By far the post on this blog with the most comments was the very first one I posted about the "Jeep Wave" and Jeep JKs. Still getting comments 6 months later. For those who missed it, you can read it here:
The Jeep Wave Debate Continues...
I simply asked why no one was showing me the love when I was in a 4 door Jeep JK? I get plenty of waves in the old CJ-8.
Yesterday we got this post and I couldn't agree more. So I had to post it here. Plus Colin epitomizes the Jeep lifestyle. Now all I want to know is if he'd take me with him. Colin?
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Normally, I tried to avoid religious discussions -- Canon vs Nikon, Apple vs Microsoft, Krystal vs White Castle -- but I can't help but comment on this thread.
I am a new Jeep owner, having waited over ten years to put my first Jeep under my backside. I have owned my new Jeep Wrangler for just about five days. And yes, I chose an Unlimited.
Based on the comments above, either I'm a woman on a cell phone, someone who doesn't "get it", or someone who shoulda bought a Hummer. You couldn't be more wrong. (And for those of you keeping score at home: not a woman, not on a cell phone, I *do* "get it", and I don't think I could swallow driving a Hummer day-in and day-out -- nothing wrong with any of that, but that sweeping generalization doesn't fit me.)
I have gotten waves when driving my Jeep, and I've waved back. Where I grew up in the rural parts of this great country, that was fairly common, no matter what kind of vehicle was carrying you and your gear/family/life, and it was common courtesy to wave back.
So, just to answer the critics that Unlimited owners are just enslaving their Jeeps in a morass of dull tedium, I thought I'd tell you about what my Jeep was purchased for, and what it'll spend its first month doing.
I'm a photographer, and I wanted a vehicle that I could carry my cameras, lenses, tripods, telescopes, and camping gear, and that would allow me to access places that simply weren't doable in my TrailBlazer. It's not an issue of cupholders or cell phones or power windows (although there might be a touch of mid-life crisis in there) -- it's a simple math problem involving cubic feet of stowage, and protection of that gear.
That's the "why" an Unlimited was right for me. Now let's examine whether I "get it".
In eight days, I leave from Missouri, driving to San Francisco, returning up the Pacific coast to Portland, through the Columbia River gorge area, on to Spokane, Coeur D'Alene, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, the Badlands, Minnesota, and south again to Missouri. This is a three-week trek, with man, wife, 14-year old daughter, and enough gear to cripple a mule, covering between 5000 and 6000 miles over three weeks of journey.
Like others have said, I have a ton of respect for folks jacking their Jeeps up, modding the heck out of them, making their Jeep reflect their own personality. That's just plain cool, and at a gradual pace, I'll probably be doing some of that too.
For me though, it's not the destination of how modded I can make my Jeep, it's the journey I plan to take in it. Roughly translated: my Jeep journey may be different than yours, but it's still my journey, and just as valid as yours.
And to that I add, one size of Wrangler does not fit all. I happen to like my Wrangler in the XL format.
Wave or don't wave -- that's your call. My parents raised me to be courteous, and I'll be waving.
Hope you'll wave back. Sorry for the rant.
posted @ Wednesday, May 28, 2008 10:06 PM by Colin W.
