Top Takeaways - #8

Alex and I returned to the US last week. After recharging our batteries for a few days in Madison, NJ we set out on our two-month road trip. Here are our takeaways after a week on the road.

Quite the welcoming committee when we arrived at the airport!

1. Coming back to NYC feels like being home. After being away for over two months we weren't sure we'd miss the hustle and bustle of the city but in just one day we remembered why we love it so much. It's hard to imagine living anywhere else.

2. Weddings are so much fun and you should try to go to all that you are invited to. We celebrated with two great couples (and our friends and family) last weekend - my cousin Todd and his bride Dana and two of our good friends from NY, Dan and Amanda (or as they are more commonly known, Damanda). We had an amazing time at both and each brought back great memories from our big day in June!

3. It's much easier to pack when you have a car to put everything in! After saying goodbye to a few clothing items we never wanted to see again, we re-packed and brought a few more selections this time. I'm excited to have more "normal" outfits during our US leg.

4. Wi-Fi is not nearly as important when you have cell service. I know this sounds obvious but we'd become completely dependent on it for all data on our iPhones abroad - being able to use them while we walk down the street has been a huge improvement! Also being able to talk and text is nice.

5. We are creatures of habit. One of my biggest gripes during traveling in South America was the difficulty we had finding healthy eating options and places to work out regularly. It feels great to be back on a regular workout routine and almost every menu has a salad or lighter option.

6. We have identified our favorite travel snacks: beef jerky, twizzlers, animal crackers and flavored seltzer. Alex and I are not normally big snackers, preferring to have two substantial meals a day most of the time (and the occasional meat and cheese plate), but road trip snacks are a must!

7. Driving a speedboat in shallow water is hard (I had never done it before!). I'm just thankful we only had to pay a propeller "refurbishment" fee and not a full replacement fee...

8. Harvard's campus is beautiful. We were given a tour of both the MBA and undergrad campuses by our friend Todd - the grounds are impeccably manicured. Apparently a common joke among MBA students is that the groundskeepers even shampoo the squirrels.

9. Lake George is practically a ghost town right now. We figured it would still be pretty busy only a week after Labor Day but we only saw a handful of tourists during our two days here. While it seemed a bit eerie to see the streets so vacant, that also meant no waiting at restaurants and we had the lake practically to ourselves!

10. On most days we wake up feeling lucky that we're so fortunate to be able to take a trip like this. Today in New York, on September 11, we woke up thankful that we didn't lose any close friends or family in the attacks 13 years ago and that we live in a country that affords us so many freedoms (including traveling domestically and internationally so easily). Never forget.

Peak: Celebrating the weddings with our friends and family

Pit: The incident that led to the propeller "refurbishment" fee...

Next Stop: Niagara Falls

Lake George

Miles: 220

Route: Boston, MA - Lake George, NY

Tuesday morning Alex and I both woke up around 5am for no real reason. After a while I gave up on sleep and headed for a run across the Charles River to a Pure Barre class. The 55-minute session was hard (my first time!) but it felt great to get back into the groove of taking a regular exercise class.

After walking back to Todd and Shannon's apartment in Cambridge (thanks for being such gracious hosts!) Alex and I got organized and began the drive to Lake George, NY.

The trip was only 3.5 hours long and much of it was very scenic given the beautiful weather we had. While road trips generally mean multiple stops at fast food and/or chain restaurants - which I normally do not complain about - Alex and I wanted to try and find some local joints too. Enter Housatonic Café in Lee, MA, where we enjoyed some of the most delicious sandwiches (50/50 split, score!) we've had so far on our trip. The sign out front said they "Put Panera to shame" and we would have to agree - definitely stop by if you are ever driving across Massachusetts into New York.

Arriving in Lake George around mid-afternoon, we were surprised at how quiet the town felt. There are very few other visitors around so we have the town pretty much to ourselves!

View of the lake from our motel dock.

So much blue.

We spent some time checking out the lake and drove around a bit in search of a scenic vista or pull-over point to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, Prospect Mountain was closed for the day so we ended up checking out a golf course and small beach along the water instead.

We took a drive up to the Top of the World golf course in search of some panoramic views - success!

We found a couple Adirondack chairs near Fort William Henry to watch the sunset.

A very relaxing way to end the day.

One of the few boats we saw.

