I've been giving this some old fashioned thankin'... Stewin on it some might say.. And I guess I just don't have the one thing... But what I do have is the *whole* thing... I'll esplain:

The i6's
We got the 1st E53 as one of the early i6's in March of 2001. Man, was that a thing no one had ever seen in 2001. Great fun. My mother-in-law babied that thing for 130k miles or so for nearly 20yrs. A notable portion of those miles was when she would arrive 90 minutes prior to school closing so she could be the 1st in line to pick up my lil Peanut baby girl- born in 2004, coincidentally. I always appreciated her commitment, and we kept that 'Old Lady Beige' until we just had to let it go. (For another E53)

We're having a baby
Just a few years after buying the '01, word was that we was gonna be visited by the stork. I shopped every damn thing from leased Buicks to F150s. The supercharged E39 540 was just not gonna do for daily duties. Enter the 2nd E53. '04 i6 CPO with a shitload of miles (33k in 4 months). It was suspiciously high. Like.. .Overlanding really rich people through the Aussie Outback high.... But alas.. Sell me a CPO E53 for a few $k more than a new F150? Deal is done.

And baby comes home
Now, here's a moment...

It was when we had arranged a car seat for the 1st time ever ride home. We even used the little seat anchors and the straps and so forth.. Like professionals who weren't childless three days ago. And the nurse says.. "You might want to get some of those window shades to keep the sun out of her eyes." I pulled the rear shade out and clipped it in and said, "Like this?"

She says, "Look at you, Papa... You've been planning ahead!"

Head.. exploded..

I coulda had a V8!
It only took ab 100k miles and 7 years before I had to ask that odd question many of us have asked our wives... "Would you divorce me if I wanna buy my dream.... (X5)?"

"No, No, don't worry." she said "I'll divorce you for completely different reasons."

My idiot car boy tunnel vision had me selling a pretty nice i6 with 100k miles for an '04 V8 with 11k miles in 2011. I totally missed the divorce thing. I saw what she said as a green light. What red blooded man wouldn't?
After all, whatever it is that she said.. I mean.. c'mon! This just makes sense! I'll admit I missed some subtleties about divorce. But so far, we've maintained the E53-centered polyamory that seems to keep us united. Also.. in my defense.. the 4.8is was blue. I just can't do anything ab that.

And so, my baby girl cried a little about the green X5 going away and the blue one showing up. I sorta got to see some things about the human we have at that moment. It's been any number of boys, 2 'starter' BMWs, jr high AND high school graduation and the eve of her 20th year. She still likes things the way she thinks they oughta be. The E53 was a big part of that insight. It remains true today.

I know! Let's just make an insane decision to own two N62's!
Right around the time the '01 needed an oil pan gasket in 2019, I came upon a 2004 4.4- loaded- and my lusted after Alpine White- with 34k miles. I could sell the 100k mile Old Lady Beige '01 for a little less than I could buy the '04 N62. (What could go wrong?)

So, the purchase aligned with my daughter's Spring Break- and Lent. I was on a weight loss journey and had given up alcohol. She decided to give up sweet tea for Lent. We pinky swore that I would give up soda and she would stick to no sweet tea. That was a tough trip for both of us when we ended up in a Wendy's ordering water. But we did it. I didn't drink a coke until I had lost over 100lbs.

We spent that trip home touring at least a dozen college campuses. She wanted the tee-shirts. I wanted to see if something clicked. It all started with buying an E53 and driving it home.

Both borders, both oceans, and (if you can believe it... ) only 46 states in the CONUS .
In between all of that, the blue 4.8is served us dutifully. From 103 degrees at night in a Phoenix parking lot to that one day when we went from Death Valley to the top of a mountain in Utah. 117 degrees to 18 with snow.

On one roadtrip, we actually met a family with an E53 at Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo. That would be weird enough, except that they ended up sharing our same last name. We travelled along the same route West and found one another many times on Route 66. A decade on and we are still connected as families. They are grandparents now. Their E53 is long gone.

We climbed Mount Washington in New Hampshire. We drove to the Southernmost point in Florida. The 4 Corners, over 2 DOZEN National Parks. Route 66 is a friend of ours. I have driven my E53 in the downtowns of Manhattan, Seattle, Miami, Chicago, San Diego and Houston and Vancouver. Glacier National in Montana, Acadia in Maine, Pikes Peak, and Florida Everglades. We've seen at least 35 state capitals, every single 9/11 memorial, toured each of the Military academy campuses, including West Point. At least 3 dozen college campuses, and.. well.. 185k miles of replacing every damn thing that breaks.

And so, my solace. The latest coolest thing in my E53...
I guess finally, and this may be weak sauce for the real men of the forum..

But I learned to tow in my E53. My redneck boat towing, back hoe bringin, side by side good ol'e boy best buddy from 4 decades back of high school taught me on his farm and everything. Man, I was nervous. And MAN! Did I unlock a nice punch in the man card.

I used those towing lessons to tow my daughter and an inordinate amount of shoes to college. It wasn't the same E53 that I brought her home in. But it sure as hell was the same chassis I let her go in.

She's down there in her little 128 diddlin around like the world is her playground. I can't help to think of her enthusiasm at college in the same way as when she was layin into pre-K soccer at age 5. Fearless. Determined. Ready to fight the battle and win the war. She's got this whole new thing going on. But the E53 has been her chariot throughout.

First year of college done.
And when she needs to come home, I'll hitch up the E53 to tow her and whatever shoes remain at college. On to our next thing! After all, the white N62 has yet to clear 60k miles. And momma is gettin itchy for one of those empty nester road trips.

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