#FindNewRoads

I received a Chevy Traverse loan in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.

Friends, I find it really cool that many of our most memorable summer 2019 moments took place over the span of a single week…the same week I received a gorgeous 2019 Chevy Traverse loan.

For those of you who’ve been reading my blog,

You know I have a special place in my heart for this U.S. car maker. When given an opportunity to try a new vehicle from Chevrolet, I get really excited and tend to post my shenaningans on here.

Over the summer, we didn’t really travel much. We stayed in town for the most part, enjoying nearby outings with the boys on weekends. We also experienced a few things that will probably remain in our memory for a while:

1. We enrolled Benny in little league baseball— he’s now part of the Sylmar Independent Baseball League Orioles team.

2. I took Benny and Toby to a local recycling center in hopes that they would see the value in making extra cash while helping the environment— But the $10 they earned was spent on arcade machines and candy.

3. We welcomed my sister Irene (nina) back home. She relocated to SoCal after having lived in San Francisco for several years.

For all of the above, We had the company of a gorgeous graphite metallic-colored Chevrolet Traverse  that got us from point A to point B comfortably, safely and in style.

For Benny’s new Baseball commitment,

 The Chevy Traverse proved to be a great vehicle. I drove it to a baseball park in a hilly area of Sylmar. The drive was extremely smooth. Featuring a V6 engine with a 9-Speed automatic transmission, this beauty of an SUV, has all the features a mom could ask for:

• It’s 4G LTE Wi-Fi® hotspot capable, which means you can be connected while you drive, which means, hands-free calls, GPS navigation, Pandora playlists on full blast, all that good stuff.

• OnStar® & Chevrolet Connected Services

• Lane Change Alert with Side Blind Zone Alert…I’m all about staying in my lane! Thanks Chevy.

• Rear Camera Mirror…Yasssssss. Perfect for someone like me who forgets that my mailbox is super close to my driveway

• Rear Park Assist…because a girl is still trying to figure out parallel parking!

• Rear Seat Reminder…never, ever forget your kids when you leave the car again.

• Rear child security door locks

For his tryouts, Benny wanted to pack his baseball bat and training gear in the back of the Traverse. Once we left home, he wanted to play DJ Marshmello music at full blast.  

For our recycling trip—

We held a Lion King-themed play date over the summer and well, there were a lot of empty cans and bottles after the party. Perfect opportunity to make a trip to the recycling center, right?

Well, we did just that.

First, we loaded our recyclables onto the Traverse.

BTW, this SUV can accommodate up to eight passengers.

The trunk space was perfect to fit three big bins full of plastic, aluminum and glass containers.

We could have created more space by adjusting the split-folding third row bench seat (you can fold one or both sides down) but since all of our recyclables fit perfectly well, we didn’t move the back bench seat.

 We visited a recycling center in Van Nuys

I immediately put the boys to work. They started sorting the bottles by material—plastic in one basket, aluminum in another, etc.

Then it was time to stand in line and get their bottles weighed and get paid.

Standing in line was probably the worst part of the experience because it was one of those awfully hot, triple-digit-heat type of days in the San Fernando Valley.

Still, the boys survived (with plenty of whining) and made about $10, which they split in half.

Then we got back into the Traverse and I must say, the fresh, cool AC system quickly got us in a better mood.

The Chevy Traverse has this really cool feature

It literally helped cool off our buns…lol It has ventilated seat cushions and seatbacks. Ahhhhhhhh, the relief!

Our August drive to Oxnard

Was a perfect opportunity to experience the Traverse for a longer period of time.

We were eager to welcome my sister Irene back home. She had just driven back from San Francisco to stay for good and we couldn’t let a single day pass without wishing her a happy homecoming.

The drive from the San Fernando Valley to Oxnard is about 55 miles.

It’s not too bad of a drive, especially if your vehicle’s has good fuel efficiency. The Chevy Traverse has a Fuel Tank Capacity of approximately 19 gallons.

The EPA’s estimated fuel economy for highway use is 27 miles per gallon (MPG).

When we arrived in Oxnard,

It was cheers, hugs, laughter and a spontaneous celebration for the boys to have their nina Irene back home.

