Gone Fishing

RBDII took CMD and me fly-fishing on Henry's Fork of the Snake River outside of Idaho Falls, ID for our birthday. My favorite little town among the many we pass driving from HQ to the various fishing areas is Last Chance. It is a beautiful area and always time well spent.

We also participated in a charity auction for the Henry's Fork Foundation where the bar-b-que was delicious and the bourbon plentiful, leading to a pretty major auction win for me ... a brand new dog!! She'll be coming in December :-)

Incredible country

CMD in max relax mode

Stalking the big one

Even I got a big one .. after a long stalk!

CMD is everyone's favorite float partner

The Dalton Anglers

A New Chapter Commences

On May 28th, 2014 I completed my courses at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. After two years of International and Global Affairs study amid Forum lectures, heads of state visits, awesome adventures and a new and growing set of friends and colleagues I am now a Master in Public Policy, with a degree conferred in the same ceremony as Aretha Franklin and former President George H.W. Bush, among other honorees.

Next up is a month of vacation and reserve duty with Orlando as a home base - thankfully CMD was my copilot once again on the drive from Boston to Orlando. Spots will include Last Chance, Idaho for fly fishing with RBDII and CMD, Norfolk and Jacksonville flying helicopters, and a quick stop in the Keys for some more fishing. Starting July 1st, I will be headed to Washington DC to test out this "masters" as a member of Senator Bill Nelson's staff.

Thanks for all the support and well wishes, and come visit DC!

The Belfer International and Global Affairs Fellows

The Sheriff of Middlesex County (HKS grad) in his ceremonial garb

The charge from JFK

The charge from Harvard

As a ready for a new adventure, here are some of the overseas adventures I've had while at HKS, finally updated on the blog. Enjoy!

Here's Looking at You - Morocco
Summer in the Sunshine State - Australia
Escaping the Chill - Chile
Spring Break in a New Continent... Sort of - Costa Rica

Future Life-long Adventures

Hey every body! I've got some big news to share! Spencer proposed to me back in April, just before Easter and I said yes! We're planning a wedding ceremony and celebration the first weekend in October. So before we get to talking about all things wedding planning and what we know about future plans, I thought I might share with you the story of our engagement. 

I had been working at a client site in Sarasota, FL for the past couple of weeks and was worried that I wouldn't make it home to Orlando in time to pick up SBE from the airport. Before I left, I told mom & dad that I might reach out to them for some help with airport pickup. Unbeknownst to me, Spencer was scheduled to arrive early Friday morning in order to meet Dad for lunch. While I was rushing back from Sarasota, SBE was running around Orlando, lunching with my dad, picking up white roses and white lilies from the florist, and chilling the most perfect bottle of white wine. By the time I arrived to my apartment, it smelled of fresh flowers and Spencer was waiting for me on the balcony ready to greet with a chilled glass. 

We chatted as normal for a while, although looking back on things he knew just a little too much about the goings on in Orlando while I was away. And when I asked if I should change into exercise clothes for our walk around Lake Eola, SBE insisted that I was fine and should stay in work clothes so that we could head straight to dinner. He had made reservations at Hillstone/Houston's, the site of our first Orlando date. A brisk walk around the lake, followed by sunset wine to welcome Spring, and dinner cooked by someone else was practically perfect. 

While S went to the bar to grab some drinks, I got busy instagramming the amazing sunset. Family members "liked" the picture immediately. It turns out they were waiting for some life changing news from me and all they got was a sunset. Whoops.

Spencer baited me into a conversation that was typically hard for me: he wanted to talk about our future and I was tired of talking about potential events even though we had no real plan of how to make them happen. His master planned worked and as I got myself worked up about all the stresses that come with moving and finding a new job and making new friends and making a life in a new city without the close proximity of my family, he stood up. Yep, you read that right. In the middle of my vulnerable moment, SBE stood up, took a ring out of his pocket and told me that he didn't want me to have to live in the hypothetical anymore. He said that he wanted me to be his partner in life, for the rest of our lives. Then he asked if I would marry him. 

After I mustered an "are you serious" question and fought back a small tear I managed to say "yes" out loud. At least, SBE assures me that I used my outside voice. In any case, we were engaged! We called our siblings and parents in rapid fire and shoveled a small dinner in our mouths so we could head to LDL & BML's house to have some champagne and celebrate. It was the most perfect event. 

So the adventures continue, but now I'll have a permanent adventure buddy to keep my wanderlust at bay. I really couldn't be happier to be marrying Spencer and I'm so thrilled that the rest of the Dalton's & Loflin's love him too. Next blog post might contain a combination of next steps: wedding plans, moving plans, new apartments, etc it is guaranteed to be an adventure. 

Thanks for all the well wishes! 

The Long Way Home

Maybe you've heard, maybe you haven't. Maybe you're excited, maybe you're confused, maybe you don't care.

The kid is moving back home.

It has been a helluva adventure out here in The Golden State, but it's time to cash in my chips and head home. Time to wake up where the Orange Blossoms grow.

