Squeeze the Day
Cindy and Eddie are slow travelers exploring the world on a budget, and they’ll happily take you along with them.
You might recognize Cindy from her time waiting tables at Lambertville Station, and Eddie may look familiar, because he’s worked as a bartender in the area.
Both are seasoned travelers who had racked up many miles on their own, long before they met each other while working together in town several years ago.
“That’s why we started dating,” Eddie said in an interview, “because we discovered we both love traveling.”
It started with Eddie accompanying Cindy on a long drive, just because. They traveled well together, and the two quickly became inseparable.
They started a YouTube channel after their jobs got terminated during the COVID-19 lockdown. As travel limitations started to lift, they began taking short day trips to places such as New York City, Philadelphia, and Cape May.
When the complete removal of COVID-related travel restrictions coincided with the end of their apartment lease, the couple got Eddie’s RV trailer out of storage, hooked it up to his pickup truck, and took a leap of faith.
At first they spent a month or so driving through different states to camp and visit with family, but they quickly transformed from vacation videographers into full-time adventure travelers with no end in sight.
Some of the places they visited include Nashville in Tennessee, Stone Mountain in Georgia, and San Antonio and Austin in Texas. All the while they shot, edited, and posted videos, building an audience for their YouTube.
They kept going until a blowout forced them to hunker down in Texas while their RV got repaired. It held up for a while, but eventually gave out again, which damaged the trailer beyond repair and forced them to abandon it.
With the RV out of the picture, they took advantage of a travel deal: visiting a hotel chain that allowed them to stay an unlimited amount of nights during a one-month period at any of the hotel’s locations across the country. The hotel was pet-friendly, which meant that Cindy and Eddie could continue to bring along their adventure copilot—a 20-year-old black cat named Cinders.
Cinders liked to travel. She rested on the truck’s center console, sometimes with a paw on Cindy’s hand, or on Eddie’s arm as he drove. They kept a mat with food and water, and a small litter box in the back of the truck. Eddie also made a sleeping nook under the passenger seat for their companion. When Cinders wasn't in the cab, she wore a harness and comfortably walked around on a leash.
Not many cats—let alone people—can say they saw both oceans, several national parks, the Grand Canyon, 46 states, and the Gulf of Mexico. Cinders saw all that and more. Sadly, Cinders passed away while they were all traveling in Mexico.
Without their feline friend, and without the weight of the RV, Cindy and Eddie embarked on a two-year backpacking trip through Europe and Southeast Asia.
“We started with rolling suitcases,” Eddie clarified, “but many streets are made of cobblestone or dirt. Backpacks are easier.”
That’s when the couple really began to “slow travel,” which means visiting a place with the intension to connect locally rather than only doing touristy things.
“Slow travel means having more freedom,” Cindy explained, “It opens you up to more experiences.”
The couple loved hiking through Europe, and they found the people of Southeast Asia to be super friendly. Cindy cited their day in Paris as a travel highlight. She also fondly recalled a train ride from Ho Chi Min City.
“You connect differently with people on trains,” Cindy pointed out, “folks would bring us snacks and say, ‘you have to try this!’”
Food plays a big role in Squeeze the Day videos. Each episode features various meals and dishes that the couple locates and samples while living on the road.
They travel on a budget, so the foods they eat are commonplace, and always affordable. They’ve eaten everything from Malaysian McDonald’s to congee, iced banana coffee, and durian, which is a fruit known for its distinct scent. Eddie thought durian wasn’t bad, but Cindy said it tastes like it smells.
“A lady in Penang invited us to try it. She and her husband had all different kinds of durian in their house, all with different flavors,” Cindy said. “That’s what keeps us going and traveling, the desire to connect with different people.”
After living full-time on the road for several years, Cindy and Eddie are now in Lambertville to visit family, work, and take a well-deserved rest. They’re also dealing with an existential issue, which they’ll address in an upcoming video.
They do plan to get rolling again soon, but most likely for shorter durations next time around, as their current plans include taking interesting day trips to show folks that travel adventures don’t have to be years-long to be rewarding.
“We look forward to getting on the road again,” Cindy said.
It’s been several years and thousands of miles since Squeeze the Day posted their very first YouTube video, which was published on April 14, 2020—right in the middle of the COVID lock down. In that video, Eddie reflected on life.
“Listen,” he said, “make the best of it. I want you all to go live your best life. Seize the day. Squeeze every moment out of it. Squeeze the day.”
Their message hasn’t changed since then, although now it has more fervor.
“Some people collect cars and houses, but you can lose your car, and you can lose your house. Nobody can take away your experiences,” Eddie explained.
“For us, life is all about experiences,” Cindy added, “The name of the channel is Squeeze the Day. So make the most of them, because you never know how many days you have.”
Visit Cindy and Eddie’s SQUEEZE the DAY YouTube channel.
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