It’s almost as though our summer vacation granted everyone an opportunity to #FindNewRoads and we were thrilled to drive the Chevy Traverse and celebrate the different destinations to which it led us!

By the way, pricing for a Chevy Traverse starts at $36,595.

One of my favorite features of the Chevy Traverse is the rear camera!

Did anyone else enjoy a new ride this summer?

Thanks for reading, friends!

 Xo,

-Anabel M.

A Big New Chevy Experience!

Pretty, Powerful Pick-Up

There I was, driving in the middle of the desert on the I-10 West, past rows of white windmills wondering why I had never given myself an opportunity to own the road, friends.

By that I mean— I had never been behind the wheel of big pick-up truck.

But Chevy loaned me another vehicle (read about my first Chevy loan here) and receiving this Red Hot All-New Chevy Silverado 2019 in my driveway, just in time for my trip to Palm Springs for the Alt Summit was a heaven-sent. The truck itself has an impressive variety of safety features that combine technology and comfort. This truck is SMART.

It has a rear view camera so you always know if something behind you is a little too close.

It’s Wi-Fi enabled,

It alerts you when there’s a vehicle on your blind spot and it reminds you to check the rear seats (to make sure you’re not forgetting anything like kids or pets) once you turn it off. The truck offers On Star, a feature that’s available with the push of a button during emergency situations when you can’t call for help yourself. It connects your devices through CarPlay so you can answer calls, receive text messages and play your Pandora song list from your cell phone without having to actually hold your phone.

But did you actually pay attention to the fact that it’s Wi-Fi enabled!? You can actually turn the truck into a mobile 4G Wi-Fi hotspot, so you stay connected “from the jobsite to the campsite.”

When I took off to Palm Springs with the truck,

my husband was soooo jealous!

“You know I’ve always wanted one of those…”, he said.

What’s more, I wore cowboy boots for the drive because a massive vehicle like this one took me back to my days in Texas where I owned a few pairs of boots and I witnessed first-hand that everything is bigger.

I put on my red lipstick to match the vehicle’s color shade, because, c’mon, the driver must feel as fierce as the automobile she’s driving, right? Lol.

But I digress.

Driving a big Chevy truck made me aware of some #Facts:

1.     It’s pretty empowering for a woman to drive a truck.

I mean, when you’re atop a bright red Silverado, people know they’re driving next to a vehicle that commands respect. The All-New Chevy Silverado’s strength is pretty palpable—a very strong 2.7L Turbo engine. It offers 310 horsepower, 348 lb.-ft of torque and a towing capacity of 7,000 lbs…wowza!

2. A Big Truck for Big Things

The 2019 Silverado comes with 10-speed automatic transmission and has Auto stop/start technology. This means you actually turn the vehicle on with the push of a button. It gets you 22 miles per gallon (MPG). My drive from the San Fernando Valley to Palm Springs with a quick stop for tacos along the way used up only a quarter of a tank. Its bed width and bed length is Best-In-Class. It also offers 20% more cargo volume than the competition. No more calling abuelo to let us borrow his truck for a trip to Ikea.

 3. The Truck Takes Care of You

The technology on this pick-up is so legit, friends. Basically, it helps detect when a front end collision is imminent and alerts the driver. Plus, if the system detects the crash is about to happen and the driver has not stepped on the brakes, the system can automatically apply the brakes to reduce the severity of the collision. The same applies to pedestrian situations where the truck may be too close to someone.

I honestly felt so safe driving the truck that one night after having dinner with new mom blogger friends and fellow female entrepreneurs during the Alt Summit, I offered them a ride (and they loved it):

It’s a Smooth Drive All Around

For such a big truck, the drive felt amazingly smooth and with the exception of blasting my music through the 6 speakers located within the cabin, once I turned the music down, the drive was rather quiet and peaceful.

Upon getting home from the Alt Summit,

I was so inspired by the people I met, the workshops I attended and well, the truck I drove that I was on a creativity high. So much so that I even came up with 5 Ways to Enjoy an All-New Chevy Silverado Without Having to Leave your Driveway!

Thanks for reading, friends!

Xo,

-Anabel M.

 I received a Chevy vehicle loan in exchange for a blog review. All Opinions are my own.