The Orange Beast

A long time ago, back before Andy and I were married or had kids, he traded his dad a horse for a truck. His sister really wanted the horse, Andy had out-grown her, my father-in-law had a truck Andy wanted, and it wasn't needed by my FIL. It was win-win.

Except the truck wasn't quite ready for the road. It was a '78 Ford that had seen better days. We spent countless hours together, sanding paint off the body until we had it down to the steel. Then we brought it to a neighbor, who did some minor body work and prepped it for paint. Andy and I, in the meantime, poured over paint samples and colors, finally deciding on a color called "General Lee Orange." Yes, like from Dukes of Hazzards. The neighbor and Andy primed the truck, then painted several layers in order to have the orange be bright and shiny.

After the paint job, it was time for all the other stuff. Andy went through the motor and all the other mechanical stuff, while I cleaned and detailed inside the cab. I scrubbed and cleaned and vaccuumed. We bought a seat cover and floor mats. Andy made a custom tailgate and running boards. He installed a cd player, speakers and amp. We looked at tons of tires before he bought the ones he has on there. He brought it to a garage and had dual-exhaust installed. This truck was our project and it took a long time to get it right.

Once it was all done, we drove it everywhere. We drove it for our wedding, our friends' weddings, date nights, whenever. It wasn't our primary vehicle, but it was one we loved to drive. We didn't drive it in the winter because of the road salt, but it was ready and waiting in case the roads were snowy and icy when I went into labor with Alayna (January in WI is never predictable) I always laughed when I would drive it by myself, because guys would do double-takes when they realized it was a woman driving that big, loud, flashy truck. Eventually, Alayna told us that when she got her license this would be her truck.

Then something happened. We had another baby and no longer fit in the truck as a family. We also bought a house. The truck was driven less and less, and before we knew it we hadn't driven it in almost five years. Until this past weekend.

Our friends were getting married and the girls were all going to be staying with other people, so just Andy and I were going to the wedding. We decided just last week that we'd take the truck. So while I registered and insured it for the first time in years, Andy went through and made sure all the fluids were good, the tires inflated, the lights working. He brought it home from storage at his parents' and we scrubbed all the dirt and mud and bird crap off. He replaced a U-joint and I again cleaned and detailed the cab. The girls loved it, especially Lilly and Mikayla, who'd never really seen or known "Daddy's Monster truck." Alayna immediately reminded us that it was her truck for when she got her license. We couldn't believe she remembered that comment from when she was 3!

It was finally in good condition again and we drove it to the wedding. We both agreed it felt great to be driving the truck again, cruising down the road. It still needs a little work, as some of the wires were apparently a snack from some wayward mice, but it works, looks great and we were driving it again. I think we'll drive it more often now, when we don't have the kids and it's just Andy and I.

*In this pic, Andy's driven it up on a stump. But the truck is very tall, as you can see from Alayna's height (and she's on the down-side). To put it into perspective, my MIL is 5'2" and she rode with us for part of the day on Saturday. She had to use a 5-gallon pail, turned upside down, as a stool to get to the running board. It was quite comical!

**I posted earlier today, too, so check it out!