S&YE232 - Shenefelt Journey

[00:00:10] Hi, I'm Melissa and you can find me on Instagram at Shenefelt Journey and I also run Subie Adventure Club which you can find on Instagram and Facebook and you are listening to episode 232 of the Subie & You podcast. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Subie & You podcast. As you just heard I had Melissa on this episode. I actually met her a year ago at Overland Expo in Oregon.

[00:00:35] So this has been a long time coming and then we ended up connecting up again this year at Overland Expo in Oregon. So it was really cool to see her again, actually talk to her a little bit more and she will be on the bonus episode that I'll be putting out on Friday, July 10th. So listen for that. Of course I'll post in my stories to say that the bonus episode is coming out but I was pulling.

[00:01:01] So I did video interviews for that bonus episode which I will eventually put on YouTube but I'm pull. I pull all the audio from those videos to create the bonus episode because I recorded with a bunch of people from base camp and then I also put in some stuff in there from Rian and Gelsimino where she was playing games with the campers. So be on the lookout for that or listen for that. So thank you again for tuning into the Subie & You podcast.

[00:01:27] Thank you for sticking around to my OGs that have been listening from the very beginning. I really, really appreciate that. And welcome to all the new listeners because I've gotten some messages recently and I think some of the campers may have just started listening to the podcast. Campers from Overland Expo PNW. So thank you all so much for tuning in. And before we get on with anything else I want to say I hope that everybody had a really great 4th of July weekend.

[00:01:54] I ended up spending some time with family on Saturday and Sunday so it turned out to be a really nice weekend. But thanks again for tuning into the Subie & You podcast. Speaking of tuning in, be sure to tune in to the Dirt Subies podcast with my buddy Ben. He has a lot of great episodes as well and he's had some of the same guests I've had on but his episodes run a little bit different.

[00:02:19] He gets a little more technical which is really nice because it gets into modifications and more things about like, you know, the different types of engines and stuff like that. So he does his a little bit differently but it's a good podcast so be sure to give that a listen and give it a follow everywhere that you listen to podcasts. You can also check out the Wave podcast with Patrick and Dave. They run another good show over there.

[00:02:43] They are both Subaru technicians so they have a lot of really good information as well on their show and it gets pretty technical. But yeah, both really good episodes and then of course the Subie & You podcast. So tune in to all of them. Listen to all of them. I know people go on road trips so those are like really great opportunities to listen to some episodes. But now we will hear from one of our sponsors, the person that was my very first episode, Jen. Here we go.

[00:03:12] The Subie & 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 Subie, head on over to eccentricdesigns.com.

[00:03:37] There's always more projects in the works, so be sure to follow at eccentric.designs on Instagram. Thank you so much, Eccentric Designs, for sponsoring the Subie & You podcast. And be sure to go check her out on Instagram. Check out her website and check out her Etsy page. She has a lot of great decals for your Subaru.

[00:03:54] Also, if you are new to this community and you're looking for a good way to personalize your Subaru, adding decals is a really good cost-effective way to do that, especially if you're not sure what modifications you might want to do at some point. You can start with decals. That's how I started out. I know that's how a lot of other people started out. If you want to personalize your Subaru and make it look different, make it stand out, decals are the way to go.

[00:04:19] Since Melissa, who was on this episode, was out at Overland P&W with me and with a bunch of other people, I just want to give a huge shout-out real quick to Subaru of America, also to Rune Management and G7. All three of those organizations were responsible for putting together, for designing and laying out and putting together, building, constructing the layout that we saw at the Subaru booth at Overland Expo and then also for Subaru Base Camp where everybody was camping. Camping?

[00:04:49] Where everybody was camping and where all that stuff was happening. So thank you all so much. Y'all did an amazing job again. Again, leveled up this year and we look forward to more events from everybody. So I mentioned that you can personalize your Subaru with decals, but you can personalize your wardrobe from SubaruGear.com. They have a lot of really great merchandise. They have clothing. They also have bags and coolers.

[00:05:16] They have coffee mugs, refillable water bottles, stuff for your pets, stuff for your kids, motorsport stuff. So, so many different options there. So be sure to go to SubaruGear.com. Check out everything that they have on the side. Fill up your cart. Use the code SUBINGU2026 at checkout to get 20% off either one item or your entire purchase. And if your total is over $50 after the 20% discount, you'll also get free shipping, which is really, really great.

[00:05:46] So go check it out. See what they have to offer and personalize your wardrobe. Thank you so much Subaru Gear for sponsoring the SUBINGU podcast. Really, really appreciate it. And thank you for bringing this offer to the listeners. And one last shout out and sponsor that I'm going to mention before we get into this conversation with Melissa is Melee Design Firm. When I was out at Overland Expo P&W, I was able to meet up with Mitch, who is the owner. I saw him again. I met him for the first time last year.

[00:06:15] And it was cool meeting up with him again and hanging out and just talking for a while. But Melee Design Firm has some really, really great options for your Subaru. One of them especially is engine bay caps. It's a really great way to personalize your engine bay and enhance the look. And also, they just look cool. It's billeted aluminum caps that you can get. And so I encourage you to go check it out. You can use the code SUBIEANDU at checkout to get 10% off just about anything site-wide.

[00:06:44] So go check out MeleeDesignFirm.com. And also, if you want to hear his episode, he was episode 40, and it was a really great one. So go check that out. Go check out MeleeDesignFirm.com and save 10%. And now we will get into this episode with Melissa and hear all about her Subaru journey. So let's do this.

[00:07:15] Welcome, Melissa. Thanks for having me. You're welcome. Apparently, this is not even our doing. Lauren was kind of like forcing us into this. She was like, you got to get it on. It's good because we have been chatting for a little bit, you know, since last year. So it's been a while. Yeah, she was messaging me yesterday, too. And I was like, what are you doing? Yeah, but it was cool to see you again. Because when I got to the event, I was talking to Joe about people to interview.

[00:07:45] And he was like, you should go interview Melissa. And I was like, who is she? Because I couldn't really remember. And then I went over there and I was like, oh, yeah, I've met her before. That was cool. Yeah, apparently everybody's thrown me under the bus here. Yeah. You're going to do this and this and this. And you're going to like it. You're going to eat your food and you're going to like it. We will survive. Yeah. Well, speaking of food, they had some amazing food at the event. I mean, that was so good. Yeah.

[00:08:14] Chef Chad was amazing. Yeah. And it was cool that he came over there, too. And because like he because like when we were in Arizona, it was his team that was there the whole time because it was the camping was like a little more off site is like a mile away. And so because we were at the event, Chad White actually came over there for a little while and hung out and talked to people. And I saw that people had some pictures with him. So that was cool, too. Yeah, we took some because one of our friends, his name's Patrick, but he looks like Chad.

[00:08:44] So last year, everybody kept calling him Chad and they were offering him stuff. And then finally he was like, who's Chad? And so Chad White actually knows and we call Patrick not Chad. So I'm friends with Chad now and not Chad. Oh, that's cool. Yeah. He's yeah. He seems like a good guy and he makes amazing food. And so does his team. Yes. Yes. We're definitely treated very well in the food department there. Yeah. We were definitely blessed for breakfast and dinner.

[00:09:14] That was some good stuff. Yeah. I had a friend I ran into Saturday and he's like, hey, let Subaru know that I'll like cater you guys next year. And I was like, well, Chad White and his team are doing our meals. And he's like, never mind. You guys got Chad. Yeah, I'm out. Okay. You're taken care of. Yeah. Well, speaking of food, I have this other important question and that's whether you prefer waffles or pancakes. Oh, man.

[00:09:42] So I have never been a huge breakfast person, but if I got to have one, waffles. But there's one condition. They have to be crispy. Yeah. I don't like soggy food. So crispy overcooked waffles are where it's at. Yeah. I totally get that. I'm the same way with French fries. Like, I don't like soggy French fries. And I don't like, they don't have to be like super crispy, but they have to have some crunch to them, you know, some like little bit of firmness on the outside.

[00:10:11] And yeah, I get that. Yeah. My husband laughs because when I order it at a restaurant, I'm like, waffles, but can you overcook them? Like, why do you do that? Because they're good. Yeah. And nobody likes mushy food. Yeah. And I don't usually eat breakfast either. But when you're being, when, when an amazing breakfast is being prepared for you, I'm not skipping that. Oh yeah. No, like this weekend at the expo, I definitely did not skip breakfast. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:10:38] And on Friday and Saturday, I didn't even have lunch because I'm like, I'm going to eat breakfast. I know it's going to hold me over. And then I'll just have some like little snacks because I know we're going to have an amazing dinner. It was only on Sunday that I ate lunch because they were only preparing breakfast since, you know, they were closing things down. But yeah, it was so good. Like I would take a breakfast like that every day. Oh yeah. Me too. Somebody else was going to make that for me every day. I'm down. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:11:07] So we're obviously here to talk about your Subaru that you're actually sitting in to record this and also your Subaru journey. But that's not the only Subaru you've had. So can you kind of like run us through the Subarus that you have had and then the ones that you currently have aside from that one? Yeah. So we've had a lot of Subarus. It kind of escalated quickly.

[00:11:34] It started with my husband getting a 2005 Forrester XT bone stock. And I was like, why do you want a Subaru? This is crazy. I'm like, who drives Subarus? And we owned three Fords at the time. He had a tuned out Focus ST. But he was commuting across I-5 traffic and rush hour. And with the racing clutch, he's like, this is killing me.

[00:12:02] So and he's about to retire from the Navy. And he's getting work for the Washington State Ferries. And he's going to be on call. So we didn't want to like, you know, he didn't want to drive that manual. So he got an automatic. He got the 05 FXT, which quickly was modified heavily.

[00:12:31] Those are nice. And my husband's like, nope, you owe too much on your Ford Fusion. And I was like, but I want this car. So COVID hit and I wasn't allowed to work for two years because I'm extremely high risk. And so all that money I was getting from unemployment, I paid off the Fusion. And I went and got me the Ascent in 2020. And I quickly lifted that one and put skids on it.

[00:13:00] And then let's see here. We had a 99 Subaru Forester total shitbox. Like it was my gambler car. I had ripped the bumper off my Ascent twice. And my husband's like, you're ruining your $42,000 vehicle. And I was like, give me a shitbox. Ripped it off as in like going off road and ripping it off? Oh, wow. Yes. Which bumper? The front or back? The front. The front. Both times the front.

[00:13:29] Which, by the way, it will fit in the back of your Ascent perfectly. Grill and all. Just in case anybody needs that info. It'll fit right in. In case you're ripping your bumper off like me, it'll fit. Yeah. So he got me the 99 from a friend, actually. He had it sitting. He was going to drive it. Mike McAllister was going to fix it up. He bought it with blown head gaskets and stuff. So it was my $500 beater. Yeah.

[00:13:57] Like gas gauge didn't work. Lights would go off if you hit a bump. A speedometer didn't work. But I was going to like thrash it and just, you know, take into who you have the ORV park by us and use it for the Gambler 500 events. Nice. Funny thing is, I never hit it. Like, like I never ran into things as much as I tried. I never did anything to it. And I tried. I think it's because it was so much smaller than the Ascent.

[00:14:27] It just fit through things better. And we also lifted it pretty high and put some really big tires on that were not made for that car. So we had that one. And our kid's first car was actually we bought him a 2001 Sus, the Subaru Outback Legacy sedan. He drove it four times with his permit and some guy in a Honda on his cell phone T-boned them. Oh, my gosh.

[00:14:57] So it drove. Yeah. Him and my husband, Sean, and our youngest, Owen, were fine. And our car, the Sus drove off. The Honda didn't. It looked like a can opener peeled it away. Hey, it's a Subaru. Yeah. Well, and that's one of the reasons we have the Subaru. But insurance, we'd only had it for six months. Like I said, our kid drove it four times. Insurance offered us double what we paid for it. So we took the money. And we totaled it.

[00:15:27] So that's actually what we used to buy the $500 chip box Forester with. And then added all the mods using that money. Yeah. Yeah. T-off us. My husband and I both race rally cross with Northwest Rally Association. It's the local grasslands rally cross here. Yeah, that's cool.

[00:15:55] And so I used to teach auto shop at the trade school here in Bremerton. And one of my students had a 04 Impreza 2.5 RS. And every day I would ask him, hey, Donnie, you want to sell me your car? Come on, man. No. And the day after he graduated, he came back and he's like, Miss Mose, you really want to buy my car? And I was like, yes. And he goes, my first car. Don't really want to sell it. But I know I need to move on.

