Who are the old farts around here (and willing to admit it)

I was fortunate to retire from the state of Colorado (ran construction for the local college) at age 54 and then worked part-time while drawing my retirement check for the next 8-1/2 years. Worked out because my wife was an RN at the local hospital so we could afford health insurance thru her job.

My first SUV was a very capable 1989 Isuzu Trooper which became my daughter's High school vehicle and she learned to drive a stick shift. I have had an SUV ever since but my first 4Runner was a 2015 TP that I bought new. Then in 2023 my daughter needed something to replace her 2002 Honda CRV with 180,000 miles on it - it was pretty beat up and starting to leak oil on the garage floor. So I suggested that she get something like a Highlander Hybrid but she said no, she wanted a 4Runner like ours which was eight years old and only had 60,000 miles on it, had always been kept in a heated garage, and had never been in an accident.

So after thinking about it I told my daughter and son-in law that we were in a better financial position to buy a new car and then they could buy the 2015 from us. Took me five months wait listed at four different dealers but we finally got a lunar rock 2023 ORP and my daughter loves her new to her 4Runner Unfortunately though my new 4Runner is a garage queen / pavement princess because for the last four years I have been the 24/7/365 caregiver for my wife with dementia (age 76) so at age 72 I really can't do anything anymore but no one ever said that life is fair

 

You're a good man amoung men and her life is more than fair because of it.

 

Where do you take a dump when you dry camp like that? Shower?

 

21 plus years United States Air Force, 18 years LEO and current GS12 Veteran Affairs dude. Do the math...

 

Thank you for your kind words. I didn't really need to buy another 4Runner because the 2015 had so few miles on it but it feels good to get my daughter into a bigger safer vehicle with hands-free phone, backup camera, and Bluetooth audio . My 2023 is basically the same vehicle but as an older driver I have come to appreciate all the Safety Sense features like blind spot mirrors, adaptive cruise control, backup warnings, emergency braking, etc. and I really like having Apple CarPlay for longer trips

 

Behind that tree there.

 

Went to our cabin to beat the heat and get a little work done.
Old steps:


New steps:


Next up, scrape the whole porch and paint.
Also have to decide about a railing/handrail.

 

We ran into some rock on our Christmas tree farm. I just keep writing checks !

 

New sink and RO this weekend.
Part of me is sorry I went back to work because now this kind of stuff has to happen on the weekends again. But that double dipping sure looks good in the bank account. Besides, until my wife can retire, we can't really do the fun stuff we want to do.

 

71 this year and finally pulling the plug after 40 years with the current employer.

 

Good on ya. I only managed 38 years. Enjoy your well earned time.

 

That looks awesome. How does the 4R do towing something like this? Do you travel off-road with this set-up and how does the 4R handle steep hills?

 

I will, thank you.