Brooklyn Travel Addict

Travel

Thank You!!!

May 25, 2011

Hey guys! I’m back! It’s been a while since my last post but the past month has been insanely busy for me. I’ve been busy planning an event with my new business partners, the Curly Girl Collective. In the midst of meetings, conference calls and running all over New York in preparation for our launch this past Sunday, I started to see posts on Twitter about the 2011 Black Weblog Awards. I recognized it from last year because several of my favorite bloggers were running and were constantly tweeting about voting for them. Their 3 week takeover of my timeline was slightly disturbing, but whatever…I voted anyway. And they won!

Being a newbie in the travel blog world, I didn’t really think I’d have a real shot in the “Best Travel Blog” category so I went the New Kid on the Block route, campaigning for a shot at Best New Blog or Blog to Watch. I mentioned it on Twitter and Facebook a few times and hoped I’d get enough votes to make the ballot. The night the nominations were posted I had actually forgotten about it and casually noticed a few tweets from bloggers announcing their finalist status. Okay let me stop lying. I STALKED the announcement page like it owed me money, refreshing the page constantly as if that would signal to the webmaster out in California that the crazy travel chick from Brooklyn was ready for the results.

The fact that they divided the categories into 5 separate categories and required an email address to pass the first page perplexed my fingers causing them to descend into a frenzy of clicking and scanning for several minutes as if they had never been taught how to use The Internets. I frantically searched for Best New Blog trying to find my name when I passed the Best Travel Blog category….

OH EM GEE!!!!

I made it!!! OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG *gasps* OMG OMG OMG *texts sister in a frenzy of gibberish, all caps and exclamation points* OMG OMG OMG *points at the screen as if it can see me* OMG OMG *closes mouth, sits up, looks around and acts like nothing happened*

If you know me you know I’m not exaggerating lol..that was my reaction. I could not be more surprised and honored that enough people though so highly of my blog to nominate me for this category. I’ve only been blogging since December so I am elated to say the least to even be on the ballot!

So, here’s the fun part – you get to hear from me for the next 2 weeks! Every hour on the hour, reminding you to vote! Not just for me but for the countless other great blogs in so many cool categories (vote for me) including gossip, sports, beauty (vote for me) fashion, and even new categories like Best Plus Size blog and (vote for me) Best Green Blog (recycle, then vote for me)

So, in conclusion. THANK YOU SO MUCH for your nominations!! Don’t forget to vote! Oh, and vote for me. And tell your cousin, uncle, homegirl, bruhman from the 5th floor, cousin pookie ‘nem on yo’ Daddy side to vote for me too!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR ME
(just wanted to make sure you didn’t miss that 🙂

Travel

5 Rewarding Trips Every Single Black Woman Should Take

May 3, 2011

This article was originally published on Clutch Magazine, the digital destination for the smart, stylish and sexy urban female. Click here to see the original post.

Several years ago during one of my dramatic rants about single life, an older cousin of mine gave me a gem of advice that I took to heart. “Girl, travel” she said,”You have plenty of time to be married. Have a blast! I know I did. And look, now I’m about to be somebody’s Momma!” pointing to the massive jungle gym that had taken residence on her stomach.

During the season of life when the only mouth you need to feed is your own, it’s important to take advantage of a unique freedom that characterizes unmarried life. While the list of destinations is endless, there are five categories of trips that every Black woman should experience before settling down.

Girls Gone Wild
Now now, calm down. I’m not suggesting you sell your soul to be featured in a video produced by Snoop Dogg. (But that would make a GREAT story to laugh about in 10 years!) Every woman should experience a carefree weekend of inhibition in a city miles away from responsibility, deadlines, and recognizable faces. Leave the Crackberry at home and round up your boldest girlfriends for a weekend of tomfoolery that should never see the light of Facebook. If you’re in the recently graduated, dollar menu, still-splitting-a-room-with-10-of-your-closest-girlfriends stage of life, Las Vegas is a great option for this type of adventure. The city paves the way for The Broke and the Beautiful offering inexpensive hotel packages, complimentary drinks at every casino and free admission to almost any club before 11. Pack your get-em-girl dress, your “special occasion” heels and prepare for a weekend you’ll probably forget!