There are certainly a number of emotions surrounding this decision, but overall I feel excited to get back to my old haunts and humidity. Maybe the humidity is a bit romantic at this point, but still, the thick air will no doubt feel like a warm hug from an old friend.   Trading Pacific Ocean sunsets from the desk for coming up 18 as the sun dips below the oak trees. Tourist(and vagrant) packed beaches for the unadulterated (save for an oil spill here and there) white sands of the gulf. Packed freeways for lazy mangroves. Hollywood-speak for southern drawls.

I have no idea what the next step is, but I do hope it will be as interesting as the ones I have left behind. Without question, I have learned more in the last three years than I have in any other professional setting. In addition to things related to the workplace, I have had a unique opportunity to learn about people. From audition waiting rooms, to country club members, to VCs and and interns- I have met them all. Some are great to interact and create with, some decidedly less so. But both provide life lessons, both positive and negative, which will no doubt help shape my future, whatever it may be.

While I don't know what level of success I achieved while being out here, I certainly have no regrets. I'm not going to get into details on what led to my decision to leave because I don't want anything I say to come off wrong.  It was just time. Time for me to return back from whence I came.

There are a number of things I think I'll miss, but I'm not really sure to what degree. I mean, the beach is great, but we've got that. The food is great, but we've got that. The friends are great, but I've got that too. So, maybe the thing I'll miss is the sense of adventure. I knew this wasn't home, so every day was a new challenge. I probably have enough material to write something about the adventures, so maybe that is part of my new challenge.

This is certainly one of my shorter posts, and I imagine some of my cohorts will cry "cop-out", but I'm heading home, and the rest is just for me right now.

"Well in the end we can all call a friend

well that's something I know as true.

And then a thousand years and a thousand tears

I'll come finding my original crew

cause to me throughout eternity

there's somewhere where you're welcome to go

I said it's something free that means a lot to me

when I'm with my friends I feel home"

- O.A.R

A New Continent... Sort Of

In the "always be adventuring" sense, I chose to go to Costa Rica for Spring Break. Costa Rica had been on my mind before my Chile trip as a way to check off South America, but now I would get South America and start on the "not really continents, but distinctly different geography" which include Central America, sub-Saharan Africa, and the sub-continent of India to name a few that I haven't been to. But now, save Antarctica, I've visited all the continents.

We had an incredible, relaxing, and adventurous time in Costa Rica. To start off, we rented a house in Playa Hermosa for the group as a whole, where we enjoyed a swim-up tiki bar, vast black sand beaches, refreshingly cold Pacific water, and a few local surf spots, and post-surf watering holes. Our housekeeper even made us a homemade dinner, which was both delicious and rancorous with our fun-loving crowd.

The tiki bar is open. Great daiquiris and fish tacos

Our homemade Costa Rican meal followed by Cards Against Humanity

Trying to chill by the beach while reading about Pakistan

Our evening walk to the post-surf watering holes

After Playa Hermosa, which is just south of Jaco on the Pacific side, our group split up as planned, with some exploring the underwater treasures of the coast through scuba diving, and others, including me, off to explore the Monteverde Cloud Rainforest and Arenal Volcano.

Our first stop was the Monteverde cloud forest, where we embarked on an awesome zip-line canopy tour and jungle swing adventure; I was skeptical, but this one outshone my Australian experience by far. That evening we took a guided night coffee plantation and jungle tour. We learned some pretty interesting things about coffee and how is grown and processed while running into night animals, including three huge sloths high in the tree tops, and had a great view of the stars and constellations.

Our zip-line / Tarzan swing crew

Some very long and very high zip lines through the rain forest

Coffee!

SLOTHS!!!

After dinner and delicious Chilean wine in a treehouse in Monteverde we headed to Arenal Volcano via Jeep and boat. At the Volcano we treated ourselves to some hot springs pools and relaxing dinner as we all tried not to think about our thesis projects which were due Tuesday upon our return. Rain the next day alleviated the need for more adventuring, so we succumbed to Harvard stereotypes and each worked a little on the last day waiting for the plane, though we did walk a couple miles to the nearby town to enjoy a last dinner with some soothing Costa Rican chocolate.

Inbound to Arenal Volcano

Margaritas under refreshing hot springs waterfall

The springs at night were surreal

Our crew, relaxed and well-fed

Sunday church service in town next to the chocolate shop

We had a great trip that, as always, was too short. I'd love to go back to experience the Gulf Coast or even spend more time on the Pacific Coast, so I wouldn't be surprised if Costa Rica becomes a repeat adventure spot in the near future.

Delayed Blogging - Work in Progress!

Hello blog readers. I have been remiss in blogging about my travels, as I may or may not be constantly reminded by the most avid reader of this blog.

Not to fear though, the travel logs are works in progress. I will post them with appropriate dates for our own archiving purposes, but if you're interested in reading about my summer in Australia, the post in all its glory can be found here: Summer in the Sunshine State

Its tough to keep up with the adventures of P, L and new addition A, but we non Orlando residents do what we can!

RBDIII

Party at The Plaza

Whoa. LDL just called us out. I really have no defense EXCEPT that I have made myself 100% available to help her growing family whenever she needs. Since she is SO MUCH BETTER than me (and the rest of her siblings at this parenting thing), I typically need a tall adult beverage and a nap most evenings after Adventures with Aunt T.

