Newest Family Member

Isn't he CUTE!? 

...

The Alfa is great for zipping around the island, but there are some unpaved gravel backroads where the Alfa doesn't go - and there will be typhoons or other conditions where the Alfa won't be practical. We needed something a little more brutal - saw this bad boy advertised by a private seller, gave it a test drive and fell in love. We hadn't really intended to get another vehicle so soon, but this was too right to pass up - the seller gave us an incredibly fair price on it - and it makes life so much easier to have two cars. Not to mention some hauling capacity! 

So, this beast drives and feels like a tank - so high off the ground with so much solid metal around you - pretty much the polar opposite of the Alfa. That gives us a good balance - we have a vehicle for getting around in, and a vehicle for getting stuff done in. Of course, it's not without issues, but luckily they are superficial issues - the previous owner described it as "going boonie" - it's got a few dents and it smells like a swamp inside. But everything works that needs to work; and after the breathlessly fastidious care we give the Alfa, it's liberating to have something that can take a bit of a beating. Plus, the condition just meant that we got the car we needed at a price we could be happy with. 

I love this Land Cruiser. I love its swampy boonie-ness. I love the utilitarian gunmetal color, and the way the clear coat has gone hazy from jet fuel fallout. I love the way it can take hills and mountains and gravel and dirt and potholes and bumps and the daily rodeo-show that is Guam's traffic. I love the Alfa, too, but it's a more respectful kind of love, a love for things that are beautiful and admirable and refined. The Alfa is like a master fencer, swift and graceful and precise; the LC is like a lumbering great football player with a grin and a "hell or high water" attitude.

It's going to take both, to make life work on Guam.