Journey To You (Hallmark Channel - 2025)

[00:00:01] Hi, I'm Brian and I love Hallmark Dayspring movies. I'm Brian, I like Hallmark Dayspring movies. I'm Dan and I despise Hallmark Dayspring movies and this is the Deck The Hallmark Podcast. Deck The Hallmark, it's this podcast. I'm friends host this podcast. We hope you like this jolly podcast. Hi everybody, happy Tuesday to ya.

[00:00:37] Big Dingus Day celebration yesterday, Brian. We're all dried off. We have a double-decker that sends us the Kruschiki. We love Dingus Day. It's phenomenal. We love the Dingus Day. Dingus Day, for everybody who doesn't know, every Monday after Easter. Dave Dingus. Dave Dingus, the whole gang. You get the treats, you get... I got a... The last car I bought from Dingus was one of the best deals I've ever gotten. It's just unbelievable.

[00:01:05] He'd never done a lemon in his life. That's right. Dave Dingus Mazda. That's exactly right. And Audi, I don't know if you heard. Also... It's a weird combo. Yeah. He does Mazda and Audi, not Volkswagen. No. No. But Audi. Yeah. It was already a VW. Yeah. Dave Dingus, Mazda and Audi. Yeah. Yeah. It's more about belly buttons. Also, hope everybody had a wonderful Easter. Brian, you took your kids to an Easter egg hunt. An outdoor, not on Sunday.

[00:01:34] Well, I've learned... Down here we call it a drop, I guess is what it is. A what? Was it a drop by helicopter? A drop? No. They were just out there in the field. Cowards. Exactly. That's what I saw. Cowards. Okay. So, it's Saturday? Saturday? This was Saturday. Hot down here. Hot day. It's Saturday. And Brian messages us, letting us all know that he has brought his children to an outdoor Easter egg drop. Yeah. A whole fest. It's basically a fest. It's a fest. Easter fest. What's that about?

[00:02:01] Yeah. Just a little something to do with the fam. Get out there. It was a nice day down here, down south, due south. And you've got to do something with these kids on the weekend. You can't just watch the TV with a straight shot. You've got to do something with these kids. So, I'm told. You've got to get out of the house. Well, and the pool's not open yet. What are you going to do? It's not time for swim team yet. That's right. We're not in swim team yet. Swim team's coming up, though. Are you excited? It is. Like, next month. Yeah, within a few weeks here. Am I excited? We did just sign up for swim. We did just sign up.

[00:02:31] So, yes, you are excited? No, no, no, no, no. Different. I'm not there yet. Not there yet. We're going to get excited. We're going to get there. But we are signed up. Not excited. You paid your dues. We paid the dues. Different than the HOA due. Yeah. Separate due. Different HOA. Different due. Yeah. So, we had to get out there and do the egg drop. Now, for those that aren't from the area and maybe are new to this whole thing, and here in the upstate of South Carolina, and I don't know of anywhere else that does this. I think it's just Greenville. I'm sure there's other places.

[00:02:55] It's a weird bit. There are, you know, swim teams during summertime where different subdivisions compete against other subdivisions. And if you're not in a subdivision, you can join a subdivision. You can. You can. You have to pass certain tests. You have to do like a, hey, when was the subdivision founded? All this stuff. It's like the transfer portal all over again. Yes, it is. Announce my commitment to Heritage Lakes. Is there any, have you caught wind of any dirty practice? Is anybody paying a kid who's a really fast swimmer to come on over?

[00:03:25] Not that I know of, but we did lose what I heard is 20 kids to a new pool that opened up. No. A neighborhood put in a pool, and we lost a whole slew of good swimmers to that. One of the best swimmers in Greenville actually is on that team now. Really? We're in big trouble. We're in big trouble, guys. Do you want to dox that person, that kid? No, no, I can't. You'll hear her name in the Olympics at some point. I mean, I assume. Davey Bryant. It's Anna is her first name. Anna is her? Anna. Oh, Anna.

[00:03:54] I thought you said Anna is her first name. I thought you said Anna is her first name. I thought you said Anna is her first name. Yes. No, not that I know of. Anna is her first name. Not that I know of. Fast. She's super fast. So it looks like we're in big trouble this year. Yeah. And so you want to skip? You want to use your skip? Can't use my skip, unfortunately. You can pay to not have to volunteer, but unfortunately you have to. There's money. Come on. You have to pay money to not volunteer? They do this at Chinon. They did a thing where you had a night.

[00:04:22] Every parent had to watch the tickets in the front or do the concessions. Or you could pay a high school kid service hours where the money went to their senior trip or whatever, but you could pay to get out of it. Yeah. By default, you are in on volunteering unless you pay out of it. You buy yourself out. And you're not buying out of it. And that money, I don't know where that money goes. No, we can't buy out of that. Oh, I will 100% buy it. I don't want to tell you. I don't want to tell you. Please tell me. No, you need to tell me right now. Is it under $50?