Lately I've been traveling quite a bit to New York City. I think it averages to about once a month over the last year, but since S keeps all these details on his spreadsheet, I'm not going to guess exact numbers. You know, just in case the visits to each other's respective cities is a bit lopsided. Lucky for me, he doesn't care that he travels to Orlando way more than I do New York. Whew.

On our way to put on jeans

This particular trip to NYC was longer than usual (because who wouldn't want to spend 5 days in arctic like conditions?) which led to more adventures! S likes to plan things out when I visit and this trip was no different. Thursday evening we were booked to attend a fundraiser dinner for The Bowery Mission. Because it was a formal affair, S and I rented some formal wear and S witnessed his first ever FTD wardrobe crisis meltdown. He's a champ, but I really needed LDL in that moment. Who else would understand that yes, the dress looks great but I just don't feel good in it and now I will be uncomfortable all night and oh yeah I am meeting a bunch of people that I don't know in formal wear and it is snowing outside so I will be freezing and are we supposed to donate any money???? Thank goodness S knew better than to laugh at my ridiculousness. He just complimented my style, told me I looked wonderful, and we made our way to The Plaza. The food was excellent, company even better, and enough dancing to tide S over for a few months. We had such a great time but my most favorite line of the night (besides making a joke about the box of chocolates sold at auction for $1,200) was this one from S to me: Hey, T. You want to head back, throw on some jeans, and grab a beer at the pub down the street? We both felt a bit out of our element but it sure was fun pretending to be fancy! Plus, S is pretty awesome making sure that I feel comfortable and well taken care of. He's good like that.

Next up, Valentines Day! I'm a lucky gal because it was a pretty amazing day. I got to spend the morning getting a tour of the NYC Googleplex from an old buddy from the neighborhood. Then (after putting in a few hours of work myself) I met up with a friend and mentor who was visiting NYC with her family for lunch at Nobu. S was a big hit, as people were excited to meet him. He apparently felt comfortable enough with them to spill his big plans for the evening -- a plan he had been keeping from me for 8 weeks -- while I ventured to the ladies room. I tried so many times to get him to tell me, so that I could adequately prepare, but secretly I was enjoying how excited he was to surprise me. I feel like I should mention that I was presented with the following e-card prior to arriving in NYC:

Ha. Ha. Ha. No Groupon could have put together this itinerary. We left lunch (it was a late lunch) and tried to take a quick nap before dinner (it was an early dinner). Just as I was dozing off, I was awoken with a frantic "T! We have to go!". My only instructions were to not wear jeans; that's cool, cause I've started to enjoy looking nicer for date night. We sat at the Chef's bar at a wonderful place called Perla, in the West Village. The food was really spectacular and it was entertaining to sit and watch the food being plated directly in front of us. S broke with tradition and order a non-pink, flourish-less cocktail for the evening. Also, we shared. That's right ladies and gentlemen! I shared a plate. It was like lady and the tramp when they share the spaghetti (except he's a dapper fellow, not a tramp and we didn't have pasta). The night was full of surprises. 

And then. . . the mother of all Valentines Day surprises. . . the cab takes us to Broadway. . . and we walk to see: !!!! I'm pretty sure my face lit up with excitement (at least, I hope I did). One of my first visits to NYC, I mentioned to S that I had heard it was a good show and would be interested to see it. There was no mention of the show after that until now! S is awesome that way, remembering things I mention and then executing on a plan. It was awesome and hilarious and just such a joy to watch. I highly recommend it. It's so much fun to be in a crowd full of people being entertained by the same thing, laughing and gasping in unison. And because it was Valentines Day, the cast waiting around at the end of the show to hand everyone Valentines Day cookies. That might be the last time S and I ever get handed a cookie from a Drag Queen (but I guess you never know). It was one of the best presents I have ever received. A well thought out, experience gift picked out just for me. 

Just when you think the weekend couldn't get any better, we also managed to squeeze in a trip to see our mutual friends in their new house in Connecticut. The race to catch the train was pretty humorous and I had to remind S that this was Grand Central and I had no idea where I was going. So, he held my hand as we raced from Subway line to the main terminal and still, even with just 3 minutes to catch the train we did a little divide and conquer and managed to snag both tickets and a newspaper before the doors shut. Whew. We walked through a beautiful neighborhood covered in snow to get to the house, literally laughing all the way. Later, I got to sit and catch up with a buddy while S climbed the roof to knock off ice. Always be adventuring, right? Sadly, no pictures from that sweet little reunion. 

We wrapped up the weekend with a small little CGA reunion as Danita came up from Philly to join Rache Hadle and me for some boozy brunch at Calle Ocho. Never ending (while you are eating) sangria's can never be a bad thing (just make sure you read the house rules). We do have a picture from that one. I'm not sure what prompted the facial expressions -- what happens at brunch stays at brunch??

So yeah, I'm on the road, living in two different cities sometimes. It's been worth it so far, this always be adventuring thing.