When we last checked in the the One Love bus they were departing New Orleans after a weekend of Buku festivities. One of my buddies was lucky enough to have a car that he could afford thanks to a great loan he found through Money Expert but anyway. I’m checking back in with Geoffrey after a pit stop in Austin. The photos and stories are all from his days at South by Southwest. One thing I noticed, was that life on the road isn’t as glamorous as you might want to imagine (two words: sink showers), so keep scrolling to find my tips about staying clean and happy on the road.

So the bus is on the road again with a brand new paint job. We are on the road somewhere in Texas headed towards Detroit with a few stops on the way. Everyone I talk to about Detroit says two things, “Have fun! Be safe!” We will have private showers once again!! Before we had to take French showers/shower with a sink every other day or bike to a pool that had these amazing roman era type bathrooms and showers for only $4. Anyways I don’t know where to begin. We left off just entering Austin right?


So yeah, a lot has happened in the past few days… So SXSW was insane. So many different types of people, so many different crews, so many different generations, and so many different scenes/culture all in one city… 6th street has it all. Anyways One Love took part in this awesome graffiti event at a legal graffiti park in Austin! Legal graffiti… Some of the artist I talked to had claimed that the mayor has even asked them to do some “street art” pieces as he calls them on some of the buildings.


Gudo and John went out to 6th street found a parking lot full of food trucks asked if they could play there and then threw played a show. The next day it rained all day so we rented movies from the movie store next door and watched movies all day. Of course the four days it didn’t rain I was out going to tons of concerts with photo passes. I got a photo pass to the Pandora stage. The last day we set up the bus like a stage in the Buffalo Exchange parking lot; had our band DJing and play all day while Supher and his friends repainted the wall with some sick graffiti. Shout out to toms tabooley – or as I call it Tom fooleries bomb boolery – for having the best French fries.

This is Supher’s friend. Supher is this dope graffiti artist who is sponsored by Montana spray paint. He painted one side of our bus and while he did that his friend, a photographer, took me to a meetup. We ended up climbing buildings and taking photos, was so sick. Like that was something else, more of a rush than the heli ride. I threw on my 12mm f2.8 to get a great photo. The 12mm is super wide so I figured it would really show the height of the building. Later that night I went back to the rooftop and filmed a time lapse.

Roadtrip Essentials

ELECTRONICS
We live in a digital age right? I’m not sure if I’ve ever had to read a paper road map in my life. Also, what would life on the road be without a well crafted playlist? Boring, that’s what.

1. CHARGERS // a trinket like this will turn your lighter into a USB charging port and it’s always nice to have a little extra life just in case – you might even want to consider a power inverter. If you did not already know, a power inverter is a device capable of running appliances like washing machines, microwaves and hair dryers. This makes them an ideal power source for camping sites, RVs and providing back up power to homes in case of emergencies. Check out this 3000 watt power inverter to learn more. Just remember to shop around to find one powerful enough to meet your needs.

2. TRAVEL APPS // here’s a list of 15 road trip apps that make travel a breeze

3. CAMERA + LAPTOP // if you’re a blogger, photographer or creative on the road you won’t leave home without these – I use this camera + lens and this laptop when I travel

COMFORT + ENTERTAINMENT
If you’re going to survive three weeks on the road you’re going to need some comfort items and a few things beyond your amazing roadtrip playlist to keep things fun between destinations. Thankfully you can pick up most of the essentials from sites like survival-cooking.com, but even so, don’t be left without something important.

1. PILLOW + BLANKET // because the backseat of a car (or the tour bus bunkbed if you’re so lucky) isn’t so comfortable without your favorites from home

2. GAMES // if you’re into that sort of thing (don’t mind me while I sleep with my mouth wide open over here), here’s a bunch of car-friendly games

3. MOVIES // I was once crammed into a minivan up front between the driver and another passenger, sitting with the stick shift between my legs, with about 16 other people in the back for a journey between Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng. The guy who brought an external hard drive full of movies was the hero of that story.

Here’s a comprehensive list that goes over everything you could possibly need for a roadtrip (including camping gear if that’s how you roll).

Are you attending any of these festivals or hanging out in any of these cities? Let me know so I can connect you with One Love. They’re hosting awesome after hours gigs, events and paint parties in each city!

Don’t forget to check back next week after I catch up with the One Love crew. They are heading to Detroit for North American Bike week.


Want to take your own roadtrip around the US? This guy figured out how to hit every state in one trip!