Reddy to take the U.S.

New York state of mind

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PASSWORD: big apple

(Change setting in video to 1080!)

At last! One of our most anticipated stops: New York City…. Manhattan.

We arrived in Astoria (Brooklyn) and circled the block and surrounding area several times before giving into an overnight lot for 10, 20 or 30 dollars a day. I cant recall because I’m writing this over a year following our trip… but to the best of I knowledge, here’s how it went. (Katie here - Sam forgot to mention the first night we actually got a ticket for street parking even though that sign was covered by bushes, bad luck)

We lugged our stuff up 3 floors of narrow steps to Tara’s sprawling 1 bedroom apartment and 2 cats. We later hauled our luggage back down, found the subway and rode into Manhattan. It was a crowded trip and the suitcases didn’t help. When we came to our stop and filed off the train, a man offered to assist us with our things up the stairs to street level – which was shocking but welcomed. I held my breath that he didn’t run with my bag once we got to the top. He didn’t, just nodded and said good day. Thanks stranger!

In Manhattan we split our time between our close friend Dez’s and Tara’s then boyfriend’s apartment, conveniently just a block apart. The first night was a bit blurry but I recall a bar with swings for bar stools, which was pretty dope. The next day, Dez took us on a nickel tour of the city. We saw the 9-11 Memorial, World Trade Center, Statue of Liberty (from afar), AND had a laughably terrible street vendor drawing done.

The next evening, we had a very trendy, New York, dinner at a nice restaurant in the meat packing district followed by a night on the town. We painted it red. Complete with street meat!

Tara was nice enough to make some time to cut my hair… on the roof… as the sunset. Katie’s too! I think. I was looking fresh to death. Katie and Dez went at night to see Time’s Square and Grand Central. Everything felt glamorous, from food to custom craft cocktails, even the coffee was divine. I felt like we didn’t wait anywhere. That’s how it goes when you know good people I suppose.

When our stay was over, we opted to take the train back to Astoria without our bags and then drive back across to collect our things. It was slightly nerve-wracking to weave among all the yellow cabs on the island and traffic was a bitch but luckily we made it through without a scratch. 

We left with sore legs and sausage toes from all the walking and stair climbing (damn walk-up apartments, smh), but TOTALLY worth it and wouldn’t trade a thing. On to the next! Beep beep.

-Sam

PS, I was missing my Ed.

Things we learned…

  1. Even if you think you are safe from parking tickets you must check EVERYWHERE for a sign

  2. Don't trust that a door doesn't lock behind you

  3. New Yorkers are actually very helpful

  4. Jake Gyllenhaal is quite hard to locate

Source: newyorkstateofmind

Vineyard Sailing

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PASSWORD: Vineyard

Sooo... surprise we ended up making it to Martha's Vineyard, thank goodness! It wasn't until after attempting to get a refund for our tire, trying to find the appropriate tire brand to replace our previous tire and all the while hoping we would make the LAST ferry of the day over to Martha's Vineyard. 

Cutting it close, we barely made it on the ferry over to Vineyard Haven. Once we arrived we hitched a nice ride (BMW) over to the Cronin's cottage. Mark and Lisa Cronin are Sami's good friends of a few years. They are actually the producers of Below Deck which Sami was on the first season. Unfortunately Lisa ended up being in LA by the time we arrived to pick up her grandchildren but we had Velvy as additional company whom is one of Mark's good friends.

We had two nights and tried to maximize our time on this stunning island. We played with all of the water toys - paddle boards that we tried to sail, motorboats and even Mark's Beetlecat sailboat. We toured the island to the Gayhead Cliffs, Menemsha (a small fishing village) and State Beach where we played with some phosphorescent plankton at dark. 

We had some amazing company for a few days, drank too much wine, played guitar and enjoyed pleasant conversation. This Massachusetts stop ended up being very relaxing but doubled as a stroke of good luck for myself. You may be wondering how i've traveled so much in the recent year, or made a move across the country....

Never say your hobbies can't get  you a job. Prior to this trip I left my job of 2 1/2 years. Mark noticed Sami and I editing videos on our phones and posting everything to this website. The night before leaving Mark offered me a position as his executive assistant and after a FaceTime interview with his wife, Lisa, a conclusion was drawn that I would begin working for them at the end of the month.....and meeting them in Greece to start my position. Crazy. 

I, of course, accepted this position. 

Karma and not being afraid to pass on things or opportunities that don't inspire me has kept me earning good luck it seems. I'm grateful for that. 

We wrapped up our trip wishing we could stay a bit longer, but alas it's time to move on. We picked up Old Faithful (Sam's Car) on the main land and made our way to 'the city that never sleeps, New York.

Fair winds and following seas

-KT

 

Things we learned:

  1. About phosphorescent plankton

  2. How to sail

  3. What all the craze surrounding lobster rolls is REALLY about

  4. SHIT Sami forgot the outdoor shower footage!

  5. Why outdoor showers are amaaazingggg

  6. That would have been perfect footage for the very end. damn

Jackets in July

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Jackets in July

Next stop was a little-known town in western Massachusetts called Easthampton. It’s downtown blocks were quaint yet trendy. I’d actually been there years prior for a July 4th river float but few landmarks stood out as much of the area is wooded. We went to reunite with my gal pal from LA, Alexis. We stayed at her and her boyfriend’s house in a little 2nd story guest loft. We made ourselves dinner and drank some craft beers before hitting the town. Alexis works locally and seemed to know everybody so we were treated well and probably over served. No complaints there.

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