S&YE227 - Moth Trek

[00:00:10] What's up guys, this is Annie aka Moth Trek and you are listening to episode 227 of the Subie & YOU!. Hello, welcome back to another episode of the Subie & You podcast. As you just heard I have Annie on this episode. It was great to talk to her and hear about her Subaru journey, her Crosstrek and the people that she hangs out with and the places that she has gone.

[00:00:36] So we will get at, we will get into that in just a bit. Hopefully you had a great weekend and you were able to get out and either go to an event or just drive your Subaru, hang out with some friends, whatever it may have been. I hope that you had a good time. I definitely had a good weekend. It was nice to just get some relaxing done and not do too much, which that's always nice. Sometimes you just got to take a break and kind of kick back a little bit and just take it easy.

[00:01:05] I wanted to throw a reminder out there and let you know that or just remind you that Overland Expo West in Flagstaff is coming up in less than a month, just a few weeks away. So if you are going to be there or if you are planning to be there, come by and say hello. If you are not sure if you want to go or not and you've never been to an Overland Expo, highly recommend it.

[00:01:31] It's a it is such a cool event, especially the one in Flagstaff because it is the largest Overland Expo and there are so many vendors. So if there is a product that you've had on the horizon that you've wanted to get for your Subaru, it might be there. Then you can actually meet people from the brand, which that's such a cool event that they put on so that whenever you have something on your car, some kind of product,

[00:01:59] you can actually meet the people behind the brand or at least the people that are representing the brand. And I think that is like like invaluable to be able to go out there and talk to these people. So if you've never been, check it out. Go just go do it. Just go do it. And then come by and say hello to everybody at the Subaru booth. Of course, there's some other stuff I want to talk about, too. But before that, we will hear from one of our sponsors.

[00:02:26] The Subi and You podcast is brought to you by Eccentric Designs. For those of you who don't know, Eccentric Designs is a small community driven business that offers custom fit vinyl overlays for most Subaru models. This includes various designs for the rear reflectors, taillights and side taillights. I also offer fun decal designs like the popular fender stripes and stickers. To find designs for your Subi, head on over to eccentricdesigns.com. There's always more projects in the works.

[00:02:53] So be sure to follow at eccentric.designs on Instagram. Thank you so much, Eccentric Designs, for sponsoring the Subi and You podcast. Be sure to go check out her website. Check her out on Etsy, her website, and her Instagram page. And if you don't know, she's Ghost Xtrek. That's her actual car account. So go check that out as well. The other thing you can check out is the Dirt Subis podcast with my buddy Ben, who is the host.

[00:03:21] He's got a lot of great guests on there. He has been killing it with that podcast. And then also the Wave podcast. You can go check that out as well. I've been a guest on both of those podcasts. And now Ben has been a guest on the Wave podcast. So we're all just kind of getting around to each other's podcasts. And at some point, we may have to have like all three of us together on an episode.

[00:03:50] And I don't know who's going to share it, but that would be really cool. So if you guys are listening, let's make it happen. Let's all have a podcast together and do some kind of episode. I think that would be a lot of fun. And I know something else that's fun, and that's saving money. You can save 20% at SubaruGear.com by using the code SUBNU2026. Go browse the site. Check out the news section where they have a lot of the new spring lineup there.

[00:04:19] And then just browse the whole thing. They've got a lot of different collections. So fill up your cart. Use the code SUBNU2026 at checkout to save 20%. And if your total is over $50 after the 20% discount, you'll automatically get free shipping, which is also great. So thank you so much, Subaru Gear, for sponsoring the SUBNU podcast.

[00:04:43] And be sure to look out for a new product drop that I will do in a video on Tuesday. Again, a reminder, every Tuesday I will be putting out a video for products that you can find at SubaruGear.com. I'm very thankful for Subaru Gear to send me products that I can actually physically have and show to everybody. And I'm having fun making those videos.

[00:05:09] So I hope you enjoy them because I enjoy making them. Share them too. Let everybody know about Subaru Gear, where the place to go is to get your Subaru branded merchandise. I also have to mention that if you are looking for some products to help with your engine compartment, one way to really enhance the look of your engine compartment is by getting some engine bay caps from MeleeDesignFirm.com.

[00:05:37] And you can save money there too by using the code SUBI and you to get 10% off your purchase on pretty much anything site-wide. But they have a lot more than just the engine bay caps. They have front strut tower braces. They have pitch stops. They have the battery boxes to keep your battery secure, which is really important when you're going off-roading and everything's bouncing around. So go check out MeleeDesignFirm.com.

[00:06:03] Browse the Subaru section and place your order and save 10% with the code SUBI and you. Thank you so much, Melee Design Firm, for sponsoring the SUBI and you podcast. And with all that being said, we will go ahead and get into this episode and listen to this conversation with Annie, a.k.a. MothTrek. So let's get into it.

[00:06:42] Welcome, Annie. How's it going? Good, good. It's great to have you on the podcast. And I know I've been following you for a while and I've seen like a lot of people posting about you and sharing you on their reels and stories and stuff. And so I've known about you for a while. We've been chatting for a while. And I've even had a couple of people say, you've got to get her on like a long time ago. So we're finally here. We're making it happen. Well, thanks for having me. You're welcome.

[00:07:12] So what's been going on lately? Not a whole lot. I just got back from a trip. I went to Cape Lookout last week with some of the community. So we had about 10, 10 people, 10, 11 people go out to the beach and camp in their Subarus. Nice. It was really fun. Is that a spot that you get out to often?

[00:07:42] Yeah. So we try to make it a twice a year thing. Okay. So we started going in 2024. 2024. And all of us are from different states for the most part. Oh, nice. We all met through Instagram and just became really good friends. And we chat every week. And we have, you know, all sorts of group chats and things. And gotten really close with each other.

[00:08:07] And so, yeah, we go, we try to do like an April and then like a October slash November timeframe just because the summer there is, summer's great. But the bugs are really bad. It just gets kind of hot. Yeah. So we like to go spring and fall typically. So, yeah. Just got back from that. We did three days on the beach. Nice.

[00:08:32] Which was really nice because normally I feel like, you know, you get there, you set up, you explore for a little bit and then you have to go home. So we had a little extra time, which was nice. That's good. So what are the different states that people are coming from and who had to drive the furthest? So this last trip, we had a few folks from North Carolina.

[00:08:56] We had South Carolina, Tennessee, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and then Kathleen Yagi. Oh, nice. All the way from Utah. Oh, that's right. Yeah. Because when I had her on with the bonus episode, she was talking about her trip that she's going to take out east. That's so cool. Yeah. She drove, I think, like 30 hours or something crazy. She is crazy. But she's so cool. She really is. I want to be her. Hey, you can someday. You never know.

[00:09:28] So, like, also, like, where is Cape Lookout? It is, it's in the Outer Banks, North Carolina. Okay. So it's its own little island. It's actually a national park. Nice. So you have to take a ferry to get over there. But it's absolutely beautiful. Like, just being out in the ocean and it's so open.

[00:09:54] Even when there's a lot of people that are, like, you know, at the ferry station and lots of people go and fish and stuff. It's so wide open. Like, you can look for miles and not see people. And that's really cool. It's great. Like, the stars are so beautiful because you're further out there and there's less light pollution.

[00:10:14] And, yeah, it's kind of around, I'm trying to think, like, not too far from, like, Beaufort, Moorhead City area. Kind of on the intercoastal there, but Emerald Isle area. Yeah. Now, are you from North Carolina? I am not. I am born and raised in Missouri and lived here my whole life. Okay.

[00:10:41] So you, that's a pretty decent drive for you then, isn't it? Like, how far is that, like, time-wise and then distance? It's about, from where I live now, like, 17 hours. Oh, yeah. That's a good drive. Yeah, it's about, I was looking it up earlier. It's like 1,000 miles. Okay. Do you do that all in one stretch or do you, like, stop overnight? I did once. Okay. And I don't think I'll ever do that again.

[00:11:10] Yeah, that's so long. I usually break it up. When I first started going, I would stop in, like, Gatlinburg because that was kind of a good halfway point. But now that I've gotten closer with Molly, Never Ending Subie, she lives in South Carolina. I go to her house. And then, oh, that's about, yeah, it's about 10 hours from here to there. And then the rest of the time, I think it's like six and a half to my grandparents' house. I have family that live out there, which is really nice.

