Even a passive follower of Brothers Untie knows that Dave and I get together every year with our huge extended family on the Huntington side (see 2013 and 2012 Cousins' Reunion posts). But did you know that the McGaughey Clan also does a massive family reunion that takes place every 10 years? We call it the Big "O" since a number of family members have decade birthdays around these reunions--my grandfather would have been 100 this year.
The full McGaughey Clan unites every 10 years
Hailing from such exotic and distant places as Hawaii, Germany, Alaska, Oregon, and Minnesota (most exotic of them all) my aunts, uncles and cousins all traveled this year to Killington, Vermont where we shared home-cooked meals, hiked mountains, combined musical talents, and played countless games of foosball.
The windy, rainy summit of Mount Killington
I couldn't resist a little Vermont nature photography...
What's going on here?
The major event of the reunion was the interment of my grandfather Melvin Ray's ashes next to my grandmother Grace. We all chuckled as we recalled stories of Mel in a tuxedo protesting the Iraq War with a "Billionaires for Bush" sign or the way you couldn't call him on a Saturday evening when Prarie Home Companion was on the radio--a show that is near and dear to me because of him.
McGaughey Siblings Unite! A rare and beautiful moment with all five McGaughey siblings in the same place
Dave and I didn't fight too much...
But rather we chilled out and played a little blues...
And the reunion was so fun we decided 10 years is too long to wait...we'll do the next one in 5!
Since taking my full-time position as a salesman at Q Drinks (www.qdrinks.com) I have become the poster child for a Weekend Warrior. Most work days last from 7am-6pm, followed by a few hours of work on business development for my kombucha company and, if I'm lucky, some social time.
As a tour guide Ray, on the other hand, is a Weekend Worker. Despite this fact we've still managed to spend a lot of time together this year. It helps that we have an overlapping peer group and still haven't found a way to get sick of each other.
Nonetheless, this past weekend I decided to leave Ray and NYC behind. Friday after work I hit the outbound traffic on I95 with two adventurous friends, Thea, Anna. Destination: the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
Saturday AM, first light after a late night. Notice my expert sleeping posture.
En route to the White Mountains we stopped at Kingswood Camp, a place very dear to both Ray and me that has been the subject of several blog posts. This is the first summer I have missed in 15 years and it was wonderful and nostalgic for me to visit.
Saturday sunrise over Mt. Moosilauke at Kingswood Camp
After a quick stop with the other early birds at the world-renown FLAPJACKS Pancake House in Lincoln, NH (squeeze bottles of real maple syrup at every table!) we hit the trail.
The team limbers up.
Then, as it is on the trail to Bond Cliff, Mt. Bond and West Bond mountains, we hit the views.
After about three hours we break tree line at summit of Bond Cliff
Bond Cliff is one of the most stark summits in the White Mountains
Anna the Storm Queen
Thea and the sky
The Bonds are one of the few mountain ranges in the North East where you can hike for nearly two days and see no sign of civilization
So we spent a lot of time doing this
Looking at views like this
While still having just enough time for this.
Twenty-two miles, two great friends, ten pounds of Trader Joes just-add-hot-water Indian Food and the best weekend I can remember for a long while.
All made possible by a commendable commitment from Thea and Anna to follow through on the plan when staying in Brooklyn was the easy move.
As the Brothers Unite blog turns the corner on its 2nd Birthday, I decided pay tribute to one of the all-time greatest Unites: our Hawaii family vacation. Dave was just coming off a semester of traveling and camping in the American West (which he somehow got college credit for) and we'd barely heard from him in months. We picked him up in snowy Walla Walla and then headed further west to visit Uncle Steve and Aunt Ellie at their home in Wailuku, Maui.
Mom and Dad arrive first...in style.
Dave and I make it (somehow) a few days later...also in style.
We quickly learn that Hawaiians dress like the scenery behind them, so as to keep a lower profile. We did our best to blend in.
Dave was noticeably more barbate than the last time we'd seen him.
McGaughey Brothers Unite!
Big cousin Lala and little cousin Hoku Lani come over from the Big Island!
Exploring the rugged Hāna Highway on the eastern tip of Maui island.
With its verdant landscapes
...seaside cliffs
...and black sand beaches with igneous outcrops (yup, geology).
It was great spending time with our geographically distant relatives. A major highlight was getting to experience firsthand Uncle Steve's greatest passion...astronomy. He spends countless nights at the observatory on top of Maui's 10,000ft volcano Haleakalā. We joined him on a clear night to watch the most theatrical meteor shower I've ever seen.
The brothers and stoic Steve
The sun rises behind the Haleakalāobservatory after a frigid, starry night.
Steve works as a pilot and tour guide on a tourist submarine (runs in the family)
Dave ponders schools.
Happy 2nd birthday Brothers Unite! On to the next one...
Since Ray and I were born we have gone to Colorado almost every year. We'd travel there for "ski trips" when our parents and the parents our closest family friends would take turns watching us in the ski lodge between runs.
Soon after we were skiing in harnesses, then being shepherded away to ski school with balloons taped to our shoulders indicating the ski level we'd accomplished.
We hadn't been to Colorado as a family since 2011, when Lindsay, our life-long friend, married Nate, the coolest guy in Colorado.
The brothers give their congratulations to the Bride and Groom, September 2011.
And, famously from the dance floor of the wedding, because I can't resist--
For better or worse, the best moment of my life.
Finally, in 2014, we made it back to Colorado.
Ray, having only just gotten back from Argentina, quickly threw his warm weather clothes aside, stuffed a suitcase full of ski apparel and headed out the door with the rest of us.
People asked us why we'd go to such a cold place for early Spring vacation.
Ray and I love Colorado. It is both of our favorite state-- the place other than New York we've been the most and where both of us went to school in 2005 and 2007 respectively at the High Mountain Institute. For us, returning with the family was a true blessing.
The trip couldn't have come at a better time. Each of us felt like he/she had been working like a dog...
A day at the office for the McGaugheys
At times we had unseasonably bad weather
But fortunately we hadn't planned a beach vacation
Because bad snow meant good skiing
And we love skiing.
In all the years we've been going to Colorado we've never been to Aspen. We're traditionally a Copper Mountain family. Aspen has always seemed inaccessible to us-- too expensive, exclusive and far away. This time, however, we got an offer we couldn't refuse. Our dear friend Pat offered up her family's place, an unbelievable cabin five miles outside of town.
The three story cabin may have been the most luxurious place we've stayed on vacation, complete with private rooms for each of us, a sauna and a creek in the backyard.
For anyone who hasn't been to Aspen, "town" looks like this--
If only a city block in Brooklyn ended with a ski mountain...
The best part about our trip to Aspen-- even better than the 20" of fresh powder that fell while we were there-- was getting to spend so much time together as a family.
Ray takes a "selfie"
Dave drinks mate
Family Unite!
All smiles as we return to the grind in NYC. Colorado was an amazing trip, from seeing our wonderful friends to spending quality time together as a family and, most importantly, to the McGaughey brothers shredding the "gnar"!
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