A VERMONT WEDDING

By Julia & Tom
Stowe, Vermont

 The day finally came, and it was perfect - Friends, family, good vibes, amazing weather and a kick-ass band!  Here are a few pictures in case you couldn't be there with us:

The Girls

The Boys

The ceremony was held under an arbor my dad made, over looking the Green Mountains of Vermont

Picnic-Style Cocktail Hour

Thank you to all our friends and family who attended.  And for those of you who we met along the way, you were there with us in spirit!

Favorites Around the World

By Julia
Stowe, VT

  I have been planning this post since we've returned, but the tiny hiccup of planning a wedding has prevented me from remembering to do so.  But now with only a few days to spare before the Big Day, I am now finding this blog post a convenient distraction from "moving tables" or "cross-checking meal selections".

  And now, without further ado,

Tom and Julia's Official Trip Superlatives:

Favorite Small Villages/Towns
Julia

1. Luang Prabang, Laos

2. Goreme, Turkey

3. Little Corn Island, Nicaragua

Honorable Mention: Hoi An, Vietnam
Tom:

1. Goreme, Turkey

2. Luang Prabang, Laos

3. Wanaka, New Zealand

Goreme, Turkey

Favorite Cities
Julia:

1. London, UK

2. Granada, Nicaragua

3. Hanoi, Vietnam
Honorable Mention: Wellington, NZ

Tom:

1. London, UK

2. Hanoi, Vietnam

3. Istanbul, Turkey

London, UK

Favorite Region
Julia:

1.  Lepcha Villages/Sikkim, India

2.  Isla de Ometempe, Nicaragua

3.  Aegean Coast, Turkey

Tom:

1.  Aegean Coast, Turkey

2.  Greater Darjeeling Area, India

3.  Little Corn Island, Nicaragua

Lepcha Village Visits, Darjeeling, India

Favorite Tourist Attractions

Julia:
1.  Taj Mahal, India

2.  Waterfall/Bear Rescue Center outside Luang Prabang

3.  Bhaktapur, Nepal
Tom:

1.  Taj Mahal, Agra, India

2.  Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey

3.  Choko Dhani, Jaipur, India

Favorite Cultural Activities

Julia:
1. School Visits; Lepcha Villages, India

2. Thai Cooking Class; Chiang Mai, Thailand

3. Yoga Ashram; Rishikesh, India

Honorable Mention: Fishing with Locals; Nong Kiau, Laos

Tom:

1. School Visits; Lepcha Villages, India

2. Indian Classical Music Performance; Rishikesh, India

3. National Ballet and Orchestra; Hanoi, Vietnam

Cooking School in Thailand

Best Meals

Julia:
1. Red Curry with Giant Prawn; Morning Glory Restaurant, Hoi An, Vietnam

2. Crayfish Dinner, Bernie and Anne’s House, Wanaka, New Zealand

3. Lobster Tails; Bridget’s Café, Little Corn Island, Nicaragua

Honorable Mention: Every meal in Thailand

Tom:

1. Thai Cooking School Meal; Chiang Mai, Thailand

2. Spiral Pastry with tomato sauce; Goreme, Turkey

3. Chicken Amok; Les Orientalistes, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Beef salad with sticky rice in Vietnam

Best Non-Alcoholic Drinks

Julia:
1. Pineapple-Coconut Smoothie; Ethos Café, Bangkok, Thailand

2. Chai Tea; Everywhere in India and Nepal

3. Fresh Coffee, Jinotega, Nicaragua

Honorable Mention: Apple Tea in Turkey

Tom:

1. Mixed Berry Smoothie; Chiang Mai, Thailand

2. Mango-Mint Smoothie; Pai, Thailand

3. Pineapple-Coconut Smoothie; Ethos Café, Bangkok, Thailand

Best Alcoholic Drinks

Julia:
1. Rippon Winery Special Reserve Pinot Noir

2. Invercargill Brewery Wasp Pilsner
3. Dead Man Brewery Blonde Ale
Tom:

1. Monteith’s Summer Ale

2. Invercargill Brewery’s Black Ale

3. Freehouse’s Wit Beer

Beer and New Zealand, they go together well!

Favorite Hotels

Julia:
1. Miss Anne’s, Hoi An, Vietnam

2. Casa Iguana, Little Corn Island, Nicaragua

3. Lazy Cow, Murchinson, New Zealand

Honorable Mention: Krishna Palace, Jaipur, India AND Casa Blanco, Montazuma, Costa Rica

Tom:

1. Taksiyarhis Pansiyon, Ayvalik Turkey

2. Casa Iguana, Little Corn Island, Nicaragua

3. Miss Anne’s Place, Hoi An, Vietnam

Ah, Ayvalik

Best Hikes

Julia:
1. Annapurna Base Camp Trek (8 days), Nepal

2. Routeburn Track (1 day), New Zealand

3. Heaphy Track (5 days), New Zealand

Tom:

1. Anapurna Base Camp, Nepal

2. Copo Blanco, Costa Rica

3. Heaphy Trek, New Zealand

Annapurna Base Camp, Nepal

Favorite Outdoor Activities (non-hiking)

Julia:
1. Scuba Diving; Little Corn Island, Nicaragua

2. Mountain Biking; Goreme, Turkey

3. Rafting the Paquare River, Costa Rica

Tom:

1. Rafting the Bota Kosi River, Nepal

2. Scuba Diving, Little Corn Islands

3. Mountain Biking, Goreme, Turkey

Snorkeling Little Corn Island

Best Natural Attractions

Julia:
1. The Himalayas!

2. Waterfalls and Rainforest of Montazuma, Costa Rica

3. Karsts, Laos and Vietnam

Tom:

1. The Himilayas, Nepal

2. Milford Sound, New Zealand

3. Fairy Chimneys, Goreme Turkey

Milford Sound, New Zealand

Favorite Human-Altered Landscapes

Julia:
1. Mushroom Houses of Cappadocia, Turkey

2. Tea Plantations of Darjeeling, India

3. Rice Paddies of Pokhara, Nepal

Favorite Days

Julia:
1. Thanksgiving, Luang Prabang, Laos

2. Staying on the Vineyard in Bozcaada, Turkey

3. Motorbiking with Suzanne in Jinotega, Turkey

Tom:

1. Fun Day in Luang Prabang, Laos

2. Julia’s Birthday celebration, Little Corn Island, Nicaragaua

3. Touring Bozgada with Emere and friends

Bozcaada, Turkey

Favorite Transport:

Julia
1. Quantas Flight NZ - LA

2. Slow Boat, Mekong River, Laos

3.  Bicycles in Luang Prabang, Laos

Tom:

1. Motorbiking on Koh Chang, Thailand

2. Royal Nepal Airlines, Kathmandu to Bangkok

3. Bicycle Rickshaw, Varanasi, India

Mekong slow boat, Laos

Memorable Characters

Julia:
1.  Bernie
2.  Nerd Cruise crew
3.  Rob and Silvia (who just had a baby!)
Tom:
1. Bernie

2. Steve

3. Anup

oh, Bernie!

Our Internet Stalker and Other Blog Friends

By Julia
Stowe, Vermont

  I will be the first to admit there are few things more self-indulgent than keeping a blog.  But we live in the age of the digital fishbowl, and Tom and I figured the most non-intrusive way of keeping people updated on our travels would be this blog.  I'm so happy we decided to put in the effort - In addition to having a written record of our feelings, experiences and reflections, we have recently realized there was another perk to the blog: inspiring others.

High Tea in Jaipur with Insta-Friends Emily and Josh

  I have a friend from college named Jason who started researching an extended trip around the time Tom and I left for Central America (a year ago last week!).  He used me and some other friends as travel resources and ended up traveling throughout Southeast Asia and New Zealand in the fall and early part of 2011.  We ended up getting together for drinks and an excellent drag show in Bangkok!

Not sure what I was going for in this picture, but it's the only one I have of Jason and me

  I have another friend from college, Dan, who had a great career in marketing and was living in New York.  A few months ago I got an e-mail from him telling me he was quitting his job and planned to travel in Southeast Asia for 2 months this summer.  I gave him a few tips and before I knew it I got an email from Thailand.  He's currently getting his SCUBA certification on the island of Koh Tao.  He too is blogging: http://seasabbatical.blogspot.com/

  Over the past few weeks of wedding-related travel, we've had many friends and friends of friends let us know they were following us on our travels.  They'd list their favorite pictures from the blog or retell one of our stories.  It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to know our pictures and tales were appreciated.  In one particularly heart-warming instance, my friend Adam's mother Karen explained at his wedding that she was not only reading our blog, but reading it aloud to her elderly mother, with whom she speaks on the phone every night.  "It was like being able to read a story to her," she told us.

  We were able to meet Adam's grandmother at the wedding, and we felt like mini-celebrities as Karen whispered who we were into her mother's ear and her eyes lit up.  She beamed as she shook our hands.

    Our most delightful blog-related encounter was also our most unusual.  We received a few e-mails from strangers throughout the trip, most of whom were related to a friend or relative.  The very last day of our trip, however, we got an e-mail from a complete stranger from Washington D.C..  The author of the e-mail, Emily, explained that she had found our blog and had started following us.  She was quitting her Hill Staffer job and planning her own RTW trip.  She said she used our blog for information and inspiration.  She told us, "Thanks to your advice, I will take lots of pictures when my hair looks good and not skip Turkey, among many other things of course!"


  The universe soon brought Emily, who kept apologizing for "internet stalking" us,  to Vermont, and we decided to grab a beer together in Burlington.  Tom, Emily and I got along fabulously from the very moment we met on the steps of the Vermont Pub and Brewery.  "Where are you staying?" I asked.  Emily explained she was staying in a motel in South Burlington.  "Um, you should probably come up to Stowe tomorrow and stay with us."  After a little convincing from Tom about getting used to accepting the kindness of strangers while traveling, Emily agreed to join us in Stowe the next day.   The three (well...four including Sylvester) spent a spectacular summer day playing by the creek, enjoying dinner on the porch, and watching the darkness fall over the mountains in front of a campfire in the backyard.  Read Emily's alternate account of the meeting here: http://shenanighans.blogspot.com/2011/06/community-of-travelers.html

Me, Tom, Emily and Sylvester (This is not a very flattering blog post for me, but oh well)

   So in addition to all the friends we made while traveling, we made a few just by blogging!  I can't wait to follow Emily's adventures through our old stomping grounds, and feel grateful the Internet Gods brought such a cool girl into our lives.   We wish her an incredible trip abroad!


  Who knew blogging could create and strengthen ties to our family and friends?  Here we thought we would just be using the blog to tell our story, and instead the blog helped create the story itself.

A Hometown Wedding

By Tom
Stowe, Vermont

This weekend, Julia and I headed home for the wedding of one of my closest childhood friends, Pascale, to her husband Thomas.  It was not only a fun, lively, and beautiful wedding weekend, but it was also a chance to see good friends from growing up that I haven't seen in years.

Thomas is German and his father, a Lutheran Minister, performed the ceremony in English and German.  Pascale is half Dutch and many of her family members were visiting from Holland, so there were a plethora of languages spoken throughout the celebrations.

The LaFountain family put a tremendous amount of work into completely revamping the family barn for the reception, all the way down to re-siding and repainting the entire barn, inside and out.  Though there were so many things to like about this wedding, one of Julia and my personal favorites was the 'get-away car'.  Pascale's brother Nick brought their tractor into town to the chapel, pulling a wagon behind it.  Nick drove them away from the wedding on the tractor, with a couple of Pascale's cousins (from a family of 5 brothers who all play string music professionally) strumming bluegrass on banjo and fiddle in the trailer with them.  A grand time was had by all in Potsdam.

Pascale takes a quiet moment to gather herself before walking down the aisle

An exciting moment for Pascale's father Roger

Cousin Theo, one of the talented Marks brothers, plays banjo in back of the tractor

The happy newly-weds leaving the ceremony

Pascale and Thomas arrive at the reception

The new American Gothic

Erica, sister to the bride, with her boyfriend James 

Erica blows bubbles at the bride and groom

One of the younger wedding attendees, dressed to the nines

Pascale and Thomas looking out from the second floor of the barn

A NASHVILLE Wedding and a DENVER Wedding!

By Julia
Stowe, VT

  It's been hard to post the last few weeks.  Tom and I have been jetting off to weddings all over the U.S of A!  It's been so amazing to celebrate and catch up with good friends.

  My first event was the wedding of an old friend of mine, Adam, who I befriended on a Royal Caribbean cruise when I was 15.  He and his twin brother Brian and I became fast friends in Alaska and kept in touch throughout the years, visiting each other in Tennessee and New Jersey as well as our respective colleges.  When I moved down to Nashville for a few months a few years ago, I got to know Rachel, Adam's future bride.  We connected almost immediately and now I'm equally close to both of them.

Rachel and Adam

  The event was beautiful.  The Catholic ceremony was held in a gorgeous church in downtown Nashville.  The reception was hosted at a hip bar in East Nashville.  Dinner was served family style, with my favorite dish being the side of cheese grits.  Oh, how I miss southern grits!

The getaway car

The groom, Adam

The reception

  Rachel and Adam are currently honeymooning in Europe.  Congratulations you two!

  Returning to Nashville was a blast.  Tom had been before but it was still fun to show him my old haunts, visit the honky-tonk bars mid-day and eat at the Pancake Pantry.  We stayed with one of Tom's groomsmen, Nick and his wife, Laura.

Honky-Tonks and PBR

  Tom and I returned home just long enough to log a few hours in at work and wash our travel underwear.  By Thursday we were driving down to Boston.  I left Tom with some friends in Beantown and headed to Denver by myself. This was to witness my dear friend Marie wed her longtime boyfriend, Adam.

  I met Marie, known as Sharky by our group of friends, while volunteering in Tanzania.  Our volunteer cohort was extremely tight, and Marie's wedding was the first time a group of us were able to get together in almost five years.   Marie looked absolutely stunning, a far cry from our days in Africa where getting a brush through one's hair was a victory in personal hygiene.

SPW Reunion!

The lovely bride and Nathan

Sharky and Petey get hitched

Photobooth Fun!

  Sharky's wedding was so much fun that I called up Frontier the next morning and tried to postpone my flight by a day.  Frontier, however, does not have a hangover forgiveness policy and I was forced to board my flight hiding behind dark sunglasses and clutching a bottle of Vitamin Water.  The sign of a successful party!

  Congratulations Sharky and Petey!

Why I Love My Life Right Now

By Tom
Stowe, Vermont

Who doesn't love their life in the spring time?  There never seem to be enough of those beautiful spring days when the warm air is dewy sweet, when you leave your window open at night to fall asleep to the gentle sound of the spring peeper frogs calling and wake in the morning to birds singing.  But these days, I feel like I have so much more to be happy about than just the coming of spring.

A blossom on one of the apple trees on the lawn casts a beautiful fragrance to the air

Julia's mom has been keeping up several flower gardens during her visits this spring

For one thing Julia and I have both been extremely fortunate to find jobs in our fields.  In addition to continuing her personal business EnRoute Consulting advising students taking a gap year, Julia is working for a non-profit called CLiF, the Children's Literacy Foundation.  And I've been hired by a wildlife consulting firm called Western Ecosystems Technologies, Inc.

Somehow we've landed jobs within a few miles of each other, but perhaps even better is that my office is near some great after work activities; 5 miles from a classic whitewater run on the Mad River, 1 mile from epic mountain biking at Perry Hill, and 10 doors down from a fantastic microbrewery called The Alchemist.  And if I couldn't ask for more than that, they have a shower for days I want to bike to work and they let me bring Sylvester in on the days I don't.  Toss in the fact that my co-workers are young, fun, bright, and outdoorsy and you've pretty much described my dream working environment.  

The late afternoon sun adds a nice glow to the house

Even after only waiting during the month of April, the green leaves and grass is a welcome sight!

And while we haven't quite cracked that impenetrable glass ceiling some people like to refer to as the "poverty line," it's the first time in years Julia and I both have an income at the same time.  Much like in the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king, in the land of the grad students the entry-level worker is wealthy.  I'm celebrating my first pay check in a year this Friday by going hog-wild and buying myself a few new pairs of underwear.  To add to my collection of six pairs.  (I've been doing a lot of laundry lately!)  

After work today I picked up Julia and we came home and took Sylvester behind the house to throw the stick in the creek.  Then, because it was Julia's night to cook, I took my usual bike ride on the back road near our house.  The road winds past hills and farms, where cows slowly chew their cud as they watch you pass and ducks and geese swim in small ponds in the meadows.  On the last hill of my ride I can see down the spine of the Green Mountains, from Mt Mansfield to Camel's Hump.  When I arrived home, I sat on the porch with the dog, read my book, had a delicious brown ale, and watched the sun set behind the mountains. When I walked back inside, my beautiful and wonderful bride to be had a hot meal waiting for me and we ate dinner together.  Life just doesn't get much sweeter than this.

The team having fun at the creek behind the house

That's a happy dog if I've ever seen one!