[00:11:39] Yeah, that's really nice. Yeah. If you can stop off and see people. It really is. Yeah, because when I drove from here to Madison, Wisconsin for Subaru Flatfest, it was about 1,100 miles. And I think, like, nonstop, it was like 18 hours. And so I stopped in Arkansas on the way there. And on the way back, I stopped in Arkansas again.

[00:12:03] And then what was cool about coming back through is when I was going through Arkansas on the way home, my daughter was still going to school in Arkansas. So I was able to meet up with her and have lunch and hang out for a while. So that was really nice. But, yeah, it's always good when you can – I know there are people that, like, oh, it was like 20 hours. And we just drove straight through. And I'm like, you're crazy. Yeah, never again. I tried it one time. And, yeah, it was definitely kind of scary because you start getting so tired.

[00:12:33] Yeah, yeah. That can be dangerous. Yeah. Well, I do have another question, which is really important. And that's whether you prefer waffles or pancakes. Pancakes. All right. There we go. I like that quick answer. Yep. Pancakes it is. So where did the name Moth Trek come from? It really doesn't have a whole lot of meaning behind it, if I'm being honest.

[00:13:00] When I got my current Crosstrek, I really wanted to be able to, like, design, like, a logo and, like, just have, like, a general theme around it. And I just kept seeing, like, artwork of, like, different moths and stuff on Instagram. And I'm like, man, those are kind of cool. You can do, like, a cool color scheme with those. And so I was like, oh, Moth Trek kind of sounds like Crosstrek.

[00:13:29] Yeah, it does. And similar. Close enough. So, yeah, there's really no meaning behind it. And I was like, that kind of suits me. Like, I'm more of a night owl. And I like, you know, more of a, like, a darker, moodier aesthetic sometimes. So I was like, I can, like, theme the car around that. So, yeah. That's good. So you said your current Crosstrek. Does that mean that you had one before? I did. I had a 2015 before I got this one. Okay. And that was the 2015. Was that your first Subaru?

[00:13:59] It was, yes. Okay. So did you just trade it in because it was getting up there in mileage? Kind of, yeah. I did have a few issues with it. Ended up getting repaired, but ultimately ended up trading it in and getting something a little bit newer that had way less miles on it. Okay. So what year is yours? The one that you have now? It is a 2021. Okay. Oh, yeah. That's what I have. And how many miles did it have when you got it? When I got it, it had about 28,000 on it.

[00:14:29] Oh, that's good. Yeah. Not bad. How many does it have now? A little over 100,000. I actually just hit 100 on my trip. Oh, that's cool. Did you get it on video or take a picture of it? I did. Oh, yeah. That's cool. Yep. Yeah. I got mine when it hit 100 and then I got mine when it hit 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Because I'm at, I think, 143 now. Oh, nice. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:14:55] So I want to see how many miles I can get with it. Because, I mean, the only thing that I've had wrong with it is my viscous coupling, which is like in the center diff. And that was my doing from driving through mud too hard. It kind of tore it up. But other than that, like it drives really good for a car that's, you know, over five years old and has 120 or 143,000 miles. Yeah, absolutely.

[00:15:25] If that's the only issue, you know, like that's awesome. Yeah. But what kind of scares me is I'm still on my original clutch since it's a manual. And, you know, I feel like it could go out at any time. And, you know, I don't have another one on hand just to replace it. Yeah. So, you know, we're getting there. Fingers crossed. Yeah. But I mean, I'm kind of impressed that it's gone 143,000 miles on the original clutch. Yeah.

[00:15:55] But so what trim level is yours? It's a limited. Oh, OK. Nice. So does it have the 2.5? Yeah. Very nice. Yeah, I love it. It's like night and day compared to my my other Crosstrek. Yeah. My so my daughter has a 2024 limited, but she has the one with a 2.0 and we drove the 2.5 and like for her, the 2.0 is fine.

[00:16:23] But the main reason she got the 2.0 is because it was as far as like financing and everything that was like more affordable for her for her. And she's totally fine with the premium that she has. And she she got the the Sunblaze Pearl Ben and like all the amenities that it has, you know, was totally fine for her being that the 2.0 and the lower trim of the premium. But yeah, she loves it. I love it. I mean, it's it's been great. They're such good cars.

[00:16:54] They are. They really are. So so you've had two Subarus now. But like, where did your interest in Subaru come from in the first place? Um, when I got my first one, um, I didn't necessarily have Subaru in mind. I kind of just wanted something a little bit more capable. You know, we have a decent amount of snow and ice here in Missouri.

[00:17:22] And I wanted something that was, you know, preferably like all wheel drive and something with a little bit more cargo space and that I could like strap my kayaks on top of. Um, and the Crosstrek just stood out. And that's kind of how it it all started. But yeah, I know for people that live in environments where they have snow and ice and stuff, like having the all wheel drive is like super key.

[00:17:49] And I know a lot of times that's a driving factor for people to get into a Subaru, whether like, like you said, it's maybe not necessarily Subaru that you have in mind, but the all wheel drive is definitely great to have. Because I've heard so many people talk about how well they do in snow and like driving after a big storm and other people are like have slid off the road and they just drive down the road just fine.

[00:18:16] And people saying like, oh yeah, my boss told me that I can't call in for work because I've got a Subaru. They know I can make it. So that's kind of funny. Yeah. I have no excuse anymore. Yeah. Whenever you had your first Crosstrek, did you do any mods on that one or was it stock the whole time? It was pretty much stock. Um, I didn't do anything crazy with it. Um, more just like aesthetic stuff like decals and things like that.

[00:18:44] I did, I think all I really had done on it was I had a hitch installed at one point and was planning on starting to kind of build it a little bit and then ended up just trading it in. But, um, yeah, nothing crazy. Luckily, hadn't spent a ton of money on it before trading it in. Yeah. So I guess then whenever you traded in and got the newer one, you were like probably

[00:19:11] already planning on doing stuff to it since you were kind of wanting to do it with this, the first one, or did you not really have a whole lot in mind for it? Um, so I had already started camping. So like my first gen, I had done a few car camping trips in it and I kind of wanted to build the second one around that. Um, I didn't really have any intention on going, you know, off-roading or anything like that with it.

[00:19:40] I didn't really know what there was, you know, out there as far as like what you could do with the Subarus at that point. I had just seen a lot of like camping videos and stuff. I'm like, well, that's pretty neat. Um, so I didn't really have a lot of intention to start modding it as much as I have. Um, I kind of just got it up to speed with where my old one was and then it kind of just snowballed from there. Yeah. So like, where did the, you know, cause you said that you saw camping stuff, which, you

[00:20:09] know, these are great for camping. Uh, but like, where did the inspiration come from to start building it out the way that you have? Um, really just seeing different builds on Instagram and I didn't know like how many options we had for what you could do to these cars at the time. And then you just start following all these accounts and then it's like, well, that's really cool. I want to do that. Now I want to do this.

[00:20:36] And then I kind of just, I've built it as I've needed it. Yeah. So does purpose is nice. Yeah. So like, yeah. I'm like when, like when you had your first car, did you, were you connected with people like through Instagram? Cause you said, you know, the trips that the trip that you just went on, everybody is like pretty much met through Instagram. But what did all of that start when you got your second Crosstrek? Yeah. I didn't really know anybody in the community with my first one.

[00:21:07] Um, I didn't realize there was such a big Subaru community. I think a lot of people don't. Yeah. It was, it was really cool to find that. I didn't have a page for that car at all. Um, and so when I got my new one, I made one and just started hitting the follow button and yeah. Yeah. So when you like, what was the first mod that you ended up doing? Um, the first mod I did on that car or on this car was, um, um, my, my ditch lights.

