Adam’s brother Ryan has been living—untethered to the digital world—in North Carolina for the past eight years.
Over the years, we’ve only been able to visit him a couple of times. We once drove up with my father-in-law for an over-night camping trip. We drove up, hiked up a mountain, set up camp, slept, woke up, broke down the camp, and drove back. That was in 2007, shortly after our wedding (which he was unable to attend). Adam’s dad joked that it was our honeymoon. And I guess if you go by the loosest definition of the word: A holiday or trip taken by a newly married couple, then yes; it was technically our honeymoon.
Last year, the three of us drove up to Adam’s grandma’s place in Georgia to celebrate Christmas. Afterward, we continued our drive north to visit Ryan in North Carolina. We mostly hung around Bryson City and talked about how he should come visit us in Orlando sometime.
Through the years, communication between the two brothers has been very limited. Ryan lives in a remote area of Bryson City, so the postman is not very dependable, and he only recently got his hands on a cell phone. Adam and I always said it would be so much easier to keep in touch with him if he had a computer. So, for Christmas this year, we’re giving him a brand new Dell laptop. We bought it last week and Adam has been setting it up. He already posed the question on his twitter/facebook, but I figured I’d ask it here to get a wider sampling:
What would you install/bookmark for someone who hasn’t had a computer/been online in 8 years?
I got bored last night, so I started going through my old videos. Here are a few clips I took in Costa Rica in 2007.
The resort we stayed at had a huge pool with a small island of trees in the middle. I guess at some point, this iguana made it’s way through the chlorinated pool and set up shop on the island.
Saturday Sept 26 Had a decent breakfast at the hotel and drove into the next town over to do some last-minute shopping at Target and Marshalls. I found a suitable clutch purse at the former and my grandma found a nice shawl at the latter. We had some really good pizza in the Polish area of Linden, NJ.
My sister and her boyfriend met us at the hotel and we all drove to the wedding together.
Look at how freaking cute they are!!!
The wedding was at the Richmond County Country Club and it was absolutely beautiful. Since the bride is Jewish and the groom is Catholic, they had a priest and a rabbi to do the ceremony. Afterward, I saw them walking to the bar together. Just kidding, that was a bad joke (that I’ve told about a thousand times since then). But seriously, they did have both and it almost seemed like they were trying to upstage each other throughout the service.
The hors d’œuvres course was so good that we were almost too full to eat dinner. Luckily, we had some downtime while we listened to some toasts. My mom, the matron of honor, gave a pretty good one. But the star of the evening was the bride’s best friend. Very quickly, it became clear that this woman was infatuated with her. I never thought I would hear the phrase “my blood is exploding in my veins” at a wedding, and yet, there it was; coated in a thick Russian accent and making me bite my tongue to keep from cracking up at the table.
At one point, my sis leaned over to me and asked “Are you keeping your head down so you won’t laugh?” I stifled a giggle and nodded my head vigorously. Dinner was great, as was the band/dj.
My mother’s cousin got married in Staten Island, NY last weekend.
Friday Sept 25 Woke up at the very ass-crack of dawn in order to catch our 7:50am flight. It was on time and there were no screaming babies.
We landed in Philadelphia a little too early for lunch, but that didn’t stop me from demanding a Philly Cheesesteak at 10:45am. I rationalized that we had breakfast at like 5:30am or some ungodly hour, and Adam watched in horror as I pressed the CheezWhiz button on the really cool automated ordering kiosk.
Our connecting flight to Newark was also on time and devoid of screaming babies, but the fact that we were on a Dash 8 and I was in the window seat next to the propeller made me want to scream like a baby.
After a flight that felt like a ride on Space Mountain, we landed in Newark and took our free shuttle to the hotel in New Jersey. We were the first people in our party, so we got a free room upgrade. Score. We had a few hours before we had to go to the rehearsal dinner, so I took my time getting ready and admired the view from the hotel room window.
Me & Sis at the rehearsal dinner
The rehearsal dinner was nice. If you’re looking for some good Penne Ala Vodka on Staten Island, I highly recommend Cielo on Hylan Blvd.
Sunday Sept 27 Piled the whole family into the rented van and drove into NYC for a delightful brunch at Stanton Social. It was just as good as I remembered it from last year. I do feel like I may have over-hyped the french onion soup dumplings, but everything was delicious and we all stuffed ourselves silly because that’s what you do when you’re on vacation.
We walked around the lower east side until my mom, dad, aunt, and uncle had to leave to catch their flights. We got dropped off at our hotel—The Marriott Marquis in Times Square. It was pretty pimp.
Our room didn’t face Times Square, but we still had a sweet view
At night, Adam had his year-old wish to eat at WD50 granted. The appetizers were really good, as were the desserts. I was not impressed with the main courses.
Deconstructed Eggs Benedict
Sis’s boyf had an early morning, so they joined us for a single drink at Elizabeth. The Karma Chameleon cocktail was awesome. Then it was off to meet up with Pete for a second drink. But the wine at dinner and the cocktail made me sleepy, so I skipped that round and we left shortly after.
Sibling relationships - outlast marriages, survive the death of parents, resurface after quarrels that would sink any friendship. They flourish in a thousand incarnations of closeness and distance, warmth, loyalty and distrust.
My sis and I had some rocky times when we were younger. I still embarrass her—usually unintentionally—from time to time, and I sometimes feel rejected by her (I’m sure this is also unintentional on her part). Still, one of my favorite things in life is getting to watch her grow and mature.
Of course I think about what it’s going to be like when Adam & I are old and gray, but I’m extra excited to hang out with 65-year-old Daniela. I just know she’s going to be a laugh riot.
As you can hear, it gets pretty loud/hectic when my family gets together. I assure you it gets quieter once we’re all stuffing our gaping maws with meat.
![To: momFrom: meSubject: boots for NY, found ‘emBody: [above photo]To: meFrom: momSubject: RE: boots for NY, found ‘emBody: you are kidding, right?
To: momFrom: meSubject: RE: RE: boots for NY, found ‘emBody: am I?
Honestly, the only thing stopping me from buying them outright is the price tag. That, and as Adam pointed out, I’m not 12.](http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ks6gmatwYF1qz9fn6o1_400.jpg)
