Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers - Listener Episode #9: Night Swims with Manta Rays, Repeat Underwear Dad, & Guest Stats!

Episode Date: January 30, 2025

We’re back with another listener episode! Seth and Josh hear stories about night swimming with manta rays, a freezing cold Florida holiday, and what happened to one family when their jeep was ransacked. Plus, one listener gets the MVP award for breaking down the stats on Family Trips guests! 
Want to submit your family trips story for our next listener episode? Or send a question in to Seth and Josh? Submit your voicemail to speakpipe.com/familytripspod! Support our sponsors:AirbnbVisit airbnb.com and book today NissanSo thanks again to Nissan for sponsoring this episode of Family Trips. Adventure calls in the first-ever Nissan Rogue Rock Creek. Learn more at NissanUSA.com TalkspaceGet $80 off of your first month with Talkspace when you go to talkspace.com/trips and enter promo code SPACE80. To match with a licensed therapist today Public RecUpgrade your wardrobe instantly and save 20% off with the code TRIPS at https://www.publicrec.com/TRIPS #publicrecpod Executive Producers: Rob Holysz & Jeph Porter Creative Producer: Sam Skelton Coordinating Producer: Derek Johnson Mix & Master: Josh Windisch Episode Artwork: Analise Jorgensen

This episode of Family Trips is brought to you by Nissan. Adventure calls in the first ever Nissan Rogue Rock Creek. Learn more at NissanUSA.com. Here we go. Hi, Basheed. Hey, Sufi. We talked a little bit in a previous episode about everything that's happening in LA,

and we didn't get to the fact that I was in LA. I went for the Golden Globes. And we had a spectacular, well, two spectacular things. I had two interactions with you that were great. One, went over to your place. I think it was the first time I met Woody. What a good dog Woody is.

Yeah. A plus. Yeah, he's a... The spirit of Pickles is alive and well in Woody. Yeah, and younger and bouncier. Right. Yeah. So that was delightful, but the better thing,

and again, I almost never, I do not have a great sense of smell. No. I was also sort of fighting a cold. So I wasn't, you know, I wasn't super plugged into the odors around me, but I still at the same time, there was something that was like tickling at my memory bank.

There was something about what was going on, and it was making me hungry. I couldn't quite figure it out. And of course, you know, your house has a, you know, horseshit food. Uh. But then there was a reveal of like a heartbreakingly sweet reveal. Well, every 15 minutes with what I was making

for your arrival, you have to open the oven and stir something around. I wanted it to be done before you got there. So at the 30 minuteminute mark, you had arrived and I was making you a cup of coffee and I had to open the oven to push around a baking sheet covered in homemade Chex Mix. Chex Mix. Which is, historically for our family, like the go-to snack. Mom makes, I would contend, the best Chex Mix in the world. Yes, and when you're thinking of a bag of Chex Mix that you maybe would buy at a store or get on an airplane,

that is the gap between what you're eating and what my mom is making. Yeah. It's like three sticks of butter away from how good mom's is because that's about how much butter. But then what were you using instead of butter? Vegan butter. Okay.

Yeah, that was great. And I had made it, I made Chex Mix for the first time in my life because mom and dad were coming for Christmas. And I know that like mom doesn't, she sort of makes it exclusively for, I would say for us, but really for Christmas. And I know that like mom doesn't, she sort of makes it exclusively for, I would say for us, but really for you. Like you're sort of, yeah. Yeah, you're cuckoo for Chex Mix as the expression goes.

And I had been in Costco and they had sort of a triple bagger box of corn, wheat, and rice checks. And I had seen this in like November and bought it. And I was like, great, I'm going to make this for mom and dad for Christmas. And at some point along the line, Mackenzie saw that box and took one of the bags out because she just

wanted cereal. And I hadn't said this is for Chex Mix. And I was like, well, which bag was it? Was it the corn or the rice? And I didn't know if I'd be able to test. So I went back to Costco and I got another one. So I have so much Chex in the garage and I made a batch for mom and dad and then I made a batch in between and I hadn't used enough Worcestershire sauce. Yeah. So the second batch I used a little more

and then I wish I had more for your batch, but it was, yeah, it was good. You know what the pronunciation of that sauce is? What's that? The worst. The worst. It was the best. Also, you know, I was going to the Globes the next day,

you know, trying to keep it tight, had a tuxedo, fitted tuxedo, and I just spent two weeks in New Mexico. I love New Mexican food, but it is not great on the waistline. Yeah. It basically it's enchiladas and then different variations of that, that they call different things,

but it's all the same. Yeah. Pretty much. Delicious, but. And I had done this incredible thing where I managed to make it through the two weeks without ballooning up like a tick, made it to my hotel room, weighed myself with super psyched and then went to your house and then by the time I got back, I'm like, well, that's all, that's over now.

That's all over. I mean, you had three bowls of it. And then every time you went to the kitchen, I could hear you just taking it right off the, the top of the thinking sheet. Right off the tray, because that doesn't count as a bowl. That doesn't go in your bowl count.

