Travel

A Stone of Hope: The MLK Memorial in Washington, DC

September 29, 2011

 

This past weekend I had the pleasure of checking out the new Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial in Washington, DC. While I had already heard about several controversies surrounding the monument, I was excited by the mere prospect of an African-American man having a permanent presence on the national mall. Permanent as in like…forever. Not even Barack Obama has that much power yet. The country could decide next year that our love affair with the president is over, and he could very well fade into the oblivion of one hit wonder presidents that didn’t make the second round. However, Dr. King’s legacy has etched itself into American history with a permanent marker and this recent memorial is further confirmation of this reality. No man who did not serve as president of this country has ever had a monument on the national mall, but Martin Luther King, Jr. was never interested in following the rules, so it’s only fitting that he be the first to break this tradition.

The monument itself is powerfully understated and peaceful. Its composition was inspired by a line from his infamous “I Have a Dream” speech delivered 48 years ago during the March on Washington: “Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” You enter the memorial on a path cut through a large rock, which represents the mountain of despair he spoke of. The stone of hope is Dr. King whose likeness in my opinion was spot-on and captured the stern yet peaceful disposition we have grown so familiar with in the footage from the civil rights era.

However, there are many people who have taken issue with several characteristics of the memorial, including the legendary Maya Angelou, who claims that the omission of words from one of his quotes makes him sound like “an arrogant twit”.  Some disagree with this stance, saying his folded arms are too passive or that the “strong look on his face” is uncharacteristic of his personality (what did they want, a weak look? How are you supposed to march for justice looking scared like you stole something from the corner store?) Others have gone as far as complaining about the suit he is wearing.

 

Seriously people? There is a memorial on the national mall in our nation’s capital of a Black man. A thick-lipped, hair-like lambs-wool, black coffee no sugar no cream,  100% African-American man. And we are going to fight over his clothes? This man probably couldn’t use the same bathroom as white men if he dared to visit the national mall as a young boy and is now immortalized in stone with his own memorial for visitors from around the world to experience.

I think in this “post-racial” age of President Barack Obama, we as African Americans can get beside ourselves and forget how far our culture has come in a civil rights struggle that has spanned several generations. Before we pick apart every detail that failed to meet the unattainable standard of perfection, we should collectively take a deep breath and appreciate what has happened on the National Mall in Washington, DC. In light of the racially tense scene of police, protesters, excessive security and hate that probably surrounded his infamous speech 48 years ago, I think it’s safe to say that at our current President was correct in a more recent speech in proclaiming that change has finally come to America.

Tracey Coleman at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

What do you think? Did they get it right? Does the monument meet your expectations? How do you feel about Martin Luther King, Jr. being chosen as the first African American memorial on the national Mall? Who else is worthy? Does it matter that the sculptor is not American?

Interviews, Travel

Interview: 13 Friends Live the “Pura Vida” in Costa Rica

September 22, 2011

Have you ever gone overseas with a group of friends? If not, get inspired by this interview with the self-proclaimed “Ocean’s 13” crew of 7 guys and 6 girls who didn’t all know each other before the trip but ended up like family after a week in Jaco, Costa Rica.

Of all the places to choose from for your summer getaway, why Costa Rica?
CASS: I chose Costa Rica cause everyone and their mom had amazing reviews and not one bad comment. They also had a lot of activities to do.
TK: I know a lot of people who have recently traveled to Costa Rica and have all come back raving about it. I can now agree. Definitely in my top 5 vacation trips.
BACKYARD: The whole trip was based on my cousin coming home from Iraq. Literally 2 weeks after he got home we went on this group trip. It was kind of like a celebration/welcome home.

How did you pick your travel crew? Did you travel well together or did you wanna choke each other by the end of the trip?
CASS: Travel crew was a mixture of my friends and my neighbor Ant’s friends and we all got along for the most part.
BACKYARD: Of course there was one night like when keeping it real goes wrong. But everybody was there was confident and successful. We’re all stars, so when you put a bunch of stars together you’re bound to have some clashing. We had one guy who was the level head though,  he was good to have. Real chill guy.
RISSE: It was all LOVE. We were telling all the locals we were on a family reunion and we were all cousins and Cassie was our mother LOL. We even argued & made up quickly like distant play cousins.

