Fall is finally here.

Well, we put the hard top on my Jeep last night, so fall is finally here. I was thinking about how much I hated this weather and I found myself driving 90 mph on the highway this morning. I had forgotten how easy my straight six of doom drives with a hard top on it. I don't know how many of you have driven or ridden in a Jeep, but a soft top Jeep is much like driving the tent around that you slept in at Summer Camp. Just picture that once you pass 30 mph your car deploys a parachute (or two or three) and that's what it feels like to drive a soft top Jeep. These crappy tops flap so much that you can't hear your own radio, and have been known to cause enough static electricity to make ones hair stand on end. Sadly I speak from experience. I remember the first three years I had this car people would look at me in the winter time and say "Man, I bet that things cold out here today." I usually came up with creative ways to answer, my favorite being "Don't be fooled - it is." The problem with the Jeep top is that it retains no heat, but does manage to hold seven gallons of water that dump out as soon as you open the drivers door. On a cold day, driving a dome tented Jeep sucks because it usually warms up as you get where you're going. It just seems to know how much heat to let escape until you pull into your work parking lot or driveway regardless of the mileage. Anyway, Jeeps are fun, but now that fall is here the solid roof is on, the gas mileage will get better, the drive to work is quicker and quieter, and somehow I imagine the seven gallons of water the soft top held will still find it's way into my lap on a rainy day.