Summer in NY: We're engaged!

Catskill, NY on the Hudson River

The end of our summer in New York definitely ended on a high note! Spending time with my nephew, a visit to NYC, meeting my friends' new born babies, and more family events. But, one of the most exciting things was getting engaged! A very nice surprise by Jaap and received with much love and excitement! Jaap is good at creating romantic moments. We're so happy and it was extra special being able to share it with family and friends. I can't wait til I can call him my hubbie!

So many things happened in New York during Jaap's two weeks visit. Too much to write about, but here are some of my favorite things about New York, America, and home!

Game day with Jaap and Joey. A day full of mini-golf, go-carts, laser tag, and a great arcade!

Visiting my hometown, seeing friends, and being able to hold the newest members of our Catskill clan. Congratulations to Katie, Joe, and beautiful Baby Cole!

Getting engaged on the beautiful Hudson! Unfortunately, if we were to take this picture today I would be completely underwater because of the devastations left by Hurricane Irene. My heart goes out to everyone in the Catskills... so sad. 

Holding more babies when we met Heather & Chris' new little one Gavin! One more to the Catskill clan. 

Festivities at the annual Pardo family picnic. This is an action shot of me before Shannon and I won the water balloon toss.

Seeing Shannon...

and my niece Elin. She's so cute. :)

Happy birthday to Titi Vivian & Pop.

My two favorite people.

Sharing our Dutch traditions in America. Playing Kolonisten aka Settlers of Catan with the Pardos.

Cosmopolitans with Amanda & Jaap at the Russian Vodka Room. Please note: This is one of my FAVORITE things about NYC. It is the best cosmo you will ever have. No joke. (If you're in NYC and wanna check it out: 52nd between 7th and 8th) LEKKER!

Vegan dinner date with Shannon at Angelica's Kitchen, our favorite restaurant.

Visiting Jaap's former residence of Roosevelt Island. (It's a tiny island between Manhattan and Queens.)

Riding the newly renovated tram.

Walking around Central Park and see my favorite spot, the Bethesda Fountain.

The sculpture garden on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

 and the collection of musical instruments. 

 Good-bye lunch with Shannon & Susan at Alchemy in Park Slope. 

Family time...Pop & Elin.

 Visiting the Jim Henson exhibit at the Museum of Moving Image in Queens. Jaap is an official Muppet collector, so this was a very special day for us. Here we are trying to sneak a few illegal shots of Jaap with some original muppets. 

But, my favorite about being home are family and friends. Being able to hug my parents, niece, and nephew are the best things! And at the same time, the worst thing is hugging my parents good-bye at the airport when we leave. I dread it every time because I know I won't see the for a few more months. On the plus side, we already bought our tickets of Christmas. We'll be home for the holidays!

Summer in NY: Ithaca is Gorges

Wine tasting on Cayuga Lake

Taughannock Falls, Ithaca

After my two week stay in Rochester, Jaap flew into New York for another two weeks together. I wanted to spend some quality time with my parents, so we decided to take a little vacation to the Finger Lakes region. 

Of all the places that we have traveled to, I still think my home of upstate New York is one of the most beautiful regions I have ever seen. I'm lucky to have grown up in the Hudson Valley and the Catskills. I studied in Ithaca, which is part of the Finger Lakes Region in western New York. It's home to many gorges, wineries, and tons of hippies. I love going back and enjoying it all over again. 

We went Ithaca to enjoy mostly nature, some light hiking, and of course wine tasting. The Finger Lakes are home to over 200 wineries and they are 'somewhat known' for their white wine varieties, especially Riesling. 

Picnic lunch at Goose Watch Winery

We visited some wineries on Cayuga Lake (near Ithaca) the first day. The weather was not so nice so we weren't able to do any hiking. But, Deb and Bob came down from Rochester to meet us for dinner. That was a nice treat!

The Gorge

On our second day we drove to Watkins Glen on Seneca Lake. The weather improved and we were able to do nice stroll up the gorge. It's an easy climb with great views of waterfalls. I love this place. We used to come camping here when I was little and I'm happy that Jaap got to see it. It brings back lots of good memories.

Watkins Glen

And now for the good wineries...We visited some nice ones on Cayuga Lake the first day, but the wine at our new favorite place, Chateau Lafayette Reneau, was far superior. This place allows you to sample all 18 of their wines. Fun for us! I'm glad Pop was the designated driver that day. Jaap and I were able to enjoy all 18. :)

Me & Pop sampling at Atwater Vineyards

View of Seneca Lake at Chateau Lafayette Reneau

Jaap's happy about his wine purchases.

Cascadilla Gorge, Ithaca

The last day of our trip we spent a little more time at some other gorges in Ithaca. My favorite gorge is Cascadilla, but unfortunately part of the trail is closed. It starts near downtown Ithaca and the hike takes you up to Cornell Univeristy's campus. We still got to enjoy some of it even though the water was running not as strong as usual. 

Before heading back home to Newburgh, we walked up to Taughannock Falls. The falls are running light, but still a beautiful walk. Ithaca was gorges. I wish I could rewind and do this trip all over again with my parents and Jaap, but on to the next adventure!

Summer in NY: A Boston Reunion

What an amazing vacation back home! This is what I like to do most when I travel back to NY, hug my niece and nephew...A LOT! Adventures with Jaap went back to the motherland for some travel, friends, family reunions, and everything American. And I can't forget other big news that happened towards the end of the trip. Jaap and I are engaged! Yay! It was a nice surprise and executed very romantically by Jaap. :) We're so happy.

But before all that, I traveled to Rochester, NY to for an annual reunion with my friends, Debbie and Michele, from Boston. Whoo! Let the good times roll. We had so much fun, I was sad to see it end. 

Michele, Debbie & Me

I took an Orff Schulwerk course for music educators at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. I was able to stay with my friend Debbie and her husband Bob for two weeks. What a treat. I'm so grateful that I was able to take a great class and hang out with some of my favorite people again. 

This annual Boston reunion has become our tradition for the past four summers and I hope it continues. We don't do much in Rochester. We're not much of the sight-seeing bunch when the three of us come together. We mostly just sit around and talk for hours, drink lots of coffee and course of wine. We also had some fun rounds of Just Dance 2 on the Wii and Rock Band, the Beatles edition. Hilarious! I was so happy to see Deb and Michele. It felt just like old times!

Michele exploring the amazing Public Market in Rochester

A little Jackson 5 on Just Dance 2

Gearing up for a night out on the town!

Dinner with Deb's friends

The margaritas started to flow

Sake bombs on Deb's birthday

More about the rest of NY next time! Here's a picture of me graduating from Orff Schulwerk Level I.