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Why Every Dad Needs a Guys’ Trip | Dad Livin’ Podcast
44 Plays8 months ago
Welcome back to Dad Livin’ — the podcast built for dads, by dads. In this episode, the crew dives into one of the most underrated secrets to fatherhood survival: the guys’ trip.
From baseball weekends in Chicago to questionable motels in Kentucky to discovering the best margaritas in Pittsburgh, the dads swap stories from nearly 16 years of man trips. They share why stepping away isn’t just about fun — it’s about mental health, keeping friendships alive, and recharging so you can show up better as a dad and husband.
Expect laughs, a little chaos, and maybe some ideas for your own dad getaway (or at least a margarita recipe to keep on deck). Whether you’re a new dad, seasoned dad, or just trying to survive bedtime routines, this episode reminds you that sometimes the best way to be present at home is to step away for a bit.
👉 Tune in, laugh with us, and remember: this is #DadLivin.
🎧 Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or at www.dadlivin.com
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Transcript
Introduction and Host Backgrounds
00:00:00
Speaker
Well, welcome everyone. This is DadLiving, a podcast built for dads and really anyone. And I'm Mike, by the way. I got two kiddos. They're 10 and 8.
00:00:12
Speaker
So I'm Brian. I've got three kids, two twins that are six years old now, and a little guy who we like to refer to as our bonus baby.
00:00:25
Speaker
go I'm Brian. You guys this room call me Johnny. Some people call me DJ. They call me a lot of things. But ah I'm a father of three, actually. I'm Doug Yoko. Yoko. Yokes. Yokes.
00:00:42
Speaker
And i have a five and a six-year-old.
00:00:47
Speaker
Welcome to Bradley!
00:00:55
Speaker
Dad living Welcome, everyone. Welcome back. Welcome back. Welcome
Recording Streak and Content Surprise
00:00:59
Speaker
back. Hello. All right. Here we are again. Here we here we are again. all right. We're never, never left.
00:01:06
Speaker
We're on what they call a streak. Explain it for a lot. Well, yeah, because we're in the same outfits as last time. Yeah. No. You know, who would have thought, you know, that we had so much to talk about that we're on to get back to talk about more stuff. Late night session. So yeah I would say the one thing about being dads and being parents is when we get together, but i which for this month, we've had two times we can get together.
00:01:34
Speaker
Unbelievable. I think that's pretty good. sir That's right. Oh, no. Hold on. Hold on. It one time. well We got together last month. so We did get together for my birthday, though. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. that was a yeah That was a fun little bash. It was a parents-owned bash.
00:01:51
Speaker
Ideally, best kind of bash. With our buddy E.B. Ewing, shout out. Yeah. yeah and We need to get Steve Ewing on the bash. asked him. Can we? Yeah, give me yeah I said, I'm going to try. he has a He has a kid going off to college. yeah Musician.
00:02:04
Speaker
Talented guy. If you haven't heard of The Urge, Steve Ewing, go check him out. If you're from the Midwest, go check him And you grew up in the 90s. You know the age. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Exactly. I spill some stuff on me. That's right. So today, today we are talking about...
The Importance of Guy's Trips
00:02:20
Speaker
why the guy's trip is so important man man trip re really just for anybody stepping away right yep so but for us it's the guy's trip we're gonna get in some sauce sauce for us oh yeah we're gonna get in some secret saucy details that why it's important what's going on with them and even some historical stuff i think our wives might learn sometimes you just gotta get away oh yeah our lives are gonna love this episode like I might not be able to come back after this episode. oh So we started doing man trips back in 2008.
00:02:58
Speaker
2008 was as far back as I could think was Chicago, the very first one. They kind of started out as baseball trips. Yeah, that was the tradition. Like, let's go see a Cardinals game at a different city every summer.
00:03:12
Speaker
and Go Card. Kept that going a long time. yeah Yeah, yeah. It's evolved over the years. They were running the Central, didn't they, for the Central Division. and you At the time, I know it's changed. Milwaukee was a little thin. I think we had, what, four or five guys. that was That was the time that everyone started kids.
00:03:28
Speaker
yeah Yeah. I was going to say, like yeah i miss we kept this going, but as soon as kids started coming, yeah yeah yeah it got harder and harder to bring a group of kids. 10 guys know 12 guys together yeah well and you know i think you know the last episode we talked about mental health and we talked about the importance of it why why do we do it it's a lot for that reason yeah mental health and it's also just to to get back to our roots and let loose a little bit yeah at least you know sometimes you gotta let the animal out of the cage you know yeah
00:04:02
Speaker
Dougie mentioned I'm the party animal or whatever you said. The life of the party, I believe.
Freedom, Bonding, and Mental Breaks
00:04:09
Speaker
The life of the party. Well, just imagine that in a different city. I don't know if you're the type of guy when we go on a man trip, we'll be in the most random spot or doing the random thing. And then all a sudden you'll be in like this VIP club or doing something just absolutely insane. And we'll be like, how does he do it? It's all about how you talk to people and treat people, man.
00:04:31
Speaker
You're good at that. You're good. You always have that smile on your face. You're always ready to go. Especially put a drink in this guy's hand. and He's extra vibrant. Let's go. Let's go.
00:04:43
Speaker
So, I mean, it it obviously gives us a mental break. You know, we love our wives, love our kids, but everyone deserves to get away. And, you know, obviously still have FaceTime, you still that stuff, but you get to just...
00:04:57
Speaker
unwind, uncut, and, you know, around you guys, we can obviously be guys. We can be ourselves. And i girls girls need to do this too. Yeah. else yes Yeah. And luckily your mates, your pals within our, our friend circle and wives, they, they do that as well. They plan theirs. And so it's kind of this, this give and take, right. Or,
00:05:17
Speaker
Yeah. It's good that they find their way to do it too. Just to know you have a couple days, you're not without your parental responsibilities. You're not thinking about work or nothing else. yeah and Yeah.
00:05:32
Speaker
Catching up and getting wild. yeah It doesn't have to be extravagant either. Like our Trips have been like run the gamut of, I guess you could call it extravagance from traveling like on an airplane to a faraway city to stuff
Memorable Moments from Past Trips
00:05:44
Speaker
here locally. Yeah. Like it doesn't have to be a crazy.
00:05:47
Speaker
Well, go back to the early days where we were, i mean. Slumming. In college or right out of college, scraping together money. like I mean, I think the one year we took a train, the one year we all pitched in and wrote crammed into a van. We took a train last night? Well, two three, four year three years ago. We actually had some Stayed in some seedy places back then. Travelodge in Newport, Kentucky. yeah Shout out to the new people who lead that place. yeah down they've probably knocked it down after we came through.
00:06:20
Speaker
Well, they could never recover. Power hours in the little pool that was in the parking lot. and and place hellos Yeah, that place was special. I don't know. We didn't get scabies from that. barrier was Special place in my heart. For anyone that's looking for just a fun place to go, Cincinnati and and was go to Newport, that is such a cool, cool city. and so But yeah, no. So what we're going to obviously dive into today is well, just some of the historical stuff of what we've been through. i think it's fun to talk about it and it's fun probably for, for you all to, to hear some of the stuff we've done. Maybe get some ideas. Yeah. right yeah yeah
00:07:01
Speaker
I think maybe get into the day, give a little insight to the one that we have planned. oh Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. That's going to be the oh no the the second part. it drip twenty five And, we you know, I think, you know, a lot of the things that go into it, you know, shout out to Doit right here because he's the he's the planner right now. You are the ceremonial planner.
00:07:21
Speaker
I work overnight, and so sometimes you have some extra time when there's nothing going on. So, ah yeah, I enjoy doing that. We appreciate it. Yeah. And, you know, so we'll get into some of those things. But, yeah.
00:07:34
Speaker
Ultimately have some fun. How about that boy? Let's go. Yeah. All right. So what, what was everyone's? So when we look back, so 2008, God, I mean, almost, almost 16 years of yeah doing this stuff.
00:07:49
Speaker
What's everyone's favorite trip? Boy, I honestly don't think I can pinpoint a favorite trip. And probably because I can't remember something. You got it tripped. You got to pick. I got to pick. Well, I mean, like you said, it's getting harder to keep everybody together.
00:08:07
Speaker
the The group's kind of dwindled. But just some of the earlier ones when we had yeah everybody there, 10, 12 Yeah. We were rough in it. Yeah. you know And the Cardinals were awesome at the time. You know, ah ah we were getting a little more ah ah spirited at the ball game. We were. Probably a little more mousy than we would now. Yeah. I i would also, though, beg for the difference. Just like...
00:08:30
Speaker
you know, wine gets better with age. I kind of, I enjoy the more recent ones because it means so much more now yeah to be able to take a break and step away than when we were more, you know, we, we, we could leave on a limb. We didn't have so many, things taking up our lives, right? You had work, you had your significant other. It was a much easier to plan. So I feel like they, they're more meaningful to me now than what they were then. I agree. Yeah. fantastic i agree trips and memories i i mean we could tell stories for days but i i do appreciate them more now than what we yeah once did i missed the full group though now we don't have to slum it yeah this is true that's kind of nice yeah we're not all pack three into a bed or laying on the floor i i've always dreamed to like in the future like to do maybe take our kids on one oh yeah that'd be interesting it wouldn't quite be the same oh yeah yeah yeah it's fun yeah i so i think that'll be a separate that's a separate trip we're gonna we're gonna take that and put that in the bucket of stuff maybe that's different like so so i mean obviously let's talk about when our sons oh yeah become of age then oh oh yeah then it's a then it's a man needs to do it yeah yeah
00:09:46
Speaker
Yeah, until we get outplayed by there. And then we're like, oh, like yeah. But no, i if we're going to talk about historical, I mean, there's there's we've had
Unforgettable Pittsburgh Trip
00:09:56
Speaker
amazing trips. But one thing that's coming up in my mind right now was our trip to Pittsburgh.