[00:21:37] So I did the SMK brackets, the ones that go in front of your mirrors. I did those. Yeah. I like them. They're very stealthy. Um, and, uh, the diode SS three pods. That was probably my first, my first big mod on the car. Um, I, I like the ditch lights in that location too. I had mine cause I had some, uh, nigh lights that somebody had given to me and I had them

[00:22:06] on the hood for a while, but I never really liked that. I know a lot of people end up putting them on the hood, but once I was able to get some on the sides on the brackets like that, I don't know. It just, it seems like more aesthetically pleasing and it's like not as out there and not that like the ones on the hood look terrible. They're just not for me. Well, I get that. Yeah. I like, I like the placement of them a lot.

[00:22:36] So yeah, that was, that was the first one I did. I installed those by myself and that was my first time ever installing like lighting on a vehicle in general. So that was kind of scary cause I didn't know what I was doing, but YouTube helped. Yeah. Yeah. Especially like I had to get somebody to help me with the wiring because I'm like, I have no idea what I would do with the wiring and everything. Um, but got it done. So they're, they're there. I, so my car is the base model. So I didn't have any, any fog lights.

[00:23:05] I had to buy a new piece right there where the fog light goes. Cause mine just had like a piece of plastic. So I had to buy the piece with the hole. And then that was easy because it was easy to like mount the fog lights in there. And then there's like a plug that you just plug them in. So it's ready to go. Oh, that's nice. So just plug and play. Yeah. And then I, and then I had to get, I bought an OEM switch for the fog lights because there

[00:23:34] was just, you know, down on the panel, there's blanks. And so I got an OEM switch for that. And then like for my ditch lights, I have like a separate little like push button switch. It's like aftermarket, but I kind of wanted the, uh, the fog light ones to be, uh, OEM. Um, so it blends in more, but yeah, it's, it looks good. Which, um, which lights did you get? I did a Morimoto. Nice. What are like, what are some of the other mods that you started to do?

[00:24:03] Cause I mean, if you look at your car, it's obviously, you know, you've got some pretty good stuff on there. So like, can you like run through a list of your mods? Yeah. So I think my next mods that I did after the lights were, um, my, my wheels and my tires. Those are such nice wheels too. They are so cool. They're probably one of my favorite things on the car. Um, I actually bought them secondhand on Mercari. Oh yeah.

[00:24:32] Somebody was selling like five of them and, uh, they were brand spanking new in the box and it was like free shipping. And I was like, why not? Yeah. Do you remember, uh, Java wagon? Uh-uh. So Java wagon, he, he's, he, uh, he doesn't have a Subaru anymore and, but he had the same wheels, but like more of a bronzes color.

[00:24:56] And he had a 2008 Outback that he like lifted, did all kinds of crazy stuff too. And, um, it looked, it looked really good, but yeah, those, that was the first time I saw those wheels. So ever since I saw them, anytime I see them again, I'm like, Oh, those are nice wheels. They really are. I think they're discontinued now. I don't know. Yeah. I think so. I don't think F44 is doing those anymore. All right. Is that 44 still in business? Mm-hmm. Okay. Okay. Okay.

[00:25:26] Just probably not doing those wheels. No, just not the wheels. Cause I looked recently. I was curious. Cause I, I remember looking at all the different color or like different finishes and I was curious to see if they were still making them recently. And I, I looked it up and I was like, Oh, they're discontinued. So I'm glad I have five. I know. Yeah. That's, that's so important too. When you can get a set of five, because like when Ryko was sponsoring the podcast, they were originally going to send me a set of four wheels.

[00:25:52] And I was, I already had a set of aftermarket wheels and I had like a full size spare. And I was like, is it possible to give me five? Cause I already have five. And they're like, yeah, we can do that. So that was nice. That's awesome. That fifth wheel, man. It's important. It is. But yeah, that was the second thing I did.

[00:26:17] Um, and then took it off roading for the first time. Um, right after that. And then I was like, okay, time for skid plates. So, yeah. So how long was it before you went off road that time? Like how long had you had it? I had the car for about, I'm going to say like six months or so. That's a long time to have it and not take it off road.

[00:26:45] I had taken it on a couple of camping trips. I'd driven it out to Colorado and, um, didn't do anything too crazy with it. But yeah, I, um, on that, uh, that trail run, there were definitely some scary encounters with rocks and I was like, okay, time for skid plates. Yeah. Where did you end up going in Colorado? Um, I had gone out to, uh, Red Rocks to see a show. Oh, nice. It was really awesome. Yeah.

[00:27:15] I, we drove out to Red Rocks the last time we were there, but we didn't go to a show and it was closed so we couldn't like go inside. We were just able to go up to it. I know we were trying to find a way to get in there and like they had it all blocked off and there were people there like not letting people in. So we were able to kind of see some of it, but man, Colorado is beautiful. I love it out there. It really is. So what were some of the, uh, so you got the skid place and did you get a full set? Mm-hmm.

[00:27:45] Yeah. I have the primitive, the triple armor. Yeah. So I did that and then didn't do anything too crazy for a bit after that. I think the next mod after that was, uh, I'm going to say my fog lights. So I got some more pods from diode, um, those. And then I think I had my, I got my tire carrier after that.

[00:28:15] Um, so they're like the big ones. You, you already had fog lights, right? You just replaced them? Yeah. Okay. Yep. I replaced those and then learned how to do like the, like the backlight wiring and stuff, which was kind of cool. Um, but yeah. Did you put your skid plates on yourself? Partially. Okay.

[00:28:43] Um, I, so the, the differential one I had no problems with, um, I ended up having to go out and buy like a, an impact because I could not get the stock bolts off for like the transmission part to save my life. Yeah. Those, when I was doing mine, I was like this. I mean, I did it myself and I did it like in my apartment complex.

[00:29:11] I pulled my half of my car up on a curb so that it was up a little bit higher and I didn't have a very long like socket wrench, but yeah, those are not easy to get off. Those are, gosh, they suck. I feel you there. That was, that was definitely all learning experience. This is my first time ever like working on my own car or doing anything like that. Um, yeah, but that's really cool that when you do that kind of stuff, because one, it

[00:29:40] gives you the confidence to continue to do more to, you have the satisfaction of knowing they're like, Hey, I did that myself. And then, you know, it just, it can be fun and it's just like a good learning experience. And then if you do something and somebody else comes into the community and they have questions, it's like, Oh, I did that. I can help you out. Let me tell you what I did. So it's definitely good when you can do stuff yourself. It really is. Yeah.

[00:30:06] I did the, I attempted to install them and then, um, had help from Grant who goes by Grant is that you on Instagram. Um, he helped me with the engine one and the transmission one cause I was having issues. Yeah. It's always good to get help too. You know, I mean, as long as you're, you know, as long as it's you and maybe somebody else doing it yourself, you know, that's, it's, you're still going to keep learning. Yeah, it really is.

[00:30:35] It's everybody in the community is just so cool and knowledgeable and we're really lucky. Yeah. So you've got, you've got some rock sliders too and your roof basket and your awning. Uh, what are, what are some other stuff that you've done? Um, I also did my exhaust last year.

[00:30:59] So I have a, a nameless, um, so I had a friend help me with that one. Same thing. Getting those bolts off was a huge pain in the butt. Um, but, but I love it. It sounds so nice. Yeah. I, I want to get one eventually, but I, uh, I don't really need one. You know, I mean, nobody needs one, but it's just like the look and the sound is, is really cool.

[00:31:28] But one of these days, I think it would sound cool too with it being a manual. I might get a little more resonation out of there. Oh, absolutely. So that could be fun. Could also be dangerous. Nah. Yeah. Yeah. But, uh, yeah. So then like, I want to ask you, where did you get your grill? Because that grill is super cool. I love it. Thank you. Um, I actually made it. Oh, very nice.

[00:31:58] So I took the factory one on a part. It's like two different pieces and then bought like a mesh to put on there, glued that on. And then the emblem on the front of it, I bought on eBay. It was from like, the letters were from like the hatch of the old Impreza. Oh, nice. Yeah. Yeah. You can find all sorts of cool stuff on there. Um, so I bought those, I spray painted them and just glued them on there and then put the little grill lights in there too.

[00:32:26] But yeah, I was wondering, because I know that some people make grills. That's so that's what I was curious about, but that's even better that you made it yourself. Yeah. I definitely need to touch it up here soon. It's taken a beating over the last couple of years. Yeah. Cause I can see like the, now that you say that you took the, the factory grill off, I can see like the little corners of it that are remaining from that. But yeah, good job. Thank you. You're welcome. I like it.

