Grandmom...

"Why are you crying?" - Me.

Over the years we have put a lot of miles on our second-hand, black, '00 Eddie Bauer Edition, Ford Expedition. Grandmom, as we called her, has taken us across the country multiple times. She has gotten us up and down the mountains in Colorado and guided us through deserts in Nevada, Texas, and California. We have been through the Great Plains together. Grandmom has made it through more National Parks than I can remember, down alleyways she could barely fit through, been parallel parked in spaces that mathematically didn't make sense, all while hauling our small enclosed trailer. Grandmom has been packed with musical equipment, as well as accidentally passing through a close-set movie filming. Grandmom does what Grandmom wants. We were just there for the ride.

Since moving back to Santa Monica, the old girl has been sitting for over a year collecting parking tickets. It is unfair for us to keep her stationary. Grandmom is a road-dog. She needs to get back out there to explore. She needs to stretch her legs and adventure. She has done a lot for us, and now it is time to pass her on to the next adventurer who can get her back on the road. We will miss you old girl.

It was not an easy decision to put Grandmom up for sale. The mean streets of Santa Monica and the greed of the city have put us in the tough position of downsizing. Santa Monica and the greater LA area makes it impossible for anyone to park on any street, at any time. Grandmom was getting parking tickets weekly on our residential street. We were spending more on her just sitting there than we had in the past 5 years on repairs, gas, and traveling across the country.

We never thought we would get this upset over selling an inanimate object. I was actually quite happy to post her "for sale" ad on Craiglist. I was fueled by the hate of paying never-ending parking tickets, but once someone actually responded to make a cash offer, the sale of Grandmom became real. At first, I was glad to get rid of her, but when I cleaned her out for the last time coming across nicknacks that had been lodged under the seats from the different hotels we had stayed at, or various gas stations we filled up at, it hit me. This was the end of our time together. As we drove to drop her off to her next owner, I was fighting back the tears. An overwhelming wave of gratefulness and guilt washed over me. It didn't help that Jamie was sprawled across the foldable-bench-seating in the rear bawling, I mean really ugly crying. Full on moans and sadness poured out of her, she was inconsolable. And, so was I - on the inside.

Handing over her title and signing over our liability of Grandmom was tough. My ears were hot, and my throat had swollen shut. It took everything in me not to cry. I patted her on the hood on last time and quietly whispered my thank yous to her for all she had done for us. She had essentially protected my family like it was her own. She had made sure we always got to our destination safely. I am glad we spent the last few years together, and I hope I treated you as well as you treated us.

Take care of your new owners like you took care of us, and I look forward to seeing you soon in auto-heaven.

Thank you, Grandmom.

-YourFriendMatt

Sunday Thoughts...

"Life is weird." - Us.

Our lives have taken us to places we never thought we would go. Jamie and I have done what we wanted for the last 6 years. Travel? check. Visit virtually every state? Check. Buy a VW Vanagon customize it, and travel the backroads of America at 40MPH hoping we don't break down or fall off the side of a Colorado mountain that doesn't have a guardrail? Check. I like to believe we have a slight extra dash of "outlier" in our recipe than others. It's not that often that people just pick up and go, follow their gut feelings, go through a ton of life experiences together, and continue to make the best of every situation. We are very lucky. We have always had the support of our families and friends, but when you are a nation away from everything you know and the comforts they bring, it's a completely different ball game.

As I sit this morning, with my coffee and a blank page, I started to reflect on how special and weird life can be. Watch any Gary V clip and he will eventually tell (yell at) his audience that there is a one in a quadrillion (I just made that word up I think) chance of being born. Which, if that is true, I haven't done the research, that is pretty freaking weird. Which begs the age-old question of, why? Why am I here? Why are you here? And, more importantly, does anything really matter? Yes, I am reflecting on WHY this morning, such a millennial.

I came across this photo in my camera roll this morning and forgot I took it. I thought it looked cool and then reflected on when I took it. We were traveling around in some California mountain town and stopped at a local brewery. Go figure. It had been a while since we had seen snow so we wanted to capture every moment. There was a mound of snow close to us so I nestled my phone in it, set the timer, ran back and bam, this photo is the results. That day was incredible. It was cold, the heater in the Van was barely working, we had to buy extra gloves, and roadside Mexican blankets to stay warm, but we made it to our destination and were able to fit a brewery in also. What else is life about if it's not about adventuring through it and finding small moments to make it all worthwhile?

Every moment is special if you let it be. I know I sound like a total hippie, but I do believe it. Everything we do can teach us or can be transformed into something unique and special. Take a second today to check out your surroundings, be grateful, take ten good breaths and try to see something from a different perspective. I think you'll find out that life is weird. Let me know what you come up with.

I hope this made sense. If not, whatever. These are my Sunday thoughts.

-YourFriendMatt

Traveling...

"How the shit does this camera work?" - Us.

We love traveling. Getting out and adventuring into new terrain, excited for what we will see, who we will meet, and wondering if our van will make it through whatever off-the-beaten-track roads we come across in the heartlands of the country. We have found some of our favorite places on Earth just taking the next road we come across and going down it. The unknown is an addiction for Jamie and I. We thrive on it and reference Kath and Dave from Portlandia all too often. These characters live to be stressed out and over-obsessive. The sense of adventure can be romantic but thank our stars for roadside assistance.

I do not claim to be a photographer in any sense of the word. Most of my Camera Roll is pictures of either our dogs or accidental screenshots I have taken while attempting to open my iPhone. We do have an old Canon AE-1 film camera that we take with us when we travel and I freaking love it. My dad won it at a local auction house in the suburbs of Philadelphia. He got a box of vintage camera parts for his bid of $10, and this camera was still intact and functional. I feel like Peter Parker with this thing, plus it gives me a little cred when I see other self-proclaimed travel photographers with oversized, and overpriced, camera lenses the size of a Ford Focus, and weight just as much. I usually get an approving head nod or thumbs up when they see this camera strapped around my torso, bouncing on my hip.

Shooting on film is different from digital photography. There is no instant gratification. The only gratification is hearing the crisp click of the aperture capturing light. You have to line up your shot with film. You don't get to "Burst Mode" and snap a thousand photos in three seconds and then instantly review your work on a digital screen. You have to either get it right or don't. I try to keep a little journal and mental notes of lighting exposures to try to figure it all out. But, sometimes even when you mess up a setting or lighting, it still turns out great. I included some shots from our recent travels below and I love the way they turned out, even if some of them are a little dark. 

Idyllwild, CA

From a recent trip in February 2019

Telluride, CO

From our Honeymoon

Arkansas?

We broke down here. Honeymoon 2018.

Arches

From our Honeymoon 2018.

-YourFriendMatt

Friday 6-Pack...On a Saturday!

Black Friday got the best of me, so I am posting this weeks playlist on a Saturday. We have new upbeat tracks from Campfires and Snakfight, as well as a weird one from Earth Telephone and a new pre-release track from Waterparks! Tons of driving pop-punk here! Check it out!

Music saves.

Listen, enjoy and share!

-YourFriendMatt