Jeep Love Runs Deep

Jeep hair is the best!

Have I mentioned how much I love my Jeep? It is one of those rare pleasures in life I have waited for since I was a teenager, and I enjoy every minute I spend in it! Through all the years that I raised my three daughters and drove a Dodge Ram Conversion Van (because, I'm sorry, I'll never be caught dead in a mini-van. Ever.), I had a saying my friends knew well. I would always say, "I may look like a big, white van,...but I am a red, rag-top Jeep Wrangler in my heart!"

Once my daughters were all grown, and I no longer had need for a big vehicle or four doors, it was the right time to get my heart's desire! My Jeep Wrangler is not a rag-top, however, it is a hard top that can be removed in part or whole, which I love! It is easy to take off the t-tops and throw them in the back any day. The back half, which is a one-piece hard shell, is removed with a pulley system in my garage and stays there until I back the Jeep back up under it to put it back on. This means, I better be sure of the weather before I head-out completely topless. :)

It is hard to say what I love the most about my Jeep Wrangler...because I love everything! First, I have a stick shift, which means it has a manual transmission. There is something quite satisfying about shifting gears. It is rhythm, it is power, it is...sexy. When you add the wind blowing through your hair and across your body, the sun shining down on everything around you, and your favorite music playing on the stereo,...HOW can it get ANY better than that?! It doesn't. It absolutely doesn't.

It is also difficult to describe what it is to be a Jeep Wrangler person. I suppose it's like people who ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles - they have a special understanding, it says something about the kind of person you are. I think it is the same way for owners of Jeep Wranglers. Well, I won't say all Jeep owners, I have seen a few exceptions. You know, those people who have never taken the top off their Wrangler. If you have a Jeep Wrangler, but never take the top off you either a) live in a very bad climate or b) don't really want to be driving a Jeep Wrangler.

In the part of Texas that I live in, Jeep Wrangler owners all wave to each other when we pass. Always. Like I said, it's an understanding. It says, "Hey, I like your Jeep! Aren't Wranglers great?! I like the kind of person you are - you're a free spirit, you don't care what your hair looks like, you don't care what people think, you love the outdoors, and doesn't this sun and wind feel FABULOUS! Have a nice day!" Well,...something like that. ;)

I got tickled the other day when my husband was driving the Jeep and we stopped to get some gas. There was another guy in an older model Jeep in front of us. He nodded at my husband and waved. We both waved back. The guy got out and both men began complimenting the Jeeps. The guy had been customizing his, and it was a work in progress. It looked great, though, and I said so. I told him I especially liked the sport seats he put in his Jeep. I must say, though, my favorite part of the conversation was when the guy pointed to my Jeep and asked my husband, "Nice! Is that your toy?" and my husband shook his head and pointed to me grinning in the passenger seat. "No," he smiled back, "it's hers."

Did I mention? My husband may look like a silver, convertible BMW,...but he's a black Jeep Wrangler in his heart. ;)