Spending a week in the UAE was incredible. Some amazing new experiences and deep dives into an amazing blend of ancient and modern culture. The visit to Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque was especially memorable. 
Fantastic trip to Moscow with Annie. Unexpectedly amazing experience. 
From day one of our relationship, Annie and I have loved to travel together. We have found nothing else quite as thrilling and exciting as exploring a new city together and creating memories through those experiences that can only be gained while encountering something for the first time. So, in honor of her birthday, we took off for Canada this weekend and have had an amazing trip thus far, with a couple fun days still ahead.
We are continually reminded of the fact that there is one decision on which the entire success of the trip hinges: the choice of hotel. And, with Annie's passion and expertise for hotels and the work she is doing, we have been supremely fortunate with our choices thus far. Our first night, before crossing the border into Canada, we stopped at the Sagamore on Lake George in Upstate New York. From the first moment we arrived to the bittersweet moment when we departed the next day, every angle from every vantage point on property was a picture waiting to happen. It is the most that I have ever personally paid for a hotel room and, within the first hour of our arrival, the least I have ever cared how much a hotel room cost. It was that amazing.
Our second destination of the trip was Quebec City. On our approach through town, we passed hotel after hotel in the modern and then the touristy parts of town, but our directions said to keep driving and our destination would be on the right. But the only thing that I keep seeing on my right ahead in the distance was a towering castle with green cooper roofs and spires borrowed from fairy tales. But, when the road we were on dead-ended with a magnificent view of the river, it finally set in that the architectural masterpiece on our right was in fact our hotel. From the lobby to the views to the proximity to Old Town Quebec, the carbon copy of the beloved quaint villages of France, the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac proved to be magic embodied in a hotel, the most photographed hotel in the world.
But, as our (much needed) vacation and (much deserved) celebration of Annie's birthday continues now in Montreal and Mont Tremblant, I take back the statement the the most critical decision you make about a trip is which hotel you stay at. That is the second most important. The first and most important decision you can make is this: who you travel and share your adventure with. I know the significance because I know that I am the lucky one. I know the importance because I know what it is like to have the more than you know you deserve. And, I am extremely honored to say, I know this better than anyone because I have Annie. Not just on this trip to Canada, but on the journeys and challenges that have been ours to share in the past and the adventures and dreams that await us in the future.
Happy Birthday to my Love. Happy Birthday to my Annie.
Due to the fantastic fashion sense and poise that Annie has, it was no surprise to me when I was walking through the airport this weekend and saw her face on the cover of Vogue! The article inside details out her picks for the season and the trends that she has seen on her travels that she believes will make their way to America in the coming year...... Okay, well, not really. But Photofunia.com does give you some really fun ways to manipulate and snaz up your profile picture! Enjoy!
It is possible that I may have gone a little over board.
I might have spent a little bit too much time on this project.
Maybe it is just in my nature that if I start something, I have to be the best at it.
But whatever the case, check out my skillfully crafted pumpkin.
Happy Halloween.
Pumpkin Carver: Andy Ellwood
Inspiration for perfection: Annie Fitzsimmons