A Blissful Week of Doing Nothing in the Tropics: Christmas in DR

December 19 - 26, 2015
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Celebrating Christmas Day at Bavaro Beach Resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

A few years ago, we started an unofficial tradition of traveling somewhere interesting or at least warm over Christmas week, typically returning home on or near Christmas Day and hence avoiding the worst of the holiday crowds.  In 2012, we jetted off to (frigid) South Korea Merry Christmas from Seoul!.  2013 found us road tripping to Crater Lake National Park and around the south central part of Oregon A Wintry Exploration of Central Oregon before driving off in the opposite direction to celebrate New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in LA, cheering the Michigan State Spartans to a Rose Bowl victory with friends The MSU Spartans Go to the Rose Bowl...and So Do We!.  And finally, last year we made our second trip to Hawaii, this time to the stunningly beautiful island of Kauai, before leaving the west coast to make our home in New York City.

While it's been a truly enjoyable and rewarding experience in many ways, moving to Manhattan from Oakland last February has been a challenging transition and Scott's job as US market controller for Nespresso is highly demanding, to say the least.  Add to that our utter fear of the cold winter weather staring us down and the decision to go to an all-inclusive resort in the (relatively) nearby Dominican Republic was an easy one.

A Family Portrait Kind of Holiday!

November 22 & 26, 2015
Beverly Hills, MI & Clarkston, MI

Scott's family selfie while waiting for Debbie to prepare her shot

This year, we decided to travel to Michigan for our Thanksgiving celebration upon realizing that we had not  celebrated this particular holiday in our home state with our families since we before we were married 17 years ago.  And while we have visited many times since, apparently everyone was feeling nostalgic and decided this year was to be the unofficial "Year of the Family Portrait" on both sides of our family.  There were no professional photographers engaged (unless you count Scott's Aunt Debbie, who also appeared in many of the shots) and therefore was copious tripod and timer use, combined with fidgety young children, but I think we managed to get a keeper or two!

I wanted to gather and present these portraits all in one place, so here they are. :-)

An Autumn Stroll in the City

November 7, 2015
NYC, NY

In Riverside Park on Manhattan's upper west side

On Saturday, the weather was overcast and cool, but we had decided in advance to check out the last gasp of fall color in Riverside Park.  The park, which hugs the Hudson River as it runs up the far west side of upper Manhattan has an impressive array of deciduous trees lining its pleasant walkways.  A collection of winding paths and wide, flat promenades (which are unfortunately but understandably popular with the under-ten cycling and scooter set) makes for a satisfying stroll.

Leaf Peeping in Central Park

October 31, 2015
NYC, NY

The NYC Marathon's 25-Mile mark, located in Central Park

The leaves have finally started to turn here in New York City and Mother Nature's been going gangbusters this past week.  With all of our friends out of town and no Halloween plans or parties to prepare for, Scott and I spent a quiet afternoon the day before the famed NYC Marathon admiring the changing foliage in Central Park.  It was a mostly overcast day with temperatures in the low- to mid-50s - a bit chilly for us - but it seemed fitting weather for Halloween afternoon and the vibrant yellow, orange and red colored leaves popped in the soft grey light. Here is some of what we saw.

Jerry & Denise Visit the Big Apple!

October 23 - 26, 2015
NYC, NY

Family selfie on our rooftop deck

Scott's parents, Denise and Jerry, made the trip out to New York from Michigan this past weekend to come pay us a visit.  Since it was their first time in New York City, they spent a couple of partial days at the beginning of their visit getting the lay of the land touring around on one of NYC's ubiquitous hop-on-hop-off buses.  They now know more about the history of New York City than we do.

After their bus tours, we still had plenty of time with them to eat our way around town and take in both a live comedy show at the Comedy Cellar's Village Underground as well as a Broadway production of 'A Gentleman's Guide to Murder,' which was so outstandingly good it might just have made a Broadway musical lover of me (no easy task)!

An Autumn Day of Leaf Peeping in Connecticut

October 10, 2015
Litchfield Hills, CT

Vista from the high point of Mohawk State Forest in Cornwall, CT

Now that we're back in the land of the four seasons, when October hit, we were simply itching to take in some of the fall foliage for which New England is justifiably famous.  For the better part of two weeks, we discussed the merits of various locales in New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut, researching fall color maps in conjunction with prime foliage destinations appropriate for a day trip from NYC, in search of the best destination for the particular weekend we chose.  We had originally rented a car but when we learned that friends Brian and Richelle were planning to do the same thing on the same weekend, we ditched the rental and rode along in their car instead.