Tell me about your hotel. Where did you stay and did it live up to your expectations?
RISSE: Entering our condo for the first time, felt like we were on an episode of MTV’s “Real World.”  We were jumping up and down, grabbing each other, laughing & screaming. By the time, we made it to the balcony and saw our view of the ocean and our pool, we were beside ourselves. We were rolling on the floor laughing, literally.
CASS: We stayed at Oceans Diamante de Sol, which are luxury condominiums with a full kitchen, living room, washer and dryer and three rooms each with their own balcony. I just randomly found it on Expedia and saw good reviews about it on Trip Advisor.
VH: Condo was dope. I loved it because we weren’t at a straight tourist resort but instead were in the midst of everybody. I’m a people person so I wanna know what the people are like. I found out the prostitutes were “mucho nice-o.”

Was the language barrier a challenge? Do you guys speak real like grown-up Spanish or were ya’ll down there speaking 9th grade broken Spanglish?
CASS: My 9th grade broken Spanish was on point yo! I was like, “Wow can’t believe I remembered how to say that!” However, there were mad charade sessions trying to describe and repeat what we wanted to the locals due to the language barrier.
TK: I deferred to Cass for all complicated translations, but most people spoke English or enough to at least understand the gist of what you were trying to say.
BACKYARD:  We knew how to find out where the “fiesta” was and the cab would know exactly where we wanted to go.
VH: Cassie was our interpreter. The guys knew all the curse words, though. And the words to talk to the prostitutes.

You know I wanna hear about the food. What was your favorite meal? How did it taste? What did you drink with it? Did you go back for seconds? Tell me everything.
TK: The food was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G (and cheap too).
RISSE:  Now Trace you know, I’m a foodie so I’m very critical when it come to the matters of food. However, I was pleasantly satisfied with most of the food in Jaco.
BACKYARD: I can’t remember the restaurants we went to b/c I was drunk most of the time but go to the Mom and Pop restaurants and the food there is amazing.
CASS: We went to this spot called Graffiti in Jaco that was really good and another called Wahoos. The seafood was really good too. The plantain and the Pineapple there was off the chain!! It’s probably due to the fact that that’s one of Costa Rica’s main exports.

I personally know several of you so I know there are some funny stories from this trip. Do tell!
CASS: Madame, this trip had jokes for days. A lot are inside jokes but some favorite quotes of the trip are:
“We need a bigger boat!”- annoyed Costa Rican white water rafting captain
“Grande Negro coming thru!!”- zipline workers talking about some of the guys from our trip
RISSE: One of us went to sleep early one night inebriated and someone played such a hilarious prank on him. The next day, he woke up like I have no idea what happened last night. I woke up and there was sand in my bed and…. (if I told you what else was in his bed, he would kill me) lol
TK: I think we’re forgetting the VERY FIRST funny moment of the trip…Cass walking into the glass door over the balcony. lolol ANNNND… the infamous response from game night when playing the questions game and someone responded “ride it like a donkey with extra Viagra”
VH: Yes, “ride it like a donkey” and DJ thinking he was gonna die on the zipline. He’s 300 lbs.

Any surprises?  Did anything catch you off guard about the country?
BACKYARD: A lot of beautiful women and a lot of prostitution. Some of the women are really fine but 85% are prostitutes. Somebody hipped us to the game – if they are in heels they are prostitutes.
CASS: Jaco is apparently notorious for surfing and prostitutes. And man I tell ya, mad hookers everywhere! Never seen so many! I guess cause it’s legal there but damn! According to the locals “only hookers wear heels to the club” so we stayed in flats lol!
RISSE: LOL @ Cass. Yup. The locals call them “Whores.” The only way to not be labeled a whore is to not wear heels. The craziest thing is that these women are BEAUTIFUL. It’s really sad that these women think this is the only way they can make a living.