[00:04:51] And we'll determine how much I'm going to throw at you. Is it under $50? It's like probably $25. It's $25. No! And you don't pay! Boo! Boo! The thing is, you still have to do, like, this is to volunteer out of the concessions that you have to bring. You have to bake stuff and bring it. And you have to, like, be a timer in the lane. This only gets you out of the food. So you still have to do all of that? You still have to bake? No, you either bake or pay. You either pay or you bring a bake good. So all in, all done.

[00:05:21] How much do I have to pay to not do anything? Nothing. There's not a price you are in. Or if you, unless you... You just told me I could pay or bring a dessert. I don't want to do that. Right. How much is that? So you, $25. Oh, $25 to not bring a dessert. Yes, you're out there. But still, you have to volunteer as, like, a lane timer. Or you have to do something else. But what if I don't want to do any of that? What if I can't? And then we throw... Then if you don't, you get shade thrown at you for the rest of your life. Oh, so you can. Okay, you can. It's just Brian feeling that.

[00:05:49] Yeah, you just have to participate or don't. Brian doesn't want to pay the $25. I don't want to pay the social price. That's right. Yeah. I will pay that social price. I know. I'm not as strong as you, you know? Just a complete sidebar. Sheila Calloway sent us a care package. And in it, Sour Patch Kids, sour lemonade flavors. Really? Is that what you're throwing at me? Just absolutely revolutionary. How about that? Oh, my goodness. They're so good. I'll try one during break. The break's going to be long enough for me, I think. Yeah, I couldn't find them at the QT. Oh, there's none left? Or the... There's none left. Perfect. Is this the last one? Should we try it right now? No.

[00:06:19] You take it. No. No, Daniel. I'll take it. No. I'm either going to have it or he's going to have it. I want you to have it. That's a move there. Because I want to have it. She was throwing it to me and he smacked it out of the way. Oh, is that what happened? Yeah. Well, the reflex. Just the reflex. Oh, nice. Nice. Yeah. That was really good. Right? It's the best sour candy on the market. I said it. Oh, my God. Wow. I couldn't find it anywhere. I think we're going to need a few more. It's on. It's in a market at the very least. At least one of them. It's got to be in the market. The market.

[00:06:49] The big market in the sky. You want to go to break? Or you want to go... Are we there yet? How about I do my synopsis? Oh, we didn't do that yet? Holy moly. We're only six months in. That's a whole mark. Merry Christmas. Dan's like Brian's been talking a lot. It was forever. It must be longer than 10 minutes. We're only seven minutes deep. Internal clock. We're only seven minutes deep. We're only seven minutes deep. We're only seven minutes deep. We're only seven minutes deep. We're only seven minutes deep. Paying but still volunteering only using six words, I think, is over and over again. You have to. You have to. You have to. You can't not. Pay. Pay. You still.

[00:07:18] You have to. You have to pay. Journey to you. April 19th, 2025. A little pre-Easter. Yeah. One day. Pre-Easter is what we call it. Kind of getting the mindset. Pre-Easter Saturday. Pre-Easter Saturday. This is the day before Pope died, by the way. Rest in peace. Hallmark. Weird way to mark it. That's how I start marking it. Well, that's how I mark everything this year. Day after Priester. This year is now. Day after Priester is how you would have said that. Yes. So it's Dingus Day. Nope. That's day after day after Priester.

[00:07:48] Dingus Day is day after Pope died. That's right. This movie came. Friday. Friday Priester Eve. That's exactly right. Shout out. Shout out, Pope. Yeah. Sure. Shout out, Pope. Good shout out. All right. Hallmark Channel. It went a little something like this. Nurse Monica Miller has been working hard, hoping for a promotion. Hoping it's right around that old corner there. It's not. Does that get the promotion? She's feeling a little disheartened.

[00:08:16] She visits her mom, who gives her some simple but powerful advice. Go walk the Camino. So she does. Monica has to Spain and meets. Monica. Monica has to Spain and meets Louis, who helps her with her shoes. So if that's not love, I don't know what is. Along the journey, they stay in homes, like kind locals who welcome pilgrims, as they call them.

[00:08:45] It's Pilgrim's Progress. Shout out. So Louis is traveling. That's Dan's favorite book, Pilgrim's Progress. Yeah, it is. Oh, it is? Oh, man. How many times have you read it? Christian. Pliable. That's exactly right. Slew of Despond. Oh, yeah. Love the Slew. Sean Bunyan. I've read the kids' version a ton. I read the OG once. You taught it. You taught the Pilgrim's Progress. And how many times have I read it? Zero. Louis. No, no, no. That's embarrassing for everyone involved. It's streaky.