Eat. Pray. Love.
So unless you’re expecting a windfall profit from a lucrative book deal, I don’t suggest you blow your savings trying to follow the itinerary detailed in the book. However, a solo trip free of extra voices and opinions can reduce the white noise on life’s soundtrack to a level so low you can actually hear the instruments. As you feast on fresh bake and shark by a private pool in Tobago, you’ll be able to discern each note of the steel pan drums that permeate the air 24 hours a day. While you relax at a sidewalk café in Venice, your ears will be delighted by the inflections of foreign tongues while your own tongue experiences a sensory overload, indulging itself in authentic Cappuccino for the first time. Your first trip alone should be to a destination that fosters reflection and personal growth, refreshing your spirit in a setting of peaceful solitude.

Back to the Future
You can never truly understand the capabilities of your future until you comprehend the complexities of your past. Being surrounded by shades of unadulterated Blackness and being judged purely on the content of your character is reason enough to return to the birthplace of African America. Immerse yourself in cultures with untold histories of excellence in every field imaginable and learn for yourself how misunderstood this vast continent really is. Whether you walk through the Door of No Return at the slave castles in Elmina, Ghana, or swim daringly close to 360 foot waterfalls at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, a voyage back to Africa will ignite a lifelong desire to learn more about the mysterious place we call the Motherland.

The Majesty of Nature
I don’t buy into this whole notion of there being only 7 wonders in the world. Each day the Earth hosts a massive scavenger hunt on its grounds, inviting us to discover breathtaking manifestations of Nature’s glory in unexpected places. Between the peaks of two mountains in Mpumalanga, South Africa sits a breathtaking reservoir called God’s Window where time stops and peace begins. If budgetary concerns prevent such a costly venture, visit the Grand Canyon Skywalk in Arizona, where you can stand suspended 4,000 feet over the peaks and valleys of the canyon, embracing stillness and a new appreciation for Earth’s raw beauty. You might not be the “camping out in the wilderness” type of girl or remotely interested in traveling to areas where Verizon can’t hear you now, but such an experience guarantees to put the minutiae of life’s routine in perspective and reminds us we are just a small part of a vast global ecosystem.

Heal the World
When disaster strikes our brothers and sisters around the world it’s easy for us to pull out our phones and text a donation to an aid organization. However, once the coverage has faded from the news we often forget that the devastation resulting from these tragedies extends far beyond the breaking news story. When planning your next trip, consider a destination where you can affect positive change in a dire situation. Gather your girlfriends for a clothing drive, and take the unwanted apparel to women who wore the same outfit for weeks following the earthquake in Haiti. Spend a day building a home for a single mother who has been sleeping with her child in a shelter since the levees broke in New Orleans. Getting your hands dirty in the name of rebuilding lives will be one of the most powerful trips you will ever take and will be far more rewarding than any “text to help” message could.

Travel

Why This Friday is Finger-Licking, Run-Tell-That, I’d-Like-To-Thank-The-Academy Good

April 22, 2011

Something epic happened today. No seriously. People throw that word around a lot. I just heard it last night in a Wal-Mart Easter commercial and officially removed it from my vocabulary. But in this case it’s real talk. A guy went up on a hill, let some crazy people call him allaway out his name and drive nails through his hands into a cross, leaving him to die. And he did this for people he didn’t event really know like that. People like me who weren’t even THOUGHT of back then.

Like, for real? I don’t even wanna give up the other half of my sammich or the last piece of chicken in the bucket let alone DIE for someone I don’t know. Even for the people I love, there is a small (as in single digit) number of people I would risk my life for. And when I say risk I mean come get you off the subway tracks if you fell and hope we both get back on the platform before the train comes “risk”. Not like, you know die all the way like for real.