And then you even said, do you want me to pack it up for you? And I, that was some real restraint to not take a bag of Chex Mix. And then, so that was amazing. And it was very touching. Thank you very much. I had bag of Chex Mix. Then, so that was amazing and it was very touching. Thank you very much. I had not had Chex Mix in a long time. Then, our friend Darcy Carden had the most unique birthday party slash concert that you got me tickets to at Largo,

which is a famous comedy slash music theater in Los Angeles. And explain the show a little bit. Yeah. So four girls whose birthday is January 4th. It's Darcy Carden and then Katie and Allison Crutchfield of the bands Waxahatchee and Swearin. So musicians like good singers and Darcy Carden, world-class performer. And they have gotten to be friendly over the years. They share a birthday and they have this thing that I sort of experience as a January 8th birthday,

in that it's tough to get people to come out for your birthday when it's so close to the holidays. Yeah, it's a drag. So they had discussed doing a party like this, and the party was they had a band, they had a venue, and they called it their Sweet 16, and they had the band play and they sang songs that were important to them when they were 16, which were, you know, hits. So real crowd pleasers. And then they had a series of guests who were, you know, just kind of jaw dropping

and how good they were. People like our good friend, Jeff Tweedy. Jeff Tweedy. Courtney Barnett, Will Forte. Eddie Bryant, Kevin Morby. Kevin Morby, yeah, it was like, it just kind of kept going. And then, and it was the kind of show that I was worried

that you were gonna be crabby about. Sure. You had two crabby about. Sure. You had two nights in LA. Yeah. And one of them I was like, come see this like sort of show in a, you know, quirky but cool theater and there's gonna be music. And I was like, I don't know if Sufi's gonna like this, but you and our friend Jill were so into it. And then we get to hang out with all those people afterwards

and it was the first time I've met Jeff Tweedy in person, which was really nice. Oh, I didn't realize. He was there with his kids and his wife. They were lovely. I always, I'm always a little, I feel it's a little risky to say, still love your song on the podcast,

cause I feel like that's just setting him up to be like, I don't know what you're talking about. Also, everybody started saying a song that they meant something to them when they were 16. Right. It was a quick interview portion where the girls, who also would sing backup on every song that they had a guest on, which was just what a great backup trio. Yeah. So there was a little conversation

and the guest would say why this song was important to them. And I kind of, I want to remember the song that musician comedian Whitmer Thomas sang. That was the one I was like. Oh yeah, it was, it was a song that, it was a dashboard confessional song. That's what it was, yeah. Okay, great. That's enough, I'll be able to find it then.

Yeah, I think it was like making out. That's better. It was a song that I didn't know that well, but like Mackenzie sitting right next to me was belting out. And that was another thing is they encouraged you to sing along. It wasn't a thing where it's like, this is a, you know,

we're so precious, just listen to us sing. It was like, no, if the spirit moves you, please sing along. And it was such a unique idea, so well executed. Good way of putting it. Anyway, thank you for my checks, Max. Thank you for my nice concert. It was great seeing you.

And now we have some of our listeners joining us with some of their stories. So Sam, tee it up. Hi, Seth and Josh. My name is Lindsay and I'm from Los Angeles. In April of 2017, my in-laws decided to treat the entire family to a trip to Hawaii to celebrate their wedding anniversary. At the time, my two boys were five and a half and nine and a half years old.

Now, I could probably fill a whole episode with stories about the complicated family dynamics of sharing a suite with your in-laws, but we need a lot more time and maybe a therapist to really dive into that one. I'm what you call a type A traveler, the kind that lazy travelers love to travel with. You don't have to plan a thing, just show up and I'll have every minute meticulously arranged. Think amazing adventures, the best restaurants, and some delightfully obscure roadside attractions, because who doesn't love a good roadside attraction? For this trip, my big highlight was a night snorkel with giant manta rays. I envisioned the magical, life-changing experience for my oldest son.

My husband graciously volunteered to stay behind with the five-year-old, so off I went with my 75-year-old father-in-law, almost 10-year-old son, and my sister-in-law. We got to the dock. The boat captain casually mentioned there was some small swells and it might be a little rough to get out there. The there was the end of the Kona runway where giant manta rays gathered at night. Sounded amazing in theory. The boat loaded with about 15 passengers made its way slowly over the swells. And when I say swells, I mean spine shattering, head rattling waves that felt like the boat was falling off the back of each one. By the time we reached the anchor spot,

I was practically begging to be the first one in the water, anything to get off of the boat. In my mind, I pictured a small, peaceful cove with graceful, magical creatures. Instead, what we encountered was the 405 freeway at rush hour. There were about 20 other tourist boats all packed with snorkelers. The water was just as crowded, teeming with people bobbing around like buoys, but as the boat rocked, so did my stomach. We jumped in the water and lay on our pool noodles as our group formed a circle. However, within minutes, things took a turn. The waves kept rolling and my stomach wasn't having it.

And then I noticed my 75-year-old father-in-law struggling to hold his 40-year-old daughter above the water as she began vomiting into the ocean. That was my breaking point. Just like the scene from Stand By Me with the pie-eating contest, I joined in and the water soon became a swirling mess of my lunch, breakfast, and possibly even last night's dinner. The ocean quickly filled with chunks of food and in a horrifying twist, every fish in the Pacific Ocean seemed to think it was feeding time. Suddenly, hundreds of small fish swarmed us, nibbling everything at sight. My son, who thought he was being attacked, started screaming and swimming away for his life. Now, while I was violently seasick,

surrounded by fish, I had to chase after my terrified child, who I was sure was about to be flattened by one of the giant boats crashing up and down in the waves. The rest of our group, equally traumatized, fled back to the boat. I managed to grab my son, drag him back to the boat and climb aboard. But as I pulled off my snorkel mask, the woman next to me let out a scream, pointing at me like she just witnessed a crime. That's when I realized I had been throwing up so violently that my nose started bleeding. Blood poured down my face, filling as it had filled my mask, and onto the deck of the boat, completing the picture of pure chaos. By the time we made it back to the dock, passengers were demanding refunds.