00:10:02
Speaker
Oh, I missed that one. that It was a, you know, we flew, we we had a stop, we had some drinks while we waited, you know, for our next flight. But that that whole trip was a lot of fun.
00:10:16
Speaker
but did There was a lot of crazy things that happened. Well, part of it was that city is awesome. That city is awesome. It's such a great city. If anybody's listening from Pittsburgh, that is one of the cleanest metropolitan cities I've ever been to. I've been to a bunch of them.
00:10:30
Speaker
It was so clean. but but That's happening on the huge, Jack. The stadium, the views. Seeing seen different ah places. places. cuisine Yeah. Just the the views of everything. Like walking across the bridge, right? I've got a picture of you standing on top with your arms out. like Yeah, we come the river city. We love those towns. Multiple.
00:10:53
Speaker
But there was just multiple things on that trip that happened that will make me laugh that I thoroughly enjoy. You know what stands out in my head about that trip?
00:11:05
Speaker
is where I don't know what we were doing. We were like going into another bar or something, and then we all turned around like, where's Ossendorf? So we like finally turn around and like, there's this huge cart that's all pedaled by like people. Do you guys remember this? Oh yeah. It was like a, like a traveling, the bar. It was a bicycle bar. good And oh he's just up there and he's,
00:11:26
Speaker
Like, I'm pedaling along. I think it was all girls. This is another one. It was a bachelor at play. That's right, yeah. And I somehow found my way onto this thing. They happened to stop at the bar that we were all going to, and I got them to buy a shot. Yeah.
00:11:40
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, I remember. The Bachelorette party bought a shot. isnt yeah I was like, who got these shots? That was amazing. But that that was one highlight. But I think, you know, obviously there were some other things that happened on that trip that were hilarious. But I think about our last day before we left and we found this random Mexican restaurant that had these margaritas.
00:12:03
Speaker
that were phenomenal. And i remember coming home and trying to recreate these margaritas. It was pineapple juice and whatever. I don't remember what it was. it was i Tell me.
00:12:16
Speaker
Equal parts, lime, lemon, and orange juice, along with simple syrup. All equal parts. And then your favorite, tequila. Obviously, youre one darker light. I have the video yeah still to this day. the driver He told me what it was in between those. It was. like but How many...
00:12:32
Speaker
pitch or i don't even i can't even I was a little we under the influence. We went to our train for four hours. yeah We got on a plane. the me but i me i me Can I reframe this really quick? Take a step back. please z r We're waiting for our flight.
00:12:47
Speaker
We have probably three or four hours to kill. yeah because we had We were all hungover. like We are all struggling at this point. We just got done eating sandwiches at oh God, what's the place on to the per made may ask which was, which was, which was good. It wasn't my favorite thing, which I'm not. to be on band the fri The fries are on there, but and not as good.
00:13:08
Speaker
We're walking around and we see this sign. And of course, Asenor and a couple other friends, Greg, are leading the charge and they're just out to to dominate some sub drinks.
00:13:20
Speaker
While all of us are like, oh, my God, we're going to throw up if something happens. If we ingest any alcohol, it's going to happen. We go down in this basement. It is, what, three flights of stairs down into this basement. underground And you go into this Mexican. Yeah, there's there's a couple people there.
00:13:36
Speaker
They have a tortilla press that's working in the background. They sell their own tortillas. And we huddle up to the bar, and there's eight of us. And John said, I know you weren't there, but all of a sudden they're like, I asked this kid behind bar, is this, ah you make good margaritas? He turns around and goes, fuck yeah, the best fucking margaritas in Pittsburgh. He did.
00:14:00
Speaker
get like show it yeah so so they started out with a with with one and then all of a sudden it went to pitcher who we pitch and then all of a sudden went to five pitchers across this bar yes because it was the best margarita i've ever had in my entire life the best i mean you talk about hair of the dog i think i got on the flight remember it was delayed too because we had those bad storms that's right so we got delayed and then we got a voucher on top of that from southwest shout out but but yeah i was right yeah That, yeah, that was, that was good. That was, I just, yeah, I just, yeah, a lot of that trip was fun. I mean, you hit the, the, the bachelorette party and it was just the margaritas, man. The fact that I yeah tried to recreate those for months after it was fun. I called him juicer as soon as I got home.
00:14:45
Speaker
did I still have. I break it out because I'll still make those. and They're not quite as good, but they're pretty darn close. Yeah. as I mean, I know I wasn't on that one, but it's just hitting me like some of our best stories and some of our best memories together happened on these trips. oh That's what it's all about. Just get away, make more memories together.
00:15:04
Speaker
Johnny, take take it away. What's your favorite? Ooh, I mean, so, so, some of the more recent ones have kind of evolved, evolved to, uh, you know, golf's incorporated. So that's, that's fun. I, the one we did a few years ago, we drove out to, uh, kind of a late community golf course and it's, it's little more tame out there, you know, at least I thought it was. Yeah.
00:15:27
Speaker
But we got this big A-frame cabin and just two days of golf and drinking and playing in the lake and cooking out. I love that one. That was a 30-minute drive or a 40-minute drive. That was nice. You guys remember the first night we were down there and us being a hot tub to golf together half naked while it was raining. Nothing about that. Nothing gay. Nothing gay about that.
00:15:52
Speaker
We're all happy as can be, but it's definitely one of those things that when you look back at it, it was like, that was, that was the moment of that trip that, that other was, I know there was quite a few, yeah that was the moment that was so fun. Cause it was all of us in the hot tub, poor non-rank outside and we're all just like uncontrollably laughing. Yeah.
00:16:12
Speaker
Yeah, we made the mess the best of that situation. we all thought, oh, it's raining. What are we going to Well, jump in the damn hot tub. Like, what's the difference? That and Doitman's we were talking about before we even got on on here. It was the the vodka and cream soda drinks. Cream soda and orange juice. Oh, mind erasers. And boy, do they do the trick.
00:16:32
Speaker
and i will They will punish you. oh yeah. I mean, I just keep coming
Humorous Chicago Incident
00:16:37
Speaker
to my head. My most infamous man trip story yeah was one of the first ones we did in Chicago.
00:16:44
Speaker
And late at night, finished at the bars. We're trying to get back to the hotel. Oh, wait. I'm just not realizing where he's going with this. And we're in we're on the L train.
00:16:55
Speaker
Yeah. yeah And you and me are. Yeah, we were. We gabbling. I think. I don't know. It's not telling you what we were arguing about. And we're like. that few, that few. You're like, why don't you get off the train? But okay.
00:17:08
Speaker
ah i i Get off the train and not being from Chicago, i didn't know was the last one of the night. Yeah. Now frame it up like that. This for smartphones.
00:17:19
Speaker
Like, yeah. So I had the Uber. You didn't have anything. Yeah. I'm like, I had no idea to idea where I'm at. I'm drunk in Chicago at 3am or whatever. And had like 20 bucks left in my pocket.
00:17:32
Speaker
And all I remember was we were staying by Northwestern. yeah Yeah. Hailed on a cab. I mean, in Northwestern. You didn't even know what hotel cab driver didn't speak English, don't know, think. So I'm driving, like, this doesn't look familiar. I'm like, let me out here.
00:17:47
Speaker
So I find somebody the streets like, can you tell me where I'm at And they're like, oh, yeah, you need to take a bus or hop on a bus. and oh I found another cab. You were planes, trains, and automobiles back to our hotel. hotel like I'm watching the meter because I'm counting how much money I have left. like, okay, let me out now.
00:18:07
Speaker
i I had like three more blocks to walk. I remember getting back there. Why'd you guys leave me out there? We all started like, hey, Johnny! Honestly, like for a moment, we just thought, wait, is he where is he? And that was one of the nights I should have probably died.
00:18:23
Speaker
If you could have seen the look on our face when you hopped out of that train. we were Oh, I remember. It was seared in my memory of, You're like, did you just do that? And then we all were like, well, there's nothing we can do. There's nothing can do. i remember that moment so vividly because you had your hair buzzed.
00:18:41
Speaker
It was kind of the Buzz Johnson moment in life. i just remember I remember you stepping out of that train. I could see you doing it. And I'm just like... What the hell did he do? who yeah Who pissed him Like, it was guilty. Yeah, I got back to the hotel. I'm like, suspect you guys all worried about me. And you guys are partying on a rooftop. We were having a great time. I helped fight his race.
00:19:04
Speaker
but were we acting like we were doctors. Yeah, we were talking about that. We're medical students. We were We were. oh man. Yeah, we were medical students at Northwestern.
00:19:17
Speaker
Yeah, that is it. Yeah. but yeah At 3 o'clock in the morning on a school night, just getting hammered. It's okay. Everybody bought it. They liked it. did. but Yeah. now i do i think yeah I mean, stories could go on forever. I mean, we've got lots of them. I'm happy to keep talking about them, but just kind of trying to ground us again here. you know that The thing about all of this is...
00:19:40
Speaker
A parent, you know going through having children, having a significant other, whatever you're you're going through, like it's great to have moments like that to be able to just break away and decompress.
00:19:52
Speaker
Yeah. However you do it, and you know, we we drink, we do those things. But whatever decompressing means for you, you got to make sure that you find ways to break away, do it with a group of friends, family, whatever. But those things are important because we you said it earlier, you know.
00:20:10
Speaker
Stepping up, thinking about your mental health. Like for me, that's a big thing. We're very fortunate to have friends that we've known since, you know, us four have known each other since elementary school. right but It's amazing to be able to go have these adventures.
00:20:24
Speaker
Should I call them? Yeah. well that's what it is with each other and be able to just stop right and kind of get back to us getting to be with each other and and act in ways that probably brought us together in the first page oh place right and and build these memories that we'll talk about forever and ever because we've had a lot of yeah something primal about it yeah it's like I don't know. that I love that word. That is a great word. For real, though. I mean, you you let your guard down. All your responsibilities are on hold and you just can.
00:21:01
Speaker
I mean, I'm not saying I'm not my true self at all times. You don't really let go. yeah no Yeah. Well, you know, you don't have to wake up at six in the morning to take care of a child after having a few drinks like.
00:21:12
Speaker
You know, you get to sleep in. you do We do our day. We figure it out. and And on top of that, too, when when it's guys and wives, we love you to death. And moms, we love you to death.
00:21:23
Speaker
But you all probably deal with that stuff, too. When you're with your wife's friend, you know, your girlfriends, and we're with us, us together, it's a different relationship.
00:21:35
Speaker
like feel it's like we can be like a true guy. yeah Is that that was that, is that the right way to say it? It's like, makes so i can, ah ah you know, I'm expecting Doitman of Potter's, but gosh oh i't' more you know, like wow in front of us, i don't care. Like, Hey, you know You get to know each other on a deeper level. i He sweats more than like anyone I've ever seen in my entire life. is so No doubt about it. well gold bond Yeah, I got a sponsorship.
00:22:05
Speaker
I'm coming our way for that. that rally i should. I buy it in bulk. Oh yeah. We learned that early on. together you go on here yeah hum but yeah And you know, I think for us, like at least for me being in, like even going back to the day, remember when we rented the, uh, the big white fans, we arrive everywhere. Oh yeah.
00:22:28
Speaker
that was so fun. And I remember, I remember doing that, getting close quarters, both down there. Because down there, you know, we'd obviously be responsible and drink on the way down.
00:22:38
Speaker
Not the driver, but just not the driver. You know, I think I was usually the driver, which was fun. Yeah. Which was fun. You've always been kind of Mr. Response. Yeah. Yeah. Unfortunately, it comes with the territory. Well, yeah, you know, yeah.
00:22:51
Speaker
Yeah. To be the police officer in that in that sense. the But, you know, and the way back, you just, you know, you have but the different experiences, too, which are fun. But everything in between, it's just so much different.
00:23:03
Speaker
So much different. Honestly, the the the most recent ones. Just thinking. of i sorry. I'm thinking you brought up joining me in a police officer.
Organizing Trips Amidst Busy Lives
00:23:14
Speaker
him try we were in good old Newport. Yeah.
00:23:17
Speaker
trying to get s sweeter and not get arrested. Yeah. And they had nothing to do with it. No, we don't care. Mitch, you know what? I don't blame the guy. I totally get it. He told me to fly kite. Yeah. just I remember that was sorry. hey Yeah. He's not having it. That was fun.
00:23:33
Speaker
I, you know, and throughout our our guys trips, as you get older and older, the the guys trips get harder, especially with, you know, when we had 10 guys or 12 guys at one point.
00:23:45
Speaker
And then obviously that dwindled to eight and then five. And now we have a tighter. And I think the challenge as you get older and as you become a parent, it gets harder to organize dates. It gets harder to organize everything.
00:24:00
Speaker
So, you know, that's the hardest part in life that no one ever tells you about as far as as you become a parent and as you get older, you're going lose friends or not necessarily lose friends. You're just not going to see each other as much. Can't do as much as you want.
00:24:14
Speaker
And I think for us and we have a lot of close friends that it's so tough to. I think it prevents us from having sometimes man trips. We haven't done the trips because we couldn't find way to get everybody. To line up everybody's schedules. It's so hard. And even, you know, as close-knit as a lot of us are, it sometimes would prevent us from even planning something because, well, we can't get.
00:24:42
Speaker
Can't do it if he can't go. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, obviously then you have friends that are, there's probably a lot of people listening that have friends that live in different states. So like Greg and, and SASMA, you know, SASMA has been a source for at least a few of us as we've kind of traveled along. I know you're going to take tack on this, this, uh, this time, let's but I mean, we've had times where we've gone to, well, the Vegas, the one day Vegas thing. Try. Well, I mean, just think about that. That was probably one of my favorite times. It was awesome.
00:25:14
Speaker
Get ready because I'm coming to Vegas. this are And we're going to do the same thing this year. And it was one of
The Vegas Experience
00:25:20
Speaker
my favorites. I was telling one of my coworkers about this. Think about it this way. You're going to Vegas for one day.
00:25:26
Speaker
One going to it all in. What are going to do? I mean, your head starts spinning. What we did, yeah imagine this day. we We started the day at a buffet. i What buffet? Back it up. yeah You get off a red-eye flight, and your yeah my friend picks you up from the airport at 8 a.m. m with a picture of Bloody Mary. You know it's going to be good day. Oh, my God, dude.
00:25:48
Speaker
This is there's one thing about Saz and I know I know he's going to listen to this. I know for sure. Oh, yeah. We'll have him on at some point. You'll get to meet probably the the quietest Rico Suave in the world. i Pick up any girl, any girl by saying nothing. I've never seen a guy like that.
00:26:04
Speaker
It was those locks, man. he's He's one of those guys that's talented at literally every day. so he could pull He could pick up something and two minutes later, he's like, I'm going to kick your ass in this. And it's like, shit, you are, aren't you?
00:26:19
Speaker
He's just that type of guy. He makes the best damn Bloody Mary. And every time, and it's like a tradition now, every time he picks you up at the the airport and you missed it last time, Johnny. Because sure enough, sure as shit, he had a full cooler filled and Timmy, one of our buddies, was like, he's not going have a it's 8 30 a.m we made a special trip to make sure sure as shit go even and sass picked us up and there was a bloody cell so we're you definitely ready the red eye are you ready we're doing the red eye if we got one day in vegas so i don't know if we're gonna get them this year though because i bet you sass flies this year
00:26:54
Speaker
so no First stop. and That's all right. First stop. so We can always shop in Vegas to make them. we're gonna yeah and anyway But imagine that day. What are you going to do? and If you're ever in the Vegas, there's a ton of stuff to do. oh yeah We did everything. or eight all One of my favorite casinos out there is Casino Royale. stayed there for two and half hours. Three hours.
00:27:17
Speaker
And probably one of the one of the best memories that I had, Johnson and Saz went back to the hotel a little bit early. So me and Doven had to finish because we were a little bit on the heater.
00:27:28
Speaker
We finished on our crap game. And instead of going directly back to the hotel, you know, or we're quite a few beers deep at this point. We're walking on the strip, going back to New York.
00:27:39
Speaker
or And Johnson and Saz are calling us like, where the hell you guys at? What's going on? We stopped by Cosmo. We stopped by a few things. Everything looks close. As you walk it, you got to make your pizza. We're trying to get there. I mean, we had we had an adventure. did it back. We just had a blast.
00:27:59
Speaker
And then we had the best dinner at a place called Herbs and Rye. I mean, it's the darkest place in the world from a sense of they keep their lights so low. yeah you can You can't even see the person across the table. Yeah.
00:28:12
Speaker
But the States and everything are fantastic. And then we went to Old Town, which was fantastic. um And literally, I think Johnny and I were in there first. Johnny was first, and then I was shortly behind him. And then Doitman and Saz were shortly behind us after that.
00:28:31
Speaker
But that was such a fun trip. And then, of course, we took a, what was supposed to be like a three-hour drive. Took us like seven. Took us like seven. yeah Of course, you know, so, so those are always the fun trips.
00:28:43
Speaker
SASMA has been a source lately for us to, at least me to take trips. Uh, you know, going up to Alaska, that was a fun trip. I wish, I wish you guys could have came. Cause I think for, I'm speaking on a bad enjoyment, that was,
00:28:56
Speaker
That was probably my favorite. That was absolutely incredible. There was a point where, course, guys being guys, we're playing power hour while we're driving between Anchorage and this very remote spot, which Doitman said that it would only take us a few hours to drive through.
00:29:11
Speaker
But no, we drove from there's a fairank oh Anchorage to Fairbanks to them, Fairbanks to this remote spot, which was an hour outside of Fairbanks. um um All right. In the middle of nowhere.
00:29:21
Speaker
We took a piss on the side of the the road. and Literally parking us out of the road. without Because we're literally. There's no cars. Damn near to the Arctic Circle at this point. at At that point, I recommend everyone go out there because you looked up in the sky and you saw everything. Never seen it before. I have never experienced that.
Adventures in Alaska
00:29:41
Speaker
Obviously, you know, obviously it's what like one degree outside. we you have a good. It was actually. It was a warm day, but it was like negative something. Yeah. but They're like, it was a warm day. I'm like, God, what was that hot spot? it was like a hot spring.
00:29:53
Speaker
Yeah. Hot springs. Oh, my God. That was cool. Besides getting our are because, well, the guy told us to take make, what, a left instead of a right, a right instead of Eight feet of snow. Eight feet of snow got the truck completely sank.
00:30:05
Speaker
Yeah, that wasn't fun. Yeah, that guy was totally screwing with That trip could have ended really poorly. Yeah, man. But that was fun. That was one of my favorites right there. Dude, what's hit with me is like, you know, we just came off the mental health talk, but like...
00:30:19
Speaker
You ever just like feel like, man, I just need a good laugh. Like I i would turn on like a standup special or something, you know, just reminiscing on this stuff. Like it's just constant laughter, dude. Like, yeah I mean, you come back from this trip, like it usually escalates to debauchery, but it you come back, recharge from it and like, all right, man, I'm just ready to come back and be a happy dad. if they go out world Yeah. Yeah.
00:30:42
Speaker
Yeah. yeah Absolutely. and You do come back charged for sure. Yeah. You know, and I think that's one of those things, too. for For moms out there, it's definitely fun. I'm just thinking of another story.
00:30:57
Speaker
Well, don't lead the... I'm not going to throw Johnny under the table. Lay it out there. That's the same sort of trip, my friend. That was our trip. When I do on those, our trip. you didn't get your food, don't. let me tell it being in missouri we've got the lake of the ozarks right so this was 2021 there it was kind of yeah yeah travel yeah so it's still one of the places you could go in the country and not worry about wearing a mask and doing all that you know go down that road but so you rented a boat gym at the poon tune
00:31:40
Speaker
See, there you
Pandemic Trip to Lake of the Ozarks
00:31:41
Speaker
go. It was a pond tune, but we named it the poon tune. I didn't think that was going to it. There wasn't a female in sight. No, no, not on this trail. It was COVID. Sausage tune.
00:31:54
Speaker
So on the boat all day long, i come back and hit my head on the bed and I was out for a couple hours. All the food that we bought the store is gone. And we cooked like 12 All the dinner, all the breakfast for the next 12 hot dogs. I was left with crumbs of a bag of chips.
00:32:12
Speaker
And I'm just fuming. I'm like, I'm starving. You're drinking all day long.
00:32:18
Speaker
So Doug and his state of mind, my upper mentality. Doug being the one that always wants the people please. I'm going to find some stuff and whip Johnny up some pancakes. Wow.
00:32:31
Speaker
and Does that make pancakes? This is exactly what I was laughing at. You to season it a little bit, right? Lacking quite a few ingredients. It doesn't have sugar all day. It was flour and water. So I made like masa.
00:32:46
Speaker
That's foreign. I don't know. Oh, my God. i do As soon as we left in the morning, went straight to the closest place I could find something to get my stomach. um I mean, we were at a... somehow i got Somehow I got blamed for that, too, Johnny. It came after me. but Sometimes on guys' trips, it seems that we butt heads.
00:33:02
Speaker
Yeah. ah You guys got almost got to do fist fight down in my cabin one year, too. had to break it up. Oh, yeah. We love each other. There's no doubt. but but me i yeah oh Too much like brothers, I think, at times.
00:33:17
Speaker
that Yeah, yeah. You get re-released in the wild. You think you can drink like you're 20 more than you. You start saying things. the the The cabin for people reference. I was there pre-making any money.
00:33:31
Speaker
Man trip. So then Frederick. Oh, yeah. We didn't talk about the cat. We're away. Yeah. Missouri. Very for us. That was that was that was way before. That was that was in college. Goodness. That was maybe high school.
00:33:42
Speaker
No, we started in high school. at The first one was. Yeah. Our spring break junior year. We went down there. And you missed that one. Yeah. And that was that we spent a week down there. Yeah. i don't. yeah I don't think I can. that was there's two. That point was a point.
00:33:56
Speaker
That was a point where you want to talk about cutting off. That was two thousand. and Three. Three. yeah three We had flip phones and no cell phone service. so So literally you had to drive all the way down to the road. You have to get a four wheeler all the way down to the creek in the road in order to get one bar.
00:34:13
Speaker
had a radio. yeah We had beer. Of course. And probably probably the funniest part of that I'll never forget was was Deutz Grandpa.
00:34:24
Speaker
pulling up after a night of drinking. We had this we had this weird build the beer pair he had it was like a pyramid. It was epic. you know Back in high school and in Okadoun underage drinking, and unless yeah i mean I still believe my dad. If you can get drafted in the army, you should be able to drink. I agree with that. and i don't even say roll enough to get drafted. No, no, no. we were go say You guys were in the middle of nowhere, not leaving, not driving.
00:34:52
Speaker
we yeah We weren't driving anywhere. We were safe with everything. But we had this big old pyramid. and It had a bed seven or eight in the morning. We heard car come down the road. oh my God. We heard it.
00:35:04
Speaker
And I just remember Doitman jumping up. His face got blind. He's like... shit my grandpa and literally all of a sudden we knocked all the beer cans behind the dresser there was a dresser a futon a little table and a little kitchen area and then there was an upstairs loft area and uh i remember coming down from the loft area doyman's knocking everything down covering everything up with fans it smelled like like fear and all that stuff and his grandpa came in and Well, I mean... ah He knew, but he didn't say anything. Yeah, he didn't care because, I mean, he did the same damn thing. I know.