Celebrating 17 Years of Marriage - A Fantastic Long-Weekend in the Shenandoah Valley

 August 27 - 31, 2015
Front Royal, VA/Shenandoah National Park

View of the Shenandoah Valley from Hawksbill Summit in Shenandoah National Park

While our summer travel schedule might conceivably be described as excessive by some, all of our most recent excursions had involved work or family visits.  And as much as we've enjoyed those visits, we decided that our wedding anniversary, which fell on a Saturday this year, would be a perfect reason to spend a long weekend alone together in the laid back peacefulness and serenity of the Shenandoah Valley.  The weekend proved to be everything we had hoped for, providing us with a wonderful opportunity to appreciate and reflect upon the 17 years we've enjoyed as a married couple, while making new memories to cherish in the future.

A Little Work, A Little Play...Down in the Sunshine State

August 13 - 16, 2015
St. Pete Beach, FL

Enjoying the shell-strewn sands of St. Pete Beach

Last Thursday and Friday, Scott had business meetings with Nespresso's logistics supplier and warehouse distribution center in Tampa and St. Petersburg, FL.  Conveniently, my childhood friend Barb happens to live in Tampa as well.  Tagging along with Scott on his business trip gave me a great opportunity to meet up with her, to enjoy some beach and pool time while Scott was at his meetings, and then to spend a relaxing, beachy weekend together with Scott.  Seemed like a perfect plan! 

Making More Family Memories, This Time in Rhode Island!

August 7 - 9, 2015
Cumberland, RI & Mystic, CT

Say "bunting!!!"

Aside from being an exciting place to live and explore, moving to New York City has had the added benefit of being within much easier visiting distance to various friends and family who reside up and down the East Coast.  It's been a busy summer for us, as our weekend travel has focused on visiting family in the more northerly reaches of the country while the weather is at its best.  In light of the weather factor, we decided that August would be perfect for paying a visit to Scott's Uncle Roger and Roger's new wife Margo, who live in northern Rhode Island.  Just a 3-hour drive from LaGuardia International Airport where we could easily rent a car, we decided to make a 3-day weekend of it and planned to visit Roger and Margo at their lovingly restored historic farmhouse home in Cumberland, RI.

Making Family Memories in the Adirondacks

July 24 - 27, 2015
Albany & Lake Champlain, NY

Family selfie at Ausable Marsh

Over the weekend, we had the pleasure of spending some quality time with my dad, Steve, and stepmom, Lucia, who live in upstate New York in the highly scenic, green and lush Adirondack Mountains.  Their spacious A-frame home sits directly on the shores of Lake Champlain and boasts stunning lake views.  And we were fortunate enough to be going for a visit!  While still a bit of a trek from New York City, due to the challenges of renting a car and getting in and out of the city, it is much more do-able now that we are living in the same state and we were excited to be making the trip.

Life's a Beach...Even in NYC!

July 11, 2015
Rockaway, Queens, NY

When you think of New York City, you probably don't immediately think of wide, sandy beaches.  But in fact, there are any number of beaches here in the city and on Saturday we had the pleasure of venturing out to Jacob Riis Park Beach in Queens on one of the most incredibly perfect beach days we've has to date this summer.  We are indeed lucky to have two car-owning friends, both of whom live in Queens just across the East River from us, and we were fortunate enough to get invited along on this weekend beach excursion! 

Jacob Riis Park Beach in Rockaway, Queens, NY.  Photo by Brian Gist

The Menjaks Take NYC by Storm!: A Family Visit

July 3 - 4, 2015
New York, NY

Enjoying family and great views from the roof deck of our building

Over the 4th of July holiday week, my sister, Jen, her husband and her two children took a family roadtrip from Michigan to New York.  They spent a day at Niagara Falls before visiting my dad and stepmom, who live on the New York side of Lake Champlain.  The grand finale (as I like to think of it!) of their trip was a 2-night stop to see us in New York City.

Museum Mile Festival in NYC, aka the Sport of Waiting In (I mean, On) Line!