[00:16:23] I'll sell it to you as long as you race it because I never got to. And I was like, done. Oh, that's so cool. That's awesome. What a great opportunity. Yeah, and I've invited him out to a few of them and he hasn't been able to make it so far. But yeah, it's, you know, every time we change the oil, there's more metal in it. So I'm not sure how much longer it'll run. But it's been a great rally car. That's so cool. When I got that one, we needed some of the, we needed like rally suspension because it

[00:16:53] was like slammed on cheap eBay, like coilovers and stuff. Oh, yeah. Um, so I got ahold of primitive because they sponsor me for my, my car that I daily. And I was like, Hey, can you guys help us out? Or is it like one sponsorship per person kind of thing? And they're like, well, we have our old rally cross car that blew, um, and it's got all those parts. So 2000 bucks, it's yours. Oh, and I'm like, okay. So I looked up, um, cause it didn't run obviously.

[00:17:22] So I looked up, uh, triple a and it was, I found out it was a 200 mile radius. And then I Googled their address to our address and it was 199 miles. Oh my gosh. You gotta be kidding me. That's crazy. Yeah. So I, I signed up for triple a waited the way to the week waiting period, drove out there, called them and was like, Hey, my car broke down. I need to turn it back to Bremerton. Oh, that's hilarious. And they turned it all the way back for us. That's so funny. Did you tip the driver at least? We did.

[00:17:51] And they're fast getting there. I'm used to my buddy, um, Dan, uh, who I think you met this weekend at the expo. I've, his car breaks down quite a bit after races and I'll sit there with him and like we wait hours and they're, they're like so fast. I was kind of surprised though. Yeah. Um, that was nice. So yeah, we got, that's a, um, Oh five, 2.5 RS wagon. So that's why the parts were able to go on our Oh four sedan.

[00:18:19] Um, and then we were supposed to scrap the body, but that didn't happen. Cause my husband's like, well, since we have it, we could rebuild it and be an autocross car. Yeah. So we have that. And then a year ago on mother's day weekend, I'm not sure how it happened. My husband ended up with a 2011 FTI. So I got a card for mother's day. He got a car. Hey, father's day isn't that much further away. Come on, buddy. Yeah. So he got his, his dream one that he wanted.

[00:18:49] It's that rare purple color. It's the hatch one. Um, so, uh, he's, he's quite happy with that car, but now he's talking about modding it cause he can't leave anything alone. Um, and then my, my daily is my 23 outback. Um, it's lifted by King Springs from primitive and, uh, modded out, uh, conservatively cause I have a warranty. What trim level is that one? Um, so it's a premium.

[00:19:17] Everyone thinks it's an onyx because I blacked everything out when I got it. Yeah. So, um, my buddy Brad, uh, I had him make custom, uh, vinyl for my pillars with, cause at the time you couldn't get black on black, uh, topography vinyl. You couldn't buy it. So he did my pillars and black on black. And then I was like, how much to, uh, wrap the Chrome? And he's like, Oh, about 400 bucks. And I'm like, now figure it out about an hour into it. I was like, I know why they charge 400 bucks.

[00:19:48] Yeah. I did it. Yeah. I want to go back a little bit. So when did you get the very first Subaru again? The O5? Um, so the O5 we got in 2006, I want to say. Okay. So it was, yeah, it was right before what we call Snowmageddon happened here. Oh yeah. I guess that was good timing then, huh? Yeah.

[00:20:13] So like you went from, uh, who drives a Subaru to now having all these Subarus. So did you, so having that O5, so you went from like having that to, I mean, did you immediately start liking Subaru after having that? Or did it take a while for you to be like, Oh, maybe I want some more Subarus. Um, so Snowmageddon hit like six months after we bought that car and nobody was getting anywhere

[00:20:39] because we had so much snow and I had just started a second job up the street at Safeway. And so Sean, I don't drive in snow. I hate driving in snow. Um, I don't trust other people, which is the problem. Um, the, the FXT, they gave us BlizzX with it and we were the only people out on the road, except for one day there was a Tesla, which I thought was odd, but now I don't know. I get it. Uh, and so we, every day we were out driving around down like through town and he was bringing

[00:21:08] me back and forth to work and like never, like you tried to make it slip and everything and nothing like we just went. Um, at one point, one of the nights that I worked, it was literally the manager and me doing the whole store Safeway because we were the only two people that can make it. I know you can make it to work. You're not skipping out on me. Yeah. I was like, as long as he's driving, I'll be there. Yeah. Yeah. So we have a lot of hills by us.

[00:21:34] So, um, and they all get shut down because people like they get, um, they get stuck on it and they slide off. And actually like we're the corner house in our development. So our whole, like our friends and our neighbors in the development, we play a game when it snows because you have to go around the corner by our house and up just to like the small little hill in front of our house. But every year we end up with cars in our yard. And so the game is how many cars will be in Melissa's yard.

[00:22:00] And I usually just go out after I watch them go up and slide down a few times. I'll walk out the house and be like, Hey, you want to just park here? Yeah. And then they just park in my yard. Um, one time I had to tell Sean like, Hey, when you get home, you got to park in the yard cause the driveway is full. And he's like, what? Because we don't own that many cars. And I was like, we have other people's cars. Yeah. It's, uh, I mean, we don't get, we don't get any snow here in Houston like that. So I don't, you know, I haven't experienced anything like that. Yeah.

[00:22:29] So I kind of fell in love with them, like just cause we could get around and go everywhere. And then the more research, um, I did, I was like, man, these cars are actually really safe. Um, and then when I got the Ascent or I test drove the Ascent, it had the turbo and, um, um, the 444 gearing, which was great for off-roading, uh, probably not what Subaru intended for the Ascent, uh, um, but it works perfect.

[00:22:57] Uh, and yeah, so just kind of escalated after that. And then, you know, when we got into rally cross, we noticed like how many Subarus were being raced and we're like, and they're like Legos, you know, you can just take parts from other Subarus and they just go right on for the most part. So. Yeah. I don't know much about like swapping parts and building Subarus and stuff like that. Cause I'm still on my first one and I love it, but you know, having so many different

[00:23:23] people on here talking about Subarus being kind of like Legos and being able to just swap parts. And that's, that's really cool. I mean, it makes it, that makes it easy whenever you're trying to modify something and you've got like parts from another one that you can pull off and just, you know, swap. So, uh, yeah, it's good stuff. So how many do you currently have right now with all the ones you have had? Uh, we have five currently. Um, four run.

[00:23:53] Do you still have the ascent? No, no. So I got the outback because the ascent went through two CVTs and 102,000 miles. Um, I, other than that, I had the 19, which was the first year, um, and they had a lot of problems. Um, and you know, it was the first year with that engine and everything. I love my ascent. I wish I still had an ascent.

[00:24:20] I miss the size, especially for overlanding and all the gear and everything. Um, I've acquired so much gear that when I keep it in the outback, I can't go grocery shopping, which I mean, I'm driving a station wagon, so that shouldn't be a problem. Um, but yeah, I, I miss the ascent, but no, I have the lifted outback that I run. Yeah. And, uh, how many, like when you got that outback, did you buy that one new?

[00:24:47] Um, so I bought it with 12,000 miles on it. Okay. Um, and I bought it the week before I had surgery on my foot. So it sat for about six months cause I wasn't allowed to drive. Um, and I'm at 69,000 miles and I've had it for two years as of April. Okay. That's pretty good. It's a lot of miles. It's been in like six different States already. Oh, wow. Yeah. That's pretty good. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:25:14] I, uh, I laugh when people have really low mileage on their cars that are older than mine. Cause I have 146,000 miles on a 21. Yeah. And I mean, a lot of my miles do come from like local mileage just because I drive around a lot, but like, so for example, today after we record this, I'm going to my cousin's house to change my oil. I'm going to change my oil there, uh, with my son. He's going to change the oil on his outback.

[00:25:43] And that's like a little bit over an hour away. I don't know how many miles it is, but for a round trip, it's, you know, it's pretty decent. And we go up, we've been up to his house a lot. And then my daughter was going to school in Arkansas. So I drove my car out there a few times. I drove it to Colorado for my first off-roading trip and vacation. And, you know, we drove all around there when, while we were there and we took kind of the long way getting there and the long way getting back.

[00:26:11] And then I've driven up to Madison, Wisconsin and back. And then I've driven to, uh, Oklahoma city. Cause for my old job that I was working at, I, uh, had to do something in, um, I had to do something in Oklahoma, but also had to do something North of Dallas the day before that. So I had like back to back trips. So I just drove, you know, I'm like, there's no reason to fly. And then I've driven back and forth to Dallas to visit my girlfriend like countless times.

[00:26:41] So, but you know, So your car's a, have seen a few places too then? Yeah. Yeah. And I've been to Louisiana too. Cause I had to drive out there for work. And then, uh, where else have I been? I think that's the only, I mean, and then, you know, like drove through, um, I think we drove through a little bit of New Mexico on the way to Colorado maybe, but yeah, it's, it's been around a little bit.

[00:27:04] Uh, unfortunately only about, I'd say like maybe 15% of my mileage is off-road mileage because we just don't have a whole lot around here. But, uh, you know, I am thankful to have like the Colorado trip was my favorite just because we got to drive it up in the mountains and, you know, on trails up in the mountains. And that was a lot of fun. So very thankful for that. Just wish I could do that more. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:27:33] We're kind of blessed to have mountains nearby for us. So it's nice to get up and get away from everybody. Yeah. I mean, for us to get to any kind of mountains, it's at least like maybe 12 hours or something like that. And, but that's a drive. Yeah. I mean, cause if I had mountains like two hours away, I'd probably be there every weekend. You know, I would drive the two hours to be in the mountains. That would be totally worth it.

[00:27:58] But, you know, I live where I live and I'm okay with that. Yeah. It's good to go visit other places. You have to get out and visit. Yeah. I mean, like when we, when I went to Overland Expo, I, I rented a, uh, Forester wilderness from Gresham Subaru near Portland and I got to drive that off road. So at least I was driving a Subaru, even though it wasn't mine, but I still get to experience driving off road when I go, go to these events. That's good.

[00:28:28] Yeah. So, uh, like what, uh, what all have you done to that Outback? Cause I know you said you've lifted it and, uh, but like what, uh, what are the, ah, what other modifications have you done to it? Um, so again, it's pretty conservative because I have the warranty on it. Um, so I have the, the one and a quarter inch King spring overload springs on there. Um, I added an additional three quarter inch spacer, uh, primitive racing spacer in

[00:28:58] the rear, um, because I knew I wanted a tire swing on the back. I borrowed my buddies for one of my ladies only trips and my rear diff, uh, skid plate. Thank you. Primitives saved my rear diff because with the extra weight in the back, like, um, I have videos of it. It's, it's screwed. It's like, it's so scratched and dented. Like I know exactly which rock I hit that sucker on and where I was in, uh, Eastern Oregon.

[00:29:25] Um, and so I was like, oh, I need an extra lift. So when I get my, my own tire swing, I don't do that again. Um, problem is, is I just got my own tire swing and it's a lot heavier than the one I borrowed. So I have, um, I, even though I have the additional lift on the rear, it looks like I have less of a lift on the rear. Um, so I was actually talking with Patrick, uh, Anderson from ADF last night.

[00:29:52] I was texting with him and I got to send him some measurements to see what we can do about that. Cause at the overwind expo, um, I went from this cheap $90 Walmart tent is leaking water to, Oh, I guess I'm buying a rooftop tent. So now I have a rooftop tent, which is another, you know, 150 pounds. So I was like, I need to fix this suspension a little bit. So we're going to see what we can't figure out. Um, so I got the King Springs, the additional spacer.

[00:30:18] I have the triple, uh, armor protection from primitive as well. Um, uh, I have most everything else is not like suspension related. It's things like, you know, ditch lights and trail lights for safety when we're operating. Um, I am onboard air. I have an ARB air compressor in my engine and nobody. So my year is the 23. It was the year of the facelift for the Outbacks. Okay.

[00:30:46] So a lot of the mods that I'm finding, they stop at 22 and they start again at 24 and they bypass my year. So I can't even find a hidden winch mount for my car because nobody makes one to fit the 23 premium. They make it for the 23 wilderness, but they're not the same. And so when I got that air compressor, the only mount that was on the market was for the 23 wilderness, which has more space in the engine bay than mine.

[00:31:16] So, um, Patrick at ADF, he actually, like I drove up there and he custom, I did his scanner tool thing and, um, made a custom, uh, bracket for my car. Very nice. Um, and so I was really grateful that he did that because otherwise I had this, you know, air compressor. I couldn't use the way I wanted it to use. I bought it because I was tired of carrying extra gear inside my car. I just wanted it in the engine. So it was always there and like not taking up space.

[00:31:43] Um, and so he did that and now he'll sell them. Like he doesn't have them listed on his website, but if anybody needs one, he can make you one for any year. That's cool. And you know, y'all are very blessed to have people like that up in your corner of the world. And cause like, we don't have people like that down here, you know, I'm in Houston and like, like people that live near Milton and Carrie, they're like, Oh, I'm going to, I need to swap my engine. Oh, okay. Just come over and we'll help you do it.