[00:09:15] The school. Everyone involved there should come off scathed. That is terrible. I'm not embarrassed. Louis. It was really good notes. I mean, they were the overhead projectors. The way God intended. That's right. That way you don't have to read it. It's a plastic iron. He was the overhead projector in 2014. Louis is traveling with. That's hysterical. Louis is traveling with his son, Mateo, and his parents. Not Mateo's parents. You get it?

[00:09:45] Yeah. And begins to. There's some tension that is beginning to rise to the top, if you will. Well, especially since all he really wants to do is talk to Monica. He even rides back on horseback to retrieve her devotional book that she left behind. What a guy. One night, they're sitting by the fire. They almost kiss, but they stop when the power goes out. And they're left, you know, sitting by the glow of the flames.

[00:10:12] Because that's not romantic enough to follow through with the kiss. Because now, something you should know about Louis is he avoids spending time with his son, Mateo, as much as humanly possible. As much as possible. Mateo doesn't seem to care all that much until one night when Louis misses family dinner because he lost track of time and got the wrong time. He heard it wrong. He's hanging out with Monica. That's when this whole ballgame shifts everybody.

[00:10:40] And I shouldn't even call it a ballgame because Mateo doesn't like sports. Of course. Monica starts to feel like she's getting in the way of Louis and Mateo's Camino experience, if you will. I'll TM that. So she quietly slips away. She's like, sorry, not sorry. I gotta go. You do your thing. Later, Mateo turns to his dad and is like, hey, do you love her? And Louis says, yeah. So they go and find her.

[00:11:10] They arrive at the location where many consider to be the end of the Camino. What's it called? El Camino. El Camino. Spanish for the end of the Camino. That's right. But she's not there. She's not there. Why is she not there? Because she kept walking. Monica makes it to the true end of the path. Does a little prayer. Tosses one up to the big man upstairs. Just then, Louis shows up, interrupts her prayer.

[00:11:36] And it's like, hey, boo-boo, it is me. Your prayer was nice. Hey, boo-boo. They decide that they want to walk through life together. Let's keep walking. And they kiss. And they all toss one upstairs. And that, my friends, was Journey to You. Santiago. We did it. That's right. Let's take a break. Already? Ready?

[00:12:07] Let's take a break. We'll come back and we'll break this movie down with four segments. Here on. Take the Hallmark. This is because you don't want Buster's dad to come up to you and be like, you're too good to volunteer, huh? Yeah. Well, you don't want to be there for the kids. And if you're going to be there for the kids, you've got to volunteer. I will say this. If I had to sit at a swim meet all day,

[00:12:35] I would probably volunteer just to make the time go quicker. It does help versus sitting there not doing anything. I'd rather be a lane timer than not. Yeah. I don't think I'd do it all day, but like for a couple hours. You do shifts. You've done lane timing? Yes. Be honest. Have you ever accidentally not hit? Flubbed it up? Yeah. And then lied about it. You can do it. There are three timers. Okay. So you can mess up every time. You're just one of three people timing a single lane. One lane. Yeah. Three of us. They have three different timers? It's like the Russian judge. Yeah. Three in one lane.

[00:13:05] Each lane. And then you report it to the chair. I forget what it's called. And they write down all three manually. They haven't figured this out yet. Paper. And when it rains, watch out because we're writing on paper. We don't have coverage. Those eights become, or those nines become eights. It becomes a real problem. Yeah. There's nothing you can do. Let's talk Journey to You, Sha. We're going to start with a hot take, so we'll share exactly how we felt about this movie, our 2025 Easter weekend day spring movie. Let's break it down. Brian, I'm going to start with you. What do you think of it?

[00:13:34] Give me your hottest of takes. Hottest take is, well, boy, I wasn't ready for hottest. I'm sorry. Give me as hot as you're willing to give it. Believe it or not, this 84-minute walk and talk didn't quite do it for me. What? Yeah. Get out of here. Yeah. He actually did on this journey. They were walking a lot. The home, I can't win with you, bro. If they did not have walked, you'd have been like, you should have been walking. If they only walked for a little bit, you would have been like, you should have been more walking.

[00:14:02] And then you get it, and you're like, there's too much walking. Well, it was, I would barely call it even walking. The pace was brutal. Okay. It was like, I just kept saying. It's not your journey. It's their journey. You're really coming on. I'm sorry. You're coming on hot. I'm sorry. Brian is unequivocally right here. Yeah. They were just dragging. Yeah. It was so slow. I'm like, I just had every ska singer on my head. Pick it up. Pick it up. Pick it up. Just move your feet. Did you write that down? Yeah. Yeah, I did.

[00:14:32] Okay. That was a good one. He tells himself. I did like the questioning of living in a box. Why am I doing everything society tells me to do? I like that part of the journey because, yeah, we should all do that. I did not like the, hey, if you're not feeling faith and belief, just pray through it. That's right. Just got to pray through it. Yeah. And, uh, Mateo, if you're questioning things, boy, do I have a podcast for you? What is it? It's, uh, I don't know if you heard this new thing on the street, breakfast in hell. Whoa.