[00:32:56] Uh, let's see. What else have you got on there? Oh, you've got some, some, well, you've got the fender stripes and then you've got some other decals and stuff. Uh, anything, have you done anything to the interior? Um, just more. More like cosmetic stuff. Nothing crazy. Okay. Um, different little accents and patches and things like that. Um, I do have a lift. I forgot to mention that. Yeah, no, I was just scrolling through.

[00:33:26] I saw that. I was going to ask about that next. So, uh, which lift do you have? Um, it's the, so I bought it from Rally Tech. So it's the Bilstein, the B6s with the one inch springs and then the overload springs in the rear. Very nice. So how much of like a total lift is it? Yeah, it's about an inch, maybe closer to inch and a half in the rear. Um, it was definitely nice to have that put on after the, the spare tire carrier. There was a lot of, a lot of sag.

[00:33:57] So with it being only like an inch or an inch and a half, did you have to do any subframe drop or anything? Or were you able to just put those in there as they are? No. Um, I had emailed Rally Tech about it and they were like, nah, you should be fine. It's really when you kind of get into like the two plus inches. Yeah. Um, area where you need to do the subframe spacers apparently. And how long have you had that on? Um, since September of 24. 24. Okay.

[00:34:27] And no issues with it? No issues with suspension parts or anything? I love it. No, it's been great. That's good. Yeah. I, uh, I would love to get a lift just for the look of it. Cause like a lifted cross track looks really, really good, but like, I don't have a need for a lift and I don't need to spend the money on a lift for something that I don't need. Yeah.

[00:34:52] So one of these days, if I have like expendable money and I'm like, yeah, I can, I can buy a lift now just because, and I want to do it. But I think I'd probably do just like an inch to an inch and a half. So I don't have to do the subframe drop because I think when you start going higher and higher, that's when you, that's when you can have potential issues with the suspension and everything. Even if you do the sub subframe drop, because just from what I've heard from other people, uh, so I wouldn't need to do anything super crazy, but it would be cool just to have like

[00:35:20] the look of it being a little bit higher and then having a little bit more clearance for when I do go off road. But yeah, it looks good. Thank you. Yeah. It's been, it's been really nice. It's very smooth. Like I had gone on some trails before it and, you know, got to a point where I'm like, okay, it wouldn't hurt to have an extra inch. I think eventually I want to maybe put some spacers in there and just take it up another inch. But, um, I don't have any need for it just yet. This definitely something down the road.

[00:35:50] Um, I would also like to have like some spare axles on hand for when I decided to do that just in case. Yeah. That's the other thing that I replaced on my car was the axles, but I didn't need to because the clicking that I was hearing was my viscous coupling and I didn't know it at the time. Uh, I thought it was my axles because the way I was describing it, people were like, oh, that's your axles. Axles and it wasn't.

[00:36:16] So I bought two new axles, OEM, spend a decent amount of money, but it was a good experience. And I got some new ones. Yeah, exactly. And I still have the old ones. So they're, they're at my cousin's house. So if like anything ever happened, at least I've got my original axle that I could replace it with because they were apparently fine. It's just, uh, I just didn't know anything about it. I didn't know better. But now I got spares. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:36:43] So I, I've seen that you have driven through all sorts of different terrain. You've been sand, mud, snow, uh, and then just like on trail terrain. But like, what would you say is your favorite? Probably snow. Have you ever gotten stuck? In snow? No, but I actually just got stuck for my first time at the beach recently. I was like, yeah, it finally happened. Triumph.

[00:37:13] We, it was, I've never seen the sand like that there. So I've been there five times and it is, it's just been so dry. Yeah. Um, the sand was just taking all sorts of cars. Um, so was it like just too soft? Yeah. It was very, very soft and deep in some spots. Um, we had a few people in our group get stuck. There were people in other groups getting stuck like in like four by fours.

[00:37:40] Um, so it was, it was all across the board, but. Who got you out? So I had, um, I had help from Marquise who is Evo Knox on Instagram. Um, he helped me kind of dig my front wheels out and, uh, I had my recovery boards and then put those down and then, uh, Molly and then Ron likes to wander, help kind of push me, give me a little, uh, little start. Yeah. But it was, it was a fun experience.

[00:38:08] I was definitely kind of like buried in sand up to like my, my rock sliders. Whoa. Really deep. Yeah. I've only driven on the sand a few times. The first time I actually took my car off road, it was funny because I went to this off road park that's designed more for like trucks and side by sides and ATVs and stuff. And I pull up to the booth and the guy's kind of looking at my car and I'm like, do you think I'll be okay to come in here?

[00:38:38] And he's like, I've been told not to turn anybody away. He said there was like a, I think he said like a Mercedes or something that was an all wheel drive that had come in there before. And he said they did just fine. And my car was a hundred percent stock. I don't even think it had any decals on it yet. But and I went in there, no airing down the tires, no all-terrain tires. And I drove through some parts of the sand that felt sketchy.

[00:39:06] And I was getting to a point where I was like going, I was like, I should probably turn around and not go too much further. In case I, cause I also didn't have any like recovery points. I didn't even have like the little, I guess maybe the hook is in the back of the car where the, um, where like the jack is and stuff. But other than that, and I wasn't with anybody, so I would have had to like ask somebody to help. But driving on sand is very interesting.

[00:39:33] I, I actually like the way that it feels the way that your car just kind of, it's almost like it's floating when you're on the soft sand and it's, it's such a cool feeling. And I've only been able to experience that like two or three times. So, and I've been wanting to go back to that same park and I've never been, I've been meaning to like set it up with other people and say, Hey, let's go. But you need to make it happen at some point. But yeah, sand is fun. It really is. It is like you're floating. Like when we go to Cape lookout.

[00:40:01] Um, so there's no actual roads there. It's all sand beach. And then there's like a little service road that's all sand. And it's just like, it's crazy. Cause you can kind of like take your hand off the wheel. It's like a little like track in essentially in between like your wheels that other cars have made in front. And so like, you can kind of just, it kind of just drives itself sometimes. I mean, like last time it was crazy cause it was just super duper deep in some spots and we just kept getting stuck.

[00:40:28] But, um, but yeah, it's definitely kind of fun. Have you gotten stuck in mud before? Almost, but no. Okay. Definitely been a few close calls. Yeah. Mud's actually my favorite mainly because it's the only thing I have in like, you know, plenty of supply because we get a lot of rain out here and there are little like secret spots that we've found where we can go hit some mud.

[00:40:55] But, you know, we're like, we're limited to anything that's really close by. Anyway, so we have cheaper cheeseburger loop, which is like maybe it's like a, maybe an hour and 10 or 15 minutes, uh, just to get to it. And then once you get into it, then there's like some really cool spots. But as far as like anything that's within like 20 minutes, you know, there's a few little spots that we can get to that are fun. Yeah. That's good at least. Yeah.

[00:41:22] Because sometimes I'm just like, you know, I love it when my car is really clean because it looks so good, especially the white and black contrast. But then we'll get like a really good rain and I'm just like, my car will be clean. And I'm like, I really want to go drive through some mud just because it's fun. I just, it's so fun. And then, and then I'll keep it dirty for a while. And then like, okay, I got to clean it again. Yep. But yeah, it's, uh, it's fun.

[00:41:50] So is there like a group of people or like a person that you get out with the most either to hit trails or just hang out? So I haven't really been on a trail in like, I want to say over a year. It's been a hot minute. Um, I've gone on some trails with, um, with Grant that I had mentioned. And then, I mean, mainly when I, when I get out, it's when I'm out at the beach with everybody. Um, okay.

[00:42:20] So I don't, yeah, not a whole, we don't have a lot of places around here in like the St. Louis area. Everything's like a couple hours South, at least there's, there are a few off-road parks in Missouri, I believe, but I think they're more like Jeep oriented and like, I don't know if they'd necessarily be Subaru friendly. Yeah. Um, but we have a few little decent trails here and there and it's been a while since I've gone

[00:42:49] out. I don't like going by myself. Um, yeah, it's better to go with people anyway. It's, it's more fun for one. It is. And two, if you get into some kind of trouble, you've got somebody there. Exactly. Yeah. I think it's just, I've gone on a couple little random trails in North Carolina, um, and a forest when I go and stay with my grandparents, there's like a forest right by them and some little trails that shoot off the main road. So I've taken it, I guess, on those, but it's, yeah, it's still been about a year.