[00:32:11] You know, or I need to change out my transmission. And, you know, there's just, there's a lot of people up there that have a lot of resources that where they can help each other out. And like, I just don't have that here. If I, if I need to do some kind of. You know, engine modification, like I'm going to have to change out my clutch. Cause the, with 146,000 miles, I'm still on the original clutch. And so I just don't have, I mean, I could probably do it at my cousin's house where I'm going today, but he doesn't have a lift.

[00:32:39] So we would have to just, you know, put it up on ramps. And I mean, that would be a lot of work. That would be like, you know, it's, there's not that there's not much room under there, even with that. So I have to take it to a shop and I have to pay, you know, a crap ton of money. For all of that stuff. So y'all are very blessed. Yeah. We don't have a lift. We don't even have a garage here. So like when my husband rebuilt the engine and his FXT, he did it out in the driveway with it jacked up.

[00:33:09] And the engine actually sat in my house for almost a year as he rebuilt it. Cause we just bought parts as we could afford them and pay cash for it. And, you know, we got a type RA block and all the forge rods and pistons and like, it's heavily modified. Our, our 20 year old drives it now. Um, but yeah, he literally did all that in our living room. Yeah. I remember you said at the expo that you came home one day and there was an engine in your living room. On my custom table. Yeah. So I was like, what are you doing?

[00:33:38] And he's like, I put a blanket down that year for Christmas. I have pictures of him opening Christmas gifts, sitting on a stack of tires. I give up. Yeah. There's a woman that lives here in Houston. Her name's Larissa and her, uh, account is, um, rod knock W R X and it's R O D K N C K. And then I think it's underscore W R X.

[00:34:08] But anyway, yeah, it is. Uh, yeah. R O D K N C K underscore W R X. She has. I wrote it down. Yeah. She has plenty of reels on her Instagram account with parts throughout her entire house. I mean, they have like, they have an engine stand in their living room that like permanently has an engine on it practically. And then she has like all these shelves in her house and there's like turbos in there.

[00:34:35] Cause they have a lot that most, all their cars are pretty much like, uh, tuners and they do a lot of their own work. And they, I think they have like seven Subarus that they own and they have like two in the garage, four in the driveway. And then the other three are like stored somewhere else. But yeah, they got me beat. Yeah. When Sean had to pull the engine a second time and the FXT, um, cause the bull kept shearing

[00:35:03] off on the attentioner for the pulley system. And that's how we ended up with the type RA block. I was like, Oh, you know, here we are. Uh, but I walked back in the house and I saw it when I got home from work and I was like, Oh no, I've seen this game before. It's like, here we go again. Yeah. We have the cherry picker still in there. Like, uh, yeah. Hey, gotta do what you gotta do.

[00:35:28] Uh, and he, like when we, um, got that chip box Forrester, um, it was going to snow and he was like, Hey, I'm going to put the lift on. And it was the only car at the time that had the snow tires on it because the Forrester, the FXT was down. So we couldn't run it. And he's like, it'll be real fast. And he like famous last words, um, didn't realize that because it was a 99 and it had been sitting forever that everything was rusted.

[00:35:57] So he couldn't get everything off. And then I was like, Oh, if only we had a car with snow tires, we could be driving right now. Um, but it was leading up to Christmas and Patrick from ADF, um, like he couldn't, Sean couldn't figure out how to get a part on. And he's like, you know, call me, here's my number. And I was like, it's Christmas Eve. I don't want to bug you on Christmas Eve. And he's like, just call. And he like walked Sean through it. And I'm like, that's great customer service.

[00:36:25] You know, like, like he didn't have to do that. So we are really blessed to have people like Patrick and, um, primitive who were like, Hey, just bring it down. Like, we'll, we'll fix that for you. And then, you know, just the people in the community, Milton, Carrie, um, uh, Torsten, they all like, I just drove an hour to Olympia. So that way he could do the wiring for my Midland radio. Cause I don't mess with electrical stuff and neither does Sean. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I leave that to other people. Yeah.

[00:36:55] I mean, even though we don't have, you know, people that can physically help us like that, the community is so good about if you have questions, cause I, I know people that have been in one state and they're talking to somebody else in another state where they're like, Hey, I've, you know, they had been talking to somebody about doing something. They're like, Oh yeah, this is what you do. And then they get there and then I'm like, I still need a little help and be like, Oh yeah, just FaceTime me and I'll help you out. And, uh, cause like my, uh, my son's out back.

[00:37:23] He, I think whenever you said that the bolt sheared off of the tensioner system, I think that may be what happened to my sons because his, uh, he was like, my belt just came off and there was like little shards of metal, like all over the place inside the engine compartment. And, uh, but before that he was driving and he said, there's smoke coming from underneath my engine or my hood.

[00:37:47] And so he stopped, opened it up and it was like the, um, AC discharge hose had split and it was like spraying. Oh yeah. Everywhere. Yeah. Yeah. And so I was like, Milton, can you call Luke and have him fake? Can you FaceTime him and see if you can see what's going on? So he, uh, you know, he didn't know exactly what it was, but he, Luke was kind of showing him what was going on and what Milton like, you know, assessed was do not drive that car.

[00:38:16] So we, uh, we had it towed and then me and Luke got a new discharge hose and then, oh, and then I talked to, um, Redneck with Tech. We called Jacob because we were like, Hey, this is what's going on. And then he was leaving me voice messages of like, do this and do this. And you don't need to take this off. You just need to move it a little bit. And so like with his help, we were able to get the discharge hose on and not have to do a bunch of extra work.

[00:38:43] So yeah, even though we don't have access physically to people that can help us out, there's always somebody in the community. So if you're listening to this and you ever have any issues, there are a lot of people out there that will be willing to help you because people aren't going to be like, no, screw you. Just figure it out. You know, people are so helpful and that's like one of the best things about this community aside from all us all just loving our Subarus and enjoying driving them. You know, there's just such great support. Yeah, no, somebody is always willing to help.

[00:39:13] When I got my ascent and I wanted to run, um, ditch lights and everything up to a switch panel inside the cabin, um, I couldn't figure out, uh, how to do it. And so Subaru ambassador Robert, who lives, I think in like New York area. He's helpful too. Very. Yes. Like he literally was like, call me. And so I called him and my friend, uh, Brandon, um, who's an electrician, he was doing all of it. And he walked, Robert walked him through how to get through the firewall and the easiest

[00:39:42] way to get it in and everything. Um, so yeah, even if they're not local, there's somebody in this community that's willing to help. Yeah. And it was because of him and Paolo who goes by, um, man, I'm having a hard time with these, uh, rally XT or rally trick. Uh, both of them, they helped me know that it, the sound that I was hearing was my, um, viscous coupling that was blown out.

[00:40:09] And then, so Paolo, like, he was like, oh, that's that happened to me too. And so, and then Robert was the one that told me like, no, you don't need a whole new transmission. Like the shop is telling you this, you just need this. This is what it takes. It's easy to change out. You just like take the drive shaft out the back of the transmission, slide the old viscous coupling out, put the new one in, put everything back, put fluid in it and you're good to go. You don't need a whole new transmission.

[00:40:35] And so like that really, and then he gave me a link to like an online Subaru store that he buys parts from. And he was like, tell them that I sent you. And so I did. I mean, it's just like, there's just so many great resources out there. It's, it's, it's really cool. Yeah. We've owned a lot of cars. Like when we swapped a Subaru, our, we had three Fords in our driveway. We've owned multiple Chevys, uh, a few Dodges that I don't like to talk about.

[00:41:02] Um, uh, I've had an Oldsmobile, um, several Hondas. And I gotta say the Subaru community, like it steps it up to a whole new level. Yeah. It's, uh, it's just, it's great. And, and then we have Subaru of America putting together events like at Overland Expo. So you probably didn't get that with Ford, Chevy, Honda, or Dodge. Nope. No. And, and Joe from SOA, he gives me a hard time.

[00:41:30] I've been banned from saying the word Toyota around him. Um, but he knows my dream car since high school would be a Toyota Tacoma. And like, I want to, but I'm also like, you know, I'm not going to get this same, like, experiences and everything in the Toyota community that I get with my Subaru. Exactly. Yeah. And shout out to Joe. Cause he's awesome. He's, you know, he's not the only person that is, you know, doing this, but it's kind

[00:41:56] of like, like Overland, being at Overland Expo is kind of like, you know, his, his project and his baby, which all started with you, which we talked about. Yeah. Well, yeah. Not, not just me, but yes, I was one of the original ones there and I gathered some friends and then Troy had a friend there too. Um, and we, you know, started in a small little spot that was only big enough for a pop-up canopy.

[00:42:22] And I mean, for those of us who were here the last two years, you've seen how it's grown and they're already looking at bigger for next year, which blows my mind, but it's so awesome to see and just kind of sit back and watch it all. Yeah. And thank you for going and doing that because, uh, you and the other people are the ones that got this started. Yeah, it was, uh, it was hot. I think that was the hottest year yet that year. And I was still on crutches from my surgery.

[00:42:46] Like I was semi mobile, but, um, Dan, uh, I think this goes by WRX, uh, six, nine, eight or something like that on Instagram. Um, he was there this weekend with the WRX with delivery on the side. That was nice. Um, he came with me actually, and he was fabulous that weekend and he walked around and got me all the free swag and then like would go get my food for me. I thought so bad. Like my husband didn't go, but he came.

[00:43:14] He was, he like did everything and even did a giveaway for a free shirt and came back and gave it to me. Like I didn't ask him to do that. So he's, um, he's a good friend and he was a great help. And I'm glad that he was able to make it out again this year because he couldn't go last year. So he could see how big it had grown since the first year we did it. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it was, it's an amazing event. So, uh, yeah. So I know you live in Washington now, but have you always like reborn there? Is that where you've always lived or have you lived, did you start off somewhere else?

[00:43:44] So I was born in Glendale, California. Um, but my family moved up here to Washington when I was five. Um, so I've mostly been in Washington pretty much my whole life. I'm 42 now. Um, so I always joke that you can't take the California out of someone though, because I roll stop signs and my husband's like, you only lived there for five years. You weren't even driving then. No, I wasn't. But I don't know. It worked. It sounds good to me.

[00:44:14] Um, so, uh, yeah, I've pretty much been in Washington. My husband's, um, retired Navy. Uh, so despite him being in the Navy for 21 years, um, and we've been married for all of his Navy career, um, uh, we never left Washington. Okay. So, um, we have two, yeah, we have two boys and they both are, um, on the autism spectrum,

[00:44:42] um, higher functioning, uh, with other special needs for the youngest one. Um, and so the military has a program they call exceptional family member programs. So they base you in categories off of severity for how many like specialists you need. And they were the highest level because autism at that time automatically got you the highest level. So they just kept us in Washington. So sometimes like Sean had to commute, like I was saying when he had that Ford ST, he had

[00:45:09] to commute through rush hour on I five, he had like an hour and a half commute each way. Wow. Um, which sucked, but it kept us here. So we didn't have to change doctor, a specialist schools and all that kind of stuff. And my family's here for support, which is nice. Um, the farthest we ever had to move was would be Island, uh, which is about three hours from here. Um, and that took some getting used to and the boys, like I, we only had our oldest at the time.

[00:45:37] And then I had my youngest when we lived up there, but before he turned two, we were back over on this side of the water. Um, so yeah, pretty much all in Washington. So my husband's from Montana, but so we go there every year, but we're, we're, we're here local. Yeah. I still, I still want to make it out to Montana at some point I've seen. Oh, you should. It's beautiful. Yeah. So that don't happen. It's a big sky country. Yeah.

[00:46:04] So in your, in your current outback, is that the one you said that has been in five different states? Um, yeah. So, well, my ascent went through a lot of states too. Um, but yeah, the, the outbacks in five or six, I just went through four states in five days, two weeks ago, um, on a road trip that I led. Yeah. So talk about that. Cause you were talking about it at Overland Expo. So you kind of mentioned it briefly, but I heard you talking to, talking to other people about it.

[00:46:33] So that's, that was, that was the all women's trip, right? That you put together. Oh no, that was the different one. Um, well, yeah. So talk about both those trips then, but talk about the one you did a few weeks ago and then, and then you could talk about the other one. Cause that one's really interesting. Um, so the one I did a few weeks ago, uh, I got with, um, I kind of wanted to hit up national parks. Um, and I know that Subaru America partners with the national park, uh, foundation and one

[00:47:03] of my buddies, Caleb, who I met last summer and we hit up a few national parks, him and Lyndon, Sean and I, again, a very long distance. We drove over a very short time. Cause that's what our schedule is allowed. Um, he had mentioned always wanting to go to Glacier national park. My mother-in-law lives 15 minutes outside of that Glacier national park. So I've been a whole bunch of times, but I was like, yeah, we can make that happen in a weekend. And he's like a weekend.

