📓 This one's late. Here's why. | A week stranded in Sweden
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This email is late. Like, really late.
A few weeks ago we started losing power in the Land Cruiser. Not all at once, just enough to notice. Something wasn't right. We figured it was the fuel filter, which is a pretty routine fix, so we pulled over just outside Gothenburg to swap it out.
That's when the fuel filter holder snapped off in our hands. Turns out a previous mechanic had overtightened it, and when we went to change it, the whole thing gave way. So now we didn't just have a clogged filter. We had a broken truck and no way to run fuel through the engine.
If you've been following us for a while, you know we are not car people. We love our truck. We've driven it from the States to Panama and all over Europe. But when something breaks, our first instinct is to stare at it and hope it fixes itself.
It did not fix itself.
We spent the better part of a week in Gothenburg running around town looking for parts. Calling shops. Googling things we barely understood. We eventually tracked down someone in Sweden who had the part we needed, which felt like a small miracle.
Here's a quick video when we finally got the truck fixed!
We're not going to pretend it wasn't frustrating. A week of troubleshooting is a week we didn't get to spend exploring Sweden. But there's something that shifts when you fix the thing yourself. You stop feeling like a passenger in your own life for a second. Even if it took three YouTube tutorials and a lot of swearing.
We're heading to Denmark now... and we have a lot to share with you more on that later.
Chris, Sara and Kramer.
P.S. What's one thing you've been putting off that you know you just need to start? Not a car repair (hopefully). Hit reply. We'll share some next week.
👀 What Caught Our Eye
In case you missed it on our Instagram, Sara has been cruising around Stockholm on a Bolt scooter with Kramer strapped to her back in this thing. They look like Luke Skywalker and Yoda
The Ruffwear Commuter Pack is what makes it possible. It's a dog carrier backpack built for everyday use, and it's been perfect for getting around cities where Kramer's legs would give out before Sara's curiosity does. We've used it on trains, in airports, and now apparently on electric scooters at 15 mph.
If you travel with a dog, this one's worth a look.
We have two new ones this week, and both are sponsored trips. When we do videos like these it helps pay the bills, so it would mean a lot if you gave them a watch or dropped a comment.
We started in Ottawa at the Fairmont Château Laurier, did a nighttime kayak tour through the city, and then picked up a Le Boat houseboat in Smiths Falls for three nights on the Rideau Canal. We navigated locks, cruised through small towns, and figured out what it's actually like to captain your own boat with zero boating experience.
🎥 Canada Built a 146-Mile Bike Trail Where Every Stop is a Restaurant
Somebody in Quebec looked at a 235 kilometer bike path and decided the entire point of it should be food. The Véloroute Gourmande runs from Montreal to Sherbrooke with over 100 places to eat and drink along the trail. Bakeries, breweries, cheese makers, wineries, chocolate shops. You spend all day burning calories and put them right back. We did the whole thing in four days. And because we obviously hadn't thought any of this through, we brought Kramer.
This video was made possible by Tourism Eastern Townships and Tourisme Montérégie.
TSA is letting non-travelers through airport security for the first time since 9/11 — The new program is called Gateside. If you have TSA PreCheck, you can apply to walk someone to their gate, meet them at a layover, or just eat at the airport restaurants. 13 airports so far including LAX, DFW, Las Vegas, and Detroit. We never thought we'd see this again.
US airfares are up 23% over last year— Fuel costs, fewer airlines, and strong demand are all pushing prices up. The silver lining: month over month, fares actually dipped slightly in August. Maybe the ceiling is in. Maybe.
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