[00:15:02] A real good title based off of the news boys track. Uh, I think it might have something to do with it. I don't know if we can legally. I don't know. I think we can. But also, no, no. But also, Mateo, if you're questioning, uh, what's going on survivor, boy, do I got a podcast for you? Okay. Is Mateo a big survivor fan? He's gotta be. He's gotta be. He's gotta be. Making the merge based on a news boy song. That's exactly right. Yeah. That's what I understand. Yeah. Uh, so. Guys, I think we've lost the plot. I, uh, it's a threat. It's a threat.

[00:15:31] So I was just not, I wasn't really vibing with this one. Uh, I, I don't know about the discovery. The one on, and yeah, you, you touched on something that was bugging me the whole time was the guy was just not spending time with his kid or his dad, unless he's getting lectured or explaining himself. And so, I don't know. It just didn't, uh, it didn't really do it for me. Uh, yeah, you know, it is not good. So let's get that out of the way first.

[00:16:00] Uh, but at the end of the day, it's also tough because Aaron K.O. Can do no wrong. Yeah. So you're in a tough spot here because Aaron Cahill is just doing, doing the Lord's work, literally doing the Lord's work out there. And, um, I thought her performance was great. They're like, like the problem here is I don't really care about this love story. Yeah. Do you love her dad? No, I don't.

[00:16:27] Uh, I would like to kiss her because I was interrupted by the power outage a couple of scenes ago, but no, I don't love her. That's the honest answer. But instead he says he does love her. Um, I don't care about them when she leaves him and goes on her own little journey. I, there's something about her and doing that, that I found to be really compelling and earnest and nice. It's, it's the whole love story in this that I just, the whole movie that sucks.

[00:16:55] Well, yes, by, by and large, but I will just say this, uh, not my least favorite of the year, kind of middle of the pack for me. Um, and yeah, it was just, it was just an okay, uh, for brand Dan. Yeah. There's nothing like a Canadian film crew tackling a Spanish tradition with American actors, you know, like that's when you really know that they're going to hammer home the thesis of the movie. Uh, this is tough watch. It's a very tough watch.

[00:17:21] Erin Cahill is a really talented actor that finds herself in some really bad movies, including this one. So much to pick apart here. Um, I've never like, I didn't, I did a little bit of research on the Camino Santiago, not much, a little bit. I, I found it wanting in that department, the movie, I found the fact that they were doing a lot of walk and talks. They fall in love and you know, the span of a couple of weeks, the guy's a bad parent.

[00:17:51] There's so much here that doesn't work and doesn't add up. Um, it's unfortunate. It's unfortunate because I do think Erin Cahill is super duper talented and has the ability, but this is a slog. This is a, this is a tough watch. Um, yeah. I mean, I'm sure there are worse this year, but I don't know if middle of the pack's fair. Uh, yeah, no, not for me. Uh, it's time for all the feels where we talk about what in this movie gave us feels. I'll start with you, Brian, Brian, which, uh, what's your feeling? Yeah.

[00:18:21] Feels for me jumped out of the TV when I was watching this. She found, so she enjoyed pottery. She found that she a hobby that she enjoyed. Uh, and so then she explained that it felt like self-indulgent, indulgent to be doing something you enjoy for yourself. And, uh, that, uh, when, as soon as I heard that, I go, that's my love language. That is, yeah. Yeah. That speaks to me more than almost anything I've heard in a long time. Like you find something you really enjoy.

[00:18:47] It takes you to like a place where you can, you know, just zone out and you immediately like, I shouldn't. Yeah. This, I, this is from this. I'm doing too much for myself. This is a terrible way to live life. Guilty. Uh, yeah. So that, that was, that was my feels. You know, the start of this movie takes place in a hospital and I'm currently watching the pit, uh, the HBO show, the pit. And I kind of just made me want to go and watch the pit. Uh, that also takes place in a hospital.

[00:19:17] So shot the pit, shot the pit. Where does it take place? Uh, and it's a, what the pit it's a Pittsburgh, uh, emergency. You know, it's wild. This movie starts in a hospital. That's what I'm saying. It's unbelievable. That's exactly what I'm getting at. Like the pit. That made you like the pit on HBO, which does take place in a hospital. It made me think about it. This movie did. I turned this movie out. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Where's, oh, it's at a hospital. Right. So the first five minutes, the first five minutes takes place inside of, you hear what I'm saying? The first five minutes of this movie takes place in a hospital. Yeah.

[00:19:44] And I was thinking, what if I was watching the other thing that takes place in a hospital? They're both. So that's what, that's what went through my head. Interesting. Both hospitals. And then you just have to let that go. That's why we're here. And you have to go on a walk. That's right. Too much walking. Some might say. Some might say. Uh, Dan. Yeah. Uh, Aaron Shea pointed this out. Uh, but I, I totally agree. Hiking in this movie. So like hair is up, not, not a lot, if any makeup on, and she's actually hiking and there's actual wind.

