A DemonView Drives Adventure!
There are plenty of things I haven’t done since I moved from Ireland to the USA. I’ve never had chicken and waffles for instance. I’ve never queued outside of a store overnight on Black Friday waiting for some sort of sales bargain. I’ve never tailgated at a baseball or football game (mainly because I didn’t understand the rules and those things last for HOURS….). However, my biggest regret is never embarking on the great American road trip! At least, not until now!
Allow me to explain why this is so important to me. In Ireland, you could drive coast to coast in about 3 hours (in traffic). I’m not saying Ireland is a small country, but they did consider hanging a mirror at one end to make it look bigger. The issue is that when you drove out the city or village you were in, within 3 hours, you’d end up at a nearly identical city or village. You were still (more or less) in the same place. Sure, the pubs were a little different and the locals would look at you like you were some sort of suspicious outsider, but you never really got the sense that you were really anywhere different.
So how much bigger is the USA than Ireland? Well, let me put it this way, you could fit 116 Irelands inside of the USA! 116!!!!! I grew up watching American movies where people would hit the road, embark on a huge adventure, see different sights and make live changing discoveries along the way. Just not the type of thing that would happen in 3 hours on Irish roads. Each state seems to have it’s own identity, it’s own features and really is like a different country.
So, when my wife came up with the idea of treating me to a cross-country road trip in the USA, I jumped at the chance! (although it wasn’t a big jump…. I don’t like heights….). This would be my opportunity to hit the road, to embark on the adventure of a lifetime! To finally fulfill one of my American Dreams! However, this would be no sightseeing trip, we were going to be on a mission!
THE PLAN!
My wife’s family has a pretty interesting and diverse history, but “for reasons that don’t need exploring at this juncture” my wife’s father ended up in Canada in his younger years (there may be a prize if anyone can guess where that quote comes from!). When he left Canada, he left quite a few boxes of records with his relatives (which then became promptly forgotten about). These were recently re-discovered, and my wife and I decided we would go and collect them (mainly because it would they would be very expensive and far too delicate to ship!). So, the plan is this.
A: Fly from Portland Oregon to Toronto Canada.
B: Rent a car.
C: Collect the records.
D: Drive back to Portland Oregon, a 4200KM approx. road trip (or 2607 miles approx.)
Now like I said, this isn’t a sightseeing trip. We are planning to get this done as quickly as possible and as fast as (legally) possible all while being as safe as possible (see how much possibility there is?). Googly maps say this trip should take 38 hours. However, I’m pretty sure that doesn’t take into account the amount of coffee we’ll be drinking, the amount of bathroom breaks we’ll be needing as a result of drinking such copious amount of coffee, gas station stops etc. We plan to swap drivers every few hours, one sleeping in the back of the car while the other person does the driving. Having said that, if we reach a point where we are both tired or we feel unsafe to drive, we will be renting a hotel room.
There are a few routes that we can take on this trip, but I’m thinking it’s mainly going to depend on weather conditions, traffic conditions and how often I ignore the GPS directions and get us lost (a popular male trait I’m told). We will also be at the mercy of the rental car company, we booked an SUV for the trip, so hopefully we get something decent that doesn’t have mechanical issues.
The Camera Equipment!
Ok, so me being me, I intend to document this road trip as it happens. I’ll be trying to show YOU (yes you) how this adventure progresses, the up’s, the down’s and everything along the way. Hopefully it inspires (or warns) you about life on the road! So, I’ll be bringing with me the following camera’s I reckon.
1: The GoPro Hero 12 equipped with the Max Lens Mod 2.0. I find the MLM2.0 is a great wide angle lens to use when vlogging as it really does help display the full interior of the car and not just my face mashed into the camera. I’ll also be equipping the camera with the media mod to I can capture audio using the Rode Wireless Go II mics (still my favorite mic system).
2: The GoPro Hero Max. This will be for an additional camera for some 360 video or photo’s along the way. I may also use this as the dashcam (powered externally) for some shots. The ability to show the interior and exterior views at the same time is always fun.
When is it all happening?
Soon! Very soon! Flight tickets are booked, car is booked, all that’s left to do is get packed and hopefully make a plane as to what we’re going to do route wise etc. So, stay tuned for more updates and check out https://www.youtube.com/demonviewllc for more updates and details!
Want to be a DemonView Road trip Sponsor?
Now it’s your chance to be a part of the adventure! Have your website or business mentioned on this road trip adventure (time dependent, entries after the road trip takes place will get a shoutout in other later videos). Get a shoutout for being an amazing DemonView supporter! There are many ways you can help out on this adventure so just read the options below! Anyone that helps out will get the following!
1: A shoutout for yourself or your business during the road trip videos (time dependent, if you donate “after” the road trip has taken place, you’ll get a shoutout in a later video).
2: Credits in the video! Yes, I’ll be making a DEMONVIEW MOVIE all about this road trip and you will get a special thanks credit. You can brag to all your friends about how YOU (yes you!) helped out with this movie!
BUY ME A COFFEE! Yes, you can buy me (or my wife) a coffee to help keep us awake on this long road trip! Just click on the picture above to take you to the site. Make sure you leave a message so I can give you a shoutout and say thanks!
BUY DEMONVIEW MERCH! The best way to support this channel and website is to buy some merch and show everyone the love! Heck, buy some for your family and friends and give them the gift of a cool website name with an even cooler logo!
THE AMAZON ROAD TRIP LIST! This is a list of items I reckon will help on the road trip and ensure my safety, survival and sanity! Check it out, make a purchase and include a message so I can give you a shoutout and say thanks!
BECOME A DEMONVIEW CHANNEL MEMBER! With different membership levels available, anyone can help support this channel. Basic Members can connect on Social Media, Proud supporters get access to exclusive content, Producers get producer credits in all videos and even more exclusive content. Major Sponsors get all the perks as well as exclusive member only livestream access!
MAKE A DONATION! Donations are always welcome and probably the fastest way to help out with this video production. Your donation may be used to help out with production costs, travel costs or medial costs (because honestly, there’s some crazy people out on those roads!). So even the smallest donation can help make a big difference.
Please note this article contains links to 3rd party websites selling goods or services. When you click upon such links and purchase such products or services, I get a small kickback which goes towards helping produce more video’s and content for DemonView.com and its associated YouTube channels.
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