My main man is from Upstate New York, which gives us an excuse to make it up to that part of the country a few times a year. Flights from Charleston International to JFK are only $59 on JetBlue if you get your flights in advance… yes you read that right, 59 doll hairs.
Before making our cross country road trip in the Jeep, we treated ourself to a week in New York- from Brooklyn to Albany. We stayed in Downtown Brooklyn where I had my first Shake Shack experience (Danny Meyer is doing somethin’ right), ate at the legendary Robertas where we rekindled with my bonus brother, Justin. Followed by a nightcap at a joint down the street, and a teacap at his cozy brooklyn brownstone abode. Dominque Ansel has been on my radar for the past few years and I just couldn’t leave the city without a cronut (or 4) and a bowl of some Ivan Ramen, let’s just say they were everything a girl could dream of and more. We booked it from Grand Central to Carmel to spend time with Zachary’s momma and his brother Tristan, where we ate chicken alfredo, caught up about life, had a whole lotta laughs, and ventured up to The Culinary Institute of America for lunch- which is basically like Hogwarts for culinarians. From Poughkeepsie, we took the train up to Albany to spend time with more of the Welton Family (Tracy, Josh, and sweet baby Parker).
Visiting Upstate New York is a breath of fresh air and it’s so incredibly different than what I know. I know TEXAS, and tex-mex, and queso, and 80 degree winters, and 14 lane highways, and Shiner Bock. The Capitol Region area is filled with Evergreens and Maple Trees, and rolling hills, and NORMAL winters, and all the red sauce joints you could possibly think of. I was in New York for 7 nights and had Italian food 6 out of those nights- pizza, chicken alfredo, meatballs, Utica greens, chicken marsala, Caesar salad, eggplant parmesan, and ravioli. Yes, it was amazing, and yes, I could go for a yoga class.
In Albany, Zachary caught up with old friends and I made new ones. It’s a pretty great feeling to be be introduced to his friends and family that mean so much to him, and it feels so special to be welcomed with open arms. I was introduced to his old kitchen stomping grounds, I had the pleasure of spending quality time with sweet Parker (who is the nugget of all nuggets) we had a cookout at Z’s grandparents, spent time with the DeGroff family, talked about gardening and cross country travel with Auntie Lauren and Don, and had late night couch chats with Josh and Tracy. Our hearts are both so full.
It was such a beautiful trip, but I am so getting so anxious and excited to get on the road.
Stay tuned xx
ten thousand miles and counting 