[00:20:14] It is not the classic Hallmark situation where somehow this woman's hair is perfect. And it's, you know, it's been curled on the sides and they're on a hike, like a six week hike. Like, so props to the makers of this movie and Aaron Cahill for being like, no, I'm going on a hike. I should look and act as though I've been hiking, which was a silver lining to whatever else this movie was. So there's that. But there is a difference between Aaron Cahill hiking and like us. If we were hiking. Yeah. We'd get. Yeah. Yeah. There'd be some.

[00:20:45] Oxygen. Lord. Oh, what's up? She didn't do any of that. No, she didn't. Not on the camera anyway. Not on camera anyway. Let's take a quick break. We'll come back. We'll get to the way. What the, what the Hallmark here on. Take the Hallmark. Welcome back, everybody. We're talking about the journey to you. So it's like a hospital.

[00:21:14] It's a hospital. Okay. It's in Pittsburgh. Oh, wow. They call it the pit. Man. Yeah. The higher ups don't like that they call it that. So let's get to the way. What? It's where we talk about what this movie is going. What else? I'll start with you, Brian. Yeah. Early on, she has this moment. She's in the hospital chapel. And she does this, has this realization like, okay, I'm going to do this for myself. I'm going to go on this trip. And she was in the chapel like 30 seconds max tops.

[00:21:43] I like, you know, when God speaks, you know what I mean? Like that inspiration comes fast and furious. Amazing. That's right. I hope that sort of like when you do CrossFit, like you write your PRs and all that stuff. I hope there's like a PR board outside that chapel. She's like personal. Holy spirit inspiration. 27 seconds. Good luck. Everybody. Yeah. No way. A shared, fully stocked kitchen. Shared, fully stocked kitchen. If every guest can use to cook, forget it. The worst idea I've ever heard. That's not last. Brian's nightmare.

[00:22:13] Holy cow. That's not lasting. One set of guests. Like just who's stocking that thing? Who's cleaning that thing? Is there a chore list? Like that sounds like an absolute disaster. Brian wants to know who's cleaning the fridge. That's what he wants. Let's see. What do you got in there? He's not paying to get out of volunteering. No. He wants to know who's cleaning the fridge in this fictional movie. I'll sign up if it gets me out of something else. The almost kiss. Come on, guys.

[00:22:40] That innkeeper was 100% standing five feet from them the whole time, right? Yeah. He had to be. I mean, he came in with those candles so fast. Yeah. So fast. The power goes out and he steps right in frame. That was weird. And then just you have to announce when you drop your rock what you're letting go of. I'm out. Yeah. Are you kidding me right now? That's personal. Are you kidding me right now? They're all announcing all these things. I hope that's not how they really do it because that's, yeah, you're not going to get, I feel like you're going to get very filtered.

[00:23:09] Everybody learns something about somebody. There's menthol cigarettes. What the? Dan, I had no idea. Oh, man. Yeah. I did. I know it's the whole time. Not everybody's true intention. Yeah. That's funny. So early on, she's talking to... Cage fighting. Never give that up. You swore you'd never give it up. Yeah. We got money on your next fight. I know. It's good money, too. Give us one more. Yeah.

[00:23:38] So early on, she's talking to Lewis and she's like, I don't really remember the conversation, but it was something like, you know, I had all these visions of what my life would be and I would end up at an ad agency and whatnot. And he's like, why is it always an ad agency? You know? And I don't... I think it is. I don't think it is. It's like this whole, like, I, you know, I had dreams and I, like, I don't know what he meant by that, but kudos to him for just trying to make conversations. Yeah. Just trying. You know, you mentioned the rock thing.

[00:24:07] I love that Mateo, this teenager, gave up his burner phone, his flip phone. He's like, I'm done with a flip phone. It's so brave of him to give up this phone knowing that he's going to have another one when he gets on the touch screen. It's beautiful. You love to see it. But, um, so Mateo doesn't like football. And, um, he finally, he tells, uh, Monica about this. He's like, you know, my dad really wants me to play football. I don't really like football.

[00:24:37] And she's like, maybe the opportunity will present itself and you could talk to him about it. Two seconds later, his dad comes up and he's like, football season's coming up, huh? Football. Um, I love it when the opportunity presents itself immediately and you could do it. Um, and I just loved that the dad was totally unaware that his son hates football.

[00:24:59] Um, I, I mean, listen, I know sometimes kids are, you know, not the most forthright with how they're feeling, but you have to imagine at some point Mateo did something that would make his dad be like, I don't know if he likes this. Yeah. I don't know. Is Mateo really good at football? I don't know. I can't imagine. Uh, that whole scene was very funny to me. And, uh, I gotta be honest.

