Away we Go! First stop: Maui, Hawaii

As we mentioned in the "Preparation" blog post, we packed 65 and 80 liter backpacks for the trip.  We looked like serious travelers.

Our first flight was 10 + hours to Honolulu, with a connecting flight to Maui.  With such a long flight and a long trip ahead of us, we opted for business class seats which means champagne, lots of space and ice cream!

Our first day in Maui was spent laying on the beach, swimming in the pool and ocean.

Maui-brewed beers at lunch:

And, of course, no Hawaii trip is complete without a luau!

Family, Friends and Food in NYC

Before embarking on any big trip abroad, it's always good to get in the three F's: family, friends and your favorite foods.  Luckily since Chris' graduation was the week before we left for our trip, we were able to take in lots of all three.
The weekend before Chris' graduation, we had nine family members in town.  We went to a broadway show and saw the Intrepid Museum. This was a really fun activity considering both Chris' Grandpa and Kate's dad, Dave, were in the Navy.  Dave ended up giving a tour of the ship and telling stories from when he was in the Navy.

After the weekend passed, Kate's family headed back to Texas while the tour of NYC and its foods continued with the Galle family.  While Kate was finishing up her last days at work, they headed to Columbia for some mock-classes and a quick tour of the campus.

The Galle family also went to the Natural History Museum (while Kate finished up at work).

The night after commencement, Chris, his family, and our friends went out to Chris' favorite steak house in NYC: Keens Steak and Chop House. 

Aunt Susan, Grandpa, Chris, Bill, Linda:

Brittain, Kate, Nicole:

Fellow Columbia Business School Graduates, Bill and Chris:

Newlyweds, Nick and Nicole:

Having drinks after dinner:

It was a little exhausting having family in town for 10 days right up until we left, but we feel very blessed that they all wanted to come out and celebrate Chris's accomplishments. 

Chris' Graduation from Columbia Business School

After 2 years of studying (A.K.A. partying), networking (A.K.A. partying) and making new friends (A.K.A. partying), Chris' graduation week came upon us the week before we left for our world tour.  Chris was lucky to have the support of his family, Kate's family, and of course Kate to come to both graduation ceremonies. The first ceremony was only for the Columbia Business School (recognition) which was a lot like you would imagine a graduation ceremony would be (only the diploma wasn't granted).  His name was called and he got to walk across the stage. 

A highlight to this ceremony was the speaker: Henry Kravis of KKR.  For those of us that don't know the superstars of finance, the movie Barbarians at the Gate is based off Henry Kravis' buyout of RJR Nabisco.

Here's a few pics of the family after the graduation:

The whole group (Adam, Kate's sister's boyfriend was nice enough to take the photo in the rain): Uncle John; Aunt Judy; Aunt Susan; Chris' dad, Bill; Kate's sister Sarah; Chris, Chris' brother-in-law, Derek; Chris' sister, Michelle; Chris' Grandpa, Kate's mother, Linda; Kate's dad, Dave; Uncle Alan; and Chris' mother, Linda.

Commencement for the full university was a few days later. During this ceremony, the dean of each school read the accomplishments of its students and asked that the President of Columbia University bestow degrees to each student.  The ceremony ended like a true New York event, the song "New York, New York" sung by Frank Sinatra played as well as Alicia Keys, Kanye West and Jay Z's "Empire State of Mind" song.   It was after this ceremony that Chris recieved his dipolma.

  Chris with the Dean (Glen Hubbard) and Vice Dean (Amir Ziv) of Columbia Business School.

There wasn't much time for photos after each ceremony and it rained both days as well; so we went back to campus to take a few more photos. Here's a few: