It's no secret that Jim & I love Jeep Wranglers. But Wranglers certainly aren't the only Jeeps worth driving, in our opinion.

For most of our married life together, we have owned at least one Jeep. Usually a Wrangler... but there for awhile, the Jeep Grand Cherokee was our vehicle of choice.

However, since we purchased the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited a few days ago, we now have four vehicles parked at our house right now -- 3 Jeeps and a sedan.

So we decided to sell our 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee -- leaving us with 2 Jeep Wranglers and a Chevy Malibu.

Yes, we bought ANOTHER Jeep... our 3rd one!

This one is a Jeep Wrangler "Unlimited". Which doesn't exactly mean what it sounds like: that it's some special edition Jeep like an Eddie Bauer version or something.

Instead, Unlimited refers to the fact that it's an "extended model". The rear seat and trunk area are double that in an ordinary Jeep Wrangler -- like dear 'ol Scruffy.

You can barely tell that the Unlimited is larger, but it suits us just perfectly -- especially with the two dogs and all the outdoor gear we always tote along.

Plus it's a full-blown 4x4 off-roader, so we're eager to put this Jeep through its paces to see how it handles off the beaten path.

For years, Jim has been the Jeep lover in our family. For the most part, I've been the quiet Jeep passenger -- both on-road and off.

But who knew that I would become a future owner of a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited? And an almost new one at that?!

Here's a preview...

Jim has wanted a Jeep Wrangler for years. But, his desire to own this fun convertible had rapidly progressed from a "want" to a "whine" in recent months.

Much the same way we used to shout "Slug Bug!" as kids whenever we spotted a Volkswagen Beetle, Jim was constantly calling out "Jeep!" every time we passed a Jeep Wrangler. Day in and day out... And as the weather got warmer, all the Jeeps came out to play and the chant became more frequent. Until... it actually became a whiney drone that lacked emotion and was full of regret. Jim clearly had Jeep Envy, and this wasn't helping with his impending "Mid-Life Crisis"!

He said that a Jeep was the only thing that could cure his ills...

Fact is, I too have wanted a Jeep for years. In one of my pre-Jim scrapbooks, where I have a page devoted to all of the vehicles I've owned, I listed "Jeep Wrangler" on my wishlist even way back then.

So, while both of us have known that a Jeep was definitely in our future, we decided to kick things into high gear June of 2004.

...The hunt was on!