What is the one thing you would tell someone to do/see/visit if they travel to Costa Rica? What was the highlight of your trip?
VH: Make sure you go zip-lining, white water rafting, snorkeling and visit Tortuga Island. But the highlight for me was seeing the dolphins swim along the boat on the way back from Tortuga Island. Definitely the dolphins, and meeting someone special on the trip.
BACKYARD: Go to the Backyard party on the beach on Wednesday night. It was off the chain. They played hip hop all night and it wasn’t even tourists. Surfers, people from Brazil, Cali, all over the world listening to hip hop all night and everybody was dancing. I lost my license and when I came home I thought I had a bunch of money in my pocket but when I put it out on the table and it was like 15 receipts. Had so much fun buying drinks lol
CASS: Also go horseback riding on the beach, visit Arenal volcano and make sure you go into the hot springs. And visit the Caribbean side of the island, Limon.

Would you recommend this destination for another group of friends? If so, give them your travel tips and advice for a Costa Rican getaway.
CASS: I would definitely recommend this destination for another group of friends. I would say be ready to be adventurous cause there’s mad “nature” type stuff to do in Costa Rica. And if you go between April and August it’s rainy season. We went in August and it rained everyday, but it was only for like 1 to 2 hours closer to the evening so you’ll be straight. And the beaches are not white sand they’re more dirt type volcanic. There are a few white sand beaches and Tortuga island is one of them so make sure you go there.
VH: Definitely. Costa Rica is a must. Costa Rica needs to be on everybody’s bucket list.

Click here for the photo gallery from their trip

Giving Back, Musings

Why Passports Matter

August 15, 2011

I don’t remember my first passport because I never laid hands on it. I was a carefree (ahem, scatterbrained) 9-year old and my mother made sure it steered clear of my possession lest it poof into thin air and I ended up an involuntary resident of some foreign country. I do, however, have a few memories of my first trip. It was a cruise to South America and I vividly remember an exhilarating rush of adrenaline during the emergency drill that took place as we set sail into the Atlantic. My sister was horrified but I was strangely excited by the possibility of us having to rappel down the side of the boat into a rescue raft. Awesome! It’ll be like the Titanic! Oh wait….

I also remember seeing a sloth for the first time (it was sooooo sloooooowwww) and being nervous in Cartegena because I had heard so much on the news about the drug wars there. That’s about it. I don’t have some extravagant story about how my using my first passport was a life-changing experience that ignited my passion for travel. However, taking that trip at the tender age of 9 paved the way for my future as a world traveler by doing 2 very important things.

First, it allowed me to see firsthand that international travel is not some lofty goal that requires exorbitant amounts of money, connections, or a rich Uncle with a guest house somewhere. By leaving the country so early, I knew it was an attainable aspiration and though I did not expect to go abroad often, I knew that another trip was in my future.

Second, it removed the veil of fear, uncertainty and prejudice that covers the eyes of so many eyes of US citizens who are unable to experience other cultures firsthand. The media only shows what sells, so the pictures that are painted of many cultures, especially those whose people look different from the “Average American,” often times aren’t so inviting. Leaving the country at such a young age and interacting with cultures unlike my own broke down those cumbersome barriers of distrust and misunderstanding allowing me to enter my adulthood with an open mind.

As a result, when I turned 20 (officially a grown-up), I was fearless in signing up to live with a Costa Rican family for 6 weeks in the capital city of San Jose. It was my first time using my passport by myself and I was determined to become conversationally fluent in Spanish. While I came back almost, borderline, not quite all the way fluent, I did learn quite a few lessons that were far more valuable. For 6 weeks I was embraced and protected by a Mom who didn’t speak my language and learned that motherhood is a universal language that transcends culture. I was served a different dish for dinner every single night and learned that some of the best food and drinks your taste buds will ever be delighted in are found outside of this country’s borders. And most importantly, I learned that while America is a land where you can live the “Good Life”, you can also experience “Pura Vida” in Costa Rica, feel “Irie” in Jamaica, and live richly in the myriad of beautiful cultures that have been placed on this massive Earth that are only a passport stamp away.

