WEBVTT 1 00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:30.800 This is a studio both and production. Hey everyone, this summer, 2 00:00:30.879 --> 00:00:35.159 we are celebrating the ten year anniversary of my podcasting career. 3 00:00:35.880 --> 00:00:39.840 I can't believe it's been ten years. Over the next 4 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:42.359 three months, I'll be sharing ten of the episodes that 5 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:47.039 I feel best inspired, progressed, and or changed my life 6 00:00:47.079 --> 00:00:50.880 in podcasting, So the episodes that guided us to where 7 00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:53.880 we are now. And in each re sharing, you'll get 8 00:00:54.039 --> 00:00:57.280 brand new, behind the scenes information about what was happening 9 00:00:57.359 --> 00:01:01.000 in life, in my various investigations, and in the world 10 00:01:01.039 --> 00:01:05.280 that impacted these very important episodes. You'll learn how I 11 00:01:05.319 --> 00:01:10.760 started podcasting, how I started investigating Israel, Keys, some hilarious 12 00:01:10.799 --> 00:01:14.640 and terrifying stories from the road, and some really vulnerable 13 00:01:14.680 --> 00:01:18.599 and personal stories I've never shared publicly. You'll get to 14 00:01:18.599 --> 00:01:21.959 see and hopefully reflect on your own history. How so 15 00:01:22.159 --> 00:01:24.359 much of what has happened in my life and in 16 00:01:24.439 --> 00:01:27.439 each of the shows I've produced or participated in, has 17 00:01:27.519 --> 00:01:31.239 coalesced into and molded who I am and what the 18 00:01:31.319 --> 00:01:35.920 podcasts and investigations are today. And for our first episode, 19 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:40.680 we'll start at the beginning, or at least a version 20 00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:46.959 of the beginning ten years ago, shortly after moving to Brooklyn, 21 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:50.159 New York. From Seattle. I found myself at a crossroads. 22 00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:53.920 I'd spent the previous six years living a fairly fulfilling 23 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:57.400 and successful life in Seattle. After spending most of my 24 00:01:57.439 --> 00:02:02.280 twenties bouncing around the country chasing various dreams, ideals, notions, 25 00:02:02.359 --> 00:02:06.480 and sometimes even guys because we're all really stupid in 26 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:12.319 our twenties, I ended up in San Francisco, New Orleans, Portland, Cambodia, 27 00:02:12.719 --> 00:02:15.759 and back to San Francisco, before eventually moving to Seattle, 28 00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:18.560 a city I had never even been to, for what 29 00:02:18.800 --> 00:02:21.479 was at the time my dream job. I worked in 30 00:02:21.520 --> 00:02:26.120 branding and inspiration in fashion. I had various cloying titles 31 00:02:26.199 --> 00:02:30.240 like the Curator of Cool or inspiration Manager. I was 32 00:02:30.319 --> 00:02:34.719 essentially in charge of creating environments that would inspire the designers. 33 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:38.080 In twenty eleven, I even took the design team to 34 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:41.639 Nia Bay for a weekend to learn weaving techniques and 35 00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:44.919 tribal traditions from the Macaw, a year before the world 36 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:48.280 would know who Israel Keys was. I ended up leaving 37 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:51.919 the fashion industry after a two a m work crisis. 38 00:02:52.439 --> 00:02:55.680 The entire team was in a conference room. Someone was 39 00:02:55.719 --> 00:02:59.719 crying in a corner. Someone was screaming. People hadn't slept 40 00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:04.400 an eye and I thought all this for khaki pants. 41 00:03:05.080 --> 00:03:07.840 So after fashion wore me out, I eventually ended up 42 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:11.960 at a nonprofit healthcare company, where I found myself thriving. 