My better half is from Arizona and has been known to say that “The American southwest, especially Arizona, makes you feel simultaneously powerful and insignificant.” 

This video captures that sentiment perfectly.

(watch this full screen and with the sound turned up)Tweet

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.  Tweet

Fantastic trip to Moscow with Annie.  Unexpectedly amazing experience. Tweet

“The most successful mountain climbers know they must spend at least as much time, if not more, in tending to their base camp as they actually do in climbing mountains.  Survival is dependent upon seeing to it that their base camp is sturdily constructed and well stocked.”

So it is with love.

Annie and I both run at a pretty good pace.  This past year has seen us making trips around the world and finding out daily how amazing and exhausting life on the go in New York City can be.  We have both undertaken new roles in our professional careers and have both uncovered amazing groups of people that are passionate about their place in this crazy world.

We have individually been chasing down the big dreams that are uniquely our own and have sought out more opportunities to bring more value to our communities and our connections as we go.  We have both made ascents on peaks that are solely ours to climb even as we travel further down the path of our adventure together.

But, as the quote from Dr. M. Scott Peck so perfectly captures above, Annie and I have tended to and continually moved our base camp forward together as we’ve gone and found the strength to make our next journeys from there. As hard as it sometimes is to make the ascents alone, they are climbs that are only meant for us as individuals.  But, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the confidence I walk around with on a daily basis stems from the love and support that I am replenished with at base camp.

The individual conquests and battles that I fight and strive to see through to victory are made so much sweeter knowing that there is a reprieve and time to recuperate at base camp before going out for the next fight  and adventure.  And that each one of our individual ascents moves us closer together and closer to the big huge vision we have for our adventure together.

To my best friend, my beautiful Valentine: I love you.Tweet

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.Tweet

I have a secret weapon. Her name is Annie.
With an “out there all the time doing my best to be in the right place at the right time” type job, I meet some great people. Some of the folks are good “single serving” friends, and others I rush to follow up with the next day. At a certain point, you start to see the same faces at each of the events attended. I overheard a conversation last week by two guys acknowledging that most of their friends and business contacts have never met their better half because their wives prefer to leave the socializing to them. I would argue that this is the case more often than not. It takes a special significant other to keep up with the hustler’s schmoozing.
Lucky for me, “special” doesn’t even scratch the surface of my secret weapon.
Last week was a great example. The American Idol Live tour is underway and made their Dallas stop on Thursday. Marquis Jet invited our Owners and their families out for a meet and greet with the Idols before the concert. Obviously having 50 clients and their kids show up is a little bit of a logistical challenge, so I may not have been as attentive to Annie as I would have preferred. I get back from handing out some tickets and back stage passes to see some of my clients and their friends all circled up around Annie, laughing and telling stories about their recent trips to Europe. One of my clients had pulled out his iPhone to show her some of his pictures from Greece. And I stood back and smiled.
Annie’s smile was radiating and her sincere interest in others drew them to her throughout the rest of the night. (Including Danny Gokey) It is one thing to find the love of my life, it is a whole other thing entirely to have Annie be my secret weapon and the highlight of clients and guests’ evenings.
If I haven’t said it recently in this forum: I am the lucky one.Tweet

An Open Letter to my Valentine:

Dearest Annie,
I was thinking back to our first date, when, as we were pulling up to the house, I turned on my car stereo and made the bold claim that I had found our song. I had heard it earlier in the week and it made me think about you. So, being the oh so very proud of myself romantic that I am, I had to make sure to have it available that day just in case the opportunity presented itself. When it did, I skipped through my mixed CD and played “Someone Like You” by Van Morrison.
“I’ve been searching a long time, for someone exactly like you. I’ve been searching all around the world, waiting for you to come through…”
Looking back to that moment and the hundreds of thousands of moments since, I am convinced that I am truly the lucky one. I am baffled by the way that you love me and the way that you bring out the best in me. I am overwhelmed by your smile and by the depth of your love. I am exhilarated by your passion and commitment to your dreams and our dreams. I am truly content and find the purest peace of mind cuddled up next to you on the couch. The way that your smile and your laugh fill a room of total strangers with ease is remarkable. Your brave and adventurous spirit thrills me and there is no end to the possibilities that are ahead of us.
I wake up each day knowing that we are the lucky ones to have the kind of love we do. The storybook love that eludes most, that’s what we have!
And so, as the song came to an end, and you smiled at me, the lyrics played on:
“I’ve been all around the world, marching to the beat of a different drum. Lately I realized, baby, the best is yet to come.”

With all my love, I’m yours,

Andy

(Now wouldn’t you all like to know what my closed letter to my Valentine looks like)Tweet

This month Annie and I had the chance to travel through the deep south for a great friend’s wedding. On our way back to Dallas from Moss Point, MS I had the chance to introduce Annie to the greatness that is New Orleans. It was described to me as a “City name that can be used as a noun, verb, and adjective – it is just so unique.” This was my fourth trip to the Big Easy, but my first time to share it with someone else. Annie and I did a swamp tour, stayed at the Le Pavillon Hotel which offers a PB&J with milk buffet at 10pm, and did our best to sample some of the local fare and music in the French Quarter.
As we drove away and I thought the highlight of the trip was our time at Preservation Hall, a jazz club just off Bourbon. Amazing music and truly intimate environment. If you ever get the chance, make sure you go.
But later on in the week, the true highlight of our New Orleans experience came to light. Annie and I went to see “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” As the incredibly imaginative story played on, the images of New Orleans in the movie jumped off the screen as Annie and I had just been there. As the story concluded and closure was reached, the theme of the story, the under current of the tale jumped out at me. That no matter where life’s story takes you, that no matter what trials and what joys you experience, the greatest gift that anyone could hope to be given is the chance to do all of those things with someone they love.
So I reached over and squeezed Annie’s hand and smiled knowing that I, in fact, was that lucky.Tweet

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!Tweet

I am the lucky one. Anyone who knows my girlfriend Annie knows that I am out of my league. It is always fun when I meet people that have just met Annie and they can’t stop talking about how incredible she is. Whether it is her work on tour leading them through the destinations and sights of Europe, or it is a cocktail party with a new group of acquaintances, she captures people with her winning smile and sincere interest in their story.
Never before have I had as much fun watching an “Annie Fitzsimmons Fan Club” in action than last night. Annie recently lead a tour of Switzerland for a group of 24. This group came from all over the America, but a large contingent was from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. When they returned from the tour two weeks ago, they were all on the same flight and I had the chance to meet this group. Apparently they all already knew who I was as I had come up at some point in the conversation while they toured Europe. As we all waited for our bags, one by one, the young and the old, came over to me to rave about Annie and how wonderful she made their trip. They talked about how she knew so much about each stop on their tour and had wonderful local knowledge that just made the trip one of the best they’d ever been on.
Knowing Annie, I always assumed this was the sentiments that her passengers (pax) had for her, but here it was in real life.
Then, I found out, as if there was ever any doubt, just how much this group loved Annie. A few days after the tour, the phone calls started. “We all want to get together for dinner, you have to come!” As the planning progressed, it turned into a dinner party with 5 of Annie’s pax, 4 of their friends, and Annie and I. Two of her passengers drove 5 HOURS from Arkansas to be at this dinner and see Annie again!
We all got together at a little cafe in the middle of no where South of Fort Worth for an evening of fun and friendship, great food and a lot of wine. Stories were told about the train journeys in the Alps, the passengers that we not as friendly or fun, and promises were made that we would all have to get together again for another reunion soon.
Annie was the star and I was the lucky guy that got be there with her and watch her shine.Tweet