Our Story
Bi-Coastal Cousins & Bloggers
Elisa & Tanya - London April 2017 (c) travelincousins.com
Our story is a very interesting one. When I was ten years old, my first cousin Josephine gave birth to an adorable baby girl. The year was 1975. Josephine's mom and my dad were sister and brother, and at the time, we were all living in Queens, New York, literally within 2 blocks of each other.
Our First reunion after 35 years!! July, 2013
Me and my sister Danielle, who was six years old at the time, were close with my aunt, uncle, and cousin Josephine. So, when Tanya came along, we were thrilled to have a new baby cousin to play and fuss over!
At the time, our family celebrated most holidays and birthdays together. Tanya was our little cousin and the highlight of the day. As fate would have it, a family fight between my dad and Tanya's grandmother a few years later, led to an estrangement which would last more than 30 years. A few years after the falling out, Josephine would move to California, go on to have two more children, who we would never know and complete contact was lost for more than three decades.
In 2013, through the wonders of social media and my sister Danielle's perseverance, we reconnected with Josephine. We were sure that Tanya would not have much of a memory of us but were thrilled when she reached out to us! We had so much to catch up on - a whole lifetime! During the next year, we reunited in person several times, rebuilt our relationship and developed close friendships in spite of the 3000 miles between New York and California.
At the time, our family celebrated most holidays and birthdays together. Tanya was our little cousin and the highlight of the day. As fate would have it, a family fight between my dad and Tanya's grandmother a few years later, led to an estrangement which would last more than 30 years. A few years after the falling out, Josephine would move to California, go on to have two more children, who we would never know and complete contact was lost for more than three decades.
In 2013, through the wonders of social media and my sister Danielle's perseverance, we reconnected with Josephine. We were sure that Tanya would not have much of a memory of us but were thrilled when she reached out to us! We had so much to catch up on - a whole lifetime! During the next year, we reunited in person several times, rebuilt our relationship and developed close friendships in spite of the 3000 miles between New York and California.
Gettysburg, PA - Our first Cousins Road Trip - July, 2013 (c) travelincousins.com
What's even more amazing is that all our children became instant buddies and speak daily through texting and FaceTime! We also came to discover that we had much more in common than we would have thought.
Santa Fe, New Mexico - October 2014 (c) travelincousins.com
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Grand Teton National Park April 2015 (c) travelincousins.com
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All three of us were incredible animal lovers, shared memories of the same family members (though not at the same times through the years) and shared many of the same values and core beliefs. One of the overriding interests shared in common was the love of travel and seeing the world. Travel had always been an important interest of mine and as sisters, Danielle and I had been travel companions for years, particularly in our early 20's before getting married and having children.
September, 2014 - Danielle, Tanya and Elisa (c) traveiincousins.com
Getting to know Tanya, we saw that she was an even greater travel buff than either myself or Danielle and had evolved into an amazing and sophisticated world traveler!
As a matter of fact, the first time we even met after all those years, Tanya and her children and me and my family ventured on a little road trip covering Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and Williamsburg, Virginia!
We realized we were compatible travel companions as a result of our similar traveling styles and attention to detail.
Our Travelin' Cousins Blog is now in year five and we have many trips together under our belt and many more to come!
As a matter of fact, the first time we even met after all those years, Tanya and her children and me and my family ventured on a little road trip covering Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and Williamsburg, Virginia!
We realized we were compatible travel companions as a result of our similar traveling styles and attention to detail.
Our Travelin' Cousins Blog is now in year five and we have many trips together under our belt and many more to come!
Our goal when we started our Blog in the Spring of 2014 was and continues to be to inspire our followers to see the world and all the beauty it has to offer!!
We hope you enjoy sharing our journeys with us!!!
Elisa
We hope you enjoy sharing our journeys with us!!!
Elisa
Arriving In Budapest, Hungary - July, 2015 (c) travelincousins.com