly, it wasn't enough to get us started. So, he helped us push it into the nearest gas station so we could tank up.

But it was closed. That's right. Closed.

That's when my guy had to humble himself and call for help. My bff had to kick her guy out of his comfy bed and send him to the station across town with a can of gas to get us started. But it didn't work. We weren't out of gas, we apparently had a fuel filter or fuel pump problem. AGAIN.
That's right, again.

More jeep pushing, uphill of course, to a place where we could leave her overnight. And then our friend got to drive us home. A one hour round trip in the middle of the night. And he did it with a smile! Hugs and kisses to you Mr. Wonderful.

My guy sobbed quietly all the way home. No wait, maybe that was me.