[00:25:27] I would be so bummed if I am making this movie and I know like the ending point is on top of this mountain with looking out of the water and you see the mountains in the distance and that is where we're going to film our kiss and they're going to kiss and we're going to pan out and we're going to see this beautiful scenery only to show up on the day that you're shooting and you don't, you can't push it only to it's foggy. Yeah. Yeah. That's tough. That's a tough break for this movie.

[00:25:54] And that should be why you get, you need a buffer day. You need a buffer day when you're going up the mountains. You'd be like, I need a buffer day just in case it's foggy. Uh, that's a tough break for this movie because it had like, you get to see it one time, beautiful scenery. You're like, it's incredible. Then the fog comes in. It goes right out. Nowhere. Like the mist. And, uh, that's a tough break for, uh, everyone involved, including us, because we had this one thing where we're like, Oh, there, this is going to be beautiful. And then it's just foggy. And that's sad. Damn. Yeah.

[00:26:24] It's been said several times, but maybe spend some time with your son during this once in a lifetime pilgrimage. I don't know. Like it's weird that you're spending so much time with someone you just met instead of your son who clearly wants and needs your attention. Like this guy should be dating Elizabeth Thornton.

[00:26:45] Like he, like he, he has no, he doesn't have any sort of barometer on what his kid likes. And I, I, uh, 100% agree with brand. Like kids don't always tell you what they're thinking, but you know, if your kid's doing something just to make you happy, like, you know, that after a while, you can't possibly be that done. Like just go spend the, all the amount of time he spent with his son should have been the

[00:27:12] amount of time he spent with Aaron Cahill that that's about the correct ratio there for having your son on a very important trip to his grandparents altogether. That was crazy. Uh, Aaron Cahill's first devotional asks her, do you prefer to feel capable or dependent? Why do you have to choose one of those things? Like why, like, like any devotional that starts with a, uh, a foundation of like, you got

[00:27:38] to choose one of two things that you can easily be both is a bad devotional and you should not pursue it in any form or fashion. Uh, then, and you get as somebody who's fully capable, but also fully dependent on me. Like I know it just, you can be both things. I get it brother. I'm capable, but I don't know how this is going to sound ever. I've never, my nephew yesterday at Easter lunch said, I'm edit. I'm helping edit my friend's podcast. You have any tips for me?

[00:28:08] And I said on editing podcast, buddy, I've never edited one. And he looked at me like I was a fraud. Uh, I was like, no, I just have never done it. I've done. It's not my, not my department. Look to you. Like I look at you every day. That's right. What? Here comes the fraud. Yeah. Yeah. Here he is. Uh, no, you know what, Dan, you've been doing your own podcast. I have been recording. I've been doing it all myself from publishing it and editing it. Well, but the actual, it's not in it.

[00:28:39] I'm doing it, man. He's doing it all himself. I'm grinding producer down producer. Damn. Mr. Manager. I asked aloud, is it possible for your own snoring to wake you up? I don't believe it is. Brand looked it up and Google AI said yes and no. Fair. So Google at that point was capable and dependent.

[00:29:03] Last but not least, in the morning they're working on some pottery and the clay is on the potter's wheel. And then we cut to a scene where she's painting the mug she made. Who do you think you are, Hallmark movie? Like, you can't defeat the laws of science and pottery. Like, that thing has to sit and go through an oven. It's like not a morning process.

[00:29:27] If you could make a clay mug and paint it all in one morning, that would not be pottery. That would be something else entirely. For a movie that could easily have taken place over two months instead of two weeks, it should have taken some time here maybe. I don't know. That's all I got. Can I please take this moment to ask Google to stop putting its AI as the first yourself? Yeah. Because it's gotten us both today. It's today. It's gotten us twice. Because it's just wrong a lot. Yeah.

[00:29:56] Almost always. Yeah. Exclusively. It's all I get doing on purpose. Maybe I put it down there somewhere, you know? Let us. Anyway. Anywho. Anyway. Let's get to the, what the Hallmark is where we wonder what could have been. Maybe happening. Give us a clear. Any questions we still have? What are we still wondering about? That's what we're going to talk about right now, baby. Brian? Yeah. I had a lot of questions about the Camino I just did. Yeah. Yeah. That's up there. That's happening there. I did a little research on the Camino, the walk as well, because I was curious about it.

[00:30:25] But something I, I'm just really, I wish they talked a little bit about how they paid for every place they stayed and the food. Like some of the logistics of this trip would have been helpful to me because like. Well, I felt like the way that they made it sound in this movie is that you walk and then people just take you in. Yeah. And that's what happens. Do you have to plan that ahead? I don't know. That's what I'm like. Do you sign up for your leg? And like. I don't know. I don't know. So I was really, I'm curious about that. And how do you know? Like, do you just walk and someone says, come here for dinner? Get on in here.