[00:43:19] I need to get back out there. Yeah. It's the same here. I mean, we don't have much, like I said, other than cheeseburger loop, which isn't too far away, but it's hard when you have an off-road capable Subaru and you live in the city and there's not a lot around. Yeah. It's, uh, it gets lonely and your car starts getting sad. It does. I need mud. Yeah. Uh, so do you, are you still doing camping? Yeah.

[00:43:49] Um, I haven't, aside from the Cape lookout trips, haven't camped a whole lot. Um, I definitely want to do some more this year though. We have quite a few little parks around the area where you can go camp and I love car camping. What kind of setup do you have in your car? Um, I just have, uh, one of the, the Luno mattresses and then those are so nice. It really is. Oh my gosh. I slept so good at Cape lookout.

[00:44:19] I had my whole mattress set up in the back. It was like a full bed. It was great. Um, but yeah, I just, I have one of those. I have like my, my little awning and shower tent and just, it gets the job done. I like rooftop tents. I think they're really cool. I don't personally think I have need for one. Um, but definitely in the future I might consider getting one. I think they're pretty neat. Yeah. I mean, if your setup is working for you now, then, you know, that's good.

[00:44:47] And then also I think with a rooftop tent, there's like two really key important things is you have to be okay not being able to just pick up and go. Like if you want to go drive around and explore somewhere and you have to, not that it takes forever to put it up, you know? So at least, at least it's pretty easy to put away. But then it's one of those things where if you make the investment for a rooftop tent, it's probably best that you use it fairly often.

[00:45:17] You know, I don't think you'd want to have a rooftop tent if you're only going camping like once a year, you know? Right. But I mean, my money's worth it. Yeah. Cause I know some people go like, you know, maybe once a month or even like once every other month, you know, that would still be worth it as long as you're using it. But, uh, yeah, they're definitely cool. So, so like with your Luno mattress and everything, you said that you had it, um, set up all the way, like the full mattress. So like, where do you have all your gear?

[00:45:47] Because the whole back of your car is being taken up. So basically on this last trip, I just bring this giant tote with me and, uh, I'll just put all the little smaller pieces of equipment and things like that in there and just keep it outside with the lid on. Yeah. I was able to, I think I finally like dialed in my setup. Yeah. That's cool too.

[00:46:13] It's really hard to stay organized sometimes, but yeah, that's kind of what I did. Um, I feel like there it's a little bit different because you're with a group of people and, you know, you're not necessarily going to be in a situation where you might need to just kind of like peel off and go. So it really depends. Um, but I've made it work before where I have like my, my big cooler and everything in my car too. So. Yeah. Cause I know some people end up just airing up half of the mattress, which is really nice

[00:46:42] that you can do that first of all. And then they'll have like all their gear on the other side of their car and, and do that. Cause that's, you know, that works out well too. But I remember like when I had mine, it airs up so fast and I was like so impressed with that. Oh my gosh. Yes. It really, it takes like two minutes tops. Yeah. Like I was super surprised and a super cool. And I've had people say like, oh yeah, my Luno mattress is more comfortable than my bed at home.

[00:47:12] It is very comfy. They are. Yeah. Uh, what would you say? Like you mentioned earlier your wheels, but like, what would you say? I guess your cross trek in general, not really like considering the mods, but like, what would you say is like one of your favorite features or aspects of the second gen cross trek on the outside and then on the inside? Definitely.

[00:47:38] One of my favorite things is the 2.5 engine. Yeah, that definitely makes a difference. Um, I just, I don't know. I like, I think they just look really cool. Like they're a really good looking car. And, um, I agree. Yeah. I think that my wheels and then I've done some like more cosmetic things on it. Like as far as like vinyl wrapping and things like that go, I really like how that looks.

[00:48:06] And then, um, interior wise, I just really like how spacious these cars are. And I, I mean, I've moved quite a bit over the last couple of years with, with both cross treks and like the amount of stuff that you can put in them and move. And it's just like being able to put the seats down is really nice. And like, they're just very, very versatile. Um, I think that's one of my favorite things about the interior is just how functional they are. Yeah.

[00:48:36] And for not being a overly big car, they are very roomy inside. And, and just like you said, with the, uh, versatility of being able to put the seats down and have all that space. Like, I don't know that I could ever not have a hatchback again unless like, I don't think I could have a sedan where you just have a trunk unless I had one as like a second car because having the hatchback, I've used it so many times, like just like so many different ways.

[00:49:06] And it's, it's, it's nice to have that flexibility. It really is. Uh, so like, cause like for me, I really like the way the back of it looks with the taillights and they look kind of wide from the back. And I really liked that about them. Yeah. They're very sleek. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Uh, let's see. Where else? What else are we doing? What else are we talking about? Oh yeah.

[00:49:34] So I saw that you took a trip back in October to Texas where I'm at. So where did you go and like, who were you visiting? What were you doing in Texas? So one of my, my good friends from, um, grade school got married. So she lives a little bit outside Dallas. So I was her maid of honor and drove down and spent the weekend there for the wedding. Cause a lot of us were coming from out of state. So we kind of condensed everything into the weekend as far as like the shower and bachelorette stuff and things like that.

[00:50:04] Um, so we were right outside. I think our, the venue was in Weatherford. Okay. Yeah. So it was, it was about a 10 hour drive for me, give or take. Um, definitely wish I could have spent more time there, like exploring and stuff. It was really cool. Um, it was like a little trip. Yeah. I like Dallas and Fort Worth's a little bit better. I mean, there's some good spots in Dallas, but, uh, my girlfriend lives in Coppell, which

[00:50:32] is like, if you look at, cause you've got Dallas and Fort Worth and then if you like go right in between them and then go North, that's where, that's where she lives. Coppell is like directly North, like in the center of both, uh, Dallas and Fort Worth. But yeah, 10, 10 hour drive from there isn't too bad. No, it really wasn't. I really want to go back to St. Louis and I want to take my son. Cause whenever I drove back from, uh, Subaru Flatfest in Madison, when I was coming back down,

[00:51:02] I was just like, I just wanted to get home and cause I had to go to work the next day cause I was driving back on a Monday. I had to go to work on Tuesday and I'm like, I really just want to get home, but I'm driving by the arch and I'm like, I have to stop. I can't pass by here and not at least go check it out. And so I found a parking spot, went over to the arch. I didn't go up inside, but I did like the little area down below where you can like, it's kind of like a little, I don't know what it is. It's like where you get the tickets. Yeah.

[00:51:31] Like the little museum area. Yeah. So, cause I think they had already closed it down for getting, you know, going up to the top and getting the lift tickets, which was fine. Like, I just wanted to see it in person. And then I found this parking lot where I was able to get a shot of my car with an arch behind it. And that was, that came out pretty nice, but I want to go explore St. Louis. Like I want to go back up there with my son and my daughter and her husband and, you know, their daughter, when she gets a little bit older, I think that would be a fun trip.

[00:52:00] It's a really cool city. We have a lot of awesome things to do here and really good restaurants and just museums and stuff like that. It's, it's really awesome. We're pretty lucky. Yeah, it is. It is nice. Was that, um, was that your first time coming to Texas? Um, I've been to Texas a few times over the years. That was my first time ever like driving there by myself. Oh, okay. Yeah.

[00:52:27] So do you have, uh, like a bucket list spot that you want to get out to? Like anything you've seen online, you know? Yeah. I think I really want to get out to Utah. Um. That's what everybody says. It looks, I don't know. It just looks beautiful. I want to go to the salt flats. Yeah. Yeah. Utah is like, I think that's, that's been on a lot of people's bucket list and to get out to Moab and other spots. Mm-hmm.