[00:47:29] And I was like, okay, well, we will extend it a little longer. So then I made the event and, um, there's ended up being 13 cars counting mine and 16 people counting me. Uh, so everybody's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I made a group chat and I was like, Hey, you guys, we're not going to be that far from Yellowstone for once we're at Glacier. And they're like, well, what's not far?

[00:47:57] And I go six and a half hours. It's not far for me, but maybe for other people. No, I'm thinking they're all going to be like, yeah, no. Right. And, but I was like, I also had already looked at the drive back. So it was six and a half hours from Glacier to Yellowstone, but the drive back home, because we take a different route, it only added two hours onto our trip home. So I was like, but it only adds two hours. So everybody instantly was like, I'm game. And I'm kind of like flabbergasted. Cause I'm like, really?

[00:48:25] These people are like, some of them strangers are like, yeah, I'll drive an extra six and a half hours. Oh, so there was, so there was people you didn't even know in this, in this event. Oh, wow. Yep. I thought it was like all people that you knew. No, no. And we've gone on a few camping trips since then too. And we have another one next week. So, um, we form bonds quickly around here. Uh, so we, um, we're heading out to the trip and then Caleb, the one who originally was

[00:48:54] like, I want to do Glacier National Park was like, you know, once we're at Yellowstone, we're not that far from the Grand Teton. Well, where are we going to go? We're going to end up halfway across the country on this trip. At this point, we only have five days. Um, so we fit it in. We did just over 2,300 miles, four states, three national parks in five days. Um, our last day driving home, it was 16 hours for me in the car to get home on that

[00:49:24] last day. I know what that's like. Yes. Yes. Uh, I actually may have gone above speed limit once I got to Eastern Washington. I looked at the ferry schedule and I was like, if I go and I don't stop, I can make that ferry and I can at least rest for about 40 minutes before the last half hour drive home. And so I did, I made it barely, but I made it. Um, thank goodness the ferries were running behind. Uh, so yeah, that was a fun trip.

[00:49:53] We, we hit up Glacier. Unfortunately, most of Glacier was closed, um, because of snow. So the good part going to the Sun Road was closed. So I felt bad that the ones who had never been didn't get to experience like what I think is the best part. Way to go, Melissa. Gosh. I know. Cause I can control the weather. Not my first run in with that. I did a mud run years ago and it's now known as the no mud mud run. There was no mud, which apparently was also my fault.

[00:50:21] Um, but we did, if you ever go to Montana and you hit up Glacier National Park, there's Pole Bridge Mercantile Shop, which is just outside of the park, uh, the West Central side. Um, they make amazing fresh Huckleberry bear claws. Um, so I actually called in cause I'd been bragging about them to everybody that was going. And then my coworkers, some of them knew about it too. So I called and pre-ordered 32 bear claws. Um, nice. Well, that's good. They were very grateful. Yeah.

[00:50:51] They were very grateful. I called them pre-ordered because they are a small shop. Um, but yeah, I have a picture of me outside the Mercantile Shop with like three big brown bags. You gotta have these things. Yeah. You have to get them. Uh, if you're going there, it's definitely a must. The road's kind of long and gravel and sometimes it's rutted, but it's, you know, it was pretty well paved or like graded.

[00:51:17] Um, so it was smooth this trip, but Huckleberry bear claws from Pole Bridge is where it's at. Um, so we did that and then we actually stopped at one of the falls there. And as we pulled up, um, there's these guys in front of pickup truck and they were in camo. They were skinning wild turkeys, which is illegal. Like you can't poach in national parks and nor can you poach outside of national parks and bring it into the national parks.

[00:51:43] And one of the people with us, she's a park ranger and her eyes got so big. So we were like, uh, we went and took pictures of the waterfall and hanging out and then I come back up and she's like laying on the ground. Cause their tailgates up and they're like trying to hide these turkeys on the side of the car, but they kind of can't. Cause you know, 13 of us rolled in and surrounded their car in this pullout. Um, and so she's laying down on the ground acting like she's taking pictures of our cars,

[00:52:10] but she's getting the license plate underneath the, uh, tailgate, you know, like pictures of them and whatnot. And then they actually offered to help her up into the bed of their truck to get a better view of the cars to take a picture. Oh, thank you. Yeah. And she got up and she was taking pictures of the inside the trucks and like all that stuff. And then we went and reported them and had to file a report and turn over our like pictures and dash cam footage and all that stuff.

[00:52:39] So they're like, this is a huge deal. They're like, thank you for letting us know. So we did our good deed. Yeah. Um, get those guys out of here. Yeah. So I joked with Joe, I was like, so since we did such a good deed, I was like, was that mean you'll help, uh, support us, um, for future national park trips? And he's like, yes. So I actually have another one in the works that I don't want to talk about too much, but it'll be within the next year and it's going to be pretty epic. So I'll get back to you when I get more things finalized. Yeah. That's super cool.

[00:53:09] Yeah. It's, uh, it's great that Subaru supports the community so much and that they do a lot of things for us, you know? Uh, but yeah. Yeah. So with, with that trip that y'all were doing, was it just like driving through these places or did y'all do like, cause you went to the waterfall, you said, but we all like hiking and obviously you're camping overnight. So like what were any of the activities I guess that you were doing besides just driving to these places?

[00:53:35] Um, so I wanted to make sure that everybody in every car, cause some cars had, uh, two people in it, saw at least one thing they wanted to see at each park we went to. So we were literally cramming a lot of stuff into a short amount of time. So most days we were waking up at three, four in the morning to be gone by 5 AM. Um, so we didn't do really any like big hikes.

[00:54:02] We did a short little trail hike when we were, um, by the waterfalls in Yellowstone. Um, a lot of it was just, Hey, what did you want to go see? Like what site, like, was it the, um, Grand Prism basins? And Yellowstone or was it, you know, one of the, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone? Me, I just wanted to see Buffalo. I'd never seen Buffalo in real life. And when I saw it, my eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. And I was like, Buffalo. Yeah.

[00:54:32] That's so cool. And then Christina, the park ranger, she's like, actually they're bison. So the whole trip has been, was Buffalo, bison, buffalo. No, they're bison. Yeah. I was like, I didn't say water buffalo. They're buffalo. Um, so like for me, it was really watching everybody have these experiences. And that was what I was in it for. Um, and to know that I was able to be a part of these memories and help them do something that they may not get to do.

[00:55:01] Yeah. That's fun. So we saw a lot of waterfalls. We saw Buffalo, um, elk. Uh, we saw grizzly bear our first day in Yellowstone. That was pretty cool. Um, we, four of us did go in Montana. We did go off-roading. We asked some locals that we found at Pole Bridge, actually, they were on side-by-sides, um, where to go that we could make it. Because Montana, you know, there's a lot of rough areas. And I'm like, okay, you know, some of us aren't lifted very much or don't have proper

[00:55:31] protection. So I'm like, what can we do? And they sent us up this road. Um, and we were literally all the way up on the top of this mountain ridge overlooking the whole area, um, down on the National Forest. It was, it was pretty cool. Um, and luckily I had gotten my Midland radio hardwired into my car before the trip. Uh, Torsten did it for me because we were all the way up there on top of the mountains

[00:55:58] and the rest of our group, um, was already back at camp in the forest. And it was a 46 mile minute drive down to them because I was Google mapping it, but they were able to catch me on the radio. And they're like, Melissa, you got a copy? And I was like, yeah. And I didn't know who was talking at first. And they're like, uh, a storm's coming in and you're about to get screwed. And I was like, what? And I turned around and you just saw like gray and wind, like coming right at us and like

[00:56:26] fog rolled in. And I looked at everybody because they couldn't hear on their little handhelds. They weren't picking them up and they're like, what's going on? And I was like, we're going to get screwed. I may have used a different word, but yeah, we got to go. And so they looked and they're like, yep. So, um, luckily reception with those 50 watt radios was quite clear and we were able to make it down before the storm. Um, there was another lightning storm coming in and we were literally up there with the, uh, one of those cell towers. Yeah, let's get out of here.

[00:56:56] And I was like, yeah, let's go. Well, it's good that y'all made it out because it's not like it's a paved road. You can just book it out of there. You know, you gotta, you gotta take your time. There was a parts that I was like, man, if these get wet, it's going to get real fun, real fast going down. So luckily, luckily we made it out before the rain picked up. Um, we, we kind of like didn't make out in the weather department on that trip.

[00:57:22] My father-in-law actually called, uh, Sean and cause again, they live out there. And, um, he was like, you guys aren't coming to Montana this weekend, are you? And he's like, I stayed behind once they added more parks because I didn't want to sit in the car that long. He goes, but Melissa's out there with the group. And he goes, oh, this is like the worst weather that we've had. Oh my gosh. And I was like, yeah, we literally rolled into Montana with lightning all around us. So I bet that was kind of cool looking though. Yeah. I got some cool videos and shots.

[00:57:51] I still haven't gone through all my photos and pictures and stuff from that trip yet. Cause it's just been a whirlwind with that. And then, um, the expo and a camping trip was in between those two and now I'm getting ready for another camping trip. So one day I'll catch up. Um, and I start my new position at work on the 13th. So, um, but yeah, eventually pictures and stuff will roll out from that trip. But yeah, I think everybody got to do something they wanted to do at every single park that we went to that.

[00:58:19] The T-Cons really were, we, we went in, we saw, um, Christina got us hooked on those little passport books that you get stamped. And so we're like, we just need to get our passports. So we went to the business center, um, got them stamped, saw the Tetons. That was actually the most perfect weather we'd had all week. Um, and then we left and went back through Yellowstone and explored some more and then went back to camp for the night. Nice. So, um, some of it was quick, but everybody got to do something and we got to hit, you

[00:58:47] know, all the, the big, um, touristy spots. So that's good. And I saw Buffalo. Yeah. Bison. Yeah. When you say Tetons, it makes me think of my wheels because I have Riker wheels and the style that I have, they're called the Tetons. Oh, nice. Yeah. But I like them. I'd like to see the real Tetons sometime. That would be cool. Yeah. It was beautiful. Like, um, I think if it would have been the weather that we had in Yellowstone, cause we had snow in Yellowstone. Oh.

[00:59:16] Um, and one night it got down to like 32 degrees. Um, so if it would have been like that, Tetons would have been kind of a bust because we wouldn't have been able to see them. Yeah. But the day that we skirted outside of Yellowstone to go there, it was beautiful. So. Yeah. So with, is that the longest distance you've driven like all at once in your outback? No. Oh, really? In the outback, yes. In the outback, yes. Gotcha. Okay. The ascent I did longer. So. Okay.

[00:59:44] Um, so tell us about this other trip that you did. Cause that's, that was, that was hearing about that one too, which is pretty cool. Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, a few years ago when I had stolen my ascent, um, I wanted to do a women's only event, um, with my super group to be adventure club that I run with friends. And, but I'm always one of those people where I'm like, I don't want to exclude people. So I hate doing like a ladies only.

[01:00:12] Cause I feel like I'm excluding and I shouldn't be excluding. And then I was like, you know what? I'm just going to do it. I'm going to, I'm going to do this. Um, so I got ahold of Kim who used to run, uh, help run the group with us. Now she's got a Toyota and I was like, Hey, this is what I want to do. I want to do a women's only event. Um, you know, this is a man's world. We like it, it, it isn't, but it's still seen as that.

[01:00:37] And so I know as a female, we can often be intimidated and feel like, you know, I can't do this. I don't know how to do this. And then you throw in the off-roading aspect and you're getting, well, what if I break something and I'm out on a trail? How do I fix it? Um, a radio, what do you mean a radio? Like there's all these extra things that go into it and it can be intimidating and not everybody's like me where I'm like, you know what? I'm just going to figure it out.

[01:01:06] And do these things. So I wanted to empower women so that way they could see that they could do this too. Like, it's not just for men. Um, so I made an event, uh, Kim and I did and, um, 10 women showed up. Only three of us had ever met before. Um, and all of them said the same thing that, you know, my husband at one point had said, like, you're going to meet strangers and you're going to follow them up into the woods for three days. Um, and I was like, you know, it's funny when you're young, your parents tell you like, don't talk to strangers.

[01:01:36] And here I am meeting strangers in the woods. We do that all the time in this community. You know, it's like you talk to somebody. Yeah. You talk to somebody online. I mean, it could be like somebody you've been talking to for a year and, you know, and you feel like you really know them. It could be somebody you've been talking to for a week. Yeah. And it's like, you just happened to find out, oh, they live in this spot. Like, oh, I have to go there for work. Let's meet up. And you've only been talking for a week or a few days and it's like, hey, how's it going? And give each other a big hug. And, oh, it's so cool to see you.

