Saying Goodbye

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We cleared out all of our stuff, fixed a few little things, and cleaned our little Airstream a couple of days ago, and today it went to some good owners in San Diego. I didn’t think I was attached to it, but when it was gone I felt sad. Josh and I went on a very memorable adventure this summer, and we couldn’t have done it without our Airstream. Someday, we hope to own one for good, but it just wasn’t practical to keep while living in Los Angeles.

Tomorrow is the big day (err..later this morning. I guess I’m up late.). We’re loading up a 22-foot Penske truck and towing a trailer with a vintage BMW behind it, and I’m driving separately. It’ll be the most I’ve driven all summer long, and I’m sure I’ll have to down the Dr. Pepper and fruit snacks to stay awake. (Thank heaven for a husband who doesn’t mind driving all the time. I didn’t even tow the Airstream one single mile, which was just fine with me!)

Anyway, I’ve started a list of bests and worsts and other general overviews of our trip. Stay tuned!

“Sound off—we’re going to LA”

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We’re moving to LA!

I might not have been so mysterious in my last post if I’d finished the little lettering piece shown above—but I hadn’t—and I wanted to write a post yesterday anyway.

I got a few blog comments, some texts, and a couple of phone calls about where we’re heading, but nobody guessed Los Angeles. I probably threw people off with my deservedly affectionate posts about Minnesota. Haha. Actually, we were so close to moving to New York City, but after much deliberation, indecision, praying, and asking each other “what are we doing with our lives?” on a daily basis for the past month or so, we finally figured some things out. Josh was approached by a company which offered him a filming job, and he accepted. It seems like it will be an awesome opportunity for him, and I’m so excited to start this new adventure.

P.S. I’ve had part of this LA song in my head for the past few days. Ugh. I just listened to the whole song, which I hadn’t done for at least six years. I don’t know how my emo self could stand to listen to such garbage.

Miles of Road Weeks 17 & 18

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After spending over four months on the road in our Airstream, Josh and I are beginning to wrap up our unforgettable summer adventure. Together we’ve seen our country from a point of view that many people never will, and we’ve explored several cities and towns that we would have never otherwise visited or fallen in love with (e.g. Birmingham, Alabama, and Lafayette, Indiana). Most of all, we are so, so grateful to have had this opportunity during the past four months.

The majority of the past two weeks has been spent in LA and Orange County. For some reason, our visits to Southern California this summer have been spent doing a lot more working than sightseeing or exploring, but we consider it a big blessing to be staying busy. We’ll be even busier over the next few weeks, but this time it’s not our filming or designing to which I’m referring—we’ve made some decisions together and will be moving to a new city!

Are we sick of traveling? No way. I’m sure we’ll continue to do a lot of it together, but for now, we’re really excited to settle down somewhere new. I’m looking forward to soon retrieving our furniture, books, clothes (I almost forgot that I have more than five shirts!), and my blow dryer (in hindsight, I totally could/should have packed it). I can say pretty confidently that what Josh is most excited about is that he’ll have his 1974 BMW 2002 again.

Any guesses on where we’re moving? Hint: it’s to one of the cities we visited this summer.

Photo: A week or two ago, Josh filmed a 1986 Lamborghini Countach in a Los Angeles suburb. My only hope is that he was able to capture the moment when a random rooster walked through his shot and flew aggressively onto the hood of the car, flapping its wings and scrambling for a foothold.

Ultimate Couples Weekend

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For the past few Labor Day weekends, my friend Sarah has planned a couples trip to her parents’ house in Laguna Beach, California. This year Josh and I were in the area and excited to be able to attend for the first time, so after a week of filming and designing in Los Angeles (again), we were excited to drive down the coast for a relaxing weekend.

We hung out with old friends, ate a lot of great food (and maybe too many Cheez-its), spent hours at Emerald Bay Beach, tried to boogie board the huge waves without much success, received scoldings from the lifeguard for playing in the high surf, admired the hip clothes and haircuts of the children at church, played games late into the night, didn’t do a speck of work, and had an amazing weekend.

Pacific Coast Highway

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Last Tuesday, Josh and I left Santa Cruz and headed down the Pacific Coast Highway to Southern California. It was my first time making the drive, so I made Josh stop at numerous turn-outs in order to catch all of the gorgeous views. Taking Highway 1 added a lot of time to our drive, so we broke it up into two days, and it was so worth it, and we were so happy.

See that photo on the top left? Anyone who has driven the Pacific Coast Highway has seen this, but there’s an entire beach covered with fat elephant seals! Tons of people stop to check them out, and Josh and I planted ourselves next to the guide to hear all about elephant seals and their habits. This is going to sound facetious, but it was truly fascinating.

Depth of Speed: Season 2 Episode 7

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Josh filmed this video when we were in St. Paul, Minnesota. I looove that place, and this video features a pretty cool car, if I do say so my self.

Depth of Speed: Back To Life from Josh Clason on Vimeo.

From Josh’s Vimeo page: When Joel reached out to me a few months ago with photos of his 1982 Volkswagen Rabbit, I became even more excited to visit the Twin Cities than I already was. The Rabbit was unique with an interesting theme and details, like the leather hood straps made from belts, the leather-wrapped steering wheel, the hand-painted emblems, and the fact that Joel upholstered the seats himself from some old leather jackets. It was impressive for being the first car Joel had ever built, and it was something I’d never shot before.

My favorite part of the shoot was when we found a closed-off road and started shooting underneath and around an old bridge. What made that location even better was when a train began clanging past on the bridge overhead.

Around Nor-Cal

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Photos from the Bay Area a week or two ago (clockwise from top left): (1) My aunt and uncle took us to Phil’s Fish Market in Moss Landing on the way from Monterey to Santa Cruz (Warning from Uncle Brad: say no to the salmon burger.); (2) I’m so in love with redwood trees; (3) Josh and I explored Pacific Heights in San Francisco before having dinner with our friends Amy and Jae at Pizzeria Delfina; (4) Josh and I found the best chicken tacos in Santa Cruz at Taqueria Los Pericos (oh, delicious grease).

Other healthy notable eateries: Marianne’s Ice Cream in Santa Cruz (10/20 is an amaaaazing flavor), Pacific Cookie Company in Santa Cruz (my favorites were the peanut butter chocolate chip cookie, and the cherry one when it was warm and amazing right out of the oven. I think there’s crack in these cookies) (P.S. I’m not sure why this place has two Yelp pages, but I guess that just supports its awesomeness.), and 9 Burger in Boulder Creek on Highway 9 (destination place).