Thursday, May 3, 2012

100,000 miles and counting…

Today was a big milestone for me and my 2003 Toyota Tundra.  While I was driving to the gym the odometer reached 100,000 (see pic below) miles.  I’ve been waiting for this day ever since I got my 90k maintenance done last summer.  I wondered were I would be when I hit that milestone?  The answer, I was getting off the 520 freeway taking the 50th ST exit to head to the Pro Club.

Some of you would think that’s not that big of a deal to hit 100,000 miles, my car is way past that.  Well for me it is a big deal for a couple of reasons.  Growing up I had several vehicles, none of which I kept for more than a few years.  My first brand new car was a 2001 Oldsmobile Alero, which I only kept for 2 years as it was a lemon.  I never thought I would actually own a vehicle long enough to get to this milestone.  When I was a bit younger, say in my early 20s, I loved having a new car and thought I would buy a new one every 5 or so years.  Luckily I out grew that and have had my truck for almost 9 years.  Another reason is that I truly love my truck.  It has been 100% reliable since I have had it.  Don’t get me wrong there have been things I’ve needed to replace (a battery after 7+ years), but the truck as always started and drove me to where I needed to go.

To get a little nostalgia here are the top 10 things I remember about my truck over these 100,000 miles…

10. Buying Her
Yes, trucks are hers, just like cars:-). I was getting tired of having my POS Alero that I asked my grandfather if he could get me a deal on a Toyota Tundra.  I’ve always loved Toyotas, and the Tundra really caught my eye.  My grandfather was able to get me a great deal on one and it was not a hard decision to trade in my Alero.  Even better was the 0% financing.  The icing on the cake was that it was bigger than Adam’s Toyota Tacoma, I never pass on an opportunity to one up Adam.

9. Driving to Sporting Events
This one covers a lot.  Even though now I take the bus to Husky Football games, there was a time when I drove a lot to games.  One time specifically I recall clearly.  Saturday several years ago not only did I have a Husky game to go to, but also a Battle in Seattle (CWU vs WWU).  I remember this clearly as I had to pay $25 to park near Husky Stadium and only stayed for the first 3 quarters, then drive to Seahawks Stadium (I still call it that, sellouts!) and pay another $30 to park there.  That was the most I’ve ever had to pay in parking in one day, that is why I now ride the bus.

I’ve driven to many sporting events, from the Huskies, Mariners, Sonics to Aquasox.  But the ones I remember most was with Chris, Adam and I squeezing in to the front row (as the back really doesn’t have room) to drive to Redmond Nine games.  Luckily the drive was short.

8. Moving Friends
Over the years I’ve moved several friends; it is truly is the biggest downfall of owning a truck.  The saddest one was moving my buddy Tad, even though we didn’t need my truck to move stuff; I drove the truck there to help him load his U-Haul for his move to Dallas.  It was a great move for Tad, but a sad one for me and our friends as we now don’t get to see him as often. 

7. Buying TVs & BBQs
There’s nothing better than buying stuff, I truly love it.  Just as Kirsten:-).  My favorite things to buy are things too big to put into the cabin of my truck.  I’ve purchased and drove home with 2 big TVs and 2 BBQs since I’ve owned the truck.  Aaaah the memories!

6. Driving to CWU
For the longest time I have been the one to drive down to Ellensburg for our annual watch the Computer Science students present their senior projects trip.  I drove mainly because it is held in March and a lot of time there is still snow on the pass.   There’s not much better than driving back to CWU, seeing the sights, and doing some drinking with buddies.  To top it off staying at the good ole Thunderbird Inn, wow that place is a dump.

5. Picking up Maggie Sue
Not long after buying our first home, Kirsten and I got a dog, Maggie Sue.  We picked her out from a breeder down near WSU and had to wait several weeks before she was old enough to take here.  When she was 6 weeks and 2 days old we met down in Olympia and picked her up.  Man was she small and cute.  After 4 years she is still cute, but not that small.

4. Driving To Golf Courses All Over State
I’ve played a lot of golf over the years, well over 100 rounds.  I got to most of those rounds by my truck.  I’ve driven up to 4+ hours to play a round of golf (usually in Oregon with my Dad).  Never have I been late to a tee time.  Thank you Tundra!

3. Visiting Family
Over the years Kirsten and I and myself alone have taken many trips to visit family.  One of my favorite trips was our annual Xmas cross state trip where we visit my Mom in Tonasket, Kirsten’s Grandparents in Tri-Cities, my Dad in Hillsboro (OR) and finally my Grandparents in Lacey.  This whirlwind adventure usually took about 7-10 days. The best year was when Vija-Marie joined us, it was great spending that much time with her.

2. Meeting Kirsten
I always hoped I would attract more girls if I bought a truck.  And boy was that true.  If it wasn’t for my truck I would never had got Kirsten’s attention.  The story goes like this… When I first started working fulltime at my company I parked outside and would walk through the front door where the receptionist was.  After a few months this young cute girl took over at reception.  I was instantly interested in getting to know her, but I didn’t know how to do it.  So I decided to start renting library books, which I would have to pick up from the receptionist.  Every few days a new book would arrive and I would come down and get my book.  I would also start up a little chit chat.   In one of our early conversations she says to me “Do you drive the black truck I see every morning?” and I say “Yes”, then she replies “Cool, I love trucks!”.  That’s when I knew I had a chance.  After several more book rentals we started to have lunch together.  Then after a few more weeks we went on our first date, though she didn’t know it was a date.  And the rest is history.  The funny part of the story was I didn’t even want the library books so after I picked them up from Kirsten and would walk to the book return and drop them off.

1. Getting Married
The only thing that could top meeting Kirsten, was to marry her.  We got married on July 25, 2009 at Indian Summer Golf & Country Club in Olympia, WA.  It was an amazing time that I will never forget.  Starting with driving down (in my Tundra) with my buddies Tad, Chris & Adam a few days early for some golf.  I drove the truck to the wedding, several hours early for an awesome photo session with our photographers Jen & Jeff.  Then lastly after the wedding, exhausted, Kirsten and I drove away in the Tundra as husband and wife.

What an amazing (almost) 9 years I’ve had with my Toyota Tundra.  I can’t wait to see what the next 100,000 miles brings me.


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