[00:52:55] What is the furthest distance you've driven so far? Um, about a thousand miles. So. So the Cape Lookout trip? Cape Lookout trip. Yeah. I think that's the furthest. How far is it to Utah for you? Do you know? Have you ever like mapped it out? I actually haven't. That's a good question. Yeah. You should figure that out. I mean, I guess at least 20 something hours.

[00:53:25] I don't know. Yeah. I know you won't be driving that straight through. No. God, no. Uh, so I was, I was looking through your account and I was like, I stopped on this one picture and I thought it was really cool because I have one too, but I see that you have the Game Boy GPS speedometer. Yeah. From lifted Subarus from our buddy Ben. And so where did you see that?

[00:53:52] Um, I originally found out about it through Molly. So we were actually sitting at the beach one day, I think about a year ago when we were at Cape Lookout. Um, we were just sitting there and she told me about it and we ended up buying both of ours at the same time. Nice. Um, it's so cool. Like I just have so much appreciation for like the craftsmanship behind them and like reusing something like that. Yeah.

[00:54:22] I don't know. It's very clever. I just, I really think it's awesome. It is. Uh, do you have people asking you about it? Yeah. Every now and then people will be in my car and they're like, is that a Game Boy? Yeah. I've like, there's been times I've gone somewhere and I'll open my door and they're like, wait, what is, is that a Game Boy? What is that? And then I tell them, I'm like, yeah, it's, you know, it's really cool. This guy Ben makes them. Yeah. He seems like such a cool guy. Yeah, he is. We've, uh, we've actually talked, we talked quite a bit, especially since he started up

[00:54:52] a podcast too. And, uh, we met very briefly at Overland Expo in Oregon last year, but he's going to be, or he's planning to be there again this year. So this time we're going to be more intentional about spending more time together. So I'm looking forward to that. Yeah. But I ended up buying one for my daughter and one for my son since they both have, you know, Subarus and I got them for their birthdays and I got them to kind of color match their cars.

[00:55:22] My son's car is green. So he, I got him a green one. And then my daughter's car is the Sunblaze Pearl. Hers is kind of like a reddish pink, but she, uh, she named it Moltres Trek, which is, you know, a Pokemon character. And so he put Moltres, like a little sticker of Moltres on hers, which is really cool. Yeah. That's so cool. Yeah.

[00:55:48] So it's, it's just cool that he will customize them like that. And, uh, yeah. So if anybody is listening and they're curious about them, you can go to lifted imports.com and get those there. They're really cool. So if you could like, with, I guess either people that you've seen on Instagram or even people that you may have met, if you could drive somebody else's Subaru for a day, whose would it be?

[00:56:15] So, um, John, who runs the page Subaru off-road adventures, um, I think his, uh, his older Forester build, I think it's called Possum. Um, I think that's such a cool build and he takes it on some pretty gnarly looking trails. And I think that would be a fun one to drive him and him and Dawn, his wife are like the sweetest people ever.

[00:56:43] We've gone camping with them at Cape a few times and they've done a bunch of really cool things to like Molly's, uh, cross track and Marquise's, um, Equinox. Like they've done a bunch of really cool custom things for people and just super knowledgeable, but yeah, his build is, is really awesome. And I think that would be a fun one to drive. Yeah. Those are good people to know too, for, uh, like helping with stuff and it's just good to know good people. It really is.

[00:57:11] Are there, who are some people that like you've connected with on Instagram that you would really like to meet that you haven't been able to meet? I really want to meet, um, I want to meet Gail, Norwegian girl. Yeah. She's all right. She's all right. No, she's cool. She's cool. She seems so cool. Yeah. Um, it was really cool to meet, uh, meet Kathleen at Cape lookout. I've been wanting to meet her for a while.

[00:57:36] Um, but there's so many people I want to meet. I really want to go to like Overland Expo at some point or any of the Subie Fests really. Do you know, like how far is Overland Expo East? Cause it's in Virginia, but that's kind of far too. But it seems like Flagstaff would be the closest one to you. Maybe. I haven't really looked.

[00:58:04] I've driven to Virginia before and it wasn't too terrible of a drive. Um, so I think maybe that would be probably the best spot. There is a Subie Fest Midwest up in Illinois. I just never have a chance to go, but. Go this year. Make it happen. Oh, I really, I really want to meet Jen. Yeah. Ghost. Yeah. She's cool. I, I felt like I, I met her when I went up to, um, Subaru Flat Fest in Madison.

[00:58:32] And then I got to see her again when I was in, when I went out, um, when we went to Indiana. And visited the plant when we were doing 48 hours of Tri-State. She was able to meet up with me and, uh, Jeff. It goes by Slow Subies. So that was cool. Yeah. That's awesome. You could drive up to, uh, Madison, Wisconsin probably. Yeah. That wouldn't be too bad. No, I don't think so. So you're in St. Louis or near St. Louis?

[00:59:02] Yep. I'm about half an hour south of St. Louis City. Okay. That's not too bad. No, it's not. Ooh. Wow. Okay. Nevermind. So, uh, I mean, you could do it, I guess, but Flagstaff is 19 hours and 41 minutes. I didn't realize it was that far. I guess I was thinking you were more north of me. I didn't realize you were northeast so much. Yeah.

[00:59:27] But yeah, uh, yeah, Virginia probably shouldn't be too far, I wouldn't think. For, uh, Overland Expo East, it looks a lot closer than, than, uh, Flagstaff. It's in, uh, October, I think. You've got some time to plan that out. Yeah, I think. It's right above North Carolina. You've been to North Carolina. You know, I'm just trying to help you plan some stuff out. You know, you said you wanted to go. I appreciate that.

[00:59:57] No, there's definitely a lot on my list. I want to go to Boxer Fest. Um, PYP Dadwagon has been asking when I'm going to go to Boxer Fest. And I'm like, yeah, I think everything is like happening on weekends already where I have like weddings and stuff. I'm like, man, next year. I keep saying that, but. Yeah, I, I get that because like I had, I've had people asking me almost every year if I'm going to come up to Wicked Big Meat.

[01:00:22] And for like the first three years, I, like my girlfriend's birthday was that weekend and I was planning to go see her on her birthday. And I'm like, I'm not going to go to Wicked Big Meat and not go see her for her birthday. You know, that would not be cool. Right. So I just haven't been able to make it up. I'd like to go at some point, but, uh, yeah, it's just, it's been a matter of like not having enough PTO because it's like, I'm trying to plan out all these trips throughout the year and then not really having the money to go either.

[01:00:52] Cause it's not like, you know, it's not like I can just drive up there easily because then that would require more PTO because of the drive time. Exactly. But it's, it's still fun when you can make it out. So is there anything else like about your Subaru journey or your Subaru or your friends or the community that you want to like mention or let people know about that I didn't ask?

[01:01:17] Um, I really just wanted to say thank you to everybody that I've been lucky enough to meet throughout this journey. Um, all the people I've been camping with and traveled with, especially like the Cape Lookout crew, you know, Rue, Wicca Wanderers, Nina, another green outback, Matt off-roading the outback, Marquise, Ron, Cat and Bill, who, Cat's Instagram is xtrekkie. Of course, Molly. I love that girl to death and all the other people that we've camped with and met along the way.

[01:01:47] Um, I'm just so thankful for everybody and very, very blessed that this little car could help make lifelong friends. And yeah, I just wanted to say thank you to everybody. Yeah. So when you like first met up with other people with this car, were you like nervous about meeting up with other people? Cause I know sometimes people like if they don't really have any mods and they get invited out to something, they're like, oh, I don't have any mods and everybody's going to have

[01:02:15] mods and I'm going to feel out of place. Like, was it something you were nervous about or just excited? A little bit of both, but everybody's always been so welcoming and just knowledgeable and helpful. And it's always, you know, I feel like every time I go out and I travel or I go on trails, I'm always a little bit nervous, but it's always like, like an exciting nervous. Yeah. Oh yeah. I get that. I get that way too.

[01:02:44] Uh, like I'm also, I'm also like very shy. So if I go to an event that has a lot of people, I end up like just kind of hanging around the people that I know. So, and, but if it's like, like, let's say it was like six to 10 people, that's a little bit easier, but it's harder when there's like a lot of people somewhere. And I just like, it's like, I want to meet people, but then I'm like, but then also people are kind of like in their own little pockets, you know, usually talking.

