It’s February 11th, it’s snowing, and I’m hopping on a plane to go pick up something I’ve wanted since 2021: a GX (21-year-old luxury SUV) that I’m immediately going to try and drive back home to Denver. I flew into North Carolina—where I grew up—stopped at my childhood home, and mapped out a two-day plan: Asheville area to Kansas City/Topeka, then on to Colorado. Before I committed to a cross-country haul, I checked fluids, ran an OBD scan, and did a shakedown run on the Blue Ridge Parkway to make sure everything felt solid. On the Parkway, it was honestly pretty heavy seeing the Hurricane Helene damage up close—trees still down, homes not rebuilt, and people still living in tents months later. After striking out with shops for a same-day inspection, I decided to wing it and start putting miles down anyway, heading toward Nashville and then pushing hard the next day through flash-flood warning rain, then into snow, wind, and dark conditions. The GX did fine overall, but I’ll be real: that many hours in hardcore weather was borderline unsafe and not something I recommend. By the time I hit Kansas and then Colorado, the wind was brutal, gas mileage suffered, and I even learned the hard way that you need proper winter washer fluid (mine froze until temps came back up). I made it home, and next up is the boring-but-necessary stuff: registration and emissions—then I can start making this rig my own.