Even the dock looks pretty picturesque.

After taking in the sunset, we relaxed for a little bit before dinner (the 5am wakeup and driving really wore me out) and called it an early night.

In the morning we headed to Prospect Mountain to check out the views of Lake George (we were now armed with the correct opening and closing times). We were lucky to have another beautiful day and happy we got to see the lake from another perspective.

Panoramic view of Lake George from Prospect Mountain.

We finally found another couple to take our picture!

After leaving Prospect Mountain we headed to grab sandwiches and rent a speedboat for the day so we could enjoy the lake. I was slightly disappointed that waterskiing was a non-starter given the cost ($600 for 2 hours!) and our two-person group size, but we had a great time anyway.

Alex was captain for most of the day.

The lake was practically deserted so we enjoyed clear skies and open seas all day.

Approaching The Sagamore, one of the fanciest and most beautiful resorts in Lake George.

View from the boat!

Alex was brave enough to let me drive for a while.

After spending almost five hours just hanging out on the water and driving around the lake, we called it a day and headed back to our motel to rest and get cleaned up. We ended the day with a delicious meal (definitely go to Bistro LeRoux if you come to visit Lake George - the reviews are true!) and a round of mini golf, which Alex narrowly won.

The course was appropriately named 'Around the World" and of course the 18th hole was NYC-themed.

Tomorrow we are leaving in the morning for our next stop: Niagara Falls!

On the Road

Miles: 270

Route: Madison, NJ - Brooklyn, NY - Old Westbury, NY - Stonington, CT - Boston, MA

Sarah and I kicked off our two-month road trip on Thursday. We packed up our trusty (well, hopefully!) car and headed to Brooklyn to see some friends. My mom was kind enough to take the Avalon in for a check-up while we were in South America so hopefully our 10-year-old car with 150,000+ miles on it will make it across the US and back!

Here we go!

Our hosts on Thursday, Mike and Nikou, prepared a fantastic dinner at their apartment just in time for some more friends (Matt and Emily) to join us from Chicago. After dinner we took a walk down to the water to see the view of lower Manhattan - we didn't realize the Tribute in Light would be illuminated already, but it made the view even more special.

Lower Manhattan from Brooklyn Heights.

We left early on Friday to drive to Old Westbury, NY for Sarah's cousin Todd's wedding. After catching up with the family for a few hours in the afternoon, we boarded a school bus toward the de Seversky Mansion on the NYIT campus. Todd and Dana planned an amazing wedding and we had a great time celebrating!

Sunset ceremony.

A "picture perfect" evening.

Sarah's siblings (and significant others).

We woke up early again on Saturday morning to drive to Orient Point - the easternmost point of the North Fork of Long Island - to catch a ferry to New London, CT. It was a nice way to break-up the trip to Stonington, though it probably took a little longer than driving the whole way.

Waiting by the shore for the ferry.

We passed another ferry on its way back from New London to Orient Point.

Next stop, New London.

After quickly showering and getting ready, we were off to Elihu Island, a small island near Stonington, CT where Amanda and Dan's ceremony and reception were held. It took about 30 minutes to get there, but it was worth the ride - the setting was beautiful and everything was perfectly set up for another amazing celebration!

A suit like that can even make a man with a burly beard look good!

The Tulane crew.

We partied until well into the evening so pulling ourselves out of bed to return to the island for brunch was a bit of a challenge on Sunday morning. It was great to see all our friends, though, and we were happy we got another few hours with them.

Fortunately, the drive to Boston didn't take very long on Sunday afternoon. We met our friend Todd just in time to watch his beloved Patriots lose to the Dolphins - the Giants just lost pretty badly though so I'm glad I didn't give him too hard a time for it. (Sarah is still pulling for the Bengals, who actually won their first game against the Ravens!)

We spent Sunday evening and Monday catching up with Todd and his fiancée Shannon. Though I'll always prefer New York to Boston, we had some great weather while we were here and it was a fun stop on the trip.

Our view from an early morning run.

Todd gave us a tour of Harvard Business School (he just started his second year).

Felt good to be back on a college campus - reminded me of all the fun times at GW.

Tomorrow we drive to Lake George, NY. We have two days there before heading further west to Niagara Falls. Looking forward to a few days in the outdoors after spending the last week in various cities!