43 00:03:12.520 --> 00:03:15.360 I believed in what I was doing. By this point, 44 00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:18.319 I'd never even listened to a podcast, let alone thought 45 00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:21.120 it might one day be my most fulfilling and longest 46 00:03:21.159 --> 00:03:25.639 term career. I fell in love with Seattle, and even 47 00:03:25.719 --> 00:03:29.639 more so the surrounding areas I'd frequent, the Olympic Peninsula, 48 00:03:29.719 --> 00:03:33.000 the Snoqualmie River Valley, Scadget Valley. It was one of 49 00:03:33.039 --> 00:03:35.919 the most beautiful places I'd ever lived, and I was 50 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:41.439 ready to finally settle down there in Washington State. And 51 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:44.240 then I fell in a different kind of love. I 52 00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:47.240 met my partner, who had spent his entire life living 53 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:50.520 in Washington State. As someone who'd only ever lived in 54 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:53.319 one place for the most part, he wanted to try 55 00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:57.280 living somewhere else, a bigger city. And as someone who 56 00:03:57.360 --> 00:04:00.800 was two years into his apparel design career, that bigger 57 00:04:00.840 --> 00:04:03.439 city he wanted to go to was one I loathed, 58 00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:07.919 New York. So four years we debated where to live. 59 00:04:07.960 --> 00:04:11.439 As our relationship progressed, we debated whether to stay or go, 60 00:04:11.960 --> 00:04:15.319 whether there was some sort of compromise. As best we 61 00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:18.920 could try, there really wasn't one, but Andrew did eventually 62 00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:22.360 come up with an idea, an idea that I'd much 63 00:04:22.439 --> 00:04:26.399 later realize was actually a long con one I didn't 64 00:04:26.399 --> 00:04:29.600 think he was capable of. What if we bought a 65 00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:33.720 camper van, moved into it, and traveled the country until 66 00:04:33.720 --> 00:04:35.480 we ran out of money or found a place we 67 00:04:35.560 --> 00:04:44.680 both loved a few months later, we bought a forty 68 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:48.800 connoline van from some hippies who communicated by making bird 69 00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:53.000 noises at one another. During our renovation of the van, 70 00:04:53.079 --> 00:04:56.120 we found secret and very strange love notes they'd written 71 00:04:56.160 --> 00:05:00.560 to each other and hidden throughout the interior. So found 72 00:05:00.680 --> 00:05:02.519 that they forgot to tell us that the van had 73 00:05:02.519 --> 00:05:05.319 been salvaged and it was going to be nearly impossible 74 00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:08.639 to ensure or resell at any given time in the future. 75 00:05:09.480 --> 00:05:12.800 In fact, all these years later, the van is hiding 76 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:18.600 behind some trees in our backyard. Classy, I know. We 77 00:05:18.639 --> 00:05:20.879 took the van up to Port Townshend on the Olympic 78 00:05:20.959 --> 00:05:24.360 Peninsula to work on it, and we quickly learned that 79 00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:28.639 we don't thrive as a couple in construction environments. So 80 00:05:28.680 --> 00:05:32.120 Andrew worked on the van and I explored the Peninsula. 81 00:05:33.160 --> 00:05:35.600 By this time, it was twenty fifteen, and I was 82 00:05:35.639 --> 00:05:40.240 now keenly aware of and terrified and fascinated by Israel Keys. 83 00:05:41.160 --> 00:05:43.959 So I spent three months driving all over the peninsula, 84 00:05:44.079 --> 00:05:46.480 learning everything I could about this man and all the 85 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:52.519 places he had been. It's where my obsession began. Andrew 86 00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:56.439 literally built a new life for us, and I literally 87 00:05:56.480 --> 00:06:00.839 supplanted myself in the life of Israel Keys, not knowing 88 00:06:00.839 --> 00:06:06.600 that I too was building a life for us. By 89 00:06:06.639 --> 00:06:09.000 May of twenty fifteen, we set off on our van 90 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:13.279 life adventure, and I ended up accidentally spending the next 91 00:06:13.319 --> 00:06:16.480 six months traveling to the rest of the places Israel 92 00:06:16.519 --> 00:06:20.600 Keys had been. As we drove from Seattle to Cordelaine, 93 00:06:21.240 --> 00:06:24.319 I listened to my very first podcast. It was This 94 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:29.079 American Life, and I was immediately enthralled. I'd obviously heard 95 00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:31.839 about podcasts, but my general understanding was that they were 96 00:06:31.879 --> 00:06:34.920 either weird trivia shows or just a bunch of straight 97 00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:39.240 white men telling each other exactly, or a combination of 98 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:44.160 the two. But this, this was storytelling and it was 99 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:51.519 inspiring and strangely healing. We spent six months, forty four states, 100 00:06:51.800 --> 00:06:56.480 four Canadian provinces, and a lifetime of lessons and experiences. 