India: Class

August 15, 2011
India is a land of extreme wealth and abject poverty. On a global scale, the richest and the poorest coexist and the contrast is stunning. We wanted to experience all aspects of the country and as middle-class American tourists, we have felt very rich at times and out of our league in others. We flew from Mumbai to Cochin in Kerala where we had made a reservation at a super deluxe Taj resort that had been recommended for its superior class and service. While the price was cheap by Western hotel standards, it blew up our budget quickly. When we…

India: Welcome

August 15, 2011
India. It has been calling me ever since I realized how vital world travel is to my life; it always seemed like the sort of place that would saturate my senses and bring me closer to the ultimate truth of reality I seek in my life. I crave answers to the Big Why of existence and while a one month tour of the Sub-continent could never possibly fulfill me, it is always enlightening to experience an alternate reality to the one I am accustomed. Boarding a plane and disembarking on the other side of the world is simple and easy,…

Sydling St. Nicholas

August 1, 2011
This past week has been ultra-relaxing. We have been staying with Alaina's grandparents in this quaint village in Dorset, England. Surrounded by rolling hills and organic farms, it is deeply inspiring in its beauty and G and Grand represent the idyllic environment perfectly. Their relationship is a model of everlasting love and I hope that one day we can demonstrate this virtue to our own grandchildren.

Summer Travels 2011

July 26, 2011
In a few hours, we bid adieu to Brooklyn and embark on a transcontinental adventure. Our first stop is Sydling St. Nicholas, Dorset, England to spend a week with G and Grand Buckland and the English side of Alaina's family. From there, we continue around the globe to India, where we will travel with Sarah and Eric for four weeks, exploring Kerala and the South first, followed by a trip to the North into the mountains. I have a basic sense of what we will be doing, but almost no idea what sort of experiences await. That is adventure! Unexpected…

Weddings

July 19, 2011
What a wonderful reason to bring your friends together and have a party: for we are in love forever! Folks will travel great distances to be present for this official declaration and the ensuing celebration can be a transcendent joy. This past weekend featured an unfortunate conflict of lovefests: Dan & Tekela in Wisconsin or Dave & Kelly in Warwick (great place to get married!). Lake Geneva, WI was filled with boats, beaches, beer, blunts and buddies and we gorged ourselves on Chef Daniel's amazing appetizers, complemented by cheese and fried everything. And while we were forced to choose between…

What’s New?

May 24, 2011
In a tree in the Green-Wood Cemetery across from my balcony is a Robin's nest I have been binocularing in on and today I saw three little beaks open above the lip of the nest to be fed from mom. It was beautiful. It is hard to believe its been a month since I last wrote here, but it has been a month full of good entertainment. We saw some great Theatre (Blackwatch, Under Construction, Warhorse, Sister Act and seeing Sleep No More tonight), have experienced some great outdoor Brooklyn events (Fifth Ave Street Fair and Food Truck Rally), started…

SoCal

March 31, 2011
When the schedule opens up, I feel compelled to take advantage and did so with five days in Southern California. I chose that area for friends and saw many amazing people with whom I have long-distance relationships. Some friends I see weekly, others monthly and ones with large swaths of land between us tend to be multi-yearly. Even with email and telephones, a good face-to-face needs to happen occasionally. And it did last week; thank you to everyone there who took care of me! I originally planned this trip and thought about the beach, but when a monster storm dumped…

Maine

September 7, 2010
From Cape Cod to Maine for the final leg of my summer travels... Portland has been blessed by the arrival of Andrew and Rachel last summer. Rachel is involved in the art community there and I attended a vibrant outdoor fair in which she and other local artists set up booths to display and vend their wares, while bands rocked the stage in beautiful weather. We then hit up Hugo's Restaurant, where Andrew is Chef de Cuisine and indulged in gastronomic delight with his absurd tasting menu. Both of them are incredibly creative and passionate artists and have settled into…

The Cape

August 26, 2010
As a tyke, my summers were spent in glorious Cape Cod, so I can't be sure just how much of my love for this place is nostalgic, but darn if it isn't a perfect place to be today! This weekend was an amazing Taylor family reunion, with MomMom and her four sons and daughter-in-laws, plus 10 of the 12 cousins (myself included) and their wives/fiancees/boyfriends congregating in Osterville for beach and beer pong... It isn't often that I see my extended family, but every time I am reminded how awesome this family is; we have our mini-dramas for sure, but…

AC

August 13, 2010
The myth. The Legend. Atlantic City. Saying I went to AC is a bit misleading since we didn't leave the Tropicana Resort for more than five minutes, a brief foray into a somehow unnatural natural beach environment that felt awkward and uncomfortable from the moment we left "the bubble"; an artificial world with rules and lives that exist only within the cubic volume of highly conditioned air. It was not my first time in a casino, but it was the first time I have been in the company of casino royalty and treated as such. Eric is a gambler and…