The End of "The End"

Alex and I spent the past Thursday and Friday enjoying our final time in Montauk. We relaxed at the beach, walked around town and ate some good food (and of course, continued to write thank you notes). Our Montauk send-off meal was at Dave's Grill; we left feeling very full and content.

Cioppino at Dave's Grill - Sarah's favorite meal.

On Saturday, Alex and I packed up the car and said goodbye to Montauk, hoping to return sometime next year to celebrate our one-year anniversary.

Sunset at The Crow's Nest. The view is incredible but the gnats are not - bring bugspray!

We got these Montauk t-shirts at Local Knit and are packing them for the trip. We figured it would be a good reminder of our friends and family when we're far from them along the way!

We spent a few brief hours in NYC on Saturday so that we could run a few final errands. I wanted to get a "trip-appropriate" haircut (5 inches later I am still in mourning!), Alex wanted to check out Central Park one last time and we both wanted a final meal at PJ Clarke's.

The Great Lawn, Central Park. We will miss this view.

The Mall, Central Park. One of Alex's favorite spots in the city.

We spent Sunday, Monday and Tuesday in New Jersey (using Alex's parents' house as a "home-base") so we could pack and take care of our final To Do's. Monday involved multiple trips to two different malls AND a meal at Grand Lux Café so basically it was my ideal day in the suburbs. (To my new in-laws and Alex: it's too late to get rid of me now)!

Tomorrow morning we fly to Costa Rica and begin our trip around the world. After researching and planning for nearly 18 months, it is hard to believe we are really leaving with nothing but 2 backpacks. (To be fair, we only spend 2 months in South America before returning to the US for our road trip, but whittling down all of our belongings to something we could easily carry was quite the experience). Below are a few pictures of everything we are bringing for the first two months.

Sarah's clothing.

Alex's clothing (& our travel documents).

Everything else.

I would detail each item we included but really the list is pretty mundane. Basically a week's worth of clothes, toiletry "essentials" (Alex's definition of "essential" obviously differs from mine...), first aid necessities and a few "luxuries" (i.e., laptop, kindles, one pair of shoes that are actually cute).

NOT the cute shoes.

It's now only a few hours until takeoff so hopefully we packed everything we need! We can't wait to start this journey and are so excited to share it with you. Carpe Diem!

Fishing, etc.

We woke up early yesterday to go fishing. The weather was supposed to be overcast (and it was) so we figured it would be a good non-beach-related activity. We picked up our favorite breakfast sandwiches from Goldberg's and hopped aboard the Viking Stariper for a half-day fluke fishing trip. Despite the cloudy day, we still got a few nice pictures on the way out there.

This picture doesn't do it justice but there were about a dozen seagulls that followed us the whole time, hoping some spare bait would fall overboard.

Looking back at Montauk Point Lighthouse.

I would add the quintessential trophy picture of me holding up the giant fish I caught (maybe even kissing it if I were really excited) next, but unfortunately that didn't happen. We each caught two fluke but none were particularly noteworthy. One of mine was big enough to keep but we didn't take a picture of it because our hands were covered in chum and we didn't think it was worth risking transferring the stench to our iPhones for a photo with the sad, ugly looking fluke. Someone enjoyed him for dinner last night, I'm sure.

One of the highlights of the trip, though, was Sarah baiting her own hook. I could not believe she willingly put her hands in our plastic bait bucket to grab a combination of fluke belly, octopus and smaller fish parts to hang on her hook! I'm sure she'll "cash in" her bravery in this instance to make me try something undesirable soon...

After coming home to THOROUGHLY wash our hands and change, we walked to The Surf Lodge to grab an afternoon cocktail. There was a mixer in progress when we got there - we thought it was a singles mixer, turns out it was for all the owners of businesses in Montauk to come meet each other. Sarah ran into our wedding coordinator, Amanda, from Montauk Yacht Club and had a nice chat. Amanda made our wedding so easy on us - can't recommend her enough! Anyway, because there was this mixer going on, the Chamber of Commerce had hired a great band and we got to enjoy live music with our drinks and have our pick of the lounge seating. I'm used to a much more crowded scene at Surf Lodge on the weekends - this more relaxed environment was a welcome break!

