Idyllwild...

“Holy shit! It’s so cold!” - Us.

Adventure is out there, and we were aiming to find it. We recently spent a few days in Idyllwild. We packed up our VW Vanagon, put sweaters on our dogs (we are those people), and braved it up the 5,000 foot elevation at a whopping 17 MPH, in the snow, to take in the peace and quiet this small mountain town has to offer. Jamie and I love to get out of the busyness and noise of Los Angeles. Idyllwild, although very small, has an adorable feel. Everyone seems to know everyone by first name. It was great to sit in a bar, restaurant, or coffee house to enjoy the panoramic, snow-capped views or chat with folks that had grown up around the area. Everyone there seemed to love visitors.

We are both from Philadelphia so you would think we are use to the cold, but it is incredible how much your body changes to adapt to your surroundings. We are use to the sunny weather of Southern California living now. We were cold, and obviously unprepared for snow, but we found comfort in local shops and cozy restaurants to keep us warm. Our motel was just north of town and serenely quiet. We found ourselves sitting on our balcony completely bundled up, looking out into the wilderness in awe.

We will be back, Idyllwild! But, next time I am bringing boots!

Check out the video above made with Clips.

-YourFriendMatt

Lost Sock...

I set numerous goals for myself this past year and have accomplished most of them. I got married, graduated from college, got back into running routinely, worked on restoring our beloved VW Vanagon, did a cross-country road trip, I played music regularly, and continued challenge myself creatively. I am a very lucky individual and do not take what I have for granted. I have appreciated 2018, even when things looked grim, and boy, did some grim things happen this year.

One of the last projects I wanted to accomplish before closing out the year was releasing a short (very short) film. Attached here is a footage from a day off I had with our dogs, Piper and Penelope, when we lived in Nashville. When I finish errands early, exercise, and run out of laundry to do,I find myself getting antsy. Jamie hates it, but I am not really a ‘sit on the couch and relax’ kind of guy. So I decided to take my trusty iPhone, a tripod, and my actors (Piper and Penelope) and come up with something creative for us to do. This short is the end result.

The whole video is less than 2 minutes to watch, but took me way longer to find the footage and edit all the goofy sounds in.

Things can always get worse, count your blessings (or whatever you believe in), and let’s leave this place better than we found it in 2019 (and forever)...and always remember to have fun!

Thank you for taking time for us today.

Please feel free to leave feedback, thoughts, and comments! -

-YourFriendMatt

Van Renovation: Chapter 3...

“We are converting the back of the van into a bedroom, how hard can it be?” - Me.

We recently got the idea to reupholster and redesign the back of our van to turn it into a cozy little bedroom. The back bench already folds down flat into what could be a full bed. If we could figure out a way to make the rest of the area comfy we can have a mobile bedroom on wheels. 

The anatomy and design of the Volkswagen Vanagon are pretty interesting. The engine is in the back, the battery is under the passenger side captain chair, the spare tire is under the back seat and you check the oil dipstick behind the license plate. It’s been fun to figure out how to configure a routine maintenance plan. It is very different from popping the hood on most American cars and having everything in one spot.

After some quick internet searching, planning, and shopping around for the right comfy cushion for us, we found a peice of memory foam that fit our budget. Most upholstery manufactures and local shops charge triple the amount of what a piece of memory foam cost, it is a weird niche market. After we did some research we felt pretty sure we could do this ourselves. We landed on making our own mattress for our van. Armed with our simple memory foam mat, we made some measurement plans, and were on our way. 

Crude, but it worked...

To reinforce our DIY van bedding, we purchased a piece of plywood from our local hardware store. I traced the floor plan on some taped together paper shopping bags (unusual, but worked. Use what you got!). This floor plan template was easy and helped me align both the foam and plywood so they would match perfectly. Work smarter, not harder.

Once we had everything cut to size it was just a matter of making it all look pretty. 

Pretty easy project to make any Vanagon or adventure mobile even more comfortable!

Finished Product...time for the beach...

-YourFriendMatt

Van Renovation: Chapter 2...

"What do you think I should do with these holes in the van floor? We can see the road as we drive." - Me.

After ripping out the seats in our VW Vanagon, it was time to figure out what we were going to do with the empty-space the seat removal had opened up. Put a shag rug in and hang a disco ball? Add captains chairs or turn the seat around so everyone sitting back there can face each other? Leave and never come back to it because renovating anything is a pain in the ass? None of those options seemed right, so we went to Home Depot for some inspiration.

