Is it time to sell my Jeep?

Those of y'all that know me, know I love my Jeep. We've been through alot together over the years.


Here we are in Ft Lauderdale Christmas 1998.


Snowstorm in the Fenway, Boston 2006.


Padre Island, TX 2007.

[sigh] But . . . my trusty '97 Wrangler is getting up there in years, and recently the maintenance costs have exceeded the dollar value of the vehicle. I can't afford (nor do I want) to get a new car, but I can't afford these repair bills in the thousands either!

What to do???

I may just go back to the mode of transit I used pre-Jeep:

Padre Island, segunda parte

The nights were really nice with the breeze and all the stars out.


Sunrise over the Gulf.


This dude pulled onto the beach at 10:30pm one night and immediately drove his pickup directly into the dunes, nearly hitting the welcome sign in the process. He then came over to our camp and asked for assistance getting his truck unstuck. :P [See Al's write-up for more on this and other characters we came across.]


Beginning of 4x4 zone.


Mile marker ten.

Padre Island

More to come . . .

Tunes back

Al & I put in a new receiver and new speakers a few weeks ago.

Pimped my Ride

When I was a little girl I sometimes wished I had sisters . . . days like this show why it's great to have brothers instead!


The gallery.


Removing the old top.


Taking off the old covers.


Back seat removed; getting rid of seat belt apparatus.


A screw was stripped, so it was time to get out the saw.


Sawed off.


Drilling holes for the new stuff.


Strapping in.


Looking good.


Removing a metal box that separated the trunk from the back seat; now it's all one space.


Cutting off the "doorskins" from the frames.


One side was particularly rusted out.




Chillin'.


"Right there, Hank!"
~Dale Gribble, just before Hank Hill cuts off his finger on King of the Hill


Ta-da!

Thanks to everybody who made it happen!

Leaving on a jet plane

I'll wish everybody a Happy Easter a day early, since I am flying to Washington DC tomorrow for a week training at a military research center. [From Bush Intercontinental to Reagan National - ugh.] Hopefully I'll be able to do some sightseeing while I'm there and get some pictures. Took me quite awhile to locate a hotel that was under budget, near a subway station and the lab, and not described as dirty or dangerous by online commenters. But eventually I found one and all systems are go. They don't have free wireless there, and I refuse to pay T-Mobile's ridiculous rates, so I'll most likely be offline until I get back. I definitely won't be able to upload photos til then.

In other news, I went to the 4x4 store today and ordered the parts for my Jeep. I'm converting it to a two-seater with the stuff pictured at left. [Plus new windows for the half-doors.] I think it's gonna look pretty sharp, and it's supposed to improve gas mileage, too. It won't be completely watertight, but it'll be a helluva lot better than the current situation. This puppy is gonna be ready for beach cruising in no time! Not that it feels like summer - it's a rainy 39º right now. Not exactly the usual Easter weather here in Southeast Texas.

Seepage in my Jeepage

Looking up at the ceiling of my Jeep during last week's rainstorms.

Well, it looks like ten years is gonna be the limit on the convertible top of my Jeep. Not bad considering it never enjoyed the luxury of covered parking.

My first car had a top
that lasted only five years.

Pretty soon the usefulness of the top will decrease to the point that it's not worth it anymore . . . then I'll remove it and put up the "bikini top" which is really only a shade over the front seat. The neighborhood stray cats will be able to come and go as they please. I've caught one of them sleeping on the roof several times [must like ragtops - I've seen the same cat on a neighbor's Wrangler, too], and once when I left the window unzipped I was surprised by one jumping out as I approached. The Jeep is designed to be hosed out, so other than the comfort factor there shouldn't be any problems with "going topless." :P

Blues

Yesterday afternoon I was informed that my employment contract, which had no dates on it when I signed it, ends with the fiscal quarter. And that a financial decision had been made not to renew it. So effectively I am laid off as of the end of June.

Then this morning I walk out to my Jeep to find that it wouldn't start and the passenger side window had been slashed or torn (yet again). While I was retaping the window (I always roll with duct tape in the glovebox nowadays), I noticed that the latches on the hood were unfastened. I opened her up and saw that one of the battery cables had been disconnected. I replaced it and drove on. Some ass thought that was cute?

Snow day

Today we had our first big snowstorm of the year. Last night I lucked out and squeezed into a spot on Queensbury St (not an "emergency snow artery"). Today around one o'clock I decided to go start clearing snowdrifts out from around my Jeep before it got completely buried. I may still have to take public transportation to work tomorrow anyway, depending on how much more snow falls (it's still coming down as I type). An old guy came up to me while I was shoveling and told me the mayor said to just leave the cars parked wherever they are for the next 48 hours. "But he's sitting all cozy in his Beacon Hill Apahtment, though," he added.






















Evan and I went into Canestaro's for a pizza after the shoveling.








The wind has blasted snow onto the bricks!