101 00:06:56.560 --> 00:07:00.839 On the road. We listened to one hundreds of hours 102 00:07:00.839 --> 00:07:07.720 of podcasts and Visibilia, Radio Lab, Generation, Why Serial, and 103 00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:12.040 so on. I went through a short term Serial fixation 104 00:07:12.279 --> 00:07:14.360 where I was convinced that if I listened to the 105 00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:20.920 entire series enough times, I, by myself with Excel, could 106 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:25.319 solve the case. A friend of mine would even mock me, saying, 107 00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:29.160 you think you, a writer with a computer can find 108 00:07:29.199 --> 00:07:33.199 out stuff the FBI hasn't been able to, And then 109 00:07:33.240 --> 00:07:37.519 we both laughed at how stupid that sounded. We even 110 00:07:37.560 --> 00:07:41.120 spent the penultimate day of our trip in Baltimore as 111 00:07:41.160 --> 00:07:46.040 I forced Andrew to do drive time tests. And then 112 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:50.079 in early November of twenty fifteen, we landed in New 113 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:55.600 York and then ended up in New York, and I 114 00:07:55.639 --> 00:07:59.360 hated it there, even when I tried desperately to convince 115 00:07:59.399 --> 00:08:03.759 myself that I didn't. As it turns out, NYC is 116 00:08:03.879 --> 00:08:09.240 not great for CPTSD. I couldn't find work. Most of 117 00:08:09.240 --> 00:08:13.240 the nonprofit healthcare companies were based in Albany. It was 118 00:08:13.319 --> 00:08:17.199 winter and frigid out, and Andrew was already working at 119 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:21.319 a small heritage apparel company, and soho, so I was 120 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:26.959 alone and depressed and freezing. I had been working on 121 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:29.199 a book about our trip, but as the trip got 122 00:08:29.240 --> 00:08:31.759 further and further away from me and New York felt 123 00:08:31.800 --> 00:08:37.080 more and more ever present, I felt less inspired. I 124 00:08:37.159 --> 00:08:40.000 had been daydreaming about this town in northern Michigan that 125 00:08:40.039 --> 00:08:43.240 we fell in love with while living on the road, Pataski. 126 00:08:44.039 --> 00:08:47.200 It was this charming lakeside village full of vibrant people, 127 00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:50.679 hip shops and restaurants, and an odd number of people 128 00:08:50.759 --> 00:08:54.039 in their twenties. Considering how remote and tiny the town was, 129 00:08:55.720 --> 00:08:58.080 I decided that I wanted to try to produce a 130 00:08:58.200 --> 00:09:03.720 This American Lifestyle pot cast episode about Potoski, and that 131 00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:06.519 if I was good at it and enjoyed it, maybe 132 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:09.919 instead of writing a book about our adventure, I'd create 133 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:13.200 a podcast about it, as I'm prone to do when 134 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:15.960 I have an idea that I'm excited about and invested in. 135 00:09:16.840 --> 00:09:19.799 I didn't tell anyone what I was doing. I just 136 00:09:19.799 --> 00:09:23.320 started writing and reaching out to locals in Potoski. The 137 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:27.320 story slowly came together and then evolved and came back together, 138 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:32.559 as stories often do. It was twenty sixteen, and much 139 00:09:32.600 --> 00:09:36.000 to my eventual shock, Trump was about to get elected. 140 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:41.720 America was as divisive as ever. The economy was suffocating, 141 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:45.279 It was harder and harder for young people to actually 142 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:47.600 make a life for themselves. It wasn't hand to mouth, 143 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:52.440 especially in the big cities they once flocked to. And 144 00:09:52.480 --> 00:09:56.639 in Potoski, Michigan, I found an interesting convergence of all 145 00:09:56.679 --> 00:10:00.639 these factors. Young people were returning to the town that 146 00:10:00.759 --> 00:10:05.320 raised them, but bringing with them big ideas and culture, 147 00:10:06.440 --> 00:10:08.879 and for better or worse, depending on who you asked, 148 00:10:09.240 --> 00:10:13.120 the small and traditional Rockwellyan town was being infused with 149 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:16.559 more urban and progressive ideas. And so that was the 150 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:20.679 theme of my very first podcast episode, how do we 151 00:10:20.759 --> 00:10:24.320 blend often competing ideas of what we think is right? 