[01:02:05] And I met you online. Yep. Yep. I was like, man, we didn't listen to what our parents said at all. So, yeah, 10 women, three dogs, counting my little puppy. We loaded up and Kim actually found the spot. It was this on top of a ridge around Notch's Peak Loop area, kind of a secret little hidden gem. And we made our we stopped at some waterfalls on the way up and then made our way up the mountain.

[01:02:34] And like the pictures are amazing because the sunset up there was gorgeous. The weather was gorgeous. We had a giant cookout. Like we had pre-planned like what food we were going to eat. And so everybody brought something to contribute to the meal. And we just like hung out and talked and told stories, then talked about experiences not only with cars, but just in life. And we really bonded and had, you know, such a good time.

[01:03:03] And there was no judgment. You know, we just like everybody, we had some new people that were pretty stock. We had some we actually had one in a Jeep. And so we, you know, we just kind of bonded over the night. And, you know, we went over, hey, you know, if this happens, what would you do? And like went over recovery stuff and all that kind of info. And then on the way down the next morning, we were going to go to a different area to go to a fire lookout.

[01:03:31] And Keisha in her forester wilderness, she actually caught a stick in her sidewall while we were driving over wets that weren't level. Yeah. And it was flatter than flat. Like there was no fixing it and there was no flat ground anywhere. And she was on the rim. And so we're like, well, this is what we're going to do. And so we. A real world experience there. That's, you know, it sucks that that happened. But it's like a great experience for everybody to figure it.

[01:04:01] How do we figure this out? How do we do this? Yep. And so we just kind of went over it and, you know, we delegated. OK, OK, you can do this and then you do this. And then like you make sure this is here and let's put rocks so the cars don't. It doesn't roll because, again, we're like defending and it wasn't level. We had one person recording it so we could post it later. So that way people, they can look back on it. Yeah. And luckily, because it was a wilderness, she had a full size tire because it was a front tire.

[01:04:30] And otherwise you can't put the spare on the donut on the front. We would have had to rotate an extra tire. So we went over all that and then we got her going and we moved on to the fire lookout. And then we had lunch up at the fire lookout and made our way down and went our separate ways. And we're like, that was a lot of fun. Like that. And some of those, like I said, most of us had never met before. And we'd only talked. Some of us had only talked just for that event, like didn't know each other at all.

[01:04:58] So, um, and they came to other like cars and coffee, um, Sarah Beth and, uh, her now husband, they actually went to Montana right after that trip. And she brought me back a bear claw. Nice. And showed up at cars and coffee with it, um, which was amazing. Uh, and so we kind of formed these things and I was like, we should do this every year. So then the following year, um, Keisha does the one who had the forester.

[01:05:27] She does an annual trip with just one friend and hits like the hot springs and around, uh, Eastern Oregon. Um, and so I was like, Hey, can we make this our ladies event for the year? So that was that one. We hit like a whole bunch of hot springs. Um, that one was a lot longer. It was about eight days. So not everybody can make it the whole time, given the length of time. Um, I was an educator at the time, so I had all summer off.

[01:05:56] So I'm like, I could go forever. Uh, and so some people just met us along the way, but we did, uh, the Mercedes meteors hour. Um, in Alvord desert, we stayed up and watched that, um, for two nights. Um, let me tell you three days in 114 degree weather went too much. Never do that again, ever once was enough. Yeah. Um, so yeah, we did that. I didn't, I had one planned for this year and then had to cancel cause my father-in-law

[01:06:25] passed away. So I don't know that I'm going to get to the ladies trip this year, but I have something in the works for next year. So with that first trip, how many nights was it or how many days? Um, the first one, I think we did two nights and we did two nights and three days. So it was just like going to that one spot. Yeah. Yeah. It was just the one main camp spot. And then, um, and then we went to the lookout afterwards and like I said, we've had some waterfalls beforehand.

[01:06:54] So it may have only been one night, but it was, it was a shorter one. So it was basically just to build the community and empower. And a lot of these women that I've met, I've hung out a lot with on other trips and like we have these, you know, bonds now over that one trip and they're going out and doing their own thing too. And like getting more women and people to go out and do things as well. Like, Hey, I did this. You can do it too. So it was pretty cool. That's a great experience.

[01:07:23] So, and then my friend, Justin Nimmo introduced me to Sean Conklin from Subaru of America at big Northwest that year. Um, and told him about that. So Sean entered me into a, um, like a drawing they were doing or a contest they were doing that I didn't know about. And I got this email like, congratulations, you won a free national park pass from this giveaway. And I was like, what giveaway? I didn't know about it. Yeah.

[01:07:51] And then that's how, um, the whole expo thing started. Cause then Sean was like, Hey, we want to do this expo thing. We need to test it out and see if it's even going to be a thing. Um, call some friends and let's make this happen. And that's how the first expo happened. Yeah. That's so cool. Yeah. Thanks. So unfortunately, Justin now drives the Jeep too, but I'll forgive him. Uh, he was the first contact. Uh, well, he had a lifted Tribeca. Oh, that's interesting. Yes.

[01:08:49] Oracle and everything. Female moderator. Actually, we have, uh, one now and plus a spouse. Um, but, uh, I made an event in our Facebook page and was like, Hey, uh, I want to do this women's only event and who wants to come. And then they just started, you know, putting attending. And when it got closer, I'm like, okay, if you're actually coming, let me know. I'm going to make a group chat. And then we made a group chat.

[01:09:16] Cause like part of it, she was, uh, a safety thing. So I didn't want them to have, or be worried about all of our locations and stuff being posted for, you know, hundreds of people to see knowing that it was only going to be women. So we kept everything in a private chat. Uh, once I knew who was coming. So just for safety. Um, and then we showed everything afterwards. Yeah. That's really cool. That's, uh, I mean, that sounds like, you know, everybody had a really good time and

[01:09:46] learned a lot. And like you said, now they're, some of them are going and doing their own things. Yeah. Yeah. It was good. And, um, it's funny to look back on because I, I never led, um, any of our events. I don't, um, like as far as being the lead car, um, I struggled with reading maps. So it was kind of funny that, you know, all these people like, not even just the women's only event, but other events, like people follow me up into the mountains. Yeah. They're depending on you.

[01:10:15] I can't really read maps, but follow me. Yeah. I can't find my way out of what paper bag. So when people would always be like, Hey, I've been here before. And I'm like, you want to leave? And people are always willing to leave. And they're like, sure. So I'm like, okay, go. Um, and then, so I've been working on that. So now I can, I can read a map and I got my tools. Um, so I can actually help, but I'm also like, I don't need to be the lead. I'm not that type of person. Like I'm happy sitting back. And I, I do a lot of photography too.

[01:10:44] Um, and it's really hard to take pictures of other people when you're the first car. Uh, so, um, I always, if somebody wants to lead, I'm like, go for it. But yeah, I've, I've, I've worked really hard on that and I can read a basic map now and find my way out, but kind of funny to begin with. Yeah. I mean, there's nothing wrong with having somebody else lead if they know where they're going. I mean, you know, share the responsibility. Yeah. So on the running joke is how many circles are we going to do? And I'm like, look, when you're in the woods, it all looks the same. Yeah.

[01:11:14] Uh, trees. Oh, bore trees. So you, you live in Washington and you've been to other states and everything. Like if you could live somewhere else, is there anywhere else that you, you know, if, if it, cause I know it's not easy to just pick up and move, but like, if you could pick up and move and it wasn't that big of a deal, is there anywhere else that you've been to or that you know of that you would be like, I could live there? Um, if it wasn't for the winters, I would say Montana. Yeah.

[01:11:42] Um, again, I don't like driving in the snow and they get a lot of snow out there. Um, but yeah, otherwise if it wasn't for that, I'd say Montana. Otherwise I'm happy in Washington. Cause I mean, you drive two hours, you're in the mountains. You drive two hours, you're in the city. You drive two hours the other way. You're at the ocean. Yeah. It's not a bad, not a bad spot to be. Yeah, definitely not. So I, I like my little area that I'm in. So as far as like going and exploring places, is there, is there any place that you know

[01:12:12] of that would be like a bucket list spot that you'd love to drive out to and explore? Colorado. Colorado. I want to go to Colorado. Again, not in the wintertime. Yeah. Colorado's beautiful. Yes. I would love to do Colorado. Um, and then kind of like the Utah, Utah Moab kind of area, um, just for exploring and stuff. That's, that one's a, that's an answer for a lot of people is Moab. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:12:41] Um, but I'm big on the trees and stuff. So I think Colorado would probably, I would probably like it more. Yeah. Colorado's so far been my favorite state that I've been to just because there's like, I've been to Colorado Springs. I've been to, uh, Manitou Springs, which they're pretty close to each other. And then I've been through Denver and then, you know, Denver, you like to the East, it's not, it's kind of flattish. And then to the West is where you start seeing all the mountains.

[01:13:08] Cause like the drive from Denver all the way down to Colorado Springs, like all along the way, you're just, you've got mountains to the West and it's like such a beautiful view. And then I've been to Golden, Colorado, Black Hawk, and just like Aurora. I've been to like the, um, uh, Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park. And it's just a garden of the gods. You know, there's just, there's so much out there. And I know there's like Oregon's beautiful too.

[01:13:36] Um, that's probably like my number two, but I think, and I think Colorado is my number one state just because that's the first state that I went to where I saw like real mountains and I was just like blown away. I mean, just like, how is, how does this exist? You know? And like today, like mountains are my favorite thing I've ever seen on, on this planet. They're just so amazing. Yeah.

[01:14:00] Uh, when we, have you ever been down to like Leslie's Gulch or the, why he's in Oregon? No, no, we, yeah, we've only been, so we stayed in sisters last year and we went like within like an hour and a half of sisters. And so we've been to, and then we've, of course we've been to Portland and then, um, been in Redmond, but that's really the only places that we've been. And so, yeah, if you ever get to drive out that far, it's still a bit of drive from there.

[01:14:28] Um, though, why he's in Leslie's Gulch area at Tucker Creek, it's, it's beautiful. It's just giant, like Canyon lands of like rocks and pillars. And it's, you know, when you're from Washington and this side of Oregon, you're used to seeing like trees and green. And then all of a sudden you're just like engulfed in these big old rock, uh, ridges and you just drive down the Canyon, um, through them all. And it's gorgeous. Yeah. That's beautiful too.

[01:14:55] Like the drive from the drive going from, uh, Portland to Redmond and then Redmond to Portland, you know, that whole drive's just, it's so beautiful. Yes. Yeah. We're definitely in a pretty nice area for all that stuff. Yeah. Very, very blessed. Yes. Uh, so like, I know that you get out and do these trips and everything, but like, I guess from maybe not like every single day, but day to day, but like, if you were just to

[01:15:24] like go out and, you know, local stuff, like who are some of the people that you hang out with and get out with? Or does it vary? It does kind of vary. I was like, I was looking at that question when you sent it to me and I was talking to Sean and he's like, you just grab whoever willing to go. You're like, I'm going, but I don't want to go alone. Maybe something happens. And they're like, who's going? Um, you know, I have my buddy, Chris, uh, if I want to go a little further to the other

[01:15:52] side of the water, Carrie and Milton, Amanda, uh, Lauren, she's out in Oregon, but she's made the drive a few times out this way. Um, Christina, Caleb's in Vancouver. Uh, yeah, basically it's whoever, whoever game, whoever down. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it's good to have people like, I mean, that's good to have like a kind of multitude of people that are willing to go and do stuff. Yeah.

[01:16:20] And I have some friends that I know like, okay, if I'm doing this, their car's not really set up for it. Like they don't have the skids and I don't want to be responsible for, you know, that kind of damage. So like, I'll be like, okay, so they're off the list, but let me ask this person. And I, I don't think I've ever had a day where I'm like randomly on a whim been like, I want to go here and haven't been able to find at least one person. Yeah. So, um, there's, there's plenty of people who are ready to, to hop in and go.

[01:16:49] Um, it was funny cause on the, uh, trip that I just did to the national parks, um, it was really interesting to see who I found out real fast, who were the planners and who were the wing it people. Um, because everyone was like, okay, so I need a schedule. And I was like, yeah, we're going to hop in the car and we're going to drive to Montana. And they're like, what are we going to do? And I'm like, yep, we're going to hop in the car and we're going to drive to Montana.

[01:17:18] And they're like, but there's a schedule. And I was like, that's it. Like, that's the only thing I have pre-planned. Yeah. That's what, that's the schedule. We're driving. Yeah. They're like, I was like, I have three stops that we're making on the way for gas because after a while gas gets sparse. Um, and we did throw an extra stop at Wallace, Idaho, which if you've never been, it's a pretty cool historic town where there's a massive fire that burnt down most of the town a long, long time ago.