The captain kindly offered to take everyone out against the next night, although I'm sure that offer was not extended to my family. And no, I never did see a manta ray. Well, oof. I'm gonna say something posh and I know you're not gonna back it up. I feel like Lindsay got what she deserved. Yeah, I'm not backing that up. It sounds great to me.

It sounded, I mean, I still, by the way, it went better than my initial fear, which is you get eaten by a manta ray. And I know you're gonna be like, they don't eat people, not yet. So, you know, again, the very, you know, the jumping off point of what Lindsay said sounded, I mean, again, like, I wouldn't,

one, I wouldn't go snorkeling at night and I wouldn't swim in manta rays in the daytime. So the idea of doing a night swim, a night swim with manta ray, Lindsay. Night snorkel. Yeah, if I saw, if I was like in a hotel and looking at the sort of activities that they might recommend,

I would definitely bite on night snorkel with manta rays. Well, manta rays would definitely bite you. So that it works out. They don't wanna bite people. Well, they don't until you start puking everywhere. What? I mean, what mayhem? Yeah.

That's just awful. I will say there is that moment of like, oh right, they invited everybody. Yeah. Because again, I mean, they, you know, shout out to the manta rays who were not the villains of the story, but just, you know, rather tourists. Yeah.

And it is like, I've been on a snorkeling thing in Mexico where you get on a little boat with, you know, 15 people. We were there for like a bachelor party and drive to this little area. You're like, this is going to be great. Then you get there and there's 10 other boats. It's like, oh, right. This is the place. It's not like they had 10 boats when you got on and you knew we were all going to the same place,

but it's such a bummer when you take one of those excursions and you think they're sort of, you're getting away from the crowds, but you're just going to a smaller place that has so many people in that it's like, oh yeah, this is gonna be crowded too. I will say Lindsay sounds, there's a lot about Lindsay that sounds amazing. One, taking a 10 year old and a 75 year old who's not a blood relative.

Yeah. That's marriage. That's marriage. That's marriage. Yeah. I told you this, but I want our listeners to hear it because it was maybe the best moment of my two weeks in New Mexico. As you know, my father-in-law Tom Ash, who I love very much,

I hit the jackpot of Father-in-Law's. Yeah. With that said, he cannot drive by a rock in New Mexico that doesn't make him think of a story he wants to tell. Uh-huh. And we were driving, we were going to some hot springs. You would have been proud of me. We went to hot springs.

Yeah, that sounds good. And the kids were amazing, and they went into a little hot little cave, and we never saw them again. But they, I think came back out, but they've been different, like replaced. Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But we went and we were driving to this hot spring

and every single thing Tom saw, he would tell us, you guys were like, and at one point he says, now do you guys want to know why that's called Soda Rock? And Axel was in the backseat with me, and he was just looking out the window with his little glasses off, and he said really quiet, and I only heard,

I don't even think he wanted me to hear it, it was just what he was thinking, and he just went, shut up, pa. And then on the drive back, as if that, and I made me sob with quiet laughter. On the way back, they call him Pa, obviously. And he said, you guys want to hear another story? And Axel looked at me and just mouthed, another story. Like just a six year old being like, what is going on?

So when he mouths things, they don't have the little lisp, the current lisp? No, it's amazing. He mouths like, it's like My Fair Lady. His diction is incredible. But I also shout out to the Alphas who pack the rest of us. I'm lucky enough to be married to one of those. And Lindsay, you're doing God's work because,

and it, you know, every now and then my wife will say, I bet if I didn't do anything, you know, well, I would love to see what would happen today if I didn't help plan. We're like, just do it, we'll be fine. And then it's like 1130, we're like, we don't know where anything is. Everybody's hungry and we're sad.

So that's amazing. Yeah, also end of a runway, end of the Kona runway. Yeah. Which just like, I don't know. It's not what I would picture. That's a red flag. Yeah. Don't worry, it's not on the runway.

Well, yeah. It's in the water. It's very... Yeah. Thank you, Lindsay, for that fantastic story. Yeah, that's amazing. Yeah, bravo. Bravo for getting through it, living through it, to tell the tale.

And to tell the tale to us. Thank you. Hey, we're going to take a quick break and hear from some of our sponsors. This episode of Family Trips is brought to you by Nissan. It's time to fuel your inner adventurer in the award-winning Nissan Rogue, Rock Creek. Hey, Seth. Yeah.

Tell me about your inner adventure. Are you a rocky trails guy or more of a snow roads bird? I'm a snow roads bird. I like to go up my snow roads, maybe pull over at one point, pop off a couple snow angels back in the car, keep on rockin'. Yeah, I was gonna say your snow angels are some of the nicest snow angels I've ever seen.

