Pitt

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We woke up to the smell of sizzling bacon. Yes please. After a delicious breakfast made by Julie, we were off to hit the town, thankful for our full stomachs. Tom was an excellent guide and gave us the insider’s tour of the city. We stopped at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) and explored some very impressive buildings. Naturally, we left our mark for any other tourists who may be visiting the classrooms.

Tim dancing because he's so stoked about parking

U Pitt

Learning

Monkeying around at the antique shop

As our tour continued, we found ourselves at Peace Love & Little Donuts. Outside, we met a young lad, Derek, who had recently been seriously injured in a skateboarding accident. The pictures his mother showed us were quite gruesome. After we chatted for a while, we left Derek with a small gift for his bravery, some Skittles. We also checked out Enrico's Biscotti, which apparently is on of the best bakeries in America. We also saw the Heinz factory and where our good buddy Sidney Crosby likes to toss a puck around.

Derek, his family, and a little love

When we got back to Tom and Julie's lovely abode, another sweet, sweet aroma was filling the house. We sat down for an amazing Spanish jambalaya and enjoyed every bite after our busy morning.

Thank you Tom and Julie for your amazing hospitality!  You gave us the perfect beginning to our adventure. 

After signing the guest book and saying goodbye, we pulled out onto the road, our sights set on DC.

Home is where you park it, 

The Boys

Love Dollars

As we were preparing for our trip, I found about a cool thing that a community in Philadelphia, called The Simple Way, has been doing lately. It's called the Love Dollar. Essentially, dollar bills with the word LOVE in bold letters are shared in creative ways.

Since we will have nothing to do with our American $1's when we get back to Canada, we have decided to take part in the Love Dollar initiative and give them all away. Look out, one could be coming your way for simply passing us on the street!

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

Rockville, Maryland

Currently we are about 20 minutes from DC, planning our trip into the heart of America (we will write a detailed post about Pitts very soon). When we got in last night, we saw a diner that looked like a classic spot. When we got to the door we noticed a sign for 50% off the entire menu. What!? Needless to say, a feast ensued. A good one, but also one that begged us to question the food system and the way we eat. Steak and rib combos should not cost $10. More posts to come.

The Steel City

We have made it safely to our first stop: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We are comfortably lounging in the basement of Tom and Julie's house. These two have stayed with my parents a few times over the years during their vacations to Niagara, so they were excited to return the favor to four wandering travellers.

The drive was pleasant and the boys are doing an excellent job becoming familiar with Lily's quirks. The border was an easy cross, which is always a pleasant surprise. Most of the drive was rainy and we napped, read, ate and chatted as the wiper blades sloshed away.

The rain had stopped once we reached Pittsburgh and we were amazed how the big city sort of popped up out of no where. When we arrived at Tom and Julie's, we became reacquainted after a few years having not seen eachother. We were welcomed with open arms. Over a delicious pizza dinner, we had some great conversation; stimulating and enriching.

As the meal was ending, Tom asked us if we wanted to see Pittsburgh at night. An unwritten rule with The Open Road Project is that we always say yes. So we headed to the top of Mt. Washington and enjoyed this beautiful view.

In the morning, we are going to see some more of Pittsburgh and then continue on our journey. Starting off are trip with such hospitality may very well have spoiled us. Breakfast in the morning will not disappoint.

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

Thoughts before hitting the road

Currently, I am sitting in the RV outside Tyrone's house, stealing his Wi-Fi in classic Open Road Project fashion. The morning will bring a whirlwind of activity as the guys pack their stuff into their designated cubbies and get familiarized with their new home. The air always smells a little sweeter when another adventure is lingering.

This week was good for me, as I gave Lily a long overdue and thorough cleaning. Vacuuming, washing dishes, organizing gear and fixing leaks were on a list that is now neatly checked off. During this time, I noticed a small picture frame that has been hung above the table for two years now. I had looked at it hundreds of times before. It is a picture of a dart heading straight for a bullseye with the quote, "Aim for service and success will follow."

Aim for service and success will follow.

As I cleaned and went about my daily business, this quote danced around in my head. I guess I have found it to be quite true. Over the past few years, we have taken this RV to each end of our grand country (and dabbled in the States as well) with the goal of serving others. This has taken on many different forms (just read any of the stories on this blog) and in the meanwhile, we have also been served in ways that I never could have imagined.

As we travel, I want this quote to encompass everything we do. Not because we crave success and not because we desire to be served in return for our deeds, but because a life dedicated to service, in my opinion, is one worth living.

Oftentimes, our trips take on different forms. Some trips have been more service-based than others. Especially when trips are shorter, it is important to be more intentional with the opportunities that arise. Thank you for reading, and please be thinking about us as we seek to navigate the open road!

The Open Road Project takes on Washington DC

Well, we are back at it again. Surprise, surprise :)

We are pleased to announce that The Open Road Project is heading down to DC!

Starting on Sunday, April 28th, myself (Jeremy) and three great friends are once again hitting the road with the goal to help and meet as many people as we can. Joining me in this adventure are drumrolllll please..... Tim Van Meer, Tyrone Maguire and Zach Grant. For the past two years, I have been living with, and consequently have grown very close to, Tim and Ty. Zach has been friends with Tim and Ty for a long while, and I also know him from working at Camp Mini-Yo-We.

Now that you have a little background information on the guys, I would ask you to be thinking about and praying for us; that we have an enriching time with each other and also are able to find and hlep people in need. That we would be perceptive to the things going on around us while continuing to grow our friendships.

The way it's looking right now, we have established contact with a family in Pittsburgh to stay with on our first night. From here, we will head into the capital of the US of A and check out as many free museums as we can and go with the flow.

Whatever happens, it will be an adventure. We are all looking forward to it. Follow along for updates, we will post as often as we have free Wi-Fi.

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

Wrapping up West Virginia

When we woke up at Greg and Cindy's, a beautiful scent was floating through the air. West Virginians don't mess around when it comes to breakfast.

We found ourselves sitting at the table with a breakfast feast before us, pinching ourselves to see if we were dreaming. Cindy had whipped us up an All-American classic: biscuits and gravy. As we enjoyed our bacon, eggs, sausage and biscuits, we discussed the possibilities of helping Greg chop some wood, since their house was heated entirely with the natural substance. Greg said he was already good to go for the foreseeable future on that front, and that his main priority was to get us up and running again.

After we ate, we went down to Lily where she was once again receiving a tow. The truck took us to Carl's Garage in the tiny town of Circleville and they had us all fixed up in an hour and a half. While we waited, we ate some delicious sandwiches made by our resident sandwich artiste, Jamie. Dorothy-Anne Bennett, Greg's mother, also came to visit us. We gave her the grand tour of the RV and she left us with some pictures of The Knob. She also showed us her art as we conversed and laughed.

When we pulled out of the garage, I felt deep gratitude. Not only thankfulness for our wonderful hosts, but also for the opportunities that I have in this life. As we drove off, we all knew that we had just made some lasting memories. Perhaps we will visit again soon; we know the door is open to us.

From here we went to visit some of Dylan's family who live just outside Eerie. We were welcomed with pizza and a cold, celebratory beer for our mountaineering accomplishments. We watched "Into the Wild," and then went to bed. We felt as though that was a fairly appropriate movie to watch after our wilderness adventure. When we woke up, we had another great breakfast and then went tobogganing with the kids. What a blast! Check out this video from our time with them.

After our fun afternoon on the slopes (we had an awesome time with all the neighborhood kids) we fired up Lily for the drive back to Niagara. As we crossed back into our mother country, we again could say that we did it. We overcame adversity, braved the elements and made some amazing memories while doing so. Although we weren't able to stop in Pittsburgh and give some clothes away, there were other lessons we learned and it's not like they can't be given to someone else. The best memories and learning come from spontaneous changes to our plans. Thank you for reading!

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

Ain't no river wide enough, ain't no mountain high enough

We did it! Behold! The top of Spruce Mountain. Spruce Knob!

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

The Climb

What did our hike look like? Simply press play to find out!

Thanks for watching!

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

New Videos!

The West Virginia videos are here! Here is the first one. We will be releasing them periodically over the next few weeks. Be sure to watch in HD!

Thanks for watching!

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

Greg & Cindy

With a successful mountain climb under our belt, we marched confidently back down the mountain, ready to hop into our beloved Lily and head to Pittsburgh. As we came down the road, we saw her gleaming in the afternoon sunshine and our spirits were lifted even higher. Life was good.

Looking back, we should have been expecting what happened next. After all of our packs were put away, the key made its way into the ignition. Now, we'll have you know that turning the key on our 1979 beauty is always an adventure in and of itself. Sometimes, Lily fires up instantly. Other times, she needs a few extra pumps of gas. Sometimes, the battery is dead, and you get nothin'.

This time however, was unlike any other. And not in a good way.

While Lily was turning over just fine, it seemed as though she wasn't getting any fuel to complement the sparks and create combustion. So after numerous futile attempts to start her up, we realized that we were going to have to do some trouble shooting. What else is new?

Just then, something magical happened; a jeep rolled up. Wouldn't you know it! It was Greg Bennett, the man on whose farm we had trespassed to climb the Knob. The kindness we were shown over the next 24 hours was the highlight of the trip, and yet another lesson was learned that we can all apply to our lives.

For the rest of the afternoon, Greg could be caught getting down to the nitty gritty with the engine, trying to figure out what was going wrong. Busting out his 150,000 BTU space heater to try and thaw out our potentially frozen fuel lines was one of the many tactics used to try and get us going.

Heatin'  things up!

As the sun continued to set, we realized that we would not be spending the night in Pittsburgh, as we had previously planned. Greg brought his heater home, and said that he would call a few folks who would be able to get us off the mountain in the morning. We figured we may as well pass the time by keeping warm wrapped up in blankets playing cards. After a few rounds of euchre, we saw the lights of Greg's truck approaching.

While we figured he was just coming to give us some more information on the day to come, he was actually coming back to invite us to stay the night at his place! We would have been more than fine to spend the night in the RV, especially as we recalled our frigid tent experience from the night before, but these are the types of offers that The Open Road Project just cannot refuse. 

Jamie and Dylan hopped into the cab of Greg's truck, while Jordan and I got to lay in the back and take in the starriest sky I have ever seen. When we arrived at the beautiful farm house, we quickly learned that Greg had build the place himself. We heated up some soup and Cindy, Greg's wife, provided the crackers and drinks. We chatted about our adventures, and continued to be thankful for the Bennetts' hospitality.

As we rested our heads on warm pillows that evening, we took in the day. Between summitting the Spruce Knob, tearing down camp, hiking down the mountain, finding Lily once again kaput and being taken in by complete strangers, we had once again experienced another unexpected adventure. These, in our mind, are the best kind.

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

Post by Jeremy Enns

Jamie Grantis: Sandwich Artist

Jamie Grantis is a man who wears many hats. One minute, he is a fearless adventurer, the next an impeccably dressed businessman. When his infamous Sandwich Cap makes an appearance, prepare yourself for the mighty handiwork that is bound to ensue.

Behold! The West Virginian Mystery Sandwich.

This treat has only been created once (according to Le Histoire de la San-weech, a fine French food history encyclopedia) and the secret ingredients are unknown to the human species. This sandwich must be eaten in the dark, as the lack of light enhances man's other senses, particularly taste and touch. Perhaps one day his secret recipe will be passed along the Grantis Lineage, and the WVMS will once again be resurrected. Until then, this grainy iPhone photo is the only remaining piece of evidence.

