Meet Salty.....

Meet Salty....., originally uploaded by jfinnan.

"Salty" is our new 2009 Subaru Outback. After 11 years and 189,000
miles, we finally retired the old 1997 Subaru Outback. Tears were
flowing from my kids as I drove the old car out of our driveway last
night. It served us well, and we all have very fond memories of time
together in that car. We drove all over the USA in that car together,
and it was the only car both girls have known since the day they were
born. But, despite the high mileage, the car was pretty sound....except
for a leaking gas tank, completely shot exhaust system, rust perforation
through both rear quarter panels, worn CV and ball joints, front brake
discs in need of replacement, and an engine (the second one) that was
burning oil. It's time had come.

We look forward to many more years together in our new Suby. And
yeah...for someone who likes "different" (me), you might be curious as
to why we ended up with basically the same vehicle, only newer. Well,
we REALLY liked our Subaru for all those years. I've been test driving
a lot of cars lately, and we keep coming back to what we know and love.
It's perfect for us.