dreaming of the open road...

Recently I was introduced to some new friends and they seem pretty awesome... and I am in awe of an amazing journey they are currently experiencing.  Ummmm so, I haven't actually met these new friends.   Well, not in the traditional in person sense anyway.

We were introduced by a gal in my metalsmithing class... she told me about some friends of hers who decided to hop in their Volkswagon Westfalia van, leave LA for a bit, and travel throughout Central and South America.  As far as I know they don't have a specific end date in mind.  They are 6 months into their journey right now.  And they have been writing about their trip on their site Our Open Road and posting some amazing photos along the way... Oh, and they are having the occasional 24 Hour Bazaar, selling free trade wares from local artisans in whatever village they happen upon at the time (with a 24 hour limit in place adding some urgency to getting your order in), to help fund their fab trip.  My metalsmithing friend knows that I love to travel and I love to shop, and I love finding cool things from far away places.  And these guys bring it all together.

So, meet my new pals - Adam, Emily and their adorable daughter Colette.  If Ford models is looking to sign a family of really good looking hipster outdoor adventurers, this one should be at the top of their list.  My vacation photos are always featuring my never ending bad-vacation-hair days and travel grime and these guys are camping in their van, in the middle of nowhere,  almost every single night yet somehow they always look cool in every single photo they post. Not exaggerating! I swear.  Check it out for yourself.  Another reason I am in awe. 

So, I have been following their adventures starting with crossing the border into Mexico, and traveling further and further into Central and South America.  Seeing all the cool places they are parking that fab VW van, I am itching to meet up with them and join in all the fun!  Somehow it seems so much more romantic than my childhood family vacations driving to a national park, staying in the pop up camper with my parents, and bickering with my sisters.

 These guys are parked in a nice spot with a view of the Andes one week...

Driving past more beautiful scenery ...

 Stopping amongst some palm trees (note the cute kid in the makeshift tub)...

 On the beach another week...

 Frolicking in the surf after a long day of being immersed in local culture...

Seeing spectacular sunsets...

 Pausing to enjoy the occasional rainbow.

Still smiling, even when they hit a bump in the road and are sidelined for a smidge.  Because, frankly, they are well aware that life is pretty good!   Yeah, there may be the occasional mechanical problems and bug bites but they take it all in stride.

Ahhh, I am so doing my own version of this in the future!

Emily is a fashion designer, working on a cookbook during this trip and Adam is an artist (the awesome piece above is by him).  And I am sure little Colette has many great things awaiting her.  How could she not, growing up experiencing something so cool?

Yep, these are some cool new friends to have.  Oh, and I have kinda sorta met them via emails that consisted of my gushing about how great their site is, how genius their idea of a 24 Hour Bazaar is (honestly, I wish I would have thought of it first!), and asking for permission to use their pics in a blog post. All photos used in this post are copyright Our Open Road and used with their permission.

I was tempted to keep them to myself because I don't really want competition snapping up fab items in their next 24 Hour Bazaar but then I decided what the heck?  If you want to check out their adventures go here.

For those of you just tuning in and wanting to know more about me you can by going here... and you can read about the start of my journey as an interior design intern here and if you didn't already know... I created a facebook page... check it out and "like" it! and follow me on twitter and you can even follow my boards on pinterest too!

until next time...

the formerly almost 40 year old intern