Colorado Taylors

Ivy took her second plane trip this weekend and she did phenomenally well! Despite a few piercing shrieks (including several that echoed through the cavernous tent at Denver International Airport) she was a great companion through the rigors of travel. She was also supremely well behaved at the wedding and reception--especially considering we completely abandoned any semblance of her normal routine and schedule. We were there for cousin Anna and her dude Kaulin, celebrating their love in Littleton, Colorado, and the Taylor turnout was very impressive, including Mommom and her four sons, their spouses and 11/12 of the cousins! It…

Dorset Bucklands

Ivy is an international traveler! We brought her to England to meet her great-grandparents and to experience the idyllic nature of her middle-namesake, Dorset. In the tiny village of Sydling St. Nicholas, nestled in a valley of rolling hills and farmland, life is beautifully simple. Our days involved long walks through the village and surrounding farms, passing through pastures of sheep, cows and horses with our baby in a carrier on my chest. We would walk for hours then return for teatime and delicious meals around a table that expanded as more family arrived daily. The Buckland clan forged by…

Welcome Spring!

After a two-week vacation in which I logged 7 ski days (@Wildcat, Black, Burke, Stowe and Magic!) I am ready to spring into some warm weather, and today was the first T-shirt day of the year. The windows are wide open and I hope I don't have to close them until October (early Spring naïveté). While I worship the winter and its white alpine bounty, I might have a harder time appreciating it without the warmth of summer. Being outside can be beautiful or miserable, depending on surroundings and weather, so anytime the factors align pleasantly, I am sure to…

New Year’s Family

Two weeks of Holiday time with friends and family is a perfect end and beginning to the year. We went transatlantic to the tiny village of Sydling St. Nicholas in Dorset, England for the first week to spend time with the wonderful Buckland family. Although it rained every day (we saw the record broken for rainiest year ever in England) we were not deterred from some relaxing and inspiring jaunts into the countryside and seaside as well as some cozy, fireplace warmed evenings with great food and wine. We flew home and spent one night in our Brooklyn bed before…

Long Trail

The Long Trail was the first long-distance hiking trail in the US, running 280 miles through Vermont along the spine of the Green Mountains from Massachusetts to Canada. I have spent time on the trail before doing day hikes, but have always wanted to make an extended adventure of it. So last Thursday, Alaina and I packed our bags and drove up to our established start point near Killington and set out on a five day journey. We have done lots of camping in our day, but most of it has been out of a car without the need to…

Mars!

Humans built a machine and sent it to Mars. I am impressed by relatively simple technologies like cars, phones, cameras and computers, all of which have embedded themselves in our lives over the past century. The "Curiosity" rover takes all of these amazing inventions from our planet and brings them to another. The effort and cost is astronomical, but exploring our universe is priceless. We may not discover life on Mars, but we have reached beyond our own mortal, earth-bound lives to expand our celestial consciousness and seek understanding of our greater place in the eternal mystery of our existence.…

Good Times

I love leisure! I think that I am pretty good at enjoying myself but this past month has tested me and pushed my fun limits. We spent some time with Taylor family on the beach and golf course in Cape Cod, spent a weekend in New Hope, Pennsylvania for a tubing adventure, hosted one of the smoothest Land Parties ever, enjoyed Coney Island for a ballgame and rollercoasters, spent a week with 10 friends at a villa in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico and attended a beautiful wedding in West Glacier, Montana! I feel incredibly fortunate to maintain a lifestyle conducive…

Summmmmer

Summer always arrives hot and heavy. My work schedule declines (to 3 1/2 days a week) but my social schedule explodes to the point where I have even less free time! This summer's weekends are booked solid with great adventures and the next two months are bursting with potential goodness... June 11 brought a great start to Summer '12 with the arrival of my nephew, Lincoln Eustace Taylor! Andrew and Rachel instantly became amazing parents dedicated to offering their child the best life he could dream of... Lincoln was born into battle; within 24 hours was having an MRI and…

Farewell Winter

I welcome the end of Winter because Summer is sweet, but I always feel a tinge of remorse to see the snow melt away and know that I won't be back on skis for another eight months. The season typically ends with some Spring slush runs and over the last 10 days I have experienced this transition at Stowe, where we were skiing over huge dirt patches in 70 degree sunshine in the brightest ski attire we could find, and in Whitefish, Montana, where I went to visit my college roommate, Marty and his family. The first day actually had…

Maine Again

President's Day was a vacation, which meant a trip to Vacationland. I drove the 6 hours to Portland on Saturday and spent the long weekend in the company of amazing family. We dined the finest as Chefbro Andrew created some dazzling masterpieces at Hugo's, we played hard on the Reiche's Paddle Tennis court and enjoyed the company of parents and siblings and united families. I am always amazed by all of my relatives and lucky to be a part of their lives. On Monday, in celebration of Washington's Birthday, I drove up to Rangeley, ME to check out Saddleback Mountain.…