So for the first time, the purpose of this story was not just to share my experience but to ask for help. Wait, wait, before you close the browser window hear me out 🙂 Tracey Friley of the Passport Party Project has come up with the absolutely awesome idea of sponsoring parties to give young girls a new world view and a shiny new passport to experience it for themselves. I will be one of the hosts of the first New York Passport Party and this post is the first of many to raise money for the passports for these girls. We need to raise money for at least 10 passports at $110 each, so here’s your chance to give these young girls one of the best gifts they will ever receive.
Passport-Party-Belize-2

Click here to donate now
Send me an email if you think I’m going shopping with the money and you’d prefer to send a money order, write a check and send via carrier pigeon or some other method of donating funds outside The Internets.

Travel Tips

5 Ways to Jet-Set On a Budget

August 4, 2011

This story was originally published in In Her Shoes, an award-winning business blog that celebrates female entrepreneurs. Click here to view the original feature: http://www.inhershoesblog.com/5-tips-for-jet-setting-on-a-budget

With Summer in full swing and vacation photos popping up in your Facebook feed every day, it’s easy to catch the travel bug and want to jump on the boarding pass bandwagon. However, before you burn through your rent money trying to plan a last-minute getaway, here are a few simple tricks to live out your jet-setting fantasies without coming home to an eviction notice.

1. BYPASS BAGGAGE CLAIM

Fly girls pack light and often. If it’s only a weekend trip, there is no good reason for you to be hauling four Louis Vuitton suitcases, a duffel bag, a carry-on, another carry-on disguised as a “personal item” and your purse around the airport. Don’t be that chick. If you plan your attire in advance and limit your luggage to one carry-on bag, you can save up to $50 in checked baggage fees (and up to $78 if you’re flying Spirit Airlines), which also charges up to $90 round-trip for carry on bags but their business practices are another story that would require an alcoholic beverage for me to even begin to discuss.

negotiator

2. Name Your Own Price

When I first started traveling I always thought those price-bidding sites would leave me sleeping on a dorm-quality mattress in some horror movie hotel in an alley, or driving the third-string backup rental car with the pesky little brake problem. Unbeknownst to me, people were zipping around town in the same compact car I had reserved at a much lower price by working with these digital negotiators. Before you book a hotel or rental car (or plane ticket if your times are flexible), try your luck with Priceline or Hotwire. While you can’t choose your actual hotel or rental car company, these agencies pride themselves in booking quality amenities at a reduced price so rest assured that your winning bid will be worth the gamble and you’ll come out on top with more money for fun on your vacation.

Road trip!!!

3. Hit The Road

So once I hit my late 20s and considered myself an official grown up, I decided to retire the days of piling in a Honda Civic with four other people in the name of saving on airfare. However, a last minute road trip a few years ago with three of my girlfriends ended up being so much more fun than a plane ride and we collectively saved nearly $1000 on our travel costs. Gas up the car, split the bill, and get excited about having an extra $200-$400 once you reach your destination to pop bottles, rent a jet ski, buy that must-have pair of shoes or whatever your heart desires without having to endure a pat down, body scan or other virtual strip show in the airport.

Delicious breakfast spread at Coconut Grove Hotel in Accra, Ghana

4. Skip Breakfast

No, not like, literally. Skip that extra food bill and opt for the free continental options offered at so many hotels. I mean yeah, the chances of you getting a made-to-order omelette or French crepes are pretty low. However, I’ve had fresh waffles, biscuits and gravy, hot oatmeal, eggs, bacon and fresh orange juice all for free (not at the same time, though that would make a pretty epic breakfast) and was able to splurge on more exciting meals later in the day. When drafting your travel budget this summer, save up to $20/day by treating yourself to continental breakfast in bed.