A Taste of Home

After a very long night / morning of traveling back to the US, Alex and I used our remaining energy on Monday to rest, unpack, reorganize and catch up with our Foster Parents (essentially true in every sense of the word). Coming home to the peaceful suburbs and a fully stocked fridge (of healthy food!) was such a welcome change from our fast-paced and often over-indulgent traveling lifestyle. Janet quickly whipped up a healthy and homemade salad for me - something I haven't had in over two months - and it was the perfect lunch to come home to!

Such a sight for sore eyes.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing, doing a few loads of laundry and catching up with family; Janet was kind enough to prepare a great home-cooked dinner to end the day - we could get used to this!

Tuesday was a busy though uneventful day of errands and organization. We started with some much needed exercise and took a run through Madison, NJ before the humidity took over. After a good sweat and lengthy shower, we geared up for our tasks with - what else - iced coffee! Then it was on to really exciting stuff like writing a few outstanding wedding thank-you notes, calls to insurance companies, banks and doctor's offices and research for the next leg of our trip. We ended the day with another delicious meal at home, tired but excited for our upcoming day in NYC.

Keep the home-cooked meals coming!

For me, Wednesday was one of those perfect NYC days: beautiful, productive and exciting but not too exhausting. Alex and I both agreed that the city just felt like home, even though we no longer have an apartment there!

We took a 6:37am train into the city and then parted ways until dinner. We walked around, did some much needed shopping (really!), picked up prescriptions, got haircuts and manicures (well, one of us did) and grabbed coffee with friends and former colleagues. Afterward, we met for an early dinner at one of our classic go-to spots, P.J. Clarkes.

Sunrise in Madison, NJ.

Salad from Chop't, diet coke (no more coke light!) and Bloomingdales = near-perfect NYC day for Sarah.

Dinner at P.J. Clarkes is always a great end to any day.

Tomorrow we pack up the car and drive to Brooklyn before heading to Long Island for my cousin's wedding and the start of our two month road trip across the country!

Top Takeaways - #7

Alex and I wrapped up the first leg of our journey with six days in Rio. Here are our top takeaways from our time in Brazil!

View from Sugarloaf, Rio de Janeiro.

1. Rio International Airport (GIG) takes the top prize for worst airport so far during our travels. Not one bar, sit-down restaurant or newsstand shop to be found - definitely a first for us, especially for such a global airport. Even Cusco had a bar and food court!

2. It's not worth booking tickets to Christ the Redeemer or Sugarloaf in advance. The experience is all about the views, which totally depend on clear skies, and the weather can be somewhat unpredictable in the mountains. We had a very cloudy day for seeing Christ the Redeemer and if we weren't leaving the next day, we probably would have gone back on a clear day (just not really worth it in the clouds...).

3. Portuguese is much harder to understand and speak than Spanish. We felt like the accent was thicker and the words were harder to pronounce - but maybe that's just us! Fair to point out we spent seven weeks in Spanish speaking countries and only one week in Brazil.

4. The "Brazilian wax" definitely has it's name for a reason! Men and women both generally wear very little to the beach (and, for the most part, have great bodies too).

5. Rio is just as expensive as (if not more so than) New York. We're glad we didn't start our trip there or we would have been more nervous about our spending habits in South America!

6. Carbs and meat still reign supreme. Breakfast in Brazil is commonly a basket filled with various types of breads, snacks are cheese and meat empanadas or pao de queijo (cheese breads) and dinners are often all-you-can eat meat parties. Having said that...

7. It's easy to get a fresh coconut or acai bowl just about anywhere, especially near the beach!

8. Poverty is commercialized. We would have never guessed we could pay to be shown around the poor "favela" neighborhoods until arriving in Rio. Definitely an eye-opening experience.

9. Havainas are the best (and most affordable vs. USD pricing) Brazilian souvenir. There are a ton of stores featuring hundreds of styles of the local flip flop brand, all priced around US$10-$15.

10. Beaches are beautiful and full of amenities. There are public bathrooms, lifeguard stations, drink and restaurant stalls and places to get a chair or umbrella on every block. Just bring yourself, a towel and some cash and you won't have to leave all day!

Peak: Taking in the views on Sugarloaf

Pit: Missing the views at Christ the Redeemer

Next Stop: Madison, NJ for a few days then NY & CT for a double wedding weekend!