[01:03:12] So I usually just stick around the people that I know well, but it's different when it's like an event, like, uh, overland expo, because I'm kind of there purposefully to meet new people. So last year I was able to like come out of my show a little bit and just actually go up to people and talk to people, which is like, you know, hasn't been like me most of my life, but I'm getting better about that.

[01:03:38] No, that's, that's another good thing to mention too, is like, I've always, I'm, I'm definitely more introverted. Um, and never would have imagined myself like meeting all of these people in person that I've met on the internet. And like, I feel like I've come out of my shell a lot more because of it. And I have a lot less social anxiety now because of it. Um, so that's another thing I'm really thankful for. Yeah.

[01:04:05] So do you, cause like if you go to an event where there's people that have Subaru, other Subarus, it's kind of easy to start talking to people because you all have something in common. But so have you found that that's helped you in other social situations? Yeah, absolutely. Um, like you said, just having those. Those, um, common talking points with people and just learning about everybody's builds

[01:04:33] and just figuring out, you know, where everybody's from and where they're at on their journey is just, it's really awesome. And it just makes it so much easier to interact with people. And I feel like, yeah, it has translated into other aspects of my life as well. I feel like a lot more, you know, just, I feel like getting out more and exploring more and I'm not as, you know, scared to meet new people. It's been really nice. Yeah, I totally get that.

[01:05:01] Um, so with your Crosstrek, how would you say it best matches your personality? I would say, I guess it's very, it's, it's kind of darker, but it's also artsy at the same time. Yeah, that's good. Um, so I guess you're a darker and artsy person or you like things that are kind of dark. Dark and moody. Uh, if you could describe your Crosstrek in one word, what would it be?

[01:05:31] Um, I was thinking a lot about this one. Um, I'd say it's like, it's like home. It's just very comforting and I just feel very safe in it. And I associate it with so many good memories and yeah. That's a good word. Do you, uh, do you ever like just get out and go for a drive in your car, even if you have nowhere that you need to go just to drive it? All the time.

[01:05:59] I feel like that's one of my favorite things to do is to just, I mean, even with the gas prices right now. Um, yeah, it's, it's very soothing. It's always, even before I had Subarus, it's been one of my favorite ways to kind of just process emotions and, you know, just whether I was happy, sad, upset, you know, I felt like driving around always just, you know, just on some back roads with some music always, you know, is good for the soul. Yeah. Drive.

[01:06:29] It's like kind of like an escape. And, and like, for me, I'm in my apartment a lot. And so sometimes I'm like, I just, I got to get out of here. Even if I'm not going anywhere, I just want to get in my car and drive. Even if I just go drive it like, you know, a few streets over and then come back home. It's just like, there's something about that. And it's just like, and like you said too, it's not, it hasn't just been with this car.

[01:06:55] It's been with other cars, but of course this car just has so much more meaning to it. It's the first car I've ever done any kind of modifications to, especially the exterior. And they're just, there's such a great way that you can express yourself and kind of like you do all these things that bring attention to it, but then you may not necessarily want attention for yourself, like outside of your car. But it's like when you're driving around in the car, it's like, you want people to look at it.

[01:07:25] Yeah. There are definitely times where I'm not in the most social mood, but like people will come up to me in like a parking lot and just be like talking to me about my car. And I'm like, you know what? That's really cool. Like I, like the fact that you can just, I've met different people that I've now, you know, follow on Instagram just from like running into them in like a Walmart parking lot or something. Like it's just really cool. Yeah. There's a guy that lives in my apartment complex. It's an older guy and he has like a Nissan Altima.

[01:07:54] And he came up to me one day and said that he was thinking about buying a Forester because he wants to go do some like solo camping and everything. And I was like, oh, that's really cool. And then he came up to me the other day and he pointed to his new car or newer car. It was used, but it was a Nissan Rogue. And I'm just sitting there thinking, I didn't say anything, but I'm like, dude, what happened to the Forester, man? Because he started asking me about, because I have like my roof rack and he was asking

[01:08:22] me about like a roof rack and rooftop box and all these things. And, and of course I was nice to him and, you know, helping him out and giving him information. But in the back of my mind, I'm like, what happened to the Forester? Right. You chose the wrong car. Come on. So, I mean, you kind of like gone over this throughout the, you know, throughout us talking and everything, but like, how would you say that owning your Subaru has changed your life?

[01:08:51] It's definitely taught me a lot of things. I've never, like I said, I've never been super knowledgeable about cars. I've never worked on my own cars before. And, um, that's been really rewarding. Um, and just meeting people and learning how to do everything. It's just been really, really awesome.

[01:09:13] Um, and I think that's one of my favorite things about it, aside from everybody that I've met, but just, there's so much to learn and it's really, you know, brought to my attention, like all these things that I like, I'm interested in now, you know, that I never was before. And it's just, it's always really eyeopening and it's, you know, you just never know where it's going to take you. And I think that's something that's been really awesome to experience. Yeah.

[01:09:42] I think that's pretty common for most people, especially like, because we, and when it comes to like the community, if we wouldn't have bought this car, there's so many people we would have never met so many trips we would have never taken. And so it's like, you know, that kind of sinks in every once in a while. It's like, I wouldn't be here if I hadn't bought this car. Right. So it's pretty cool. It's surreal. Yeah.

[01:10:08] So since this is your second Subaru and you really enjoy it, do you think that you will always own a Subaru? Yeah. Yeah. This has been such a good car. Um, I just really liked the cross trucks in general. Um, yeah, me too. It's my favorite. It really is. Um, I feel like if, you know, something were to happen, I would get another cross check, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Same here.

[01:10:35] Uh, so this is the last segment of this. It's where we get to know you a little bit better, but like, who is Annie as in describe yourself? Um, so I, like I said earlier, born and raised in Missouri, lived here my whole life. Um, I really, I'm really into a lot of art and music. Um, a lot of fun hobbies like that. I play in a couple of different bands.

[01:11:05] Oh, that's cool. Yeah. I play, I play guitar and I play bass. I've been playing music for, yeah, like 15, 16 years or so now. Um, bass is really cool. Bass is fun. I'm, I'm still learning it. Um, I joined a band recently where I've been asked to be their bass player and we have a show on Friday. So I'm, I'm kind of nervous, but I'm excited. Um, but yeah, I, I do a lot of artwork around the St. Louis area and I do a lot of like commissions

[01:11:32] for people and that's been a really, really awesome experience. I've been doing that professionally for about 10 years now. Um, and then you have an Instagram account for that, right? What's the name? What is the account? It's rainstone visuals. Okay. Yeah. And it's linked in your, in your bio, but I was looking through that. It's pretty cool. Yeah. It's, um, yes. About 10 years now I've been doing, I do all sorts of like chalkboards, murals, digital work, labels, things like that.

[01:12:00] Um, and then yeah, recently got into doing like custom work for people, for their cars, like decals and digital art and stuff like that, which has been really awesome. Um, but yeah. Yeah. That's cool. Uh, what is a favorite memory from your childhood? Probably just, I got to travel a lot as a little kid.

[01:12:22] Um, I have a lot of family and like currently in North Carolina, but I have a lot of fun memories of going out there as a kid and going to the beach in Florida and stuff like that. Um, which I think is where my love for going to the beach comes from, but just a lot of traveling. Yeah. So, uh, I was thinking about this as you were talking about being born and living in Missouri your whole life.

[01:12:49] Is there anywhere else that you would want to live if you could just like pack up and move and be like, I would love to move here. I mean, I'm sure you like where you're at now, but like, is there anywhere else where you think I could live here? This could be fun. I feel like that every time I drive through Tennessee, just like the mountains in Tennessee, I'm like, man, this is really pretty out here. I don't know. I haven't really thought about it a whole lot.

[01:13:15] Um, probably Tennessee or North Carolina, but I, you know, there's a lot of places I haven't gone to yet. And like, you know, maybe when I go out West, I'll be like, I want to live here. You know? Yeah. If you haven't been to Oregon, oh, Oregon, Washington, you've been to Colorado. Colorado is beautiful. I would, that's where I would love to live. I would love to live in Colorado Springs. That's one of my favorite spots. That's where my brother is now. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's cool.