My friend Nic enjoying Bake and Shark in Maracas Bay, Trinidad

5. Do As The Romans Do

The fastest way to blow your entire budget wide open is to act like a tourist and waste money by eating breakfast and dinner at the hotel, buying show tickets at the venue on the day of the performance, and taking taxis around the corner because they’re lost. Whether you venture outside of your country’s borders or simply drive a few hours away, your trip will be much more interesting, and cheaper, if you adopt the lifestyle of the people who live there. Eat at local shops and food trucks. Walk around. Talk to the locals to find out the hidden treasures excluded from sponsored travel guides. Your wallet will thank you and you’ll have much better pictures (and stories) when you come back home.

Travel Stories

The Precious Kinship of Sisterhood

July 22, 2011

Imagine you have 7 siblings. All girls. And you’re all around the same age, kinda like 2 sets of quadruplets (this sounds like a womb’s worst nightmare but just roll with it.) Now imagine being locked up in a house for 3 days with all of them. 8 personalities, 8 opinions, 24 pieces of luggage and 197 pairs of shoes all under 1 roof.

Um…yeah, exactly. I was thinking the same thing when I got my invitation for “Girls Weekend” at my line sister Lisa’s lakefront house in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Now, don’t get me wrong. I was extremely excited about spending some quality time with my sisters without having to play the toilet paper dress game or do the extended remix of the Electric Slide after a first dance. But I know after a few days with my one real sister, I’m tempted shove her off the edge of the bed in her sleep just for kicks, so I couldn’t imagine what type of foolishness would occur when this equation was multipled by 8.
Nick_SisterhoodLuckily, any worries I had about the weekend immediately evaporated when we arrived at the house, greeted by personalized name tags on the doors of our respective rooms! How adorable! Resting on our pillows were pink and green duffel bags that contained pyjamas for the weekend, a few girlie treats and a handwritten note from our gracious host. You would have thought Justin Bieber was staying with us for the weekend the way we were squealing like a bunch of teenage girls, and as sappy as it may sound, these little details that had been so thoughtfully planned for us set the tone for what turned out to be the best slumber party I’ve ever been to.
Detroit_sisterhood
After catching up on each others’ lives over a few bottles of wine, we put on our swimsuits and headed out on the lake behind the house to watch the sunset from Lisa’s boat. Her husband Marc steered us toward unsuspecting schools of fish for those of us who wanted to catch The Big One (this guy had a Garmin fish finder. Who knew Garmin could find trout?) and kept our cups full as we gabbed about The Braxtons, The Kardashians, and other sets of sisters with far more disposable income than ourselves. Our chatter only ceased when Mother Nature told us to hush and proceeded to unveil a sunset so perfect it looked like a movie.
BrooklynTravelAddict_Michigan
That night after a sinfully delicious meal of lamb chops, mashed potatoes and more wine, we ended up all piled up on one couch in a comatose heap of arms and limbs. Mind you, this house has 4 beds, 5 couches and enough rooms for each of us to have one to ourselves, but we chose to lay on each other on that one couch. Because that is what sisters do. And that is what we did for the rest of the weekend. We got up to watch the sunrise, then got back in the bed and snored on each other. We made breakfast, played Rock Band, then took naps on each other. When it was time for bed every night we’d somehow all end up in one queen bed as if it was the only available one in the house, talking until our words became few and far between, and the domino effect of slumber overcame each one of us.

LineSisters_BrooklynTravelAddictBetween the 8 of us there is a lot of life going on right now, so we also spent a lot of time this weekend doing what we had been taught as pledges over a decade ago, collectively leaning on each other to lessen the weight of each individual whose burden had become heavier than normal. And before you think this post will descend into some greekfest virtual probate show complete with chants, hand signs and poetry excerpts, it’s not about that. 12 years in the game nobody cares what your line number is or the meaning behind your Kryptic line name. Sisters are born from all types of situations and regardless of how they are introduced into your life, there is a priceless emotional connection that transcends friendship. I am so fortunate to have so many women in my life that I can call sisters, but the 12 that I was forced to lean on in college have been an invaluable source of inspiration, encouragement and support for me through the years. I encourage anyone with sisters of any kind to make uninterrupted quality time a priority in your lives. When life, careers, relationships and family throw you curveballs, you will always have your sisters. Never forget that and show your appreciation for these special women with the most valuable gift you could ever give. Your time.

