We went to pick up a few groceries at Trader Joe’s in Tigard before heading out yesterday. When I walked out of the store, I noticed Dude chatting with some guy. I wondered if Dude knew him from somewhere or if it was just some stranger checking out our overpacked truck. As I walked over, he introduced himself as Matt from Blackstone.
Blackstone is a small company that makes a new kind of camera bag and it turns out Dude had just started connecting with Matt over Instagram but had no idea where they were located. It just so happens that Matt was less than fifteen minutes away from where we were. So, he hopped in his car and drove over to meet us. He also gave us a camera bag to test out on our trip! How cool is that?!
It took us much longer than expected to get to our campsite at Diamond Lake so we did not make it Crater Lake yesterday. The shot above was taken there this morning. It is so magnificent! Wish we could have spent more time there. There will definitely be a next time!
This was the view from our campsite on the lakefront where the boy, being a boy, enjoyed tossing rocks into the water. When we arrived we were welcomed by a swarm of mosquitos that, in the sunlight, looked like tiny little fairies… of death!
After a whole day without data, we are now finally connected and are on our way to hang out with some long time friends in Sacramento. Good times!
Wish you had unlimited time to enjoy each stop! Great backpack story, I bought a huge camera backpack once. Not a good decision – had to take it all the way off to get things in or out! But this looks smaller, need a review.
Crater lake was so incredibly amazing! I wish we had unlimited time… wouldn’t that be awesome? Over the years, we have been SLR users but all that gear went back to the ministry when we left. We recently purchased a couple of micro 4/3 cameras and so far, they fit well in this bag.
Betty, I also used to lug a large camera backpack, when I shot with a SLR. With smaller, mirrorless cameras and lenses, this smaller bag may be the ticket. Stay tuned for a review.
It was so nice to meet you all at Trader Joe’s. Love your thirst for adventure and the way you do life. Talk to you soon!
-Matt from Blackstone Bags
It was so nice to meet you too, Matt! Such an unexpected meeting.
Glad to hear you guys are on your adventure now. Wow! Free stuff & Sponsors! Very cool indeed. Looking forward to your next story.
Thanks, Ang! It’s been a whirlwind 3 days so far but so many cool encounters with some really great people!