Beaches

Growing up in what is considered suburbia, I would often come across those who claim "There isn't anything to do in Florida." I would know I was one of those people, but I opened my eyes to the many possibilities of entertainment here in South Florida. For example, all throughout summer of the best places one can go to down here is the beach.

In Broward, the best known beaches we all knew about were Hollywood Beach and Dania Beach Ocean Park. Although the two are next to each other, they are two different environments all together.

Dania Beach Ocean Park, a lovely and quiet beach that faces the blue Atlantic Ocean, just North of Hollywood Beach.

 One of the main attractions Dania Beach's Ocean Park has is the fishing pier.

 Some consider it to be one of the best fishing spots in Florida, it is open from 6am until midnight. The pier also has a Quarterdeck restaurant attached to the front entrance, for those who are fans of the restaurant. If Quarterdeck is a little too pricey, there is also an alternative sports bar at the opposite end of Ocean Park.

Dania Beach Grill. There happy hour lasts from 4-7pm, offering two dollars on draft beer. I highly suggest trying to wings at this bar, un breaded and cooked thoroughly, perfectly sauced all over in their spicy buffalo sauce. Hmmm delicious with a side of fries. Dania beach is the place to go to get away from the the noise pollution.

If you travel a little further South, you will come across Broward's own Hollywood Beach. Founded by Joseph Young in 1920, "Hollywood by the Sea" has been apart of South Florida tourist history. 96 years later and Hollywood beach is still standing and bringing more and more tourist every day.

 Ever since the opening of Margaritaville on N Ocean Drive, more tourist have been venturing to Hollywood. They have an public parking garage that offers $12 all day parking, if that is too steep for your pockets the parking garage on Garfield offers $1.50 an hour parking and a glorious view as well.

'Right in front of this Garfield garage is a little restaurant that is a must try for first time Hollywood Beach tourists.

Florio's Restaurant, in my opinion is has the best pizza on the beach. Either eat inside the restaurant or order at their takeout window, you will not be disappointed.Their brooklyn style pizza is made fresh and is served right out the oven, the cheese and sauce just melts in your mouth with each bite. Order up a side of garlic knots and you'll be in carb heaven! There are also various other ice cream parlors and restaurants to try, not even I have tried them all and I've been living in Florida for about twenty years,

There are many beaches here in South Florida that are fun to go to, no matter what time of the year. You can walk the boardwalk, bike, skate, or rent a family bicycle to ride, swim in the water, play soccer, football volleyball in the sand, or drink at the various bars. Or check out the various things to do at Margaritaville.
 Or walk more North to get some secluded beaches. Being bored in South Florida can be solved easily by going to the beach. Remember your sunblock!

(All photos were taken by me)

Prayers to Orlando

By now many have heard of the mass shooting that has taken place at Orlando's Pulse nightclub on June 12th. Many Pulse clubgoers were enjoying Latin Night when at 2 a.m. shots were fired from inside the club. Police responded and were at a standoff with shooter, Omar Mateen until the shooter was shot and killed. The shooter claimed to have ties with ISIS according to reports. He took 49 lives and injured more than 50 others. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families who have lost their loved ones. I never imagined a tragedy to hit so close to home.

On the internet many have posted their prayers and sent out their condolences to the victim's families and friends, while others have not. I have seen other posts on social media such as Facebook, pointing fingers to the Islam religion, speaking ill of those who live the alternative lifestyles like the victims and so on. Some even blame the President of the United States himself. The ignorance and calling to blame is deafening to the real issue. 49 innocent lives were lost, not "just homosexuals", but human beings who had families and lives of their own. One person, a U.S. born citizen not an immigrant, took the lives of these people. Not the entire Islamic faith, one person with extremist views. This was an attack on America as well as an attack on the LGBTQ community.

Instead of separating from each other because of our views and lifestyle choices, we should be coming together for those who have lost their lives. As one nation, with many cultural differences, we should all be spreading love instead of hate. Those who disagree with the LGBTQ lifestyle because the bible says it is a sin or call the Islamic faith evil. Well here is my reply to you...

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgement you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you." Matthew 7:1

"O you who believe, let not a people ridicule (another) people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule (other) women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult another and do not call another by (offensive) nicknames. Wretched is the name of the disobedience after one's faith. And whoever does not repent - then it is those who are the wrongdoers." Quran 49:11

"The vile are ever prone to detect the faults of others, though they be as small as mustard seeds, and persistently shut their eyes against their own, though they be as large as vilva fruit." Garuda Purana 112

"And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." John 8:7

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." Peter 4:8

"As rain falls equally on the just and unjust, do not burden your heart with judgements but rain your kindness equally on all." Gautama Buddha

"Love others as you would love yourself, judge others as you would judge yourself, cherish others as you would cherish yourself. When you wish for others as you with for yourself, and when you protect others as you would protect yourself, that's when you can say it's true love." Confucius

Many religions have taught us to love one another and not to judge others. Spread the love

How to plan the perfect trip

It is summertime, vacation time for those who are in school and grind time for those who are working as well. But why not have a little fun this summertime. Right now there are summer deals with certain airlines and many more things to do over the summer. I, myself enjoy taking little road trips with my friends and most of the time, if planned correctly, they are perfect. I’m going to give a little advice today on how to plan the perfect trip. Keep in mind I don’t exactly mean a big luxurious trip, but one good enough to keep in your memory books with your friends. Being a part-time college student and a part-time worker I don’t have that much money to my name but that doesn’t stop me from seeing and doing things. Living in Florida, there are always places to go and things to do as long as you have the means to do it. I try to go on a little adventure at least one every week or so, depending on the work schedule. One doesn’t have to be a part of a travel club to be able do things. With the proper research and budgeting you can still have a ball.

The first thing I do when it comes to planning trips is to choose when I would want to travel. Would I want to go somewhere for the summer or winter? Do I want to see snow or be in a tropical area? Do I want to stay in state or go out of state? Simple questions like that. I also take into consideration if there is a special occasion like an anniversary or birthday coming up. My friends and I, we like to travel places for our birthdays. I like to start contemplating the trip at least 6 months ahead to get a general idea of what I want to do, and then a month and half before the actual date start getting everything ready. That is just me personally, everyone differs when it comes to planning. You can plan 6 months ahead or two weeks ahead, as long as you plan out everything.

Picking what you want to do