Fall Break 2026 - Part 3

The entire Angst crew (less Finny, who stayed home with Nicky-Boo) met in NYC Friday afternoon. Lily left the hotel at 4:30 am to begin our journey. Corey and the kids flew on a direct flight out of Grand Rapids.

We met up at Blur Ribbon Sushi - DELICOUS! Poor Caden is dealing with an ulcer in his esophagus from a medication, but still managed to enjoy it. Then we checked into our new favorite hotel for traveling with 5+ people - PlaceMakr.

So love having the gang bac together again :)

Gigi was doing some shopping :)

Lily let me borrow her new shirt and coat to hit the town.

The paparazzi are everywhere :)

Pre-party for the actual party was at a bar called Dorian's with an awesome DJ. I told myself I would not overdo it, but it was an awesome DJ!

The next morning was a little rough, but we headed out for breakfast at Martha Stewart place that was really good. Then we made a quick visit to see where Alexander Hamilton was buried.

Gorgeous day! Caden and I walked the Brooklyn Bridge, which was incredible! The girls went shopping.

 Afterwards we walked to Soho to meet up with Lily, Gia, and Emilio - who had stopped for a bagel of course, and then did some shopping.

I got in a little run, and then took the subway home, before heading home to get ready for the actual party. Not sure I will ever get used to being on a subway!

This is Corey and me before heading into the Domino Refinery in Brooklyn. The party was in the glass dome part. Before heading up, you had to check your cell phone, which made for a great night of really being present and soaking it all in.

Every detail was considered. From being greeted with trays of mini bottles of electrolytes, and glasses of champagne. Getting photos in front of a mock New Yorker magazine prop. Tables of sushi, sashimi, oysters, scallops and caviar. Any cocktail you could imagine. Selecting a design you would like drawn on your pair of Nike Air shoes they ordered for each guest, that were hand painted by a lineup of artists. Then being invited to a room next door that you didn't even know was there where the them switched to Irish with bangers and mash, fish and chips, and Guinness beer with the ND logo in the foam -- and Dave Matthews playing acoustic! 

After Dave wrapped up, we switched back to the other room, where Flo Rida came out on stage with two other singers and started spraying champagne! He invited the ladies on the stage for singing Low, which included me holding his hand for a good 10 seconds :) There may have been some shots poured directly from the bottle into our mouths, some pretend $1M dollar bills floating around that Flo Rida signed, and A LOT OF DANCING, signing, and screaming. 

AFTER Flo Rida, DJ Jazzy Jeff came out and mixed the tunes. It seriously does not get any better than this line up!

There were shelves of 90 snacks including Twinkies, Hostess Cupcakes, Fruit Pies, Whoppers, Milk Duds, Charleston Chews. Every detail was perfect.

As we left this magical party and were reunited with our cell phones, were were greeted with a Shake Shack burger chow on as we headed home. 

Truly an epic night that will go down as one of my top nights of all time.

Our flight out the next morning was at 8 am '_' This awesome shirt was also in the party goodie bag, Corey's was different, and a Dave Matthews concert shirt for the night.

My cool shoes. Corey chose an interlocking ND.

And these two cuties had to go through regular security so arrived at the gate a good 45 minutes after us. I love this pic though. Notice me packing up the flowers Emilio had gotten for Lily in NYC. By the time we got home, maybe 3 of them were not broken :)

Fall Break 2026 - Part 2 - Utah

 We picked up our rental car and headed for Utah. We had grand visions of doing a hike in Zion along the way, but a long bagel wait coupled with delayed traffic along the way due to an accident, sidelined out plans. We had a great drive though, listening to Led Zeppelin, who Lily recently discovered, and other oldies that seemed to fit the vibe of the beautiful red rocks and mountains our our window.

Once arrived in Provo, we checked into the AI and Social Impact conference and headed to dinner. Mirror shot with the badges :)

The conference facility is in a gorgeous setting, so behind every presenter is a jaw-dropping backdrop.

Day two we took a little break after lunch for a quick hike around the property.

After the conference wrapped up for the evening, Lily and I headed to the Sundance, created by Robert Redford, that is a couple of miles down the mountain to check out the famous Owl Bar, where Sundance Kid and his hang used to hang out.

We loved watching these mule deer eating the pumpkin decorations (descendants of Sandy Pfromm :)

Once back to the Aspen Lodge, we realized we left our room key in our room! We didn't want to wake anyone up, and weren't sure what they could do about it anyways at 10:30 pm, so we rented a cabin back at Sundance. While we had not toiletries or changes of clothes, we had great attitudes and enjoyed the bathrobes in the room. It ended up being a trip highlight for sure!

We were back at the Aspen Institute by 8:30 am where we wrapped up the conference - which included Lily being called by her fellow teammates a "Neurology Expert" :) Super cool to be in a working environment with her. Very proud to see how she navigated and networked!

The conference wrapped up by 1 and we headed back to Sundance to enjoy the amenities - restaurants, hikes and hot tubs for the day. 

We got lunch at the Sundance deli, where a sweet man who must have been in his 90's commented how pretty we were. He said he had been coming to Sundance for 50 years and he had never seen such pretty girls. If only he had a helicopter... :)

The property is gorgeous, so I of course made Lily do a photo shoot.

We then changed out of our work clothes in the lodge and hiked to Stewart falls, making only one wrong turn along the way, due to a poorly marked trail. 

After our hike we headed straight to the hot tubs. There 3 of them and a sauna. We used everyone of them + the sauna. A perfect day!

The half-eaten pumpkin in the daylight.

We made one more stop at the coffee shop for snacks for the road, before changing and setting off for Salt Lake City. We have an early early flight (6am!) to NYC tomorrow.

Wonky GPS that looks like water color.

We stopped in Sal Lake for a past restaurant Lily found. She of course got carpaccio. All was delicious!

Next stop...NYC!