But He did that. With no hesitation. Now, I’m not suggesting you go out and nail yourself to a billboard to profess your love for humanity because frankly, death is just not a good look for abundant life. It’s a little counterproductive to this whole Good Friday thing (that whole “I’ve come that you might have life” stuff)

However, if that is our charge, and the ultimate sacrifice by our Best Friend in the entire universe was made for it to be possible, the least we can do is accept that responsibility. Dude DIED so we could live. So live! Not just “I have a pulse” live. Live life like you mean it. Live like tomorrow depends on it. Live life like this is your only shot at making that sacrifice worth it and make The One who made this life available to you proud of His creation. Fulfill your purpose. Love others for no good reason. Help people who don’t deserve it and maintain the integrity of the divine image you have been made in.

Dance when no music is playing. Laugh till it hurts. Get excited! You’re alive! And it’s all because something epic happened today and the least we can do is rejoice and be glad in it. If you’re unfamiliar with this way of living but believe in what happened today then I’d like to officially welcome you to the Finger-Licking, Run-Tell That, I’d Like To Thank The Academy, Kanye West Dipped In Holy Water Good Life!

Make today your best day. And make tomorrow even better. Then repeat.

Happy Good Friday!

This post was originally published as a note on Facebook. To view the original click here and read additional Facebook randomness click here

Travel

Dreams Do Come True: The South Meets City Wedding Reception

April 20, 2011

In a tear-stained reflection on her Facebook page, the bride described this day as a lifelong dream that had become her reality. As a sorority girl from the South, I’ve been to more weddings that I can even remember. However, this wedding was a personal favorite of mine because the little details that brought her special day to life reminded me so much of home. The bride chose to wed her best friend in a quiet meadow under a sprawling live oak tree covered in irish moss. This serene landscape evoked fond memories of lazy summers I spent in South Carolina playing barefoot hide and go seek with my sister as our grandmother cracked fresh pecans on the front porch.

Ray Charles crooned his timeless classic “Georgia” as we filed into the rows of white chairs and when the usher handed me a little wooden fan, I felt transported back to the days when women wore fancy hats and lace trimmed gloves to church. Despite the mild weather, I sat back, crossed my legs and fanned myself just because it felt like the thing to do and secretly hoped someone would start up “This Little Light of Mine” so I could clap and sing along.

After the ceremony, we were led to a nearby tent for the cocktail hour. The bartenders served up Arnold Palmer cocktails (a traditional mix of sweet tea and lemonade with a splash of 40-proof joy) in old mason jars with straws bearing messages like “life is sweet” “how sweet it is” and “he loves me!”

On an old wooden table sat the South Meets City guest book where friends and family could leave well wishes for the bride and groom. Black and white portraits from their engagement photo shoot adorned the table in assorted vintage picture frames while the seat assignments hung behind them in an old window pane.

To the right of the table was this empty window pane that I thought was a bit random at first but soon realized was a photo booth complete with props for guests to have fun little photo shoots! Since professional photo booths can run in the thousands of dollars, this creative substitute was a huge win in the do-it-yourself wedding bag of tricks and an innovative way to keep guests engaged in the experience before dinner was served.

After nibbling on sliders and fried macaroni & cheese balls (the Trinidad Workout Plan is officially over) we sat down to enjoy dinner at Mathieu’s Dining & Dancing. Old school diner menus outlined the buffet selections, complete with a kids meal option served in a fun little bucket with toys.

After finishing up a hearty feast of southern fare, it was time for the reception festivities, beginning with the bouquet toss. Now, I have nothing against the age-old tradition of beating a chick down for a few rose petals, but being that I already have 2 bouquets under my belt, I had no interest in vying for a third. However, a certain friend of mine (who will remain nameless but knows I am giving her the evil eye all the way from Brooklyn to Port St. Lucie) convinced me to join in on the bridal shenanigans. As the DJ cued “Single Ladies” I wanted to jump out of that photo shoot window into a place far away from the mob of young women who were lining up behind the bride in the classic pre-bouquet-toss stance which inevitably looks something like this:

I wish a single lady would…

Once I was in the lineup however, it was game time. I felt obliged to at least play along so when Latoyia gave a surprisingly weak (have you seen her arms?) toss, I lunged forward to grab the bouquet. I’ve been in a bit of an awkward phase for about 20 years now so I lost my balance and in an effort to avoid ending up on the floor in a Twister-style matrix of sandals and limbs, I skipped away from the crowd, hoping to aviod the maylay. But when the dust settled, I looked down on the ground surprised to find the beaten up bouquet calling out to me.

“Please. Help. I’ve fallen and I can’t..”

“Nope, not today. Not playing this game with you today” I replied

“Oh really? It’s like that? Where’s your ring, huh? I don’t see a ring on it”

She taunted me for an eternity, in a desperate plea to be rescued from the cold lonely asphalt and her bruised petals begged for mercy as….Okay now I’m being dramatic. I picked it up. People cheered. The end.

Or so I thought. If it wasn’t enough to participate in the Running of the Brides-to-Be for the 25th time, my friends thought it would be hilarious if we added the garter game to the lineup. Before I could object, I was sitting in a circle of bachelors cheering on an extremely eager young gentleman on his knees with a garter in his mouth. As I slipped into selective memory subconsciousness the last thing I remember is seeing a man slowly crawling on knees towards me in a routine straight out of a late 90s R. Kelly video and feeling an ever so faint wind of human breath on my big toe.

I woke up to someone fanning me and judging by the lack of children in the vicinity I assume that the garter game was a hit. 3 or 7 cocktails later I was handed a little plastic jar of bubbles and was told it was time to send off the newlyweds. We blew bubbles into the warm evening breeze, and watched as they climbed into a cream Rolls Royce and set out on their lifelong journey together.

Because of an epic 15 minute Def Comedy Jam standup routine during the open mic portion of the reception, I was unable to give my well wishes to Latoyia and Kevin in person. However, it would have gone something like this:

*grabs the microphone from Cousin Chris Rock and clears throat*

It is a rare thing to find someone with the same thirst for God as you have found in each other. You are equally yoked and have grown stronger in God as a result of meeting one another. Never let that thirst die as it will keep you passionately in love with each other in ways that no physical or financial attraction could ever do. I wish the both of you eternal happiness and as long as I’m down the street you’ll always have a babysitter. Sometimes. Maybe on Fridays. If I’m home. And he’s potty trained. Maybe.

Love you guys!

–> CLICK HERE FOR MORE RECEPTION PHOTOS <–

Travel

Marry The Man That Loves You More

April 12, 2011

It’s a gem of advice that is inevitably reiterated every time my married girlfriends and I revisit those hilarious stories of relationships past, which always include a few tales about “That Guy.” Ladies, you know the guy. You met him in your teens or early twenties and there was no mountain high enough to keep you from this raggedy dude. He COMPLETED YOU, remember? You wrote his name in a heart with the infinity sign in class and ya’ll was ‘sposed to be 2gether 4eva.

Yeah…so about that guy. Though sometimes it does work out, in most cases the bad boy you fell for in your tender years isn’t the one waiting for you at the altar on that glorious day you dream about as a little girl. You probably would never have noticed this new guy back in your stilettos and halter top days. Maybe he was too quiet, or a little nerdy. Maybe he was kinda short or too nice *gasp* and sadly relegated to the dreaded friend zone.

Or maybe he was that big Hercules dude at the gym who wouldn’t leave you alone. “I mean seriously,” Toyia would whine to her roommate, “why is he still calling me?” He was a born and bred Brooklynite and she was a southern belle from the Florida panhandle – what could they possibly have in common? Her thick Flawda accent drove him bananas and his ayo-Son-that’s-my-word-Son-word-is-bond-Son cryptic Brooklyn morse code probably proved to be a communication disaster. However, Jay had found his Bey and when a man findeth his wife, it’s not a game, and he’s not leaving you alone. He is a changed man on a mission and his closest friends are often the first to see the transformation.

Kevin’s groomsmen confirmed this at their wedding reception, fondly telling stories about how their friend, who would normally call ranting about some Thin Line Between Love and Hate relationship drama, suddenly stopped calling for advice because there was no more drama to speak of. The guy whose temper would accelerate from “0 to 60” was now cruising down the Westside highway at a steady 30 mph with Bonnie in his passenger seat on the way to the destination of his dreams.

Jay Z Bonnie & Clyde ’03

As Toyia began her walk down the aisle, it became quickly apparent to every guest that she had heeded that timeless advice and was marrying the guy that loved her more than anything else but God. The guy waiting for her under the live oak tree was not the perfect Ken doll that participated in countless rehearsals in her room as a little girl nor was he “the half that made her whole” (barf). This guy was an already complete man who “loved God before he could ever love me” as she wrote in her invitation letters and as she approached him under the tree, his love for the God in her spilled from his eyes and down his face in an undeniable expression of gratitude. As his spirit was overwhelmed with happiness, waves of emotion radiated through the crowd, evoking tears first from the bridal party then causing a chain reaction of teardrops and tissues all the way to the last row of chairs. If the birds and squirrels could cry they would have asked for a Kleenex too at this point because that is just how emotional the energy was in that grassy meadow in Eden Gardens state park.

I watched Kevin count down on Facebook for the past few weeks in anticipation of this day which proved to be an inspiring culmination to a beautiful love story. I’ll let you be the judge but I’m more than convinced that my beautiful friend Latoyia Matheiu has foundeth a great thing and I wish them both a life of passionate happiness.

Click here for photos from the wedding ceremony

Travel

Dear American Media: Black Love is Alive and Well

April 4, 2011

As I stood on the corner of my block, a brisk gust of winter’s leftovers rudely interrupted my delightful daydream involving sunshine and feathers, reminding me that I was back in the frozen tundra of New York City. I mean seriously, will Winter ever go home? She’s like that drunk friend at the end of the party that refuses to leave even though the lights are on, the DJ is packing up and people are sweeping up trash. Shivering in my puffy coat I scowled at Mother Nature’s antics, and said a silent prayer of thanks for having a ride to church that morning.

My former roommate LaToyia and her fianceé Kevin soon pulled up, and I happily hopped into the backseat, thanking them for the ride and began my usual chat with Toyia about our latest natural hair adventures. As her roommate I had been privileged to have a front row seat to the romantic comedy that characterized their 6 year relationship. It was a breath of fresh air in pop culture’s relationship theater that consistently features poorly scripted suspenses, thrillers, and dramas that inevitably end up as box office failures. Like that action film your crazy girlfriend always stars in that involves stakeouts, password theft and CSI investigations that inevitably end in an epic wallslide into the relationship basement of takeout binges, ice cream and a snotty Kleenex trail all over your living room floor.

Toyia and Kevin’s relationship has been more like that long movie you don’t realize was long because you enjoy it so much. Like Forrest Gump. They’ve been running together, literally, for years in a steady journey grounded in faith, love and a mutual passion for nutrition and fitness. Their friendship began at Bally’s Fitness in Brooklyn (Sidebar: Bally’s get it together! Seriously. I bet Rikers has better equipment! Hire a handyman! Clean up your act or stop calling yourself a Sports Club! #endrant) and over the past few years their strength training that began as a physical exercise blossomed into an emotional and spiritual test of endurance.

As I rode through Brooklyn in the backseat of Kevin’s car, I was excited about heading to Florida for their upcoming wedding, asking question after question about the details. I told Toyia I had finally received their vintage inspired wedding invitation and was going on and on about how awesome it was when Kevin, who is normally fairly quiet during our ride, chimed in, “Of course they’re awesome. She’s awesome.”

The way he looked over at her in the passenger seat reminded me of the way Barack looks at Michelle (yes we are on a first-name basis, don’t hate). Kevin had a peaceful contentment about him like he had discovered a gold mine in his backyard and was 200% ready to commit to maintenance and protection of his new treasure.

This weekend they will finish the first lap in a lifelong relay at their wedding in Panama City, Florida. I am beyond excited to attend the premiere of Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Mathieu and will be documenting their union as evidence, despite repeated beatings by the media, that Black love is not dead.