"You always grab a cart! It's a rule!" - Unknown

We finally landed on putting in hardwood flooring, like the kind you would put in your living room. We figured if it was good enough for a living room, it sure-as-shit was good enough for our Vanagon. We did some quick internet searching, and it did not look too hard. We measured and modified our plan, bought some materials and were on our way to put a new floor in our VW.

"Always look for good looking and cost effective solutions." - Unknown

We started by ripping out all the 30+-year-old, stained, shitty existing rug. Ripping up this shit-stained monstrosity felt like ripping up a large piece of beef jerky. The rug had lost all flexibility and covered 30-year-old stain-circles of god-knows-what spilled from years past. Once we had it all out, we had to sanitize the metal flooring, seal the holes where the seat had been bolted down so we could no longer see the road from inside the van, and installed some thick carpet cushion. Once we had that done, it was like playing building blocks. The flooring we got snaps together like Legos, it is a great solution for anyone doing a flooring remodel of any kind. We had to use our handy-dandy Ryobi jigsaw for this and cutting around vents and seats. It is worth it to take your time during this process, measure twice and cut once, patience is a virtue.

"Dangerously under-qualified" - We had to removed the door seam to get the carpet out.

"Where does this piece go?" - We had to remove a panel to ensure we coved the entire floor - super easy to put back on, it just snaps into place.

"Always clean up after you removed 30 year old carpet." - Einstien

Got some good carpet padding and filled in the rest with bubble wrap to create a soft and even base for the floor.

Measure twice - cut once. Had a few handy dandy tools to make light work of this project. Invest in a level, measuring tape, rubber mallet, and a good blade for your cuts. Then just put the panel back and screw down the door seam and you are good to go!

This whole process only took about 2 hours and added a ton of value. Customizing and getting creative with your van renovations is a huge part of what draws us to owning our van. Now we have space for all kinds of activities! 

We have a bunch more plans and ideas lined up so stay tuned!

-YourFriendMatt

Van Renovation: Chapter 1

"I mean, how hard could it be to rip a few van seats out?" - Me.

Right after we moved back to Santa Monica we knew we had to get our VW Vanagon back. We had one before the last time we lived here and missed the days of cruising in the van on the PCH, stopping to pull over if we found a cool beach area, and just hanging out in the van. We scoured Craiglist, local ad’s, and Facebook marketplace for a few weeks until we finally found one worth checking out. According to our mechanic, the engine seemed good, the body was in great shape, and besides a few minor upgrades, we found our van. Now, it is up to us to make it ours.

One of the first this we wanted to do is rip out the center, bench seats to create more space for activities. I will have more updates as the van renovation process goes, but here is a quick video of me, with no knowledge of how to do this, doing my best to remove the seats.

Enjoy and comment below! I'd love to hear from you!

-YourFriendMatt

Big Red 2...

“It’s like driving a fishbowl.” - Us.

We did it. We got our van back. Who knew we were van people?

We use to live in Southern California and left for a few years to move to Nashville. During our time on the Gold Coast we bought an old Volkswagen Vanagon and loved taking it on adventures. Due to the logistics of moving, we sold the van (Big Red) before moving to Nashville. During our time in Music City, we wished we hadn’t sold Big Red and yearned for the days of drifting through beach lined roads in the sun. We loved taking cruises us the Pacific Coast Highway or taking Big Red to a hike. It was something we had wished we could get back to. 

As luck would have it, Jamie got a job offer back in Los Angeles, so we moved back. Since our returned to Santa Monica, we have been scouring Craiglist, GoWesty, and FaceBook Marketplace for a new (old) van. And by god, we found it. After months of hunting, haggling, being lead on, or meeting internet creeps; we finally found someone who cared as much as we did about Vanagons and wanted to sell us one that was worthwhile. Welcome, Big Red 2!

Finding Big Red 2 means we will get to fulfill our honeymoon dream of driving around the country again, seeing crazy new city’s, trying new food, meeting interesting new people, and seeing wherever the road takes us. If or when we ever decide to move again we will be taking her with us on our mobile home. We plan on teaching our kids how to drive in this thing. Which, is a wild idea.

See you on the road!

-YourFriendMatt