What a Trip

Our trip to NY was great--too short as always, but full of fun. I never go on vacation to relax; I go on vacation to do things I wouldn't otherwise be able to do at home. Dave dreams of vacationing in Hawaii (can you believe that neither of us have ever been there?!) so we can just lay around on the beach. Poor thing, he knows that would never happen. I'd have us hiking all over, exploring museums and small towns learning everything about the local history. This trip was no different: we went letterboxing the very first day, hit the mall, saw movies, went daily walks around campus, went on a riverboat cruise, attended a graduation ceremony and colloquy, drove to Massachusetts for a cheese class, and cooked a bunch. I also managed to watch several hours of the Food Network in high definition--it was AMAZING. Whew...it all went by so fast.
Ok...where to begin? We went back to Troy, NY last Wednesday so we could attend Edward's masters graduation ceremony. He received his masters degree in computer science. Since he and a friend started a company last year, my dorky little brother also received the Glenn Martin Mueller award for being the "most entrepreneurial." The awards ceremony was held on a riverboat cruise that puttered us down the not-so-scenic-but-very-industrial Hudson River. Edward's graduation ceremony was long (like 4 hours) but grand. He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1824, which is our county's oldest technological university (it was founded expressly to teach engineering and mathematics). The day before the ceremony my mom bought Edward a fancy RPI diploma frame; right when we got back to his apartment after the ceremony we hung the diploma on the wall. I can't believe he has a masters degree--it is pretty amazing. I'm so proud of him! He already landed a position as an instructor/lecturer for introductory computer science. His first day of teaching was the Monday after graduation. Craziness...

About to graduate:
My favorite people:
Edward and I on "The Approach" steps at RPI, Mueller award in hand:
The first morning we were there I made us all trek out to the cemetery so we could try letterboxing. This is a treasure-hunt type outdoor activity where you use clues to find hidden "letterboxes"--little weather-proof boxes or baggies containing booklets where people like me can record that they found it by marking it with a personalized stamp. The boxes also have a unique stamp inside so you can record that box find in your own little booklet. The one we found was called Uncle Sam because it started at the iconic Uncle Sam's gravestone. My high school friend, Kaitlin, and her sisters introduced me to this activity. Although I've only found one so far, I'm definitely into it. (We spent a good 2 hours hunting around for another letterbox in a park near my brother's house on our last day. The clues were confusing and we finally decided that the groundskeepers probably threw the box away during last year's pruning. It was supposed to be inside a bush but the bush was stuffed full of garbage. Even though we didn't find it we had fun trying to decipher the clues.)

Dave is happy because he found the box hidden under the log:
Edward and Allison in front of a very cool house in South Troy:
The day after the graduation ceremony my mom, Emmy, Edward, Dave, and I drove to Massachusetts so the last three of us could take a cheese making class. Since it was two hours away from Troy, we spent the night at a dog-friendly hotel. Emmy was such a good girl and didn't potty in the room or bark too much. My mom babysat Emmy while we learned all about cheese. The cheese class was on Sunday from 10am-4pm, which seems like a long time but went by quickly. We learned to make Farmhouse Cheddar, Queso Blanco, Mascarpone, Whole Milk and Whey Ricottas, a quick Mozzarella, Fromage Blanc, Creme Fraiche, and Mascarpone. The best part was the we got to taste all the things we made, as we made them. For lunch, the instructor's daughter made a delicious lentil soup, salad made with local veggies, roasted chicken, and lots of appetizers using all of our cheeses. It was soooooooooo delicious! Of the 40 people in the class, only 6 were male (including the two I dragged along with me). We had to introduce ourselves at the beginning; my introduction went something like "I'm Julie, I'm from CA, and I'm out here in New England for my brother's graduation and I'm taking this class because I looooooooooooove cheese." Edward went next and said "I'm Ed, I'm the one who graduated, and I'm here because she likes cheese." Although I can't claim the same for the boys, I was deliriously happy during the class--I can't wait to try making my own cheeses here at home! I will probably make one of the soft cheeses this weekend. (I bought supplies for making goat cheese--my favorite--hard cheeses, and mozzarella. We didn't buy a fancy hard-cheese press since it was pretty expensive, so we're going to figure out how to make one ourselves. Until then, no hard cheeses for us.)

Stirring curds for our Farmhouse Cheddar:
Like every visit-Edward trip, I made sure to leave him with a huge supply of some sort of frozen food. Sometimes I make chili or braised chicken. This time I made EIGHT batches of tikka masala. His house smelled sooooooooooooo good and sooooooooooooooo much like an Indian restaurant when I got done it wasn't even funny. I made it super spicy, just like he and Allison like it.

Well, it is getting late and I should go to bed now. I hate not being on vacation anymore...it means that I have get enough sleep so I can pay attention in class tomorrow and be able to get my homework done. At least there's only one more day until our 3 day weekend. I can't wait...