They look as though they, an angel fell from heaven and just splatted into the snow. Yeah, one thing I will say, a note on snow angels, you don't have to do them face down What this is gonna be a game changer? What about you posh rocky trails or snow roads bird? Well, I mean I'm a bit of both I do love when you're in a vehicle that can handle some rocky terrain I like driving slow and

Feeling a big old tire sort of creep over a rock and sort of waggle you back and forth. And that's the kind of feeling that you can get with some confidence in the Nissan Rogue Rock Creek. And I would say a lack of confidence in the car we drove in high school, which was a Renault Le Car, and if it was even a little bit rainy, you wouldn't go outside. Whatever kind of adventurer you are, the Nissan Rogue Rock Creek is ready for you. Thanks to its intelligent around view monitor with off-road mode, the Rogue Rock Creek is ready for you thanks to its Intelligent Around View Monitor with Off-Road Mode. The Rogue Rock Creek

helps brave adventurers like you and also Seth to navigate around narrow obstacles in tough terrain. So thanks again to Nissan for sponsoring this episode of Family Trips. Adventure calls in the first-ever Nissan Rogue Rock Creek. Learn more at NissanUSA.com. Intelligent Around View Monitor cannot eliminate blind spots. It may not detectUSA.com. Intelligent-around view monitor cannot eliminate blind spots. It may not detect every object. Drivers should always turn and check surroundings before driving.

See owner's manual for safety information. Hey, Basheep. Hey, Sufi. Just talk to me about Airbnb. Well, we've got a trip coming up in the middle of 2025, a return trip to Amsterdam that I'm very excited about. We've got friends who got married 25 years ago. They're renewing their vows. So a lot of our friends are starting to book flights

and starting to make plans. And our friend Jill reached out to me and she was like, Hey, what hotel do you stay at? And I've like maybe stayed in one hotel in Amsterdam and all the years that we've been going back there because I always just get an Airbnb. You know, I lived there. I went to the grocery store there and staying at an Airbnb lets me have that feeling of living there again and that's what I like so much. Also sometimes you go to a hotel in a city like Amsterdam and it just feels like a hotel in any American city and that's really nice, you know, The amenities are great. But when you stay in an Airbnb in one of these cities, you just feel like you get that uniqueness

of what the architectural style is of that place. Yeah, and then you get to like stay in more residential neighborhoods. So you walk outside and you just feel like you're a real... Josh, you speak Dutch. How do you say Airbnb in Dutch? Air-bay-and-bay. Perfect.

Luft, Luft, Luft-bay-and-bay. Luft-bay-and-bay! Yeah. I don't know what the word for air is anymore, but... But the important thing is book your next awesome trip today at airbnb.com. Support comes from Talkspace. Hey, Bashe.

Yes, Sufi. I think we've both been lucky enough to work with therapists over the years, and I think we can both attest to the fact that it's very helpful. Absolutely. I hope that those therapists also have liked working with us. You know what? Not enough is said about that. I'm glad, you know, maybe we'll, I'll send out an email.

I bet if I wrote my old therapist and said, hey, did you like working with me? She would say like, you know, based on you asking that, I think you should come back in. I think your need for affirmation from me, your therapist, is a sign that things are coming undone. It can be challenging to find and meet with a therapist that's the right fit. And talk space ranges from personalized treatment

to meeting online, from anywhere to the ability to text your therapist at any time. But what about cost, Posh? Therapy can be costly. Put my mind at ease. Well, Talkspace is affordable and in-network with most insurance providers, most insured members have a zero dollar copay. But Posh, usually it's really hard to sign up online.

Put my mind at ease about that in regards to Talkspace. Well, you can easily sign up online and get paired with the licensed provider that's the right fit for your needs typically within 48 hours. You can also switch providers at no extra cost. What if I want to chat with them in between sessions? You can even talk it out between sessions by sending messages to your therapist. Talkspace provides personalized treatment

for individuals, couples, and the LGBTQIA plus community, veterans, and teens. As a listener of this podcast, you'll get $80 off your first month with Talkspace when you go to Talkspace.com slash trips and enter promo code space 80. To match with a licensed therapist today, go to Talkspace.com slash trips and enter promo code space 80 to get $80 off your first month and show your support for the show. That's Talkspace.com slash trips promo code space 80. Let's hear the next one.

Hi, Pashi. Hi, Sufi. I have a holiday family trip story for you. My family has had terrible luck when it comes to family vacations. We would inevitably have the worst weather for the entire time that we were at any destination we went to. For some time my parents owned a condo on Sanibel Island in Florida. I believe in 1989 my mom decided that we would spend Christmas at the condo rather than at our home in Connecticut. My mother loves Christmas so she put her all into this trip. She purchased all of our presents ahead of time when she was at the condo. We brought all the food

that we were going to make for our Christmas dinner. We have a traditional Christmas dinner of pasta and brujole. So our family of five, my father, mother, my brother, and sister, and I traveled from Connecticut to Florida for Christmas. That Christmas turned out to be the second coldest Christmas in Florida's recorded weather history. It snowed briefly. The high temperature was below freezing for days.