152 00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:29.759 And that simple question became the basis for Our Americana, 153 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:34.440 my first podcast series. Instead of being about our trip 154 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:44.200 across the country, it became about community. How community is built, evolves, struggles, adapts, survives. 155 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:49.000 What happens when students take over a school, who steps 156 00:10:49.039 --> 00:10:52.399 in when a town is without a police force, What 157 00:10:52.600 --> 00:10:56.200 happens when progress harms history? And how do you bring 158 00:10:56.240 --> 00:11:00.200 a divided village together. The answer to that question, it 159 00:11:00.279 --> 00:11:04.919 turns out, is a baby orca. So as we begin 160 00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:09.399 this retrospective into my ten years of podcasting, I thought 161 00:11:09.399 --> 00:11:13.639 it apt to start where my journey began, on the 162 00:11:13.639 --> 00:11:18.200 open road. In this twenty sixteen episode I produced for 163 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:21.320 Our Americana about people like Andrew and I who quit 164 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:25.399 their lives to see America. The episode was originally titled 165 00:11:25.759 --> 00:11:33.639 Van Life. But before we start, I am so goddamn 166 00:11:33.720 --> 00:11:37.200 excited to announce our next Trova trip. Think for a minute, 167 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:41.879 imagine joining me Charlie from Crime Lines and a small 168 00:11:41.919 --> 00:11:47.399 group of studio boath and listeners to talk podcasting, Bravo, Israel, Keys, 169 00:11:47.480 --> 00:11:52.000 true crime, and life while I don't know, swimming with 170 00:11:52.080 --> 00:11:57.519 sea lions and turtles, meeting tortoises and penguins, and sipping 171 00:11:57.519 --> 00:12:02.679 cocktails on the equator in January. Yes, we are going 172 00:12:02.759 --> 00:12:07.320 to the Galapagos Islands from January eleventh to the seventeenth. 173 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:10.600 We are island hopping in the Galapagos on this once 174 00:12:10.639 --> 00:12:13.960 in a lifetime vacation, and tickets go on sale two 175 00:12:14.440 --> 00:12:17.440 day and the first eight people get two hundred dollars off, 176 00:12:18.039 --> 00:12:20.159 So click on the link in the show notes and 177 00:12:20.279 --> 00:12:23.120 come spend your winter with me and some new like 178 00:12:23.159 --> 00:12:28.320 minded friends in the tropical Galapagos Islands. And if that's 179 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:31.279 not your speed, we are hosting an anniversary party here 180 00:12:31.320 --> 00:12:34.080 in the Berkshires over the weekend of September twenty fifth, 181 00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:40.000 right before True Crime Bullshit returns with season eight. We'll 182 00:12:40.039 --> 00:12:42.960 be joined by a bunch of special guests for live shows, 183 00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:48.279 studio sessions, previews, behind the scenes, tours and talks, cocktail parties, 184 00:12:48.759 --> 00:12:53.000 and some of my favorite Berkshire based activities. So you'll 185 00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:55.759 get all the joys of podcasting, but also get to 186 00:12:55.799 --> 00:12:59.360 go out into this beautiful area and enjoy what I 187 00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:03.519 love most about it. For example, imagine going wine tasting 188 00:13:03.600 --> 00:13:06.600 in the Berkshires with Wine and Crime. Over the next 189 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:09.600 few weeks, I'll be announcing a very stacked lineup of 190 00:13:09.639 --> 00:13:14.639 special guests along with the weekend's incredible agenda. Tickets will 191 00:13:14.679 --> 00:13:17.679 go on sale June twenty fifth, but are available for 192 00:13:17.720 --> 00:13:22.480 pre sale now on Patreon. And now let's get back 193 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:25.320 to where it all started. A nineteen ninety two to 194 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:29.639 forty ConA line van a very shitty thirty five dollars microphone, 195 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:35.159 not a single editing ear, and a persistent chirping fire 196 00:13:35.200 --> 00:13:40.759 alarm in our crappy bedstye apartment. Enjoy the journey. 