2014/01/23

Mission: Hitting The Beach

    This summer I am packing my Subaru and headed to the beach with my girlfriend, I just don't know which one as of yet. I feel like I may end back up in Hampton, NH. It's great there and the beach is a good stretch. The only downside I see is that you need to get there early. But I am looking for dunes too. I've heard of some in the south you can drive on. Cape Cod has that too, but I believe it's for off road vehicles, not street legal vehicles like my Subaru. Stay tuned to see what happens this summer. 

Why I joined NASIOC:

        One of the first things I did when i bought my Subaru was join a forum/ car club. I joined NASIOC or National Subaru Impreza Owner's Club. I figured seeing I now drive essentially a lifted Impreza Sport, I mine as well join a place that has more knowledge than I would just in case something should  occur with my vehicle. Luckily nothing has happened yet, but considering it just broke 8500 miles yesterday, I'm not surprised nonetheless. Also I figured if I had any questions about modifications and what have you they would be the ones to guide me through it. They also have a place to add meets on there, and I've set up a couple around where I live.

Starting to explore my Subaru's potential

      On an early autumn day I decided to do something that I've never done before, take a vehicle down a trail. I was a suburban kid who's parents didn't really do too much outdoors adventures. We mostly took trips to the beach or go fishing at the nearby lake. But we always had a family sedan which limited us on where we could go without getting stuck. Anyways, I found this wicked cool place in Rutland, MA that is set back behind the state park out there and I  thought it's only a 40 minute drive out there so, why not? Why not indeed! So I grabbed my keys and ran out the door to check my subaru's capabilities out. Not only was I surprised that it could make it around these trails with ease, but it did it better than I could have imagined. I'm used to having friends with their heavily modified vehicles to go down trails with.  The near 9 inches of ground clearance works great on rough terrain while still delivering a smooth ride due to it's independent suspension on all four corners. The engine's power and torque feels adequate at best and delivers plenty of passing  and hill climbing power while still sipping on fuel. I have a few pictures from that day:


How it began....

      I began searching for my first new car while I was sitting in the squad bay of the Medical Rehabilitation Platoon (MRP for short) at Parris Island, SC. It was there where my journey began. As a kid I always had a large stack of car magazines but never thought of owning a Subaru that is, until one day I came across a Car & Driver magazine with this funny lifted wagon in it. As I started reading about it, the more intrigued I became. It was weird yet cool concept. The 2013 Subaru XV (XV Crosstrek here in the U.S.) was something I thought could take me where I  wanted to go, someplace off the beaten path or take my dog to the park. I never made it past Marine corps. boot camp but I did end up buying that car in August of 2013. Here it is: