I grew up in SoCal. In the 60's and 70's, it was impossible to be a teenaged guy and not be into cars. I had a succession of Triumphs in high school and college; and I'm still wary of British autos to this day.
We were close to the desert, and a Jeep was a handy thing to own. Quick blasts into the Mojave, or longer trips into the East side of the Sierras embedded early lessons in driving, and being prepared. (as well as learning the consequences for doing stupid things). My CJ7 got quite a workout, up until I moved to New York City in 1985. It sat in a parking garage in Kip's Bay for a year; and the first time I started it was to move to South Carolina. I could fit all my belongings, including two bicycles into that CJ7.
Fast-forward to 2001: After years of racing bikes and working too much; I found myself injured, unable to ride, and Nancy (who'd just married me) and I asked "what do we do now?". Our lives had revolved around bike racing for so long, we were lost. Turns out we both liked fly-fishing. And hiking. (So much so that our wedding was at 10,000 feet, on an alpine lake. In February. We got there on snowshoes.) Fly Fishing was (and is) a blast, but we found it more fun in remote locations. Locations that were not easily driven to in an Outback. After a succession of small and large pickups, we bought a 2008 FJ Cruiser and took delivery on 14 Jan 2008. It was the right size and could take us almost anywhere.
I'll post mods done to the FJ; and more importantly, how the FJ has helped us see into our future in a way neither of us expected.