Cabin Fever

A few years out from college, Ray and I have both moved out from home. With all the places in the country that call to both of us, it's amazing that we've ended up living in the same neighborhood in Brooklyn! We now reside about five blocks apart in Crown Heights, just down the hill from Prospect Park and more conveniently located and certainly more "urban" than the house we grew up in (a mere 20 minute subway ride away). 

Finding that, despite our proximity, we don't see each other as much as would like, we decided to getaway on what is now the second annual Berkshires cabin trip! 

We arrived late on a freezing cold Friday night

and with the echoes of the workweek still in earshot 

we put our feet up

and began to make our own soundtrack. 

Just three hours earlier we were here, the business and tourism capital of the U.S.

and then we woke up here 

kings and queens

of our new backyard.

We are surrounded by nature

and by friends

with plenty to watch

and to admire.  

But mainly we were here for this

and this

for the sights of new places

and people

and time with old friends,

to be weird

and eerie

and to enjoy the view. 

Here's to a cabin trip that couldn't have come at a better time, or have been shared with better people. Here's to brothers who are privileged to regularly unite!

Legendary dirtbaggery.

McGaughey Family Unite! - The "Big O" 2014

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!

The Bonds, the Twins, a Brother and Two Friends

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.


Oh, and by the Man Van.

Rolling through the Whites in the Silver Beast

A truly wonderful trip!

A brother, proud Weekend Warrior 

Historical Post #3 - Maui Fam Time 2010

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 Haleakalā observatory 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...