Surf Lodge selfie.

Hard to beat this view.

Today we spent the morning writing thank you notes and doing very exciting administrative things on our bank accounts - like changing our address, letting them know we'll be out of the country so our debit and credit cards still work, etc. By mid-day we headed to The Sloppy Tuna to watch the USA World Cup game. Obviously somewhat of an anticlimactic outcome, but we're both glad they advanced! Afterward it was beach time for a couple hours.

The classic my-toes-are-freezing-already-but-I-think-I-still-want-to-get-in debate.

All our weather apps say a storm is coming later this afternoon...they might be right.

Only one more day left in Montauk. Sad to think about our stay here coming to an end, but we're both getting more and more excited about Costa Rica!

Honeymoon Kickoff

On Monday we met our friends Blythe and Cody for a morning bike ride to Ditch Plains before they headed to the airport. Alex and I ended up riding to the lighthouse at "the End" and then back to our house - a total of about 12 miles. Cue repeat celebratory meal at The Hideaway (clearly we like to balance out any athletic adventures with those of a culinary nature).

Overlook on the way to the lighthouse.

After relaxing a bit and wondering why our butts were sore from a leisurely bike ride, we went to dinner at Navy Beach with Alex's brother Nick and his girlfriend Michelle. Just as the sun was setting, I darted outside to snap a few pictures (no filter I swear!)

Sailboats at sunset.

Sunset at Navy Beach.

On Tuesday the last of our friends and family departed Montauk, leaving us alone for some quality time as newlyweds. We spent the morning at the beach and then took a drive to Sag Harbor.

View in Sag Harbor

After a brief stroll around Sag Harbor, we headed to Wolffer Estate to check out the vineyard and sample some wine (I thought it was a very "honeymoon appropriate" activity). The scenery was beautiful and we really enjoyed some of the wines, particularly the rosé. 

Meze platter and wine at Wolffer Estate.

Enjoying our wine.

We really liked the change of pace compared to our usual beach days in Montauk and will definitely look forward to exploring other areas on Long Island when we return.

Married in Montauk

The big day finally arrived! Sarah and I tied the knot on Saturday in a beautiful ceremony at the Montauk Yacht Club surrounded by friends and family. If I could go back, I wouldn't change a thing: everyone really seemed to have a great time and it was definitely the best night of our lives.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this day so special! We'll post some of the professional photos when we get them, but here are some of our favorites so far (you can find others on Instagram under #fosteradventure).

Rehearsal dinner. 80s wedding headband courtesy of Sarah's cousin Cozy.

View from the bridal suite.

Glass successfully broken, time for a kiss.

We said yes.

The Tulane crew.

We'll be relaxing in Montauk for the rest of the week before heading to New Jersey to finalize our preparations for the first leg of the trip. Hard to believe it's finally here and we're about to leave the country for two months! Much more to come...

Almost Go Time

After spending nearly a week in Montauk, we cannot believe our wedding weekend is almost here! Between coordinating final details and last minute decisions, we managed to spend some quality time eating, relaxing and hanging out on the beach.

Sarah's favorite: New Orleans Iced Coffee from Coffee Tauk.

Lunch from Goldberg's Bagels.

Sarah's view from Gurney's Spa for a manicure / pedicure.

On Thursday our friends and family started to arrive in Montauk, which made both of us feel like the wedding was finally here. With the weather forecast looking clear for the weekend, we picked up Sarah's mom and sister at the Montauk Manor for a family dinner just as the sun was setting.

Sunset view from Montauk Manor.

Patio at Montauk Manor.

Friday is our rehearsal dinner and we are so excited to celebrate this weekend! Soon we will be Mr. and Mrs. Foster...