IOWA FOR THE FIRST TIME!

Joe and I went to Iowa a few weekends ago and it was our first time there ever!

We left on Saturday morning after I returned from my weekly long run, picked up our tiny blue (!) rental car, and drove through beautiful Illinois farmland all the way to Iowa.

A few highlights of our trip included...

• Seeing our friend Sam!
• Meeting Sam's new girlfriend 
• Meeting Sam's roommate of 2 years
• Touring around Iowa City 
• Stopping at the largest truck stop in the world 
• Eating what is probably the largest cinnamon roll in the world
• Going out for pitchers of Blue Moon, and maybe (just maybe) there were some Long Islands involved too ;p 
• Watching lots of the dumb YouTube videos we used to watch in college 
• Napping -- I was so wrecked from my 17 mile run and it was so hot out that I accidentally fell asleep on the futon in Sam's living room on Saturday afternoon after lunch... and then before everyone else went to bed on Saturday night... and then after brunch on Sunday morning haha

Skiing In Wisconsin

Not that it's impressive or anything, but over MLK weekend I visited my 17th state: Wisconsin! Joe's med school class was going on a ski trip and I got to be his +1 :D

We drove up to Wisconsin on Friday night with our friends Max (who's in Joe's med school class) and his girlfriend Anna, and spent the evening in Madison. I'm sad we were there for less than twelve hours, but it's such a cool city. I'm really looking forward to revisiting it (perhaps in warmer weather) when I relocate to Chicago this summer. 

Even though we had less than twelve hours in Madison, we definitely made the most of it. Soon after we dropped our bags off at the hotel, the four of us met up with the other fifteen med schoolers/their significant others on the trip at The Old Fashioned. I seriously haven't fallen head-over-heels for a bar in a while, but I did there. The O.F. had good vibes, tasty snacks (cheese curds...I'd never had them...omg), a huge beer selection, great cocktails, lots of seating, and good music you can still have a conversation over.

 We started out with cocktails, but then a group of us got flights of Wisconsin beers. They actually came on a board that was shaped like Wisconsin. Details like that always make me so incredibly happy. 

The next morning, we woke up bright and early to go skiing. We didn't see much of Madison in the daylight, but I can confidently say that I liked everything that I saw. More reasons to go back...

The trip to the mountain was easy. In addition to it being my first time out this year, it was my first time on rental skis since elementary school and I was pleasantly surprised. Even though they weren't my own, the boots, skis, and poles were all user-friendly and in really good shape. Skiing with them was a breeze. 

Since it was Joe's third time ever on skis, we started at one of the beginner slope for a few runs to warm up.

 It just so happens that he's pretty amazing at stuff and picked up skiing right from where he left off last year so we decided to head up the mountain for some greens and blues. You might not believe it, but I was actually the first one who fell! Between the combo of getting used to rental skis and looking behind me on flat ground, I ended up tipping over when I wasn't even moving! I don't know why, but 90% of my falls have always been on flat ground, often when I'm not moving or moving very slowly.

Just a few obligatory shots of our fun ski group for the day. 

 At the end of the day, we warmed up by the fire in the lodge for a little, returned our rental equipment, and then drove back to Chicago. On our way home, one really fun thing we did was listen to comedians instead of music. Amy Schumer (my fave) and Aziz Ansari on Spotify. We were all tired, but laughed most of the way back to Chicago.

Salt Lake Selfie

Last week I had the opportunity to go to Salt Lake City for work. After hemming and hawing about whether or not to go, I decided to jump on it, and I'm so glad I did.

I was in town for my client's annual gala, but I got the opportunity to explore Salt Lake City on my own for a few hours before the gala took place.

First things first, the mountains. Wow. Even though I'm in the Adirondacks all the time, the mountains in Salt Lake City literally surround the city and were steep and bare in a way I'm not used to.

While I walked around, I found my way to Temple Square, which is where the Mormon temple is and is also the center of the city.

Once you make it to the temple, you can clearly see why it's the town's center. The temple looks right out of a Disney movie. It's surround by bronze statues, gardens, and fountains, and the courtyard is so peaceful. 

After, I made my way back to get ready for the gala. Which I should probably talk about since it was my occassion for being in Utah.

The gala was for my client, which is a national cancer research institute and care facility. The whole night was so beautiful and uplifting despite the horrible nature of cancer. Everyone at the gala was so nice and all the stories and speeches made throughout the night were so touching. One of the men who spoke was a two year pancreatic cancer survivor!

The gala was also the first time I got to meet my clients in person, and seeing the work my team and I helped orchestrate being received by an audience of more than 1000 people was really special.

I flew back to New York bright and early Friday morning after spending less than 20 hours in Salt Lake, but I do hope to be back soon to explore more, and hopefully to ski as well!

Burlington

Now for some Burlington adventures!

After our hike, Amie DB and I met up with her brother and his girlfriend and got dinner on Church Street. We ate cheese-loaded nachos, pizza, and Greek salad. All the cheesy goodness was exactly what we needed after our hike. 

When we finished dinner it was still light out so we explored Burlington and walked down to the waterfront.

Leave it to Burlington to make a cool sculpture out of recyclables, I tell you. 

When we arrived at the lakeshore the sun had just set, but the views were just as incredible as I remembered. 

Just some awkward kids making the most of a photo opp ;) 

 More awkward kids preparing to make the most of a photo opp.

One for the fridge, I believe.

When we went down to the water our original plan was to go back up to Church Street for some Ben & Jerry's. However, after noticing the Creemee stands by the water, we decided maple creemees (VT soft-serv) was where is was at. Definitely not a bad decision. 

Also leave it to Burlington to come up with this installation - a bike lock bike rack! (Say that one five times fast?)

After we all got back from dinner and the lake, we hung out with Amie DB's brother and his roommates. Ahh college days. We had some very frothy margaritas got to sit on a "couch" that was actually an old mini-van seat. As expected my favorite part was definitely the cup holders.

On Sunday morning, I managed to wake up way earlier than everyone else so I went for a walk around Burlington and UVM.

Talk about taking a walk down memory lane.

Once Amie DB and her brother were up, we had a quick bite and went to a spot for cliff jumping. It was actually quite a hike in, but nothing like our Mount Mansfield hike the day before.

Amie DB's brother was the only one who actually jumped off the cliffs (I was lame and didn't even swim), but the views sure were pretty! 

Afterwards, we made our last Church Street stop for brunch and hit the road to go back to NYC.

So long for now, Burlington. Hopefully I'll be back in less than four years this time!