Sure, it's Father's Day, and that's awesome, but today marks another special occasion: Ten years ago today I bought my Ford Explorer.
I bought it when I was first employed at CCU (and now I'm back working there) from Walt Sweeney Ford on Glenway Avenue. It had 20,000 miles on it and it's now at 125,000 miles; we always use Kelly's more fuel-efficient car for longer trips. It's been an incredibly useful SUV, as I can haul people and various other cargo. And I do refer to it as a truck, because it is. I'm not sure I'll go the SUV route when its days are over, but I'm hoping that won't be for quite a long time. I'm hoping to drive it until it dies
It's by far the longest I've ever owned any one vehicle. The Exploder and I have been through a lot together:
- A trip to Florida
- One accident (lady t-boned me when she ran a red light)
- A rebuilt engine (under an almost expired warranty, thankfully)
- One break-in (and two unsuccessful attempts)
- A continual problem with an Internal Air Control Valve (if you hit it with a hammer, it works longer)
- And hundreds of assorted memories
I'm not sure how many more years I'll get out of her, but me and this car are close. I'm looking forward to running it into the ground.