We Simply Liked It: Steinbeck, Ricketts, & the Return of the Western Flyer

Documentary: Directed by Aaron Straight Produced by Soulcraft Allstars (Bellingham, WA) & The Western Flyer Foundation (Moss Landing, CA) (Filmed in Mexico & Monterey, CA) In 1940, author John Steinbeck and marine biologist Ed Ricketts set sail aboard the Western Flyer to explore the Gulf of California. Their journey became The Log from the Sea of Cortez—a meditation on science, friendship, and “non-teleological” thinking: observing the world without needing to control it. Eighty-five years later, filmmaker Aaron Straight joins a new crew aboard the fully restored Western Flyer to retrace their voyage—not as a reenactment, but as a living question. What did Steinbeck and Ricketts find in the Sea of Cortez? And what might we find there now? We Simply Liked It is a poetic, place-based documentary weaving science, storytelling, community, and art—from La Paz to Cabo San Lucas to Agua Verde, from traditional dances and student collaborations to carved wooden replicas of the boat itself. This is not a film with a single message. It’s a vessel. A ripple. A reminder that wonder is still an option. FILMMAKER Q&A TO FOLLOW . Runtime: 24:06, Founders Theatre