The power kept going out because of the high demand for heat. I remember my parents trying to cook dinner in between power outages. We had no warm clothes. The condo was freezing because, of course, it wasn't designed for a cold climate. We did make the best of it, but it was the last Christmas that we went to the condo for the holidays. Oh, I am so, I had people this year who were telling me that they were going on vacation and bringing all the gifts. And it just seems like so much to pull off. Also, I feel like Christmas presents, especially when there's a little kid or when there are kids,

there's always like a bigger present. Like there's a bike or there's something that has some size to it. And I don't know if you just limit yourself on what you can give when you're like, we're going to bring everything, we're going to pack up gifts. Yeah. I've never traveled, I don't think with more than a single piece of checked luggage. When I see people in the airport with like, just bags on top of bags on top of bags,

I just don't get it unless you're moving. Yeah. It's like, what's the deal? Would you say you sort of sit in withering judgment of them? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, it's- Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's coming across.

I call it mother's judgment. Oh yeah, there you go. From our mother. Our mother, yeah. I, last year, had an idea, and I think I was a year early on it, which is a bummer because now no one will let me do it again, which is I shipped the Home Alone Lego set to New Mexico,

which is a, it's the whole house. Yeah. And so it's a long one. And I feel like if I'd done it this year, the kids would have spent a lot it's a giant, it's a whole house. Yeah. And so it's a long one. And I feel like if I'd done it this year, the kids would have spent a lot of time building it. But last year I spent a lot of time building it. Uh-huh. And I didn't quite finish it.

And then we had this like unfinished giant Lego house that we had to get back to New York City. How'd you do it? Oh, we just put it like in a big old box and shipped it back. Yeah, I mean, nobody, it was very hard for me to argue that my decision-making had been strong. Yeah.

And the other thing was when you try to move the Home Alone Lego house, the thing's booby-trapped. Oh, right. Yeah. Catch a Lego off the forehead? Yes, everything. Like, I, you know, and then you're like trying, like I remember there was like one, like you're trying to like find windows to put your fingers in, right? And so I put my finger through one of the windows and then I dumped glue on me and then a fan blew a bunch of pillow feathers on it.

Yeah. So my finger looked like a chicken. And you're probably barefoot and then you step blew a bunch of pillow feathers on it. Yeah. So my finger looked like a chicken. And you're probably barefoot and then you step on a bunch of Legos. Yeah, I don't have shoes on my fingers. Come on. We watched it this year with the kids again. Oh, it's so good. I will posit that I think Joe Pesci should have won an Oscar for Home Alone.

Yeah. I mean, I'd have to look up who actually won, but it's the kind of thing where sometimes the Oscars will award a great performance, but who's to say a great performance can't be a fantastic comedic performance? I believe it was either the same year or one year apart, but that Joe Pesci did Goodfellas and then Home Alone,

and for my money brought the same integrity to each performance. Yeah, he's a treasure. Treasure, but Addie hadn't seen it yet. And Addie, we were worried she'd be a little scared by it. And then she said to Alexi halfway through, she goes, mama, you scared? And Alexi said, no, I'm not scared.

Are you scared? She goes, no, but you can sit next to me if you're scared. That's nice. It was really nice. And then we thought she was maybe she was scared and she was just doing like theater to try to get, but then it turned out it was just, she just was worried about Alexi being scared.

Oh, wow. And I will say as I do just think that maybe Alexi, she knows that Alexi doesn't like when people get shit all over her house. She wasn't scared about the break-in. Right. Also to Lisa's story about Florida for Christmas, we've been to Florida for a Super Bowl once, which is late January, maybe it was late January, early February, and there was like a golf outing,

and it was so cold golfing. You just sort of think Florida, it's going to be warm and people think the same thing about California and like our buddy Hayes was just out here for the Golden Globes as well and he was like, I was planning to like hang by the pool, but it's pretty chilly out there. It was very cold. Yeah.

I mean, it wasn't, no, it was cold. I had to wear a jacket everywhere I went. And I agree. Yeah. I was more excited about California weather. Joe Pesci won for Goodfellas in the 91 Oscars, and I think it was the same year. So he won an Oscar, but for my money, he won for the wrong thing.

Yeah. And he should give it back. Yeah. I, is he, I'll give you a hundred bucks if you can get it back. Yeah. I'll give you a hundred bucks if you can get it right. Okay. But you have to give me a hundred bucks if you get it wrong. No, then.

I think there's no chance I'm gonna be able to answer this. No, it's an either or. It's an either or. Okay. Is he Harry or Marv? Harry. I think you're right, because you would say Harry first. Jeff, Jeff, look it up, Harry. I think you're right, because you would say Harry first. Jeff, Jeff, look it up, Jeff.

We're really pulling the curtain back, because we've got Sam on here and we've got Jeff. Yeah, Jeff is our fact checker. And looking, historically, we haven't really used him that much. Harry, he was Harry, so I. All right. 100 bucks come on my way. Yeah. All right. Let's hear the next story.