June 10, 2015
New York, NY

The Met after dark

In NYC, summer is the season of festivals, and many of them are free for the taking.  Last night was the annual - and free - Museum Mile Festival, a block party of sorts that takes place on the Upper East Side of Manhattan right on 5th Avenue, covering the blocks where such famous museums as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim reside, in addition to several lesser known museums.  I had read somewhere that this is quite a popular festival, and being New Yorkers as we now are, we thought we had better go and check it out and be part of the fabric of NYC on a Tuesday evening.

Upstate New York Roadtrip: Part 3 - the Catskills

May 26 - 31, 2015
Tannersville and surrounding areas, NY

Giant Ledge

After several busy days of sightseeing (and a lackluster shopping trip to the local outlet mall), based out of our characterless Hilton Garden Inn south of Poughkeepsie, it was time to relocate to the Catskills!  

Upstate New York Roadtrip: Part 2 - Hudson Valley

May 24 - 26 , 2105
Fishkill/Poughkeepsie and surrounding areas, NY

A new installation at Storm King Art Center

Upon rolling into the Hudson Valley early Sunday afternoon, we went in search of lunch. Finding nothing in Ossining, we continued on to the tiny town of Peekskill, where we stumbled upon a small collection of restaurants with sidewalk tables and umbrellas. We chose the pleasant-looking Division Street Grill, where we were treated to odd/bad service from an older guy who told us that he lives in the city in a rent-controlled apartment he inherited from his grandmother for which he pays about $650/month (!!!) and comes up to Peekskill on the weekends to work (but apparently, mostly to shoot the shit with his friends and acquaintances, in our estimation anyway).  The warm duck salad we shared was delightful and the low-key atmosphere was a welcome change from the frenetic weekend brunch scene in the city. 

Upstate New York Roadtrip: Part 1 - Long Island

May 23 - 24, 2015
Islip and surrounding areas, Long Island, NY

We're not in Manhattan anymore!

As planned, we recently ventured out on a driving tour into Upstate New York for nine days over Memorial Day week.  It was our first trip of any length since moving to NYC over three months ago and we were excited to see what our new home state had to offer.  The areas just north of the city (referred to as Upstate New York by anyone who lives in New York City), specifically the Hudson Valley which runs along both sides of the Hudson River, connected by several bridge crossings, and the Catskills Park region just to the northwest of the Hudson Valley proved to be positively beautiful, with lots of leafy trees, green grass, misty mountains, rivers and waterfalls and we packed a lot of sights in on our driving adventure.  

Planning an Almost-Staycation in Upstate New York

May 21, 2015
New York, NY

Scott's been working really hard.  And his boss has been bugging him about when he's going to take some of that PTO he's been racking up since before we even moved here and get it off the books already (finance people!).  Well, Scott checked his calendar and we determined that the four days following Memorial Day (plus weekends) would be a good time for some R&R. 

First we talked about possibly going to Italy again after all these years - this time to Rome and Sicily - taking advantage of the shorter and therefore less painful transatlantic flight from NYC versus from the west coast. (The travel time between NYC and London and NYC and San Francisco is nearly identical).  Nah, still too many hours on an airplane to anyplace other than London or Iceland, we decided.  And besides,  after our first three months calling NYC home, we desired something less urban than London (and warmer than Iceland).  Then we talked about a roadtrip to North Carolina's Outer Banks.  I did a little research.  Hmmm, we were still not feeling inspired.  Washington DC to visit our friends Janet and Mark?  No, we really could use some solid couple-time.

A Quick Trip to the Midwest for Some Niece and Nephew Bonding Time

April 29, 2015
Lake Orion, MI

Scott had a work conference in Scottsdale at the end of April so I decided to use the opportunity to go to Michigan to visit my sister, Jen, and her kids in Lake Orion.  Now that we are just a short plane trip away, it is so easy to hop on a (relatively) inexpensive Spirit Airlines flight to Detroit.  Although I have not been a fan of the discount carrier in the past, my flight was surprisingly pleasant for the brief hour-and-forty-five minute flight.  I might have to do this again soon...

Family Selfie!

An Impromptu Visit to United Nations Headquarters...Because, Well, Why Not?!

April 20, 2015
New York, NY

It was Saturday, and we were eagerly anticipating our friend John's arrival from Detroit for the weekend.  After cleaning up the apartment, we had 2 -3 hours to kill before John's flight was due in at JFK.  It was a beautiful spring day (finally!) - really more like summer - and we decided on a walking route along the East River going uptown. (We had done the riverfront path in the downtown direction together when there was still still snow on the ground, back in March).  This route takes you away from the riverfront and onto 1st Avenue in the vicinity of the United Nations headquarters, for security reasons, I am guessing.  

As we were passing by the entrance to the main UN building, we saw some other tourist-looking people talking to a guard and then entering.  So we followed them.  I handed over my snazzy New York state driver's licence to the foreign-accented, uniformed personnel and got a badge with my ID photocopied onto it for all to see.  Scott received a purple wristband (no idea why we did not get the same thing) and we went through the airport-style metal detectors with a conveyor belt for purses, backpacks, keys, watches, and the like.  In no time at all, we were in!  When we entered we were informed that very little was open since it was a weekend, and we still really don't know what goes on at the UN but here's what we saw.

After you exit the security area, you end up in a large, spacious sculpture garden fronting the East River. Unfortunately there were a lot of barricades in place and construction going on.

Easter Weekend: Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater and a Visit to the 'Burgh

April 8, 2015
Pittsburgh and Mill Run, PA

Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater

Today, we have been official residents here in NYC for 8 weeks(!). Thus far, it has been incredibly fun, exciting and exhilarating exploring and learning all there is to see and do here in this amazingly vibrant city.  But between the hectic pace (of the city in general and Scott's new job in particular), cold weather and the obvious challenges and adjustments required when moving across the country, it has also been pretty intense and exhausting.  Especially with the feeling of spring in the air, we were ready for a break from it all.  When Good Friday, Scott's first holiday from work, arrived on the calendar, we decided to take advantage of it by...driving to the western edge of Pennsylvania!  

We really wanted to get away, but we were nervous about holiday crowds at any of the popular weekend destinations close to the city.  Add to this that we had been wanting to visit the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Fallingwater, arguably his most famous work, for quite some time.  And now, as luck would have it, we were finally situated in a part of the country convenient enough to do so!  

Celebrity Spotting in NYC - An Unveiling

March 23, 2015
New York, NY

Awaiting the unveiling

This morning, I braved the bitter temps (on this particular spring morning it, was in the low 20s, accompanied by a refreshingly brisk breeze) to meet my friend Steve to attend a public art unveiling in midtown Manhattan.  The undisclosed piece of public art, located in front of the Time & Life Building near Rockefeller Center, is commemorating the final season of the popular AMC series "Mad Men," which premiers next month.  The installation location was chosen because the Time & Life Building is home to the fictional offices of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, Mad Men's infamous ad men.  Word on the street (i.e., the internet) had it that several well-known members of the cast would be in attendance at said unveiling.  
"How exciting!  My first chance to see celebrities in NYC!" I thought to myself.  And best of all, they would be pointed out to me so I would not have the pesky task of actually trying to identify them in random situations! (I think I suffer from a bit of face-blindness...)  It just so happens that I am a long-time (pre-Mad Men) fan of John Slattery, who was rumored to be in attendance, and I am just a little bit obsessed with seeing celebrities in general (um, Jon Hamm???), especially now that I live in NYC.  Luckily for me, I had nothing better to do at 10:00 on a chilly Monday morning, so I bounded out of bed and hit the streets of midtown.

NYC Welcomes Us (with Bitter Cold Temps and Gasp-Inducing Prices)!

February 20, 2015
New York, NY

Baby, it's cold outside!!

Today is the day (finally!) that we pack up and prepare to move out of the hotel we've been calling home for the past 10 days.  I thought I'd use these quiet moments of the final calm-before-the-storm that has been our relocation process to reflect on our transition to New York City.  

Yesterday, we got the call from our Nestle relocation-hired moving truck driver, crazy-Gabe-from-Hungary, saying that he was in Cincinnati and expected to be in Manhattan on Saturday.  That's tomorrow!  His most recent ETA was for this coming Monday so he is ahead of schedule - this was very good news, indeed!

We're Moving to NYC!

February 2, 2015
Oakland, CA

A week ago today, we arrived back home in Oakland from an intense apartment-hunting weekend in NYC.  We had the assistance of a broker, compliments of Scott's Nestle relocation package, which was both a blessing and, at times, an extreme curse.  But after looking at almost twenty apartments in the space of two days (all in Manhattan), we chose one in the centrally-located, quiet Murray Hill neighborhood right in Midtown and just a ten-minute walk to Scott's new office!

Our new NYC living room!