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!

Mele Kalikimaka from the Brookses!

Happy Holidays from Kauai!

It's been a busy and fun-filled year for the Brookses, leading to some big changes coming our way.  Those of you on Facebook may have followed the excitement day-by-day, but for the rest, we'll give you the year in review.

2014 started off as a relatively stable year.  We started our third year in Oakland, where we've been living in the same apartment for 2 1/2 years.  Scott continued working at Nestle Dreyer's Ice Cream.  No big news.  All of this normalcy did give us the opportunity to indulge in our favorite passtime - travel!  The Michigan State Spartans gave us a reason to start 2014 with a trip to Pasadena to watch them play (win) in their first Rose Bowl since January of 1988.  So after spending Christmas exploring central Oregon, we drove down south to meet friends John, Emma, Jim, and Laura to ring in the new year and watch some football.

The next six months went by close to home, where we passed the fairly warm and dry California winter exploring lots of local hikes, venturing to Yosemite for Easter weekend, and gearing up for a much busier summer calendar.  Scott was slated to travel to Nestle headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland in June for two weeks of training.  So we made plans to have Caroline meet up with Scott afterward in Prague for another 10 days in Europe, giving us the chance to see a bit of Central Europe, mostly Prague and Budapest - both new territory for us.  We had a wonderful time in these two very distinct cities, and as always look forward to going back to keep exploring new places.

Soon after returning home, Caroline was back on a plane to Michigan to visit family and see both of our parents' new homes in the Detroit area.  Scott was able to join for a weekend as well.  It was great to be back in Michigan to see everyone after a two year hiatus.  The week after that, it was off to Albuquerque for a whirlwind "business" trip tending to our rental home as we saw some new tenants move in.  Another place we wish we could make it back to more often.  Late September gave us another opportunity to visit much of the Brooks family, as we gathered in Massachusetts to attend the exquisite wedding events of Scott's cousin Kyle and his new bride Kristen.  New England was another part of the world in which we hadn't spent much time, so we took advantage of our trip east to travel up to New Hampshire and Maine to see the autumn colors and enjoy the breathtaking scenery of the region's famous parks (Franconia Notch, Baxter, Acadia).

Now to the big changes.  In November, Scott discovered an exciting opportunity to work for Nestle's Nespresso division, which is headquartered in Manhattan.  In no time, Scott found himself interviewing in New York, and accepting an offer shortly thereafter.  So by early February of 2015, we'll be moving to NYC to start a new adventure on the east coast!  

With a move from the Pacific Coast imminent, we thought we'd better take advantage of our proximity to Hawaii for one last 2014 trek.  We're sending this year's note on a rainy morning from our oceanfront hotel in Wailua, Kauai.  Even though it's raining, don't feel too bad for us - the sun is scheduled to come out soon :-)

Best wishes to all for a wonderful holiday season, and a happy, healthy new year!  And of course - let us know if you make it to NY in 2015!

Love,

Caroline & Scott

As always, proof that we're not getting any cheesier in our old age - it's just our way...

Christmas 2013

Christmas 2012

Christmas 2011

Christmas 2010

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2007

Christmas 2006

Christmas 2004

Christmas 2003

Christmas 2002

Happy Halloween!

November 1, 2014
Oakland, CA

For the past four years, in celebration of each Halloween since we've returned to California, we've attended the costume party thrown by our friends Dominique and John at their home in Oakland.  Scott is, bar none, the best at coming up with costume ideas that are creative, fun, reasonably easy to execute, not break-the-bank expensive and (usually) easily identifiable to others.  For some reason, though, the costumes he comes up with frequently involve me dressing up as a man, and usually a rather unattractive one, at that.  I gave up fighting it long ago. It's easier just to go with it. (Besides, it makes me look like a good sport!)  

This year, we decided to go as members of the '80s new wave band Devo, famous for their 1980 hit 'Whip it,' not to mention their signature red, energy dome hats (which we had to order from the official Devo fan website).  It's fun wearing something that looks like an upside-down flower pot on your head!

Q: Are We Not Men? A: We are Devo!

Grabishfarm Mulefoot Hog Farm-to-Fork Dinner

October 12, 2014
Dixon, CA

This past weekend, we had an opportunity to attend a farm-to-table event at Grabishfarm, a small working farm just outside Sacramento that specializes in heritage hogs, goats and guinea hens, along with ducks, turkeys and various other fowl.  

A Perfect Autumn Day in Maine: Climbing the Beehive in Acadia National Park and a Lobstah Pound Lunch

October 2, 2014
Acadia National Park & Bernard, ME

We arrived in Bar Harbor to a late afternoon not-very-welcoming committee of overcast skies, chilly temps and brisk breezes that felt closer to winter than the final day of September.  

Acadia National Park

Kyle and Kristen Tie the Knot!

September 25 - 28, 2014
Danvers, MA, Ipswich, MA & Around

The happy couple

At the end of September, we had the pleasure of attending Scott's youngest cousin, Kyle's nuptials to his beautiful bride Kristen.  After flying into Boston late Thursday afternoon, we arrived  at the Courtyard Marriott in the northern suburban town of Danvers, eagerly anticipating the 3-day weekend of scheduled wedding events.  First up was the rehearsal dinner on Friday, followed by the ceremony and reception on Saturday and finally winding down with a farewell brunch at the Danversport Yacht Club on Sunday. Let the fun begin!

A Working Weekend in the Duke City

August 22 - 24, 2014
Albuquerque, NM

After a pretty hassle-free 15 months, our tenants at the house on Quail Run decided to move back to LA and it was once again time to do the usual inspections and maintenance on the house in preparation for new tenants.  Even though we weren't feeling quite ready to let it go, we considered putting it up for sale this time and Scott even spoke with a well-known, local Realtor while I was in Michigan last month.  While we were not unhappy with the agent's recommended list price of $265K, he believed that the value is only likely to rise further this year. And so we decided to list it on the rental market again, despite the stress and inconvenience of being absentee landlords.  

Our house on Quail Run