Hi, Seth and Josh. My name is Lexi and I live in Wellesley, Massachusetts. I'm a big fan of the show. Seth, just a side note, my husband and my 10-year-old son met you this summer in Martha's Vineyard at the Chillmark 5K Road Race. I thank you and my son came in almost at the same time, but don't feel badly he's very fast. And coincidentally, the next day I found myself standing next to your wife and three kids at the agricultural fair. And when I whispered to my husband that

your wife was next to me, my husband's like, Oh, go tell her we saw Seth yesterday at the race. As if we were old friends and telling your wife that wouldn't creep her out. Don't worry, I did not talk to her. I left her alone. And I should also mention that my husband looks a lot like Will Ferrell and has dressed up as many of his characters over the years and he's won lookalike costume contest and he was almost a stand-in for a movie that Will was in. But long story short, I think he's trying desperately to get into the entertainment business despite having a job in finance and supporting our three children. I think he thought if maybe I said something to your wife, we would all become best friends,

and then you'd introduce them to Will, and Will would become his best friend. So anyway, okay, onto my story. This was a trip my family and I took when I was around nine years old. It was my parents, my older sister, who was around 12 at the time, and me. We were in the Caribbean on the island of St. Martin, and we were celebrating my dad's, it must've been 45th birthday. And while we were there, we had planned to stay at a resort that was affordable for my parents,

but first, upon arriving, we were gonna spend one night at some very fancy hotel to celebrate my dad's big birthday. I remember my mom telling us that we had to pack a fancy outfit to wear and it was going to be this big deal to stay at this fancy hotel for the night. We land at the airport and my parents rented a Jeep. I remember my sister and I were thinking this was really cool. What a cool car to rent because the top comes off and it was just really special. We had never driven in a car like that.

And this was in the 80s. So the Jeep tops back then were like plastic covers that snapped on and off with actual button snaps. So we're driving along to this fancy hotel and we stop in town to walk around at some shops before going to the hotel. And this part I remember very vividly. We parked the car and there's this guy standing on some steps on the sidewalk right next to where we parked. And he's just staring at us. And I now realize he's staring at us because he's thinking, are these stupid Americans really going to leave their car here with all their luggage and a car that has a snap-off top. You can guess what happened next. We park, we walk around. Sure enough, we come back to a car that has literally been ransacked. Everything was gone. Luggage

was gone. Anything in there was gone. Again, this is in the 80s. There wasn't a Target nearby or anything like that. There probably is now. But needless to say, we spent the entire vacation with just the clothes on our backs. My mom bought my sister and I some t-shirts we could wear, but the biggest bummer was really for my dad who is 6'3", and at the time was probably like 250 pounds. So a very big guy with very limited clothing options and places to shop on a small island.

So let's just say it's very easy to identify the pictures from that trip because my dad has the same ugly Hawaiian shirt in all of them and probably the same underwear. Anyway, thanks guys. Love the show. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it, Lexi. It would have been another, you could have said hi to my wife who's an A-Lexi. Yeah. So it would have been a come. I like to think that in that story, her husband was dressed like a Will Ferrell character at the Ag Fair.

Yeah. And then, Lexi would come home and say, hey, Ron Burgundy said he saw you at the road race. By the way, I had a very good road race time this year. And it's such a bummer how many like fast, small kids are out there. Yeah. It's like zipping by me. Coming in as fast as you are.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, snap on top in what is essentially a foreign country. Yeah, you don't want to do it. You don't want to do it in, let's not just put it on foreigners. I think in a lot of places in America, it's a bad go. I think in general, just a snap on top.

Just the word snap historically does not mean safety. No. Yeah. But I also like, I get the impulse to rent a Jeep on vacation. Like I went to, you know, my first time to Hawaii, I had my college roommate was giving a presentation out there and he's like, come on, come out. And I did. And yeah, we got that Jeep Wrangler and took that top off

and then it started pouring rain as hard as I've ever seen it rain. And yeah, we got soaked to the bone, but yeah, it makes sense for a vacation. Have I told the story about jumping in Lake Winnipesaukee and hitting my face on a rock and cutting up my face? Yeah, I think so. Just cause I get a weird sort of nauseous thing.

Yeah. Which is, you know, seems a little unfair since you're the one whose face is all weird now. Yeah. It's, yeah, that's a bummer. All right. Major bummer, Lexi. Yeah, we're very sorry.

And I would love, if you got a picture, maybe send it in. Yeah. Waste up though. We don't want to think about the underpants. Do you think he was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and just underpants? Cause they had no shorts that would fit him. Just some tighty whities and-

Or was he wearing Hawaiian underpants? Does that, that feels like a market that- Nobody's, yeah. The Hawaiian society at large could cash in on. What does mom say every time dad puts on a Hawaiian shirt? Oh, not that again, something like that? Probably, probably yeah. That's probably the accurate answer, but who does she say he looks like?

Magnum P.I. Yeah. Yeah. I don't believe it, but mom, you know, there was back in the day, dad was in a Magnum P.I. lookalike contest. Yeah, we were living in Michigan, so we were little. And mom always burns him

because she said he lost to a black guy. Yeah. Yeah. A dude who got a trip to Hawaii and probably a couple of nice shirts. Yeah, probably a couple of nice shirts. Whereas dad just had to parade himself around the mall. Also, it's really funny.

Like that's the most sort of mom criticism of dad to get mad at him for not winning a look-alike contest. Like all you can do is look, you could just look how you look. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah. All right, let's hear. I know he didn't win. He definitely Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But, yeah. All right, let's hear. I know he didn't win.

I know Larry Myers didn't win that one. He definitely didn't win that one. That has been part of the, yeah, part of the lore. Hey, we're going to take a quick break and hear from some of our sponsors. Support for Family Trips comes from Public Rec. Hey, Pashi. Yes, Sufi.