[01:17:43] Um, there's a book about it, but I can't recall what it's called, but it's, it's a neat mining town. It's an old mining town. Um, and there's all the like postages and signs right off the freeway that give you the history of it. So it was pretty cool. Um, but otherwise I didn't have a plan and I like, I realized real fast cause we didn't even have a camping spot for the first night in Montana. Like we were literally going to roll in and find a dispersed spot.

[01:18:11] Um, luckily, uh, Patrick found a, like, I mean, it was considered a campground, but we're in the middle of the forest and there really wasn't like our camp coast. She walked out of her trailer, like reeking of weed. Um, and there was nobody else in sight. She's like this 60 year old lady. It was funny. I was like, yep, we're in Montana. Um, so luckily we, we pre booked a site, um, and had that covered.

[01:18:37] So that put some people at ease because that was like the random, like separate messages of like, well, where are we staying? Where are we staying? And the site that I had first found because of all the storms that rolled in last minute, it was actually partway underwater. Oh yeah, that wouldn't work out. Everybody's like, that's where you wanted to camp. And I'm like, look, man, I don't control the weather. There you go again. Yeah. I mean, I got to learn how to do that. Yeah. Yeah. Work around the weather. Come on.

[01:19:07] Yeah. But yeah, I definitely learned that some people need a little more planning, but for me, I'm really a wing it kind of person. Yeah. And let's see what happens. Sometimes that's fun. Yeah. So, um, I found some pretty epic spots on accident and like, you know, um, even just regular driving, I can find my way around like different towns because I've been lost so many times. Like I'm like, Oh, this road connects here. And it's because I just like drove, you know?

[01:19:37] Yeah. That's fun sometimes to just drive around. Definitely a good group of people around here that are always willing to put up with my shenanigans. Yeah. Uh, so I know that you are part of the SubiCrew, which is like a revised version of the ambassador program. But like, what does being part of the SubiCrew mean to you? And like, what is your role? And then what sort of activities will you be participating in or will you be doing within the SubiCrew program?

[01:20:08] Yeah. So the SubiCrew program is the old ambassador program just revamped. Um, and I was a part of the old one as well. Um, the old one didn't have titles and roles. Uh, the new one does. Everybody got like, you filled out a survey and then they assigned you like a role or a title or you were just an alumni person. Um, or if you decided you didn't have time to put anything like actual time into it, they, you could just be a member.

[01:20:36] Um, so anybody can join the SubiCrew, your local chapter, you can go online and find it and then add it and you'll see all the events that pop up that your local chapter is doing. I'm not sure if you can join multiple chapters, which would be nice, especially for our area, our area, because we have a North and a South area. Oh yeah. And again, everybody's willing to thrive. Um, so like often when I do events on my side of the Puget Sound, like people come from the other side.

[01:21:03] So it'd be nice if you can join, but I haven't checked with anybody to see if they can do multiple. Um, so I'm a part of the North Sound, even though I live in the South Sound. Uh, so I'm with Carrie and Milton, um, and, uh, and Amanda and Dan's with us too. And he's over here by me. Um, and my role is a connector. Um, so basically I get to create events, which is something I already do for Subi Adventure Club.

[01:21:32] It's what I love doing. Um, I love bringing people together. So my goal is just to keep creating events and getting people to come out to them and like be a part of the community and see that, Hey, you need help with this. Like, I may not know how to do it, but this person does like, you know, and help with those resources and the networking. And, um, again, like I said, my favorite part is just watching everybody like share in these moments. So I'm going to keep doing that.

[01:22:00] And I have, like I said, I have a big trip planned for within the next year, um, that I'm working on that. I'm actually hoping to collaborate with somebody out of state because we'll be heading out of state on a really long trip this time, uh, for this, this trip that I'm or event that I'm planning. So this be the longest trip you've done. Uh, yes. Yes. Um, as like a Subaru group. Yes. Not the longest I've done personally. Okay.

[01:22:27] So, um, but yes, as a group, um, and I'm going to limit it to 10 cars. Um, like I said, we had 13 on this last trip, um, and 13 drivers with various driving, um, willingness or needs or skills was quite interesting, um, to, to keep them all together.

[01:22:52] Um, so I think going even further across more states to get to just to get to our location, I want to keep it about 10 cars. Um, but the other group that I'm planning on collaborating with, I'm hoping that they'll get 10 cars. So in the end, it'll be about 20 of us. Um, but I only have to get half of that. Yeah. So you've got two people kind of coordinating the two different groups. Yeah. So that's good. That's good. As long as you can have that coordination where you're in charge of one group, they're in charge of the other one. Then that makes it easier. Yes.

[01:23:22] Yes. Cause I was like, I couldn't imagine trailing 20 cars. Like, I mean, I'm sure we can make it happen, but, um, and it was nice cause Tom, uh, V he's got a 50 watt radio like me. Um, and so on the Montana trip, um, he has a rule of no more than two miles per hour over the speed limit. Um, and I don't like to go over 10 over the speed limit, but I hover around five most of the time. Um, and you know, with 13 cars, you're kind of spaced out.

[01:23:52] So he was back there. Sometimes he was back like five miles, but he could still hear me because of his 50 watt, uh, middling and because I had one too. So he just always, I always made sure he knew where our next stop was and we would just call out the exits and everything. So he knew the stop before we start driving, but then I'd be like, Hey, we're Tom, we're, you know, passing exit 27 right now. And he'd be like, Oh, I'm back at, you know, like 19.

[01:24:22] Um, and then we kind of use the radios, not as probably intended, but he actually, I stopped for gas at one point in Montana and he didn't. Um, and we were going to meet up at the next stop. And he was like, Hey, when you roll into Missoula, there's a cop with a drone over the freeway, like looking for speeders. He's like, so slow down. And he was outside of Missoula, like already through it. And I hadn't even entered Missoula and I could hear him. And sure as shit, as I drive around into Missoula, there's a drone, like almost car

[01:24:50] height, like fitting over the freeway. And I'm like, that doesn't seem legal. I'm like, but we are in Montana. Um, so the radios came in handy for that too. Cause I was definitely warning. Definitely going over. Yeah. So, um, so yeah, I don't think I'd want to like trail 20 cars across multiple states. Yeah, that would be tough. Be very tough. But it should, it should be a good one. Yeah. So also in, in your Instagram profile, it says you're a primitive racing ambassador.

[01:25:20] So I know that they've like sponsored you and gave you some parts and their old car and stuff, but like, what does the ambassador mean? Um, just that you're running their parts. Yeah. Just that I'm running their parts. Um, they don't really have like an ambassador program. Um, so they pretty much sponsor me. Uh, when I had the ascent, I tried really hard. Um, so I got, I found out about them because, um, again, I had the Subaru ascent wasn't,

[01:25:49] isn't one that is usually modified. Um, and it was the first year that they had, um, so there wasn't a lot of parts out. Um, and at that time when I wanted to lift it, they were the only company that made a complete kit to lift this Subaru ascent. Rally tech had one, but you had to buy extra stuff. And I'm one of those people like, don't make me buy extra. I just want to know my total cost. I wanted it once. I don't want to start it and be like, Oh crap.

[01:26:17] Well, I guess I needed this, you know, I just wanted everything. Um, so I got their springs and then I was like, well, I, I need protection from the rocks. Um, I actually, like I was still an educator, so we didn't have much money at the time. Um, so I never bought the rear diff skid. Turns out that wasn't the issue. My front bumper was, uh, I had the front two skid plates. Um, and I, I was always hitting them up like, Hey, can I like it's sponsored. And it wasn't just them.

[01:26:47] It was other companies and everybody's like, um, you know, you drive in a cent. There's not really a market for that. Like, you know, we like, cause I'd be like, Oh, why don't you make this? Can you can use my car as the test one? And they're like, yeah, not really a market for that. Like it's, it's a grocery getter. There's not enough people doing it. Yeah. Like it wasn't going to be lucrative for them. And I was like, I get it. You're a business. Like that's what businesses are for. But it was also frustrating because you know, everybody's in their outbacks and cross tracks and they're doing all this stuff.

[01:27:17] And I'm like nothing. Then, um, the first big Northwest, uh, that I went to with my ascent, I actually only entered last minute because I found out everybody in my group who had entered got to go in before me and I was going to be left by myself. So I entered for parking, literally just entered the contest for parking. They called my three, my name three times as me being a winner. And my friend was like, Melissa, that's you. And I was like, wait, what?

[01:27:48] Why? How? I just did this for parking, but I was the only ascent in the show. Um, and so I, I won, but ironically, rally tech had the only other ascent in like the, the show like area that wasn't in the parking, but they had grocery bags in the back of it. And I was like, Oh man, I'm like, let's continue with the stereotype rally tech. Thanks. Yeah. Grocery getter. Um, yeah.

[01:28:17] So then when my second CVT went out, I got the Outback. The goal was to run the ascent as long as I could and then get the, uh, Outback XT. Cause I wanted the turbo, um, still. And because it went out and I wasn't planning on it and we didn't have any money saved. Um, Peninsula Subaru, uh, did me a solid knowing the problems that I have. I have a good working relationship with them and they help out our community. Oh, that's really good. And sponsor us for events. Nice.

[01:28:44] They actually paid off the rest of my loan on my ascent and got me into this Outback. So I got the premium cause it's what I could afford at the time. Um, and I hit up primitive and I was like, Hey, like I have to rebuy all this stuff. And they're like, Hey, we'll sponsor you. And you know, they gave us, gave me a huge discount and, um, sent me this, but the skids in the lift on the first week I owned the car. Um, I was, I was stuck in bed cause I just had surgery and wasn't allowed out of bed for

[01:29:13] like three weeks so I could see Sean and my friend doing it in our driveway from the window. Yeah. That's cool. At least you can see, see the stuff going on. Yeah. Subaru actually. Um, when I brought my car in for an oil change, the little like, uh, rivets in the oil pan

[01:29:42] or in the skid plate for the oil, they used a drill on it and they broke them. Oh, um, yeah. I know what you're talking about. Yeah. Yeah. So they, they busted. Um, so there's only one left holding it in. I'm actually surprised I didn't lose that little shield out on the trail somewhere. Um, and they're the only people that ever like serviced my car. So I knew it was done there. Um, so primitive is like, Hey, just drive, drive it down. Like to us in Tiggard, which is about two hours away. They're like, and we'll just fix it for you.

[01:30:12] That's nice. So, but yeah, primitive has been great. They're, they're a great company, great customer service. Um, they're willing to help it. And, you know, I've sent a lot of people their way and like your skids, um, you know, if you're going to get them, primitive or ADF, like you can't go wrong either way. And they're both, they're good people. So, yeah, yeah, they are. It's great having like good companies out there that will support you and, you know, just like good customer service.

[01:30:39] Like that's like one of the biggest things is like companies knowing that people are going to be using their products and then taking care of them because, you know, having good customer service and taking care of people is like, what's going to bring them back. What's going to have them talk to their friends about them and recommend them, you know, and like primitive and ADF are two companies that you hear, you know, and, and rally tech too. I mean, these names going around all around the community. Yeah.

[01:31:07] No, they, like I said, Patrick was like, Hey, call me like on Christmas Eve. So, um, you don't get that from most people. So he definitely, um, they definitely take care of, uh, their customers and the, especially the local people that they see and that are out there, you know, using their items and putting them to the test and then sharing it. Yeah. So I know there's a lot of amazing builds out there and you were like all of them, but

[01:31:35] if you could drive like somebody else's Subaru for a day, whose would it be? And it could be anything. It doesn't have to be an off-road build. It could be a rally car or whatever. Yeah. That was my thing. I was like, well, every car has its purpose. So like, what am I doing for that day? Yeah. Depending on what I was doing. Um, and I'm not like a super flashy person. Um, like I talked to anybody and everybody I'm like, every stranger is a, you know, a friend or, you know, networking kind of thing.

[01:32:04] But like, I'm not a, like look at me, which is why I'm happy to hide in the middle of the pack or step back and let other people take the lead of things. Um, so I don't like my cars being too flashy, which is kind of funny because my husband says my car stands out. Um, so if I had to pick a car just to like drive, like for a day, I actually would probably pick Derek and, um, unpaved BMW, uh, because it doesn't stand out.

[01:32:33] And if I was just wanting to like mosey around town, it's set for that. Yeah. But it's not like, it's not so highly modified that you're like, this is ridiculous to drive, you know, in town. But then if there's like a random forest road and I want to be like, well, I wonder where that goes. Like it's got the capability to do it. Like I've seen it. Yeah. He does some crazy stuff. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, I'm like, and I've gone out with him and done part of the Oregon BDR.

[01:33:01] And I'm like, he has the ability to be kind of like that sleeper car. Um, it's big enough, you know, you can fit all your crap in it, which like anybody who knows me knows I overpack. Um, but also like cool for every day, but also like, Hey, let's go up this mountain road. Yeah. So I'd probably pick his, um, if I wanted, yeah, if I wanted to go thrash on something, I'd probably pick like a gambler 500. Yeah.

[01:33:32] It's like, like, I love me a good shit box. I don't know what it is. Like Sean says, I was scary when I had ours. Um, we have a road that like, we're just from two lanes into one and there's always traffic and everybody wastes the last minute. And he's like, they're going to hit you. And I'm like, let them hit me. I paid 500 bucks for the car. You're so scary with this. Oh, it's funny. So, I mean, it really, it would depend on what my purpose was for driving it.

[01:33:58] But yeah, I think Derek's is a good solid everyday slash adventure rig. Because again, it's not too heavily modified that you're like, this is ridiculous. Yeah. Um, but also very capable. Oh yeah, definitely. Yeah. That's a good pick. Uh, so like what sort of terrain is your favorite and least favorite to drive through? Like mud, sand, or snow? Uh, so I think we've established snow is my least favorite. Yeah.

[01:34:25] Um, I actually, well, black ice is, I've been in a guardrail from black ice before. Uh, ice scares me a little more than snow, but snow, you know, around here, it turns into ice. Uh, we have a, like here in the Northwest, the PNW, we have a thing where like, it'll snow and then it'll start melting, but then temps will drop to freezing overnight and then it'll snow again. So then you just got snow on top of ice and you do that fun game for a few days before it all goes away. Um, so that's a no go for me.

[01:34:53] I'd say my favorite is probably through like mud and like, you know, off-roading kind of stuff. I'm like a kid. If there's a puddle, I like the urge to drive through, it's ridiculous. And sometimes I have to remind myself, like, you don't know what's in that one. You don't know how deep it is. There's been a few where I've like not done it. And then later came by and seen it like dried up and I'm like, Oh, good thing I didn't go through that. Cause that was bad.

[01:35:23] I, yeah, there's a, up here we have cheeseburger loop, which is North of Houston. And some people are like cheeseburger loop was, you know, they, so the deal with cheeseburger loop is, and I haven't even done the whole loop because it, I don't even know how long it would take, but it's pretty long. I think it would probably take like five hours at least if you just drove it and didn't stop. But I mean, it's like, you want to drive through the fun parts and enjoy it, you know? But there's this little spot where it's kind of like this, it's like this road was like

[01:35:52] a dirt road and, and then it ends in this kind of like bowl area and it fills up with water. And I was driving through it one time and, and I couldn't see what was at the bottom, you know? And so I ended up coming around at one point and then I stopped and got out and I was like, I'm not driving through there anymore because there was a brick that I saw that had come out. Yeah. So I'm like, yeah, I'm just going to leave and go on down the trail.

[01:36:20] But yeah, that's a, it is scary not knowing what's either how deep it is or what might be in there. So. Yeah. Yeah. But like just the, the hitting it and the splashing, like I'm getting for it. Yeah. It's fun. I always try to get my car as muddy as I can too. Yes. And then I'm sad when it rains and it washes away before I can show it off. That struggle is real. Like it looks really good clean and it looks really good muddy.

[01:36:46] But in between, not so my neighbor up the street has a Jeep and he always rolls by and he goes, I hate that your Subaru is always dirtier than my Jeep. And I'm like, I can't help that yours just crawled the mall. Yeah. It's too bad, buddy. Get out there and have some fun with it. Yeah. But I've also done all of the Washington BDR. I've done section two, three times and I've done it both ways. We ran it as a group with Subi Adventure Club. That's actually what kicked off our group. Oh, nice. Was section two.

[01:37:16] And I'm a sucker for rolling hills too. Like where you can be somewhere and that kind of terrain and you can look for miles either direction and just see nothing but rolling hills. Like I'm a sucker for that as well. So. Yeah. That's beautiful. And sunsets and sunrises will get me every time. Yeah. Those are nice. Yeah. So how has owning your Subaru changed your life? And like, what does it mean to own a Subaru and be part of this community? Um, it's changed it a lot.

[01:37:45] Like I said, I, we've owned just about every makeup car that you could have. Um, and none of them by far touches the Subaru community. Um, if I didn't, ironically, I I've owned other like actual four by four cars before and I never took them off roading. Never, never left pavement. Wow. And so I kind of look back and laugh at that and I'm like, you know, I had a trailblazer and I never once put that thing in four by four.

[01:38:13] Um, I had a lifted Bronco two with oversized tires. Like even though the wheel wells were cut, like they still rubbed. Like that's how big the tires were other than like, you know, driving over dividers and parking lots that they never did anything. I almost rolled it a few times, which is why Sean made me get rid of it. He's like, you're going to hurt yourself or somebody else. And I'm like, I just need a roll cage. But he didn't like that answer.

[01:38:40] Um, but for some reason, when I got the Subaru, uh, the Ascent, ironically, the one that wasn't made for all this, I was like, I want to go off-roading. So, and then it just kind of opened this door and like, I met all these people, um, who took me in and I was like, first, I'm a girl. Second of all, I'm driving in Ascent. Like they're not just going to look at me and like, whatever, when I go to these car meets and like, they're going to check out Sean's FXT and just ignore me.

[01:39:10] But everybody's like, oh, you got an Ascent? Like that thing's got four 44s and like, you know, they're pretty beefy. And I was like, wait, what? Yeah, it's, it's, it surprises people like how much you can show up with a stock Crosstrek or Outback with a whole group of people who have modified cars and they're excited that you have a Subaru, you know, it's, that's, that's the other cool thing about the community is they get excited for you, even if you haven't done anything. Yeah.

[01:39:38] So it's great because, you know, I'm meeting all these people and then networking and then becoming a part of the ambassador program. I actually, um, when I got in, um, ironically, we didn't have a working Subaru in our driveway. My car was in for needing a new CVT, my Ascent. Um, so I guess you could count the loaner car. Uh, and then Sean's FXT was down.

[01:40:04] Um, and so he was driving our Ford Fusion that we still had at the time. Um, it was the only running car that we own. And so when I got the email, I actually thought it was the dealership saying that my transmission replacement was going to be covered under warranty. And it was like, Oh, congratulations on being an ambassador. I was like, Oh, I don't have a working. How ironic. I was like, okay, cool. But they weren't even, um, I was one of the last people's to get it people to get in. They weren't taking anymore.

[01:40:31] So I don't know how I managed that or like if somebody that I knew like got me in or what, but, or if it was the dealership, they did so much work with them. Um, but I got in, uh, and I don't know of a single person who got in after me. That's not to say that there wasn't like anywhere else, but locally there wasn't because I knew people who were trying. Um, so like that opened a lot of doors too. And then, like I said, Justin introduced me to Sean Conklin and then Sean introduced me

[01:41:00] to Joe and all these other, and John from SOA and all these other Subaru people. It just kind of like kept opening doors. And the more I did, I'm really big on, um, volunteer and community, um, outreach stuff. I used to run a nonprofit. So I've done some, some outside of the box things with my Subarus for good cause. Um, and so doing these things with the dealerships and stuff had built these relationships and

[01:41:28] like, this isn't something I would have had with, you know, my Toyotas or my Dodges or Fords and stuff. So, um, it's definitely changed a lot for me. And I've met people that, um, honestly, I probably wouldn't have talked to before I had the Subaru. Like I like would be like, we have nothing in common. Um, but now I'm like, Hey, we hang out all the time. We talk, we celebrate stuff, you know? Yeah. So it's definitely changed my life.

[01:41:55] I'm guessing it's safe to say you'll probably always own a Subaru. Yes. I still would take a Toyota. Sorry, Joe. I still would take, I like, like I said, I wanted a Tacoma since I was in high school. Sean tells me that by the time I put the canopy on and everything, I should just get a four runner. Um, I'm not a fan of any of the new Toyotas though. Yeah. So it would have to be like OG old school kind of, uh, Toyota, but I would definitely still keep Supers. Um, they're safe.

[01:42:25] They're reliable. If you keep, if you upkeep them, um, and use them as intended, which sometimes, you know, I'm a little hippie on, uh, but I got that warranty. So I got to walk that line. Um, yeah, for now, but you know, I just casually mentioned that I used to do the nonprofit, um, that I ran. And so I fit 262 pumpkins in my Subaru Ascent one year. Oh my gosh. Wow. Yes. Um, Sean fit, I think it was like, I mean, he could have fit more, but I think we'd put

[01:42:55] like 50 something, 54 and his Forester. And I was like, Oh, is that all that's cute? So I could have fit more, but I didn't have the lift at the time on the Ascent. That's some weight. And I had to drive. Well, yeah, I had to drive over an hour from where the pumpkins were to back home. And they're like, Sean and the people at the pumpkin patch were like, Oh, we should probably stop. You got enough. Yeah. I had a running bet online.

[01:43:22] I was like, how many Subarus or how many pumpkins can you fit in a Subaru? So we had this big thing leading up to it, but, um, it was during COVID. And so I, I, um, ran, it was called a Kitsap accessible family events. So it was for families with ongoing special needs, um, or medical, um, educational and medical, uh, stuff.

[01:43:46] And so I would network with local businesses and we host holiday parties and monthly sensory friendly movies. Um, so no judgment kids who couldn't go to your typical, like meet Santa things because of the sensory overload. And so we had a private room and I'd fundraise for this usually starting in July. And I would take friends and family to volunteer to help volunteer to run it every year. But during COVID, we couldn't do our annual Halloween party.

[01:44:15] So one of the local OT places was doing a drive-through trunk or treat kind of thing. So everybody stayed in their car and we just put them through. So I raised money and then got a local pumpkin, local-ish pumpkin patch to give us a huge discount on pumpkins. So that's how we ended up doing that. That's really cool. And then that year for Christmas, Sean and I dressed up as Santa and Mrs. Claus. I decked the car out in lights and paint and wreaths and all that stuff.

[01:44:42] And we drove over 500 miles and delivered toys and gifts to all the kids that would have attended our monthly event dressed up as Santa and Mrs. Claus. I think my favorite moment, actually, we stopped at a gas station to use the restroom and I couldn't find Sean. And then I find him and he's staring at the beer aisle. That's Santa. And I go, ho, ho, ho, no. And he's like, you're driving this way.

[01:45:12] And I was like, no. Oh, that's funny. I have a picture of him standing there just as Santa. Oh, and we got pulled over at the end of the last night we did it because I didn't realize my lights had switched to red, white and blue blinking. Oh, my gosh. Oops. Because they like reset after a certain amount of hours and we were well beyond that and I didn't notice and we were on our way home and I got pulled over and the guy like the police officer walks up the window and sees us and I was like, you can't give Santa a ticket.

[01:45:41] And he's like, nope. And he goes, do you know why I pulled you over? And I was like, nope, I wasn't speeding. And then he's like, you're white. And I looked up and I was like, oh, I'm so sorry. So I explained what we did. And he's like, he goes, I'll just give you a warning. Go ahead and change them when you can pull off somewhere else safely. And I was like, thank you, Santa. Appreciate it. You're on the nice list still. Oh, that's nice. That's funny. Yeah, I've done some charity work with my Subaru.

[01:46:07] Subaru Adventure Club, one of the times we were doing the Gambler 500, there was fires up in eastern Washington and they couldn't get water and supplies of some of the firefighters. So we loaded up our vehicles with the waters and everything and we drove out to them and delivered them. Our Subaru's can make it. Yeah, I was like, I got an event. So we used to do an annual cleanup on the 4th, 5th of July out at Long Beach because thousands

[01:46:36] of people go there and just fireworks for as long as you can see. But nobody picks up afterwards. Of course not. So they always need vehicles that can drive through the sand and pick up. So we would go clean up. So Subaru's coming handy. Yeah, we're definitely big on leave no trace, you know, leave it better than we found it and give back. So I do the monthly trash pickups along Highway 3 by me with the Gambler 500 group as well. Very nice. That's cool.

[01:47:05] If anybody ever wants to do that out here in Bromerton, Bob usually buys a beer for everybody afterwards. Yeah, that's good. Yeah, it's good when you can give back and do things for other people always. Yeah, and like I said, Peninsula Subaru over here in Bromerton, they've supplied us with our trash pickup thing, the little grabbers. Yeah. They gave us like, I think it was like 30 of them and then they bought us all safety vests. Very nice. So they're really big on community out here. Yeah, that's important.

[01:47:34] Well, we'll get to this last segment here. It's to get to know you a little bit better. But who is Melissa? As in describe yourself. I mean, I know you've talked a lot about, you know, yourself and just things you do and stuff like that throughout the episode, but maybe like a little brief segment. Well, I mean, I'm a wife and a mom to two kids and I'm pretty laid back as far as it goes. Takes a lot to get me going, like, you know, to make me mad.

[01:48:05] So I assume best intentions and I'm just somebody that wants to live life and have fun. And I've been life flighted before. I have a rare and deadly blood disorder and I've needed medical intervention twice to save my life. So I'm kind of just laid back and like, let's live life. Like you got one life. Yeah. I don't want to live it at work. I want to go have fun because tomorrow is not promised. Yeah. Very, very good point. Um, so what is a favorite memory from your childhood?

[01:48:36] Um, man, probably like being at the beach all the time. Um, when we lived in California, granted we moved up here when I was five, almost six. Um, the beach is my happy place. It calms me. Um, it grounds me like the mountains are too, but always the beach. Uh, so we would go to the beach pretty much every day and then we would leave the beach and go to my grandma's house in LA that had a swimming pool and then we'd swim and barbecue

[01:49:05] and like my I'm Sicilian. And so like we have a big family. And so we'd always just hang at my Nana's house and like all the cousins and aunts and uncles and everybody. And that was our thing that we did. So, um, and then as far as like just my, you know, my parents and my siblings, I used to hate it as a kid. Um, but we had to eat dinner together. Like we always had to wait for my dad to get home.

[01:49:31] We always had to sit at the dinner table and talk and like you couldn't leave until everybody was done. And I hated that as a kid. But now like in today's world where we're like hustling and bustling and everybody's being pulled different ways and has to work, you know, usually both people in the household have to work. Yeah. Um, I miss that. Yeah. Yeah. It's, yeah, it's, I know it's, there's things as kids where we're like, oh, this sucks. And then as an adult, you're like, I appreciate that now. Yeah. Yeah. So I think those would probably be my favorite childhood stuff.

[01:50:01] Yeah. So you said that you're going to be starting like a new position or something soon. So what is it you do for a living? Um, so a year and a half ago, I stepped away from the education field. I did that for 18 years. Um, it's not what it is anymore. And so I moved over to work for the Washington state ferry system. Um, and so it's, you know, part of WSDOT, uh, department of transportation for Washington state.

[01:50:29] Um, I work at the terminal department right now, so I don't work on the boats. Um, I land the boats, I load the boats, I sell tickets depending on the day and all that stuff. So mainly work in traffic though. Um, and it quickly made me realize like I knew people were bad drivers, but it took it to a whole new level when you're dressed as a cone standing in between moving rows of cars.

[01:50:54] Um, but my new position, I'm actually moving to work on the boats, which is what Sean, my husband does and our oldest Vinny, um, he works on the boats as well. Uh, I, right now I spend about 15 hours a week commuting on top of my 40 hour work week. So by going onto the boats, I'm no longer doing that commute because they all start on this side of the Puget sound. Whereas now I work on the other side, uh, and they pay more and you can advance in about 18 months.

[01:51:24] Whereas at the terminal side, there's not really advancement for about seven plus years. Wow. Um, yeah, that's a good move. So, um, yeah. So, um, I'm not thrilled about being, I don't like being stuck. So I'm not thrilled about being stuck on a boat. Um, because you know, I'm like in one spot, uh, but the, the lack of commute getting hours of my life back and better pay is definitely appealing. So I'm just going to have to suck it up.

[01:51:54] Yeah, no, I get it. Uh, so do you have a dream job? Um, I don't know that I have a dream job. I would love to do something remote and be able to travel like in a car and like, yeah. So like nothing specific. Um, just that ability from that type of job or position. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, that makes sense. I would, I would love to.

[01:52:23] I tell Sean all the time, like when we get old and we can actually retire, I want to, I want a van that we can build out. I'm not one of these like, you know, a hundred thousand dollar Mercedes Sprinter vans. Like I want to build it out and I just want to drive places and I want to like go to bed to epic sunsets and wake to sunrises and like, you know, go to the mountains or the ocean and then still have our house to come back to. So I can, I'm going to have a job where I could be on the road and just explore and

[01:52:53] meet people and network. And that would be ideal. Yeah, no, totally. I get that. Um, so what is something that makes you want to get out of bed every day? Um, just my family. And, you know, like I said, as somebody who's almost died a few times, uh, to get up and enjoy life, to get up and enjoy life, to, to get out and do things. Um, you know, I know people who like work all the time and I'm like, I don't want my

[01:53:21] gravestone to say she was a hard worker. Like I want to go enjoy life. Um, a couple of years ago, two years ago, one of my coworkers, he had his retirement papers out on the desk and he was all excited about all these plans. And that weekend he had a heart attack and he died and I should back up to work and his papers were right there. And I'm like, no, I'm not. No, I can't do that. Don't wait for retirement to live. Yep. Yep. I get it. What is something that makes you want to stay in bed?

[01:53:52] Sleep. Sleep. Glorious sleep. Because I cram so many things into my day. Yeah. I have a hard problem saying no to people and I'm like, yeah, let's go do this and this. And okay, let's do this. But sometimes I forget that I need sleep, especially with my disorder. It's one of the lack of sleep, um, is one of my biggest triggers. Uh, and I forget sometimes. But then my body's like, Hey, like, you can do some more of that stuff. And I'm like, yeah, okay. Sleep. Sleep would be nice. Yeah.

[01:54:20] This morning I, uh, I was having trouble getting up because I was sleeping so well and I'm like, okay, I probably should get up so I can record this episode. Yeah. I'll be honest. I went to bed at like 830 last night. I told Sean I was going to go upstairs and watch TV. The TV never made it on. I was so tired. Yeah. And I'm a night person. I am not a morning person. Like, but I have realized that my age there's, um, I say it like I'm really old, but, uh,

[01:54:48] there's a difference between being awake at home till 2am and being out till 2am. Yeah. Oh yeah. Very, very different. Yes. Yeah. What is something that really scares you? Um, I don't know. So I think for me, it's with my medical stuff, um, probably knowing that like I could have

[01:55:15] no notice and be gone kind of thing, you know, because it's not something that there's no medication for it. No, like I could die from a nosebleed, like literally. Um, so I think that's probably the biggest thing, like, and what would become of my family. Um, I know death is inevitable for all of us, but you would, most people kind of, you know, not everybody obviously, cause accidents happen. Like if you're sick, you know, you trail off kind of thing. Whereas mine could be like an instant and I don't know.

[01:55:45] So, so live your life and have fun. Yep. Pretty much. Yeah. Uh, make my hematologist mad and get tattoos. Uh, besides all things Subaru, what is something that really excites you? Um, I love photography. Uh, I love nature and objects for photography. Um, kids are a whole different ball game. I tried that and I was like, they don't sit still. Yeah.

[01:56:15] That's tough. I did one family session for a friend and I was like, yep, I'll stick to my trees and cars. And, um, uh, yeah. Yeah. So I really love getting out there and just like capturing life. Um, not only for myself, but for other people. Um, because you know, we're, we're not promised tomorrow. And so to have those physical memories to look back on, um, it's nice.

[01:56:42] And I've, like I said, I'm not something that's usually in front of the camera. Um, and I've tried to be better about taking pictures and stuff with me in them just because, you know, when I'm gone, what do my kids have? What do my husband have? But yeah, I love getting out and doing photography. Yeah. I know. I like objects too, like outdoor stuff. I like industrial photography too. Like things that are, you know, I don't know, buildings. I wish we had more of that.

[01:57:09] Well, we have Seattle, but I don't feel safe walking around by myself. Like, you know, as a lady, um, especially with the way that Seattle has been going. But yeah, no industrial photography is pretty cool. Yeah. Yep. What would be your best bit of advice to give to someone about anything? Pretty much just live life. Like don't take tomorrow for granted because it's not a guarantee. Like enjoy it, do the thing, you know, even if you're scared, just do the thing.

[01:57:39] So, and try to assume best intentions with people. Yeah. Yeah. I agree. Yeah. Just do it. Yeah. I mean, it's scary. The unknown is always scary, but sometimes that leap of faith will lead you to a whole new world. Yeah. Cause you just, you never know what's going to happen if you try the thing that's been like scaring you for a while, like just a new, like switching jobs or a new hobby or just whatever it may be. And then it's like, cause it's one of those things where you're going to do it just like

[01:58:08] with anything else you, even if it's something that you do, that's not scary, you can look back on anything and be like, Oh yeah, I know so much more about that. And I enjoy it so much more. And it just much more knowledgeable about this thing. And as when I first started, you know, whether you're scared about it or not. Yeah. So you never know. I mean, it might be something that's like turns into like something you never would have even thought of. Yeah. Well, like with Rallycross, um, I never thought I'd be racing.

[01:58:38] I'm like, Oh, I can't do that. What if I hit something like that'd be really bad for me. And I hopped in Jacob Malm's car. Actually, he had been bugging me for a few years to go to Rallycross and I hopped in with him and the whole, like two, three weeks leading up, I was like, don't kill me. Don't kill me. Don't kill me. Like I can't get hit. I won't stop bleeding. Like, and he's like, it'll be fine. It'll be fine. And I got in the car with him and he's like, ride with me my first lap. The first lap's always the slowest. Cause you're like figuring it out, like the track out. And I was like, okay.

[01:59:08] And, um, we're coming up to the, I did the parade lap, which is slow. And then we did the actual lap and I knew we were coming up to a hairpin and I was like, he should be slowing. He should be slowing. I was like, he's not slowing. But I'm also like, I can't scream because I can't scare him. And so I'm like screaming in my head. And all of a sudden, like we turn, he pulls the ebay and when we're turning, and then we're facing the way that we just came from. And I'm like, that's not the direction. I call.

[01:59:36] And so like him and I both have these key chains. I bought us, um, these little lanyards and says, but did you die? Um, and I was hooked. So that's how we ended up with the rally car. And my first race, I was still so nervous. Um, my watch kept telling me I was working out. So now it's cycling. And I was literally just sitting there, not even moving, like waiting for my turn. Oh my gosh. And I was like, oh my gosh. Yeah. Do the thing. Like do it. Yeah.

[02:00:06] No, that's really cool. Yeah. And it worked out. Yes. I met another great group of community. Um, rally cross is amazing. Yeah. Yeah. I would, I would like to do it at some point, but. You should, you should come out and hop in. Yeah, I know. I do. I want, yeah, I know. Jacob said I need to come out there and hop in with him at some point. So I'll have to try to make that happen. Everybody is like, grab a helmet, hop in there, even if they've never met you before. So. Oh yeah. Um, yeah.

[02:00:35] Sean had a guy hop in with him on his very first race ever. And the guy was like, how long you've been doing this? And Sean goes, this one. And the guy's like, wait, what? And he's like, hold on, buddy. And then he goes, I took off. That's funny. Well, it was great chatting with you again and, uh, you know, getting you on for a full episode. Yeah. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. Like I said, I've been following you and watching you and everyone's, you know, bugging

[02:01:04] me here and there throughout the years. And I'm like, yeah, I was like, you know, cause I'm not a showy person and I want to be like, pick me, pick me. Yeah. Apparently Lauren was over there. Pick her, pick her. Thanks Lauren. Yeah. So we made it happen. So it's cool. Yeah. Thank you. After all these years. You're welcome. Yeah. Yeah. And I hope to see you around some more. Yeah. Make it out our way. Yeah. I know. I'd like to come back out. We'll take you up. Yeah. Yep. Well, thanks again. I got to get going. I got to go change my oil and do some other stuff. Oh yes.

[02:01:34] But I hope you have a good day. Thanks. You too. I'm going to a Mariners game. Oh, nice. Nice. That'd be cool. All right. Have a good one. Yeah. Have a good fourth too. And a good weekend. Thanks. Same to you. Talk to you later. Okay. Bye. Bye. Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of the Subie and You podcast. If you're not doing so already, go give Melissa a follow. Her Instagram account is shenefeltjourney. It's S-H-E-N-E-F-E-L-T journey.

[02:02:04] So go give her a follow and show her some Subie love. We will see you next Monday for a Subie scoop and some potential news. I don't know just yet. I hopefully will find out this week and we'll be able to let you know next Monday on the Subie scoop. But other than that, I hope you all have a wonderful week. Get out there and drive your Subarus and get together with somebody and hang out and

[02:02:32] you know, just have fun. So anyway, talk to you later. Much Subie love. Raph. The Subie and You podcast is hosted by Raphael in a closet in Houston, 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 Subie and You podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including Apple Podcast, Spotify, and many more.

[02:03:01] To support the podcast, please head over to patreon.com slash subieandyoupodcast. Once you join, you will have access to the Discord channel and Discord chats with other patrons. If you'd like to get in contact with the show, you can find them on Instagram at subieandyoupodcast, online at subieandyoupodcast.com, or by email subieandyoupodcast at gmail.com. That's all for this week. Bye.