Boat_BrooklynTravelAddict

Travel

My Bucket List Journey Along the California Coast

July 18, 2011

I could just see it. Me in my Ford Mustang convertible cruising on a two-lane highway along the cliffs of the California coast. I’d be wearing the signature oversized glasses and neck scarf, and my feminist liberation playlist would serenade the surrounding rolling hills and cliffs on my bucket list journey along the Pacific Coast Highway. It would be perfect.

Well, at 1:00 AM Thursday night at the Avis rental counter, I didn’t have the energy to wail about the Mustangs being all rented out and how overselling their vehicles was ruining my life (I can be dramatic absolutely ridiculous at times). After trying to upsell me on a more expensive car that looked like Kitt from Knight Rider, the agent reluctantly walked me over to a little baby Mitsubishi convertible in burnt orange and I immediately fell in love. She was the just the right size for me and my beach bag, and though she was different from what I had imagined in my head she was now a part of the new reality of my adventure. She was perfect.

As always, when I set out on my journey I had no real plan. I had heard that Malibu was a nice town that was relatively close so I hopped into my baby convertible, put a random restaurant into my GPS and headed towards Malibu to begin my adventure. For the first 15 minutes of the trip however, I was thoroughly unimpressed. Highway 1 near LA is not scenic at all, and the random gas stations, strip malls and Mexican restaurants that lined the busy street had me wondering if I had taken a wrong turn.

So I kept driving, in search of my two-way highway on a cliff with the gleaming white seagulls soaring nearby in the morning sky. I soon reached the infamous Pacific Coast Highway, which was bustling with surfers and families heading out to enjoy a beautiful day on the shore. But it didn’t look like the pictures I had seen. The highway was actually 6 lanes, and there was so much traffic that I couldn’t get my speed up enough for my ‘fro to blow in the wind like I wanted.

Right before I spiraled into an irrational frenzy that would have lead me all the way to Northern California looking for this picture in my head, the phone rang. It was my two recently engaged friends who had moved to San Diego from Brooklyn, letting me know that they had reached Malibu and asking me where we should meet. I temporarily suspended my search asked them to meet me on the edge of a cliff by the water that I had passed on my way up the coast.

Before they arrived, I had a few minutes to just sit on the back of the car and reflect and as I looked out at the beautiful Pacific horizon, it hit me. This is my destination. The film that I had seen previews for and was all ready to experience was clearly not being released that day and when I finally stopped to watch the show that was right in front of me, it was perfect. The sky was a blue only seen in cartoons and from the cliff I could see both the white sand beach below as well as gorgeous mountains in the distance. Young couples entertained their wobbly new offspring at the ocean’s edge while those of us lining the cliff just observed in silent appreciation.

When my friends arrived, they came bearing hugs, chairs and my favorite beer, and we camped out on the cliff for hours. We reminisced about our years in “the dorm” back in Brooklyn (I met them along with about 8 other people in my apartment building and our lives paralleled the TV show “Friends.” They are the “Monica and Chandler” of our crew 🙂 and told me those simple, silly memories from back in Brooklyn mean the world to them now that they are so far away from us. We talked about their wedding. They encouraged my dreams. Their dog took a nap. It was perfect.

 

I never found my two-lane highway that day, never played my I Am Woman Hear Me Roar playlist, and the one time I tried to put that signature scarf around my neck I almost died from heat stroke. But as I sat facing the Pacific Ocean on a cliff with my family (because that is what long-term friendships become), I was reminded that life is a journey, not a destination and though the scene that unfolded before me was not what I had envisioned, it was the exact part of my journey that I was supposed to experience that day. It was perfect, and when I do complete my voyage down the Pacific Coast from a city much farther to the North, I’ll be sure to finish my trip with the newlyweds in San Diego so I can relive this moment all over again.