Talk to me about Public Rec. Oh, man. These pants, they're so comfortable. It feels like sweatpants, but they're elevated above that level. I don't even like going to the grocery store in sweatpants. It feels to me like I've given up. And you are a discerning buyer slash wearer of pants, so this is... Yeah.

This should be taken very seriously that you're saying this. Yeah. These public rec pants, they're so comfortable, they're so cozy, and then again, yeah, they just have a look that is a cut above, I would say. And you're never mailing it in, look-wise. No, I try to not mail it in. You can catch me mailing it in, let's be honest. And it's hard to catch me not mailing it in.

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This episode of Family Trips is brought to you by Nissan. It's time to fuel your inner adventure in the award-winning Nissan Rogue Rock Creek. So Josh, tell me about a recent time you connected with your inner adventurer. Well, anytime it rains in LA, which isn't very often, I throw my gear on and I get out in it. And my dog Woody loves to get out there with me. And we'll start on a trail, on sort of a big fire road trail, but then we find those smaller trails where you need to crawl and get your hands dirty.

And the wetter you get, the better you get. And, yeah, that's what we like. I love it. What about you? Have you connected with your inner adventurer recently? You know those squirrel suits where people jump off the sides of cliffs? Oh, yeah, yeah. I just watched one of... a YouTube video of that. with your inner adventurer recently? You know those squirrel suits where people jump off the sides of cliffs?

Oh yeah, yeah. I just watched a YouTube video of that. It gave me like, made my tummy feel weird. Yeah, yeah. Careful, don't watch too many of those. Whatever kind of adventurer you are, the Nissan Rogue Rock Creek is ready for you. Thanks to its intelligent around view monitor with off-road mode, the Rogue Rock Creek helps brave adventurers like you and also Seth to navigate around narrow obstacles

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of Family Trips. Adventure calls in the first ever Nissan Rogue Rock Creek. Learn more at NissanUSA.com. Intelligent-around view monitor cannot eliminate blind spots. It may not detect every object. Drivers should always turn and check surroundings before driving. See owner's manual for safety information. All right, let's hear the next one.

So the next one. So the next audio I'm going to play is not a story. And I have audio in two parts, so I'm going to play the first part and then you guys can chat about it a little bit and then I'll play part two, but I'm not going to tell you what it is. I'm just going to play it. All right. Hi, Josh and Seth.

My name is Angelica. I'm from Minnesota. I've been listening to your podcast. I'm really enjoying it. And I started recording some data on the guest's answers to your lightning round questions. I don't know if you'll find this interesting at all, but I figured I would call in and share it with you and let you decide. Full disclosure, this only includes episodes up through the Josh Brolin episode. Here we go. For the type of vacation question, most popular answer so far has been relaxing. 52% of your guests chose that. Second place, adventurous. 27%

of your guests. 20% of your guests said educational and only one person said enlightening. That was Jimmy Kimmel. For the mode of transportation, 30% of your guests said they preferred trains. 21% automobile, airplane came in at 18%, boat 10%, on foot 5%, bike and tour bus are tied for 4%, motorcycle and RV are tied for 2% of your guests. And then you have a couple outliers, sledding by Sarah Silverman, rocket by Johnny Knoxville, horse by Judd Apatow, and of course, Teleporting by Tiffany Haddish.

Right. I mean, I'm so jealous that somebody thought to do that before I did. Yeah, I was gonna say it's precisely the kind of thing that you would do. Yes, I would do it. I would send it to our friend, text chain. No one would respond.

Sometimes when I do stats about our fantasy football league, I think, you know what I should do is I should type this up. I should put it in a bottle and throw that bottle in the ocean with as little as anybody cares about my statistical work. No, I think your statistical work is very much appreciated, but sometimes it just takes a while for someone to get the first response and then more stuff ticks in. I am very happy and I am always taken with the fact,

based on how many people said trains or say trains, it really speaks to the fact that I feel like we should have better trains in America. Yeah, because I, yeah. I think that people, I think that it would be hard to sort of, you know, fact check our guests, but to be like, have you really traveled on trains or do you just say that?

Oh, that's fun. Because you romanticize it. So from now on you think it's like, what's your favorite form of travel? And they're like trains and then you're like, is it? Where'd you go from where to where? Okay, where'd you go though? Yeah.

Oh, Mr. Train Traveler. Yeah, try to piss them off right at the very end. I feel like- Call them a liar. I think a lot of people want to travel on trains because it's the, statistically, the highest percentage chance that there will be a murder. Mm-hmm. Yeah, and then sometimes, you know,

all, you know, and then of course, obviously you're a suspect. Yeah. But if your hands are clean and there's a British detective on board, you're probably, you know, not gonna end up getting arrested. They tend to get the right person. Also kudos to Kimmel for wanting an enlightening vacation.

That's a bigger lie than trains though. Well, if you really could have a relaxing, adventurous, or I guess we just say relaxing, adventurous, educational, and enlightening isn't in there. Maybe it used to be and you took it out because. No, I don't think it was. But if you could out of all of those, come out of a vacation enlightened.

Yeah. Doesn't that move to the top of the heap? Other than like, oh, I don't know, I just got a lot of sleep and read a book or I have a greater sense of my place in the universe and I'm equanimous. Yeah, good use of equanimous. That's when you teach people to ride horses underwater.