The Knob

As a cold-blooded reptile sluggishly moves in the cold, so we arose, unwilling to depart from what little heat remained in our sleeping bags. Our once-hot water bottles had lost their life-giving warmth while the fly on our tent had dislodged and was blowing an aggressive draught over our feet.

By the time we rallied together to get moving, more complications arose. Our boots had frozen in awkward shapes and our fire had long dwindled to a lonely pile of ashes. The breakfast we had planned (pancakes) was no longer an option; instead, our morning meal consisted of a special pastry provided by our lovely friends chez Pop Tarté...

After breakfast, we took down the tent and packed up all our gear. After this activity, we began to feel limber enough for our hike to the summit. After some deliberation (take the road around or hike straight up) we opted to take a straight shot up to the summit. Despite the steep slope, the hike was much easier that the day before, since our packs remained at camp.

After hiking for about 20 minutes, we stopped for some lunch. We still had a good sized stash of dried goods, which tasted simply heavenly. It was also at this time when we took a swig of our now mountain cold hot water bottles. We were all surprised with our water's overwhelming smoky aftertaste that had evidently come from the campfire boiling process the night before. We then coined the term Spruce Smoked Water (TM), and are currently exploring different markets where there may be customers to purchase this unique product in disposable bottles. It's possible we'll make millions, so we'll keep you posted.

As it turns out, the woods where we stopped for lunch was a mere 25 metres from the top of the mountain. With some extra spring in our step, we reached the summit. Spruce Knob was ours.

We did it!
Click to enlarge photos.

Being at the highest point of Spruce Mountain, Spruce Knob, was a great feeling. We had accomplished what we had come to do and were rewarded with a breathtaking view of the vast West Virginian wilderness.

Now it was time to climb back down the mountain, and see how Lily was holding up...

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

Post by Jeremy Enns

The Camp Site

The hike up Spruce Mountain was exhausting. The cold winds, deep snow, plus our heavy packs contributed to the physically demanding adventure.

Since we were climbing up the east side of the mountain, we were racing to keep up with the setting sun. Just as we were about to give up hope of finding a good place to set up camp, I (Jeremy) heard Jamie send out a cry of victory from up ahead. His triumphant cheers gave us the rejuvenated strength to persevere through the audacious adversities of the mighty mountain for just a little longer. Dylan, Jordan and I quickly caught up to him and shared in his excitement. We had found the snow-covered road, and with it a lovely clearing: perfect for setting up camp.

We took a quick walk down the road, and found out that our site was very close to the East Overlook, which provided a beautiful view of the valley and parallel mountain ranges. We were very close to the summit of Spruce Mountain, and our destination, Spruce Knob.

Since the sun was quickly disappearing on the horizon, we hastily got to work on our camp site. We needed to clear a spot for our tent, create a fire pit, gather dry wood--and obviously--construct a homey and comfortable latrine.

The East Overlook.

We all got to work, and finished setting up our camp more quickly than anticipated. With the wind causing a little trouble, Jamie's expertise helped us get a nice fire going.

Once the sun went down, it got cold. Very cold. Our sweat from the hike and camp site set up rapidly chilled us to the bone. We also noticed that although our fire was blazing, snow that was less that a foot from the fire was not melting. The frigid winter air quickly snatched up any heat we created. We all huddled as close to the fire as possible without our eyebrows, dreads, and/or beards getting singed.

Jordan, our resident chef, got to work on dinner while the rest of us kept the fire roaring and melted snow to replenish our water stores. Before we finished our steaming hot beans with canned chicken, they were freezing cold. We filled our Nalgene bottles with boiling water and stuffed them into our jackets.

Within a few minutes of finishing dinner, we all looked at each other and unanimously decided it was time to sleep. We were all huddled together in our tent, clutching our warm bottles by 8:30.

*And cue cheesy concluding paragraph.*

At the end of the day, we felt triumphant. Yes, we were exhausted, and yes, we were cold, but we were on an adventure, braving the elements and testing ourselves. We had worked together as a team and had accomplished something. We knew that reaching the summit in the morning would be an incredibly satisfying experience. Thus began a long, cold (very cold) night, in and out of sleep.

Beans: It's whats fer dinner.

Our "warm" tent.

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

Post by Jeremy Enns

The Long and Winding Road

Around 10 am, we were still driving through Circleville, a small town at the base of Spruce Mountain. After deliberating where to park Lily in said "town"--we use that term loosely--we decided to risk her up Forest Road 28, a long and winding road.

Up and up Lily went, navigating the switchbacks and increasingly icy gravel road with conviction. However, after a few miles, the ice slowed us to a point where we decided we could go no farther safely. It was here, from the middle of nowhere, where we would commence our trek, leaving Lily roadside for the time being.

With bags packed, items stowed, and a heading set, we began to venture along the road. At one point, we reached an open pasture. We suddenly found ourselves surrounded by West Virginian Yaks, which looked quite similar to Canadian Cows. As we continued, we essentially parted the Red Sea of Cattle, with the large beasts looking on as though they knew we were from out of town. As an eerie silence fell over the hillside, we came to a fence with a sign that read: "If you can read this, you're in range." It was here where we decided that the road was no longer something we wanted to follow...

We altered our course at this point, heading for the east hills, towards the forest and away from the yaks and fearsome sign.

This hike was not an easy one. We took turns leading the way and breaking through the knee-deep snow. We rested frequently to prevent sweating in the subzero temperatures, and to set down our heavy packs. Our tactics did little good; even in the frigid weather, it was hard not to sweat due to the strenuous physical demands of our uphill climb, plus the bright sun beating down on us from overhead.

We happened upon a cool little hunting cabin and took a jerky break. It was very small, perhaps six feet by six feet, with only a few things inside including two pairs of binoculars, a stool, and a scattering of shell casings. 

Feeling uneasy about this potential act of trespass, we decided to get to the forest ahead as soon as possible, especially after we noticed some movement by one of the farm houses below. Before we had taken even ten steps toward the forest, a large blue truck burst out of the woods, beelining straight for us. Our instincts told us that the inevitable conversation would redefine our stay in West Virginia... for better or for worse.

We waved politely at the vehicle barrelling towards us, hoping for the best. The driver stopped. We stopped. As the window rolled down, the man inside bellowed, "You know this here is private property?" With smiles hiding our uneasiness, we did our best to explain our intentions (foolhardy though they may have been) and pointed at the peak we intended to summit, still embarrassed we were slightly uncertain it was even The Knob.

Mentioning we were Canadians did us well. The driver, along with his wife in the passenger seat, chuckled as we shrugged of his warnings of large snow drifts and mountain lions. We were put at ease as the conversation continued, and were happy to get positive confirmation of our peak. They were somewhat surprised that we didn't have a gun as we headed into the wild, but wished us luck regardless. As we prepared to set off once again, the driver introduced himself: "The name is Greg Bennett. Pleased to meet you guys." With that, the blue truck drove on and left us in its tracks.

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

Summer VS. Winter

There were a host of new things we learned about traveling in Lily due to the winter season that was upon us during our trip to West Virginia.

Our first lesson was learned within two minutes of driving on the QEW. As we got Lily up to her mighty cruising speed of 90km/h, I quickly noticed Arctic Force winds all up on my legs and feet. It was hard to tell exactly which rust hole or gap between the doghouse and the cab was providing us with the inconvenient air conditioning. I guess on the positive side of things, ones feet would go numb within a matter of minutes and consequently stop feeling the frostbite setting in.

The worst part was that upon coming home and telling Rudy (my father) about our little draft problem, he let me in on an old car manufacturers secret. Before AC was a widespread option, there were foot vents installed in vehicles that were operated by hand. Sure enough, when he showed me where the vent was, it was wide open.  Kids these day don’t know nothin’ it seems.

Other things that we needed to consider were the cold nights that would inevitably come our way. Hoards of blankets, sleeping bags and pillows were added to our inventory and a few space heaters to hook up to the generator were brought along as well. Lily isn’t exactly insulated, and she could use some of those energy efficient windows that retain heat in all the fancy new houses these days. Perhaps we can get in on that government grant that paid people to install them. Driving in the RV was naturally colder than driving in the summer, but you know what they say: A chilly environment is a productive environment. I don’t actually know if anyone says that.

After breakfast in Elkins, we drove to Circleville, West Virginia. This was the town from which we planned to hike.  When we climbed Mt. Fitzwilliam two summers ago, we were slightly unprepared for the snow that one encounters once you reach the top of a Rocky Mountain. This time however, we had a better grasp on what we were doing. We were better prepared for the winter weather and once we had loaded our backpacks it was time to hit the mountain.

With Lily parked on the side of sketchy Country Road 28, we set out to conquer the Spruce Knob with spirits high.

Elkins, West Virginia: The City of Dreams

During any travel day, I always catch myself thinking how neat it is that you can start a day with a delicious Porch SmoothieTM in a familiar place and by the evening you can be transported to what seems like a world away. We made the decision that the small town of Elkins, West Virginia, would be our home for the night. The question of where exactly "home" would be "parked" had yet to be answered. Over the past three years of Open Road trips, a general philosophy has been developed for when we arrive at a new location. First, make an effort to meet people (anybody and everybody), next have a good attitude, and lastly, don't say no to any opportunity, and VOILA! Things will happen.

So that's what we did. We cruised the streets of Elkins, looking for something... anything. The town was dead. However, as we rounded the bend after a few minutes and a gallon of fuels worth of searching, we decided to park in the lot across from the the first group of people we saw. Lily is our go-to conversation starter and five minutes later, after asking the folks if they knew of anyone in town that would be able to put us to good use, one man, Duke, offered each of us his card. At first we were confused, but then it happened. Duke Talbot, PHd ........Mayor. Three years after a dream for The Open Road Project, we crossed yet another thing off our TORP bucket list:

42. Meet the mayor of a small town.

Not only did he hook us up with a great parking lot to spend the night (City Hall), he pointed us in the direction of two local establishments where we would be able to meet and bless a few good folks. That night, before hunkering down in our extremely well insulated RV (sarcasm*), we indulged at a local hotspot, Gino's Pizza. Our server Krystal was wonderful, and we sure enjoyed those American prices!

The following morning, we visited the Hometown Cafe and worked a scheme with our very helpful and delightful server to to cover the meals of all the folks inside the restauraunt. The owner, Barbara, caught wind of or plan and soon came to hang out with us at our table. She share with us her love for random acts of kindness, shared some stories and passed along two bags full of baked goods, on the house! Our breakfast at the Hometown Cafe proved to be a great success. We then once again filled Lily up with gas at the local Sunoco and began the hour drive to Spruce Knob!

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

Porch Smoothies

Seven and a half hours into the New Year, Lily was packed up and pulling out of Jer's driveway in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and onto the Open Road. When we caught wind of a breakfast offer from some of our friends, Kayla and Karissa, we knew that our adventure would begin before we even left Niagara! We later found out that Jordan had essentially invited himself over, but the girls were surprisingly happy to be waking up at the crack of dawn to make us breakfast.

Jan 1, 8:00am: the one time of year when you can expect almost every human to be sleeping. Traditionally, blenders and sleep haven't jived well, so we enjoyed our first meal of the New Year outside, and accidentally invented the sure-to-catch-on "porch smoothie."

It seemed very fitting that we spent our first meal of the New Year outside (in the cold), and it was also nice that Kayla and Karissa joined us in solidarity.

Alive and Well

To Our Wonderful Mothers (and other readers of course)!

We are happy to let you know that we have made if off of the mountain in one piece. We have also found a little bit of internet, so we will fill you in as fast as we can write!

It's been a very eventful and exciting trip and we are looking forward to telling you all!

Love, The Boys

And We're Off!

Wow it's early.

That was not a lot of sleep.

... Let's drive.

The Boys

Spring Cleaning in December

Every trip requires a little bit of preparation. Due to the last minute nature of this adventure, the four of us have spent the past 3 days running around trying to make sure that we will be ready for our winter excursion. Purchases from Outdoors Oriented, rummaging through our basements for camping equipment and asking our Facebook networks for snowshoes has defined the past 72 hours. This time around, we have been kind to our snack budget, and have made some delectable dried treats, including dried apples, bananas and Torpedo Jerky (our new specialty).

Sorels. Good to -40 and then some.

Jamie working the dehydrator, like a champ.

Today, I had the pleasure of hanging out with Lily, giving her the final clean before we leave. It's always fun finding trinkets and souvenirs from our past travels, and today was no exception. Reading through our guest book is always a joy, and I even found the golden hood ornament that we failed to install in Quebec. Old parking/driving violations also turned up during the clean up, but quickly found a home in the garbage. I'm pretty sure one of us paid The New Jersey Turnpike Association...

While searching through this stuff was fun, there were also some things in the cupboards I would have rather not come across. All I will say is that The Open Road Project has truly tested the term "non-perishable" and has come out with a victory, whether we wanted it or not. There were things that should have been found a home in the garbage well before we even left for our last trip out east in May...

If there is one thing I know, it's that winter is different from summer. This fact naturally calls for different preparations. We now have a new new additions to the interior of Lily, including a nice runner to keep our feet off the cold ground, a welcoming floor mat for snowy shoes and boots and a cozy basket of slippers. My mother also put together some great shoe boxes filled with various items including some warm winter gear, granola bars and a few toiletries for us to give away to any cold friends we may meet along the way. It was crazy going through our closets and finding all of the old coats and sweaters we don't wear anymore. Got two coats? Give one away! It seems rather logical to me, so hopefully we find good opportunities to find this stuff a new home.

All of our regular traveling necessities including a spare battery, jumper cables, generator, Jerry-can gas reserve, extra oil and a jug of kerosene, are all neatly stowed away in their proper places. It feels good to be ready, and it feels good to be heading back on the road!

Warm feet: essential.

Lily's new, classy rug.

Selfies are running rampant these days. Someone must stop this. At least I found a neat hat.

I could hardly be more excited for tomorrow, especially since New Years Day tends to be one of the most boring of the year, in my opinion. Come 08:00, we will officially be in trip mode ready for whatever adventure lies ahead!

Home is where you park it,
The Boys

Post by Jeremy Enns

It's About Time!

Hello once again, faithful readers! It's about time we got back on the ol' blogosphere, and why not return with some exciting news?

Without further ado, we are honoured, delighted, excited, even behooved (imagine that!) to announce that The Open Road Project will be ringing in the New Year with our first ever winter excursion. We (Jamie, Dylan, Jordan and Jeremy) are heading out on a winter camping trip in West Virginia that is sure to be a chilling time. Along the way, we hope to share some meals with strangers, give out some warm clothes during this cold season and perhaps do some rogue driveway shoveling where we see the need.

We will depart during the wee morning hours of the 1st and drive for most of the day. Our exotic destination is called the mighty Spruce Knob. Not only is the name hilarious, but this dream destination holds a plethora of mountain milestones, and is one of the most prominent "peaks" east of the Mississippi River. Exciting stuff. You will  hear more about The Knob in the coming posts.

This evening, we took dear Lily down to the local Coffee Shoppe, Tim Hortons, caught up with each other and dreamt about the coming adventures. We are super stoked to get away for a few days, find our inner hunter/gatherer and relax before we head back to school and work.

Stay tuned; we will be updating the blog as we go.

Lily lookin' good as ever.

"It's great. It's us." - Dylan Hamm

Stay Tuned

There may, perhaps, possibly be news of new adventures soon...

Keep an ear to the ground.

NYC In Photos

All photos by Dylan Hamm.

 

Boston In Photos

All photos by Dylan Hamm! Check out his site, he's talented.