[00:30:55] Yeah. Yes. It's not. It's time. Do they tell you what they're having for dinner? You would think that they had to go like the people. We all go walk the Camino Santiago just for, to make sure we understand it. Probably. We should have done that before this movie, but no time better than now, I guess. Yeah. You joke. Weirdly enough, I did kind of like, especially towards the end when she was doing the, like by, when she was by herself. Yeah. I, I was like, I bet that's really nice to do like this long walk by yourself and have

[00:31:21] this time of just reflection and looking at a beautiful scenery. I, I, I, I, I would give it a go. The way she did it was my own nightmare, but do it like just being like having a chance to like, you know, meditate. Space. Yeah. Yeah. Or, and then do it with your own family. I think I would be down for that. I don't want any part of what she did. Unless your son's Mateo. A random Rio. And then you want to. Well, yeah. Well, he doesn't like football. He didn't even catch a football. He didn't care about sports. He didn't care about it at all. He doesn't care about it at all. That's all.

[00:31:51] He didn't care about his flip phone. No, he didn't. He didn't care about anything. Whatever. And he took his dad's bookmark out and didn't put it back. Forgot to mention that. What a month. Mateo might be the, the villain in this movie. Mateo. He might be. Yeah. My question was about Mateo and his foot, like him playing football. Like, is he, is he good? Right. Like, is he good at football? Cause that's tricky. Like if you like to have this thing where it's like, I am only doing this. I mean, I, I've seen the kid.

[00:32:18] I know he's not good, but I like to do this thing where it's like, I'm going to do football. I'm going to do it for my dad. I'm going to try really hard. I'm going to get really good. Only, only because it's what my dad wants. And I actually hate it. The every second of it. You'd think if you're a, like at some point you'd let it slip. Like, oh yeah. Like on those, on those two days practices. Teenagers never once complained about football. Okay. Uh, yeah. Just how good is he? Cause I imagine him being bad.

[00:32:47] I'd mean, I can imagine him being bad looking at him. I can't imagine him being bad. Close. Him being bad at football all of these years and dad being like just next year, you're going to be like, next year's the year. That'd be crazy. Right? What you don't know, like his dad has spent, spent like thousands of dollars on like personal coaches, meal plans. It's like, it's tough. Let's go on those catching machines. It's like once you, like you, you've been at first, it's like, okay, I'll, I'll go and

[00:33:15] I'll play the peewee football, get dad off my back and then I'll move on. And then next thing you know, next thing you know, you're through a rigorous trading program. That's, you know, do you get a second mortgage on the house? Yeah. Uh, Dan? Uh, yeah, I was a little fascinated at how they filmed this cause they did go to Spain and they did film on the actual road, uh, which is not Hallmark's MO to, to, to give a locale. Can we really quickly, can we ask God to bless that broken road really quick?

[00:33:44] Do you mind? Oh yeah. Yeah. God bless the broken road that led me straight to you. Amen. Amen. Uh, so yeah, I don't know. I, I, I like what, how much was the budget? I mean like what, you know, I, I do have actual questions about the filming there in Spain and how many, how many did they eat a lot of tapas? Sure. Hope so. That's what I'd have done if I was in Spain. People ask me all the time, Brian, what's the hardest part of your job?

[00:34:10] And the hardest part of my job is knowing when is it worth it to interrupt Dan in his train of thought to do a really dumb bit. Yeah. And the answer is almost always, almost every time. Yeah. But occasionally I don't, but I just let them speak. But Rascal Flatts. Rascal Flatts presented itself. Yeah. If anything's worth an interruption, it's Rascal Flatts. Can I just pardon the interruption real quick? Yeah. A little PTI. Um, Hey, let's do it. Double Decker of the week, shall we? I love that.

[00:34:37] So we dive deep into the life of a double decker, uh, specifically Brian, you dive deep into the life of a double decker. And then you come and you tell us all about it. All about it. I gotta be honest. I don't know how you do it all. Man. I don't know how you do it all. Like, it just seems like this is probably what you were talking about, how this is the thing that like, you know, brings you joy. You know, what's wrong is he never has a problem doing this show. So, I mean, I clearly this doesn't, isn't something that brings you joy. It isn't something that he likes at all. That's true. That's, I really have backed myself under a corner. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:35:04] If, if Brian does something more regularly, then you know, he doesn't like it. Wow. Whoops. Uh oh. Busted. You poor, poor miserable soul. You know what? That's why he never goes out to eat with us. That's right. That actually makes sense. Because I care too much. Yeah. Too fun a time. Yeah. That's right. I'd feel bad. Uh, who do we have today? We have Wendy Wilkins. Wendy Wilkins today. Wendy Wilkins. It's her to call to sign up for Bemo Gem Plus and she did it. That's right. And now Brian is going to spill the beans on Wendy. Tell us about Wendy. What's she up to?