197 00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:44.279 I knew that this trip was going to happen because 198 00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:48.039 I felt numb to my life, and I knew that 199 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:51.279 I wanted to feel alive, and even if that was. 200 00:13:52.879 --> 00:13:55.039 Hardship, I wanted to feel that. 201 00:13:55.840 --> 00:13:59.159 And I have found my life filled with so many 202 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:01.639 emotions that I've never that I never felt sitting. 203 00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:01.919 At my desk. 204 00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:04.919 I'm not good at sitting still, and I'm not good 205 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:09.200 at sitting within a feeling that is uncomfortable. And I 206 00:14:09.240 --> 00:14:12.600 think that that is a huge issue for so many people, 207 00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:15.440 is that it's not that we numb ourselves, but we 208 00:14:15.559 --> 00:14:18.440 kind of numb ourselves with stimulation. When I was living 209 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:22.879 in Seattle, I was constantly running around, you know, going 210 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:26.279 to see all my friends and you see my family, 211 00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:30.799 and constantly being booked, you know, with the littlest things, 212 00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:34.679 and I was really kind of numbing myself to feeling, 213 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:39.360 you know, something not good. And on this trip, I've 214 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:41.840 really had to learn that there are going to be 215 00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:45.080 moments every day that I feel really alone, and I 216 00:14:45.120 --> 00:14:48.159 feel really sad that I'm not sharing this trip with someone, 217 00:14:48.919 --> 00:14:53.919 but that sitting within those moments kind of makes the 218 00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:56.679 rest of it all worth it. And I've really been 219 00:14:56.720 --> 00:14:59.559 able to find a sense of peace, and I'm still 220 00:14:59.559 --> 00:15:01.879 working on it, you know, like are still called my 221 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:05.480 friends like crying every once in a while. But I 222 00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:08.279 think the biggest lesson I've learned is that there's a 223 00:15:08.279 --> 00:15:13.440 big difference between you know, feeling sad, being sad, and 224 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:18.000 kind of giving into those emotions and just hopefully learning 225 00:15:18.840 --> 00:15:23.080 that just because it doesn't feel good doesn't mean that 226 00:15:23.159 --> 00:15:24.480 it's not okay. 227 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:38.639 Our Americana is a weekly podcast where we explore small 228 00:15:38.679 --> 00:15:40.960 towns across the country and get to know the people 229 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:43.559 who call them home. Join us as we had some 230 00:15:43.639 --> 00:15:46.480 of our most unique and charming communities and talk to 231 00:15:46.519 --> 00:15:50.399 the locals about their lives, their histories, their relationships, and 232 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:53.960 the stories that forever change them. Together, we'll discover how 233 00:15:53.960 --> 00:15:57.080 a community comes together and how it adapts and involves 234 00:15:57.120 --> 00:16:01.240 and faced with the unexpected, the controversial, the bizarre, and 235 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:04.639 the life changing moments. I'm Josh Hallmark and this. 236 00:16:04.799 --> 00:16:06.639 Is Our American. 237 00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:44.679 I'm Oh my gosh, there's Yeah, my favorite spots the 238 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:47.200 trip has been. There's a lot of different spots I 239 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:49.200 like for a lot of different reasons. Like I really 240 00:16:49.200 --> 00:16:52.759 fell in love with Haynes, Alaska because that was kind 241 00:16:52.759 --> 00:16:54.360 of like the start of the trip and it was 242 00:16:54.399 --> 00:16:56.320 a great kind of launching point because I took the 243 00:16:56.360 --> 00:17:00.559 inside passage very from Bellingham up to know and then 244 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:00.840 up to. 245 00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:05.519 Haines, Mendocino, California. We really love It's a great little town. 246 00:17:05.559 --> 00:17:09.720 It's it's kind of touristic, definitely a little heart sat town. Yeah, 247 00:17:09.720 --> 00:17:12.119 we definitely felt at home like we could we could 248 00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:13.680 make a life there in Mendocino. 249 00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:19.680 I have loved the missions of San Antonio. 250 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:23.960 Potoski, Michigan was our favorite town, and that's just below 251 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:25.599 the Macano Bridge. 252 00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:30.240 I loved McCarthy, Alaska, which is this small town where 253 00:17:30.279 --> 00:17:33.000 only I think like twenty people live year round, but 254 00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:36.359 it like just blossoms in the summer with seasonal workers. 255 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:39.160 But I'd say our two favorite states would probably be 256 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:44.440 Oregon and Colorado, maybe the northern part of California. 257 00:17:43.839 --> 00:17:49.599 Coast and New Mexico. Michigan and North Carolina best states. 258 00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:53.960 So I think that in summary, Haynes, Alaska McCarthy, Alaska, 259 00:17:54.200 --> 00:18:00.720 the Yukon in general, and now the Ice Fields Highway, inc. 260 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:04.000 And Alberta, the whole, the whole, like Napa Valley, and 261 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:07.039 then like the coast right there after the wine countries. 262 00:18:07.799 --> 00:18:12.880 It's awesome. I really like Steamboat Springs, Colorado too. Thought 263 00:18:12.920 --> 00:18:14.359 that was a pretty bad place. 264 00:18:14.839 --> 00:18:18.079 Some valley I like some valley Idaho too, Yeah, catch 265 00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:18.960 them some valleys. 266 00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:22.240 Yeah. Yeah. We spent I think five days in the Eup, 267 00:18:23.480 --> 00:18:26.640 which was gorgeous. Like if I had to, I would 268 00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:29.559 say that was probably the prettiest section of America that 269 00:18:29.640 --> 00:18:40.920 we saw. Exactly a year ago, Andrew and I were 270 00:18:40.920 --> 00:18:45.640 sipping a glass of wine in a winery on Lake 271 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:53.640 Ontario in the Niagara Valley Escarpment, Ontario's gorgeous, gorgeous wine 272 00:18:53.640 --> 00:18:58.319 region that rivals Napa Valley. We were just about to 273 00:18:58.359 --> 00:19:02.960 start our last week of our van life traveling in 274 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:07.400 the United States, so today I thought we'd check in 275 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:09.759 with four other people who have just started their van 276 00:19:09.880 --> 00:19:14.119 life journeys, talk about how life on the road changes 277 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:17.759 you the way you see people in America and even 278 00:19:17.799 --> 00:19:22.119 each other, and maybe inspire some of you to take 279 00:19:22.200 --> 00:19:26.960 the plunge and live a life on the road that 280 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:28.079 will forever change you. 281 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:39.200 Currently, I am in vans in Alberta, sitting in my van, 282 00:19:39.640 --> 00:19:41.880 just parked outside of coffee shop using. 283 00:19:41.680 --> 00:19:42.240 Some Wi Fi. 284 00:19:43.160 --> 00:19:46.400 I miss those like weird little moments where you're kind 285 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:49.599 of doing things that feel totally normal in the context 286 00:19:49.640 --> 00:19:52.440 of your life, but in the real world seem really creepy. 287 00:19:53.119 --> 00:19:56.519 Yeah, like sleeping in front of like Walmart parking lots 288 00:19:56.519 --> 00:20:00.079 and in the parking lots of restaurants, and weird things. 289 00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:02.839 Like about totally I remember like waking up in the 290 00:20:02.839 --> 00:20:05.720 middle of the night walking from the Walmart parking lot 291 00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:08.400 in to use the restroom and just being like, it's 292 00:20:08.440 --> 00:20:10.119 so weird that this is a normal thing. 293 00:20:10.920 --> 00:20:14.240 Yeah, it's also super weird when you're in the car 294 00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:16.359 and you have all the blinds closed and there's just 295 00:20:16.440 --> 00:20:20.119 people like kind of walking past your car or commenting 296 00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:22.680 on it because I have my solar panel on the outside, 297 00:20:22.680 --> 00:20:24.359 so I hear a lot of people talking about my 298 00:20:24.440 --> 00:20:27.400 car as I'm like laying down trying to take a nap. 299 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:33.960 This is Alex. She is also from Seattle, and when 300 00:20:34.039 --> 00:20:36.559 we first talked, she had been living the van life 301 00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:38.440 for about four months, so. 302 00:20:39.359 --> 00:20:44.279 I had after college, moved to New Zealand. I had 303 00:20:44.279 --> 00:20:49.279 gotten an internship in the South Pacific working in my field, 304 00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:51.920 and this whole trip of kind of moving to New 305 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:54.240 Zealand kind of got formulated as I was living in 306 00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:56.960 the South Pacific. And when I was there, I lived 307 00:20:57.039 --> 00:21:00.640 out of a Ford Falcon, which I don't even think 308 00:21:00.680 --> 00:21:03.079 they make those anywhere else in the world, and I 309 00:21:03.079 --> 00:21:05.319 don't even think they make those in New Zealand anymore. 310 00:21:06.200 --> 00:21:08.039 And I was living out of the car there in 311 00:21:08.039 --> 00:21:11.480 a tent, and I was tenting every night, and it 312 00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:13.839 was probably one of the happiest times of my life, 313 00:21:13.960 --> 00:21:19.240 just living with absolutely minimal amenities, just pitching my tent 314 00:21:19.319 --> 00:21:23.119 every night. And I started really contemplating that this life 315 00:21:23.119 --> 00:21:25.759 was really possible, kind of living an alternative. 316 00:21:25.319 --> 00:21:26.039 Lifestyle like this. 317 00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:29.799 And I had seen a lot of bans in New 318 00:21:29.880 --> 00:21:32.640 Zealand that had these epic conversions, and I just. 319 00:21:32.599 --> 00:21:34.839 Had such ban less than that. 320 00:21:34.839 --> 00:21:38.160 That was kind of when I started thinking even more so, Okay, 321 00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:38.720 if I was. 322 00:21:38.680 --> 00:21:40.359 To do this full time, I really wanted a van. 323 00:21:41.079 --> 00:21:45.519 So I moved back to Seattle and got a job 324 00:21:45.599 --> 00:21:48.599 working full time for the government, and it was a 325 00:21:48.640 --> 00:21:51.559 really good job. It was just the dream job. I 326 00:21:51.640 --> 00:21:55.400 was working with Marine mammal Acoustics. I had been living 327 00:21:55.440 --> 00:21:58.279 in a city that I loved, that I knew, and 328 00:21:58.559 --> 00:22:00.799 all my friends were there. So it was just this 329 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:04.039 really great kind of you know, I was living that 330 00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:06.720 twenty something dream, you know, I had the ultimate job, 331 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:10.319 and kind of as time started to wear on and 332 00:22:10.400 --> 00:22:13.200 one year turned into two years, and then two years 333 00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:15.759 started turning into three years, I started getting this really 334 00:22:16.519 --> 00:22:19.720 intense kind of gnawing and my heart that was like, 335 00:22:19.799 --> 00:22:21.880 this isn't exactly what I want to do, you know. 336 00:22:21.960 --> 00:22:25.880 I don't want to sleep walk every day to my 337 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:28.920 job to my work, you know. I was just sitting 338 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:33.200 in traffic going to yoga to find balance, like running there. 339 00:22:33.480 --> 00:22:35.240 And it was just a life that I wasn't super 340 00:22:35.240 --> 00:22:37.880 happy with living. And so I knew for about a 341 00:22:37.960 --> 00:22:41.359 year that I wanted to quit my job and move 342 00:22:41.400 --> 00:22:42.079 into a car. 343 00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:45.039 And so I knew that kind of like in the. 344 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:48.920 Back of my mind, and as time kind of started 345 00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:52.240 to continue, I realized that I couldn't not listen to 346 00:22:52.279 --> 00:22:54.359 that that I was going to wake up with so 347 00:22:54.519 --> 00:22:56.799 many regrets if I didn't do this. 348 00:22:57.559 --> 00:22:59.599 So once I got the van was. 349 00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:02.480 Really and the whole trip started to kind of like 350 00:23:02.519 --> 00:23:05.119 come into my mind as being possible, and keeping in 351 00:23:05.160 --> 00:23:07.480 mind that I had lived out of a tent previously 352 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:11.160 and found a lot of happiness and joy and fulfillment. 353 00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:13.559 That it was possible for me. 354 00:23:14.160 --> 00:23:17.519 So it took me about six months to tell my 355 00:23:17.559 --> 00:23:19.759 boss that I was leaving, and I knew for. 356 00:23:19.640 --> 00:23:21.799 A little over a year, almost two years, I. 357 00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:23.880 Want to say, kind of like in the depths of 358 00:23:23.880 --> 00:23:25.440 the night that I knew I wanted to leave. 359 00:23:26.200 --> 00:23:29.240 So I guess that kind of long story, not short. 360 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:34.279 I knew that this trip was going to happen because 361 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:38.079 I felt numb to my life, and I knew that 362 00:23:38.119 --> 00:23:41.279 I wanted to feel alive, and even if that was. 363 00:23:42.880 --> 00:23:45.079 Hardship, I wanted to feel that. 364 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:49.200 And I have found my life filled with so many 365 00:23:49.200 --> 00:23:51.359 emotions that I've never that I never felt. 366 00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:51.960 Fitting at my desk. 367 00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:55.839 So did you have like a vision for like where 368 00:23:55.880 --> 00:23:57.319 you were going to end up when you left or 369 00:23:57.319 --> 00:23:58.960 were you just kind of taken it day by day? 370 00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:02.680 So I knew I wanted to head north because I'm 371 00:24:02.759 --> 00:24:05.599 romantic like that, you know, And so I was like, 372 00:24:05.640 --> 00:24:07.480 I want to go north. I want to go to 373 00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:12.359 Alaska and Alaska has always, I think, seemed like a 374 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:17.519 great destination for kind of the lost and the confused, 375 00:24:18.440 --> 00:24:20.079 and I think that that attracts a lot of people 376 00:24:20.160 --> 00:24:20.799 up there. 377 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:23.039 And so I knew that I wanted to go north. 378 00:24:23.079 --> 00:24:25.119 I knew I want to go to Alaska, and I 379 00:24:25.160 --> 00:24:28.079 knew I wanted to come into Canada, and so that 380 00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:30.000 was kind of like where it just started. 381 00:24:30.039 --> 00:24:32.519 And I was like, I kind of just want to do. 382 00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:37.000 This big circle where I want to go Alaska, the Yukon, 383 00:24:37.599 --> 00:24:43.559 British Columbia, Calgary, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and swing back 384 00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:46.319 up through California. And I thought that this trip was 385 00:24:46.319 --> 00:24:48.160 going to be about six months, and I'm about four 386 00:24:48.200 --> 00:24:50.640 months in and I barely made it into Alberta. So 387 00:24:50.839 --> 00:24:52.880 I don't think I'm going to finish or I don't 388 00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:54.240 think the trip is going to change. 389 00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:55.640 It's changed a lot, which is great. 390 00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:58.960 And I got the best advice actually from a guy 391 00:24:59.200 --> 00:25:01.039 who's also lived out of his car that I met 392 00:25:01.079 --> 00:25:04.200 and volunteer park and he had been living on the 393 00:25:04.240 --> 00:25:06.720 road for a few months as well, and he said, 394 00:25:07.640 --> 00:25:12.640 don't let the idea of your plan or your itinerary 395 00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:15.920 keep you from staying a place that you love, kind 396 00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:18.599 of like don't think like, Okay, I need to get 397 00:25:18.839 --> 00:25:21.519 to Denver or I have to get to banf Like 398 00:25:21.559 --> 00:25:23.839 if you're somewhere that you really love and you really 399 00:25:23.880 --> 00:25:26.440 love energy of the place you're in, like, don't rush 400 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:28.039 away from it because you think you have to be 401 00:25:28.079 --> 00:25:29.279