Yeah. I think that anybody who says they got enlightened on their vacation is like one, like luggage mix up at LaGuardia when they land away from being like, ah, that was all a sham. Great stats, Angelica. We've got part two of this audio. I think it's this audio. It could be different audio. Sam, give it to us. For the question about what other family

they'd like to go on a vacation with, 69% of your guests chose a real family and 31% chose a fictional family. Most of the answers were unique, but there were a couple of repeats with the Myers family being the top choice. Seven of your guests were unique, but there were a couple repeats with the Myers family being the top choice. Seven of your guests said they wanted to go on vacation with you guys. And then other repeats were the family from Friday

Night Lights, Beyonce Knowles, the Brady Bunch, Sanford & Son, The Simpsons, Swiss Family Robinson, and the Kennedys. For which family member they would like to be stuck on a desert island with, 27% of your guests said a spouse, 24% said a parent, with most of those choosing their dad. Sorry moms. 21% of your guests chose a sibling, 15% chose one of their children, 5% chose a grandparent, 3% chose an aunt or uncle, 3% chose a nephew, 1% chose a cousin, and then 1% said their father-in-law. I think that was Ed Helms, but I didn't write it down, so I don't know for sure.

For the hometown of your guests, 22% of your guests have come from California. Second place is New York with 12% of your guests. And then tied for third place you have Massachusetts, Washington, and the UK claiming 6% of your guests. Michigan and Illinois and Tennessee all have 5% of your guests. Pennsylvania and Florida claiming 4% of your guests each. And then Montana has 2% of your guests and then one person each from Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Canada, China, New

Zealand, Puerto Rico, and Australia. So you have 23 states represented so far in seven countries. You're missing a bunch of states, one of which is Minnesota. I'd be happy to fill that one in for you, but no pressure. 51% of your guests said yes, they would recommend their hometowns as a vacation destination to other families. 49% said no, but that's pretty even split. And for Seth's favorite question, how many of your guests have been to the Grand Canyon so far? 52% have been and of those 80% said it's worth it, 20% said it wasn't. And then for the 48% who have not been to the Grand Canyon, 82% do want to go and 18% don't want to go.

So pretty even numbers on those questions as well. Alright, that's all for me. Thank you guys for listening to my dull data, and thanks for the podcast. Jackpot. Jackpot, not dull data as well. Angelica MVP of the pod. Quintessential Minnesota nice. Yeah.

Fantastic. Yeah. We legit love that. I'm very, the even splits are... Yeah, we legit love that. I'm very, the even splits are, the hometown split about whether or not it's vacation. Yeah. That's so fun.

That was great. I love that very much. Thank you, Angelica. Yeah. But I will, I'm gonna say it and I don't wanna upset anybody. The day we have somebody from Minnesota on this pod is the day I'm fucking out.

Yeah, really good. I will say the question about a family you'd like to take a trip with, I feel like that would stump me in the moment. I feel like that one comes sort of after the first couple of questions in the lightning round, that one hits you like, it's like two quick right jabs and then a left hook.

Yeah, it's not. And I feel like that would cause some panic in me if I didn't know it was coming. It's a, when we get an answer, it's worth it, but I do, I think we should say to our guests, maybe moving forward, like, this is a really hard one, we apologize. Yeah, I feel like I say something to that effect. Yeah, but it doesn't sound sincere. Okay, right.

Yeah. Angelica. Thank you, Angelica. A hero's work. Thank you. It's always just so lovely to hear from our listeners. And I think that's the biggest thing about being a hero is that you're not just a hero in the first place, but you're a hero in the second place.

And I think that's the biggest thing about being a hero is that you're a hero in the second place. And I think that's the biggest thing about being a hero is that you're a hero A hero's work. Thank you. It's always just so lovely to hear from our listeners. And that was no exception today, Posh. Yeah, I agree. Yeah, thank you all so much. Wouldn't happen without you. We're off to a very nice start on the pod here in 2025. Thanks for listening.

Thanks for calling in. Thanks for sharing. Poshy,. Pashi, I love you. I love you too, Sufi. All right. Do we do it? Do it! Lindsay booked a family a Hawaiian excursion near the airport. That was a bad a battleman got themselves some snorkels for aquatic submersion. Their boat had way too much motion. Thought that

they were gonna see some manna rays. Instead they rocked about on the choppy waves and everyone threw up in the ocean, oh gee The fish all came to eat it That's disgusting Upchuck Swim back Oh man, I think I'm gonna yack Oh, oh, Lisa and her family went south for Christmas

Florida was the destination chosen Traveling for the holidays is tricky business Hit the beach, poo on suntan lotion At Christmas time they tell you that you better not pout But what you're supposed to do when the power's out Is just no fun when Florida is frozen, oh yeah Lexi and St. Martin back in the 80s Got a Jeep, that's how they were rollin'

Had a fancy dinner for her daddy's birthday Went downtown to do some tourist strolling But sadly they discovered that when they got back A criminal had made it through the weak Jeep snaps And all of their stuff, all of it was stolen oh gee three cheers for Angelica So great Oh, Dada

It's so pleasing Minna Soda Knows how Knows how to crunch those numbers Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm,