Heading to New York City... in winter... again
That's okay though because this year I get to bring a kid w/ me and we have an incredible NYC plan - and next month has a big adventure too!
January is flying by, and that’s okay with me because I am one of the few Florida residents that doesn’t celebrate the cold snaps of Jan / Feb. I’m ready for temps to be back in the 80s and to see flowers blooming again. But I can deal with the cold because we have adventures in store! There’s a lot happening with our family behind the scenes (which I’m not ready to share yet) so having some meaningful travel together on the books is a blessing.
Perhaps it’s because I’m in my tenth year of running 2TravelDads so have been on the go so much, or perhaps it’s because I realize how fleeting time is and how BIG the world is, but I truly struggle with not having lots of trips on the books. I look forward to being super busy (and then I totally complain about it), so the next few months are going to absolutely rock our world.
Thank YOU for following along with our journey. I truly appreciate it and love getting to share. One of my goals this year is to share on social media because it brings me joy, not just because it’s part of my job. I’m starting that this week with mine and Oliver’s trip to NYC! Follow us here!
Winter NYC Trip: it’s here!!!
Every January I have to go to New York City for a conference (IMM NYC, journalism stuff), and every year I moan about it. I don’t love NYC because I’m only ever there in the cold and without my family. This year, it’ll still be cold but Oliver (oldest son) is coming with me! I’m really excited because he loves New York and I know that having him there will help me to enjoy it so much more. And we have special things planned!
Oliver simply requested to create our own Home Alone 2 tour of NYC, so that’s easy enough. We’re visiting the Plaza and stopping into FAO Schwartz and such, but there’s more to it that he doesn’t even know about. We’re visiting the Harry Potter store and then having lunch in Times Square… and then we have awesome seats for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway! Oliver has only seen the Lion King and Frozen on Broadway, so this is going to be very new and exciting for him. We have outfits (he thinks they’re just for visiting the HP store).
In addition to this exciting day we’ll be visiting the Museum of Modern Art to see his favorite painting, Starry Night, doing the Morgan Library, going to the top of the Empire State Building, and more. I’m really jazzed for a bonus that was completely random and I’m thrilled we get to do: Wicked! That’s right, the lucky stars aligned and we’ve been blessed with Friday night tickets!
I feel like this is the most epic NYC trip we could possibly do, and I’m so thankful that Oliver and I get to have this time together. Yes, I do have my conference, but during that day he’ll be hanging out with some of our besties that are coming to New York too (you’ve probably heard Kate on the podcast; she’s wonderful). This trip is going to give me a new outlook on NYC and we’re all going to have an incredible time… even though it’ll be cold.
Hawaii UnCruise - finally happening :)
If you remember (and if you don’t that’s okay) in November we were supposed to set sail on an island-hopping adventure across Hawaii with UnCruise, a small ship sailing company. We’d been looking forward to it for months… and then once we got to Hawaii our sailing was cancelled due to mechanical issues (out of an abundance of caution). Well, we pivoted and explored three islands on our own. Now it’s time for us to return and complete our Hawaiian Seascapes sailing!
We’ll start with a buffer day on the Big Island (my favorite island) and then sail out of Kailua-Kona. We’ll get to enjoy our favorite activity, Snorkeling with Manta Rays, then head to Maui. We spent a week on Maui in November, but it’ll be great to experience it from the ship this time. I have no idea what we’ll do and see, but I hope we get to visit Haleakala National Park again!
After Maui we get to head to Lanai and then end on Molokai. It’s all going to be a very different Hawaii experience than we’ve had before. I’m looking forward to sailing with a small group and, I’m sure, getting to know them over the week aboard.
Be sure to be subscribed to the podcast (and you can get it here on Substack too) becuase we’ll be sharing the full scoop on what this small ship sailing experience is all about!
Peru - IT’S TWO MONTHS AWAY!
We do a ton of USA travel and love it. It’s funny when people ask about why we don’t do much international travel with our family and I’m always like “The USA is huge and there’s so much to do and see!” and then we just don’t book anything international because of this. Well, we took the plunge (not due to peer pressure) and are heading to Lima, Iquitos and Cusco at the end of March.
What I’m learning as we plan this Peruvian adventure is that Peru seems to be a country of extremes: extreme elevation, extreme fun, extreme disparity in costs… there’s no middle ground. You either go luxe or you rough it. I’m sure we’ll get it all sorted out and it’s going to be awesome, but in the meantime, it’s very unique researching and planning an adventure to someplace none of us have been.
If you have tips (and I’ve asked for them before) please leave a comment here on this newsletter at the end. That way others can see recommendations and I don’t lose track of things.
Latest on the Blog
Back in October I got to spend a week in Pensacola and participate in the Stamped LGBTQ Film Festival. I’ve finally got articles live all about both the LGBTQ side of Pensacola and the great things to do in the city. Hopefully I’ll get everything about Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key up this week too, but for now, I’m glad to share these first two articles.
I actually got to record a podcast episode with my friend Sid, the president of the Stamped Film Festival, and we talked all about what Pensacola does differently to create both an inclusive city and a thriving arts community. Give it a listen and check out some of our other episodes too!
That’s it for now, but I’ll have lots more to share in the coming weeks. Please follow along as Oliver and I explore NYC and enjoy our shows and stuff, and as always, if you have any questions about travel or need help planning something exciting, drop us a note via the blog. Have a great week!