[01:13:45] Uh, so you said what you do for a living, but do you have a dream job? I think really my dream job would just be to, um, to travel and do more art for people. Um, I really want to do more murals. I think that would be really cool to make a career out of, um, and just kind of embrace the art full time. It's kind of tricky. You know, you don't want to get too burnt out on it. Yeah.

[01:14:15] And you don't want to make it to where you don't enjoy it anymore. But I think if I could get to a point where I could do something like that, I think that would be really awesome. So you think like doing murals for people in other places where you have to travel out there and go do it? Yeah. That'd be really cool. I think so. It's fun to see other cities too. Cause like, uh, two jobs ago, we, the work that we did, our clients were always in other cities.

[01:14:39] So I, I traveled quite a bit for work and it was always, you know, it wasn't always fun having to go to work and, and travel, but it was always cool seeing other cities and other states that, that I very much appreciated. So any, any chance you get to travel is fun. You know, it can be fun. Absolutely. So what is something that makes you want to get out of bed every day? Hmm.

[01:15:08] Just getting outside and getting to listen to music and discover new artists and stuff like that. Very music oriented. Um, and just getting to talk to family and friends, I think are my favorite things. Those are definitely good things to get up for. What is something that makes you want to stay in bed? Um, just depression in general.

[01:15:40] Um, I feel like, you know, when you reach that stage of like, of burnout occasionally that can definitely just make you really tired and make you not want to get up and do things, but, um, it's a lot more rewarding when you can, you know, force yourself to get up and just do something or try something new. I feel like that definitely kind of helps you get out of that funk, but. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:16:09] Sometimes you have to think about something that you really enjoy doing and just force yourself to do that. And then that can definitely help. Not that it works every time, but it can help because it is tough. It's when you, when you get in that state of mind, you're just feeling down and you're just feeling kind of defeated. It's not, you know, people like some people just be like, Oh, just snap out of it. It's like, you can't just snap out of it. It would be, I mean, if I could just snap out of it, then I wouldn't be telling you about it right now. Exactly. Yeah. I get that.

[01:16:39] Uh, what is something that really scares you? I think something that scares me is just not, not seeing more places and doing like, just, I feel like, you know, it's really important to do things that scare you and staying stagnant is something that really scares me. You know, I'm always looking to grow and heal emotionally.

[01:17:07] And just, I feel like just staying in one spot, I feel like kind of freaks me out a bit. Yeah, I get that. But it's important to try to, try to do new things and do something that might be a little scary because that's where the growth comes from. I mean, exactly. And that's what I've been doing. I've been getting on camera a lot more lately. And I always like, that's one of the reasons I don't have a YouTube channel for the podcast is because I always, I didn't want to be on camera and I'm still not going to do a YouTube for the podcast.

[01:17:37] I want to keep it audio only forever, but, uh, but just getting on camera and doing more stuff like for Subaru gear and this other journey that I'm going on. It's, uh, it's helped me to get to the point to where it's like, I actually enjoy being on camera now and I'm not as afraid of it. And I'm starting to like, actually, you know, like it and be like, oh yeah, I want to do more stuff with it. So yeah, that was definitely scary.

[01:18:05] But I mean, it's like the more you do it, the more, the easier it gets and the less scary it gets. I agree. Uh, besides your Subaru and your friends, what is something that really excites you? I think playing music is one of the big ones for me. Yeah. Playing shows. You've got one coming up. I do. Yeah. Scared, but excited.

[01:18:31] Um, yeah, I feel like that's something that's always resonated with me and it's something that I use to process things and I don't know. There's always, there's always something to learn. Yeah. I think that's really awesome. So you've played shows before, but not really with playing bass. Correct. Yeah. So I've played, um, guitar for a long time. I'm, I hopped in on another band, um, last year.

[01:19:00] I've played a few shows with them playing electric guitar. Um, so this is my first time really like learning how to play bass and, um, regularly playing it and it's been really fun. That's good. Yeah. I'm sure too. I mean, I don't have any experience like with being up on stage like that, but I'm guessing that like once you get up there and you actually start playing, then it'll kind of like get to you and you'll be like, okay, now I'm really excited to be here and I'm less scared. And now I'm like, let's just have fun.

[01:19:30] It really is. Like I, a lot of, um, a lot of our audience at these shows is all friends, you know? So playing for your friends is like the coolest thing ever. I just feel like you have so much, so much fun. And yeah. And there's, uh, and there's people that have different takes on that. Cause like some people don't want anybody they know there cause then there'll be like picking them apart. And then other people, it's like, if you have friends to play there, then it just, it makes it easier and that makes it fun.

[01:19:59] So there's like, cause like, so when I was at Subi Fest, California in 2022, I went up and you know how like they have the DJ up? Well, you haven't been to one, but they have, so like they have like this trailer and then on top of the trailers where the DJ booth is and that's where he's making all the announcements. And they got me up there for him to interview me in front of everybody. And I was like, that's like been my, like the biggest fright for me is to like public

[01:20:28] speak in front of people. But he sat me down, he asked me all these questions and then he was like, okay, now let's do that again, but on the mic. And so I was just like, oh crap. Like I have to be on right now. I can't just sit up there and be like, uh, uh, you know? So, so thankfully he had already asked me the questions before. So we were just doing it again on the mic, but in front of people.

[01:20:52] And so where we were, I had a booth set up with all my podcast equipment and I had friends that were hanging out right at my booth and I had like a clear line of sight to them. So I was just mainly looking at them and then looking back to the DJ and going back and forth. And I'm like, that's what helped save me was being able to look at my friends. Cause I just kind of pretended like I was talking to them. So that was like, I totally get that.

[01:21:21] Like doing something like that with friends present makes it so much easier and way less scary. Way less scary. Like, and if you mess up, you know, it's like, it's fine. You know, they're not gonna. Yeah. They're going to tell you you did a good job, you know, no matter what. Exactly. What would be your best bit of advice to give to someone about anything? Um, kind of going back to what I said earlier, um, just do things that, that scare you.

[01:21:51] Um, you know, tomorrow's not promise, you know, plan the trip, send the text, you know. Yeah. I agree. It's good stuff. Anything else you want to share before we close this out? Um, not really. I think that that covers pretty much everything. Okay. Well, thank you for taking the time to record with me and be another guest. Thanks for having me. This is really fun. You're welcome. Good. Good. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[01:22:22] Well, I hope you have a good rest of your day and that you have a good show on Friday. That's exciting. Thank you. Are you going to post any of that on Instagram? Yeah, I probably will. Okay. Once I get the nerves out. Yeah. Yeah. That's cool. All right. Well, enjoy the rest of your day and the rest of your week. I mean, we're just getting started with it. Thank you. You as well. You're welcome. All right. Have a good one. You too. All right. Bye.

[01:22:50] Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of the Subi and You podcast. Again, if you are not doing so already, go give Annie a follow. Her account is just simply Moth Trek. So go check it out. Check out her page. Give her a follow and say hello. Thank you again so much, Annie, for taking the time to record with me and getting to share your story with all of the listeners and with your crew too. So I appreciate you taking that time.

[01:23:17] And that's it for another episode of the Subi and You podcast. Be sure to tune in again on Tuesday. Just watch out on Instagram for another product drop from Subaru Gear. And then we will see you next Monday for another edition of the Subi Scoop. Hope you all have a wonderful week and get out there and enjoy your Subarus. Much Subi love. Wrap. The Subi and You podcast is hosted by Raphael in a closet in Houston,

[01:23:45] produced by Raphael in a room next to the closet in Houston, and edited by Raphael on a computer in the room next to the closet in Houston, with music by Luke Ruiz in another room in Houston. You can find the Subi and You podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including Apple Podcast, Spotify, and many more. To support the podcast, please head over to patreon.com slash subi and you podcast. Once you join, you will have access to the Discord channel and Discord chats with other patrons.

[01:24:14] If you'd like to get in contact with the show, you can find them on Instagram at subi and you podcast, online at subi and you podcast.com, or by email, subi and you podcast at gmail.com. That's all for this week.