00:35:39
Speaker
Just at a down time. Too much fun. Yeah. yeah But that was the fun. Man, on the stories. But to your point, what but a great way to, like, reflect and... yeah Like I, my, my stress levels are down at a shit day and just doing this and talking about these stories. yeah You want to change your week? Yeah. test Find a way to get a good laugh.
00:35:58
Speaker
Yeah. sorry Hopefully, hopefully you got a laugh out of this one for sure. Yeah. at All our dumb stories. Yeah. You know, and I think this year we're doing Vegas. Mesquite, Nevada.
00:36:10
Speaker
Mesquite, Nevada. Yeah, it's a golfing destination. little golf. So yeah we're going to golf one, little casino, Vegas for a day. just Just cutting away. And we have a, what we request? I requested the hot tub. Yeah.
00:36:23
Speaker
For sure. I got to have the hot tub. I need a fire pit. Fire pit. Yeah. So we got we got we got a little fire pit. little more chill vibes in the old days. Oh, yeah. Yeah. That's what everybody i gets their own bed. now I mean, it'll get a little wild, but yeah.
00:36:35
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. so that'll, that'll be fine. that'd be four too. Yeah. Absolutely. So, uh, I love it down there. here all of us is great If you're listening in Mesquite, Nevada, and you have any, uh, recommendations on what to do or where to go, shout out for sure.
00:36:50
Speaker
and so Please. Definitely. This was a fun episode. This was a fun one. Yeah, this is a fun one. This is a little peek behind the curtain of what, you know, how we've been together for so long and the things that we've gotten. When we're not on here, we're the exact same way of just...
00:37:06
Speaker
yeah giggling and laughing and telling our stupid stories and drinking beers and just it took us what 20 minutes to to start the episode here if we we we kept on talking about all the all stuff but yeah but i think like trying to put a bow on it if you had to do that i think Again, going back, like these things matter,
Personal Growth through Travel
00:37:25
Speaker
right? like You need to find time for yourself. You need to take a break.
00:37:29
Speaker
need to cut away. It helps you with stress, anxiety, your you know everything that leads to mental health. yeah yeah And no matter how you find your fun, we do it in the ways that work for us that probably aren't always the healthy ways, but at the end of the day, it gets our minds right, and um and that's what matters. Yep.
00:37:49
Speaker
And my challenge to you, our challenge to you listening is take one trip a year. At least, obviously, you don't want to push it You don't want to do a trip every month and leave your significant other.
00:38:00
Speaker
As far as a man trip, that is. yeah You can take trips every month, please. And you don't even to have to fly. like Remember the days with the float trip? Yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, people probably don't know what those are. and It's like a Missouri. Oh, yeah.
00:38:13
Speaker
but We have a lot of rivers. Heck, and we like to float in route. Our first episode, we had a million man. We float down the river and do a bunch of beer. One mile an hour. Yeah. fire Yeah. yeah yeah i don't mean yeah I mean, if you're strapped for cash, like there's tons of ways to do it.
00:38:27
Speaker
like Get with your friends right now. When you get done with this episode, call them, pick up the phone, call them and plan something. That's that's your goal. Obviously, make sure you're significant out of the nose like, hey, we're planning something.
00:38:41
Speaker
Plan it ahead. You know, I think we just got praise from my wife, who was a former vet planner, who literally has our whole trip this summer planned to the T every day.
00:38:53
Speaker
Doiman got praise. So good good job for planning ahead. that might a High praise. That's something I don't hear a lot. you know so so and That's good. Doiman's our planner right now. But pick up the phone.
00:39:04
Speaker
Plan. right Get something on the books. and And you will be thanking yourself. Whether it's a trip skiing, a beach trip, a Vegas trip, float trip, whatever it is. Just just go with your with your friends.
00:39:17
Speaker
Whether you're guy, girls, take your girl trip and have fun. It'll help make you a better den. and that's what this is all about. So be better den. Yeah. So like and follow us, DadLiving on Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok.
00:39:33
Speaker
No, LinkedIn. Instagram. yeah yeah We're on TikTok too. That's business side. Facebook. Instagram. Twitter. Grindr. LinkedIn.
00:39:43
Speaker
yeah acts Dad living on on YouTube. oh boy Follow us. Comment on on what you like. What you but you want to hear about. Any questions you've got.
00:39:56
Speaker
Episodes. Whatever. i mean We're always down for it. We'll continue to say time and time again. We want to want to hang out with you during this time. yeah yeah This is fun. I appreciate it.
00:40:08
Speaker
have a Have a good day. yeah Thank you. everybody budy light it baby
00:40:16
Speaker
Welcome to Class of Lifting!