[00:35:34] Wendy actually starting a, an experiential tour company of her own. Oh my gosh. I don't know if she was inspired by this or, you know, it's a, it's called Hot Spring Summer. Hot Spring Summer. Hot Spring Summer. Okay. Where you and a group of randos travel around to all the hot springs. A group of randos? Does it have to? It has to be. It has to be. Yeah. Yeah. You travel around to all the hot springs in the. In the world? Uh, it's North America only. Okay. Right now. And, um. She's eyeing international though.

[00:36:04] I mean, she's going to. Well, North America's technically. She's eyeing the internationals obviously. Okay. Right. You want to get out of just North America. But yeah. Right now, North America, I would say, um, just the US of A at this point. Just, oh, so not even. So not even for North America. Just USA. Right. Just USA. But she does say North America just to make it sound big. But she doesn't include Canada. No, of course not. It's way bigger than the United States. They don't want it either. Yeah, no, no. Of course not. So, yeah. And it's, uh, so you go around and you kind of dip your toe in and you rate the hot springs.

[00:36:33] Hot spring summer. Yeah. Okay. So like. You do it all summer long? Um, yeah. Yeah. Just for the summer season. And you can't. Obviously. You can't go with a friend. No. It's, it's hot spring summer. Um, so you go. You say the name as if there's something in there that. No. Tells us that. No, it's just, it's gotta be. I mean, that's how you're gonna really get the most out of the spring. How many randos am I? It's like 25 randos. It's a group of 25. Is it a reality show?

[00:37:03] Or are you just trying to find love? No, this is. Or what's going on? Well, it's more like you just want to feel the hot spring and see how hot it is. Okay. And just rate it like, oh, is it hot? You're telling me I couldn't, my, I couldn't take my wife on the trip, the hot spring summer trip? From, no, no. That'd be ridiculous. Why? Don't even know. It's just, because it's, it's like a, you gotta find yourself. How are you gonna be uninfluenced by people on how hot the spring is? If you have your friends with you, they're gonna. I'm not talking about my friends.

[00:37:32] I'm talking about my wife. Right. But your wife would definitely influence you on how hot the spring is. So. Yeah. And she's probably right. So confused by this. Yeah. Is there a bit, am I missing something? No, it's just, you go through testing out the hot springs in the summertime. Well, there's a song, the song, hot girl summer. Hot girl summer. Yes. I'm aware of the song. I think that's just that. But then. I don't know. This is different. Hot spring. Wendy made it weirder. Wendy made it weirder. Hot spring summer.

[00:37:59] To where you can only do this tour with 25 strangers. Strangers. Yeah. Going from hot spring to hot spring. Yeah. How many hot springs are there? A bunch. It's like, maybe it doesn't. I've been in one to South Dakota before. Yeah. Yeah. How would you rate it? It's fine. But can you at least acknowledge it's a little bit unfair. The early hot springs, it's a little unfair to them. You're not going to know how to rate it. Right. Until you get like 10 days. A few under your belt. Yeah. Until you get a few hot springs. That's true.

[00:38:28] That is something that I don't think one of you thought about. Can I ask one more question? Yeah. I don't know why. Please. I wish you would. You said you dip your toe in. Yeah. Are you able to do full submerge? If you think that it's not too hot for you, yeah, you can hop on in there. Is he too hot? Well, what if it's too hot and like you're like, are there any, are like, are there hot springs that are open to the public that are too hot? It depends on your sensitivity. I think. Yeah. All right. I, uh, I'm sorry, Wendy.

[00:38:57] Well, I want to get ahead of this. I don't like this one. And I would like to put it on the record. Uh, we do have any congratulations to us. Uh, Brian's going to try again next week. Yeah, absolutely. And by Brian, I mean a double deck. Yeah. Whatever they got going on. Brian's hands are tied here. Yeah. If we don't like Wendy's idea, we don't like Wendy's idea. We don't like Wendy's idea. Sorry, Wendy. But thank you so much for it. I like it, Wendy. Bramblejamplus.com to have your ideas and dreams, uh, shattered. Shattered, yeah. We'll be back tomorrow with another episode.

[00:39:26] Until then, may the first to wish you a Merry Christmas. Deck the Hallmark is a Bramble Jam podcast. It's produced by Aaron Shea. What? For more information on Deck the Hallmark, you can go to deckthehallmark.com. For more information on the Deck the Hallmark family, you can go to bramblejamplus.com. Deck the Hallmark is presented by Philo TV. For a free trial of Philo, go to philo.tv slash dth.

[00:39:53] You're about to hear some ads that help keep the lights on here in the old studio. Thanks for listening or don't listen. It's really up to you at this point. It's at the end of the show. I mean, you're listening to me. Hi. But here they come. I promise they're coming. Yep. Here they are. Happy day. Happy day.