John always wanted a Jeep before his days of a beat down, 1999, Honda Civic that could fit nothing more than two people and maybe a few more tiny people. Why a Jeep? I don’t know… It’s a Long Beach thing, we all love them deep down. John and I discussed at great lengths all of the wonderful trips we could take if only we both had bigger cars, but alas, neither of us wanted to pay or part with our beasts. Following Hurricane Sandy, John and I both lost our cars, drowned to their wheels in sewage water. I was furious, my beautiful, young friend had perished at the hands of Sandy, that good for nothing, lousy, not even a real hurricane, storm. John lost his old reliable friend, the Civic, but I knew there was a shred of excitement as he acknowledged that there was no better time to invest in the car of his fantasies, The Jeep.
Fast forward a year and we haven’t gotten too much out of our SUVs. The camping, the off-roading, the 4 wheel driving, all things we wanted to do were rarely taken advantage of, and to be honest, I didn’t think it was fair to the car. I mean, what was it’s purpose if we weren’t using it for what it was made for?! Which brings me to this past week as we decided to embark on a Vermont adventure for a few day getaway with friends.
We packed her to the gills and prepared the Jeep for windy, (and windy- get it?) AND snowy, backroad, roads.
The drive was calm, we spoke occasionally, I love when silence loses discomfort and instead becomes familiar. Conversation becomes chosen words of value, or used to sing old favorites from the 90s station. On the drive North I allowed my mind to wander and eventually I drifted off. The car has always lulled me to sleep- a method frequented by my young and tired mother when she had exhausted all other options of easing a colicky infant.
Tal, Tal, when do you want to stop for food?
I woke up disoriented and groggy, but food has a way of making me alert real fast. We pulled off at the next rest stop and were thrilled to see a Chipotle. It was Johns first time so I was excited for his experience- we really, really love food. We bonded over our love for burrito bowls, guac, and chips and salsa, and then hit the road for the final haul.
When we arrived in Vermont I was silenced by its beauty, and though I’ve visited the state before I was still awestruck. The cascading mountains, the dense snow, the smell of firewood burning in the fireplaces of nearly every home, and the evergreen trees are nothing like my beach town. It was nice to shakeup the regularity that I am so accustomed to. When we pulled into our home for the next few days I was thrilled to see the chimney smoking.
That night we stayed in for board games, puzzle making, laughs, and homemade chicken parm. We tucked in early- we had a few days of snowboarding ahead of us.
52 Miles per Month 
Ohhh, that looks like snuggly heaven!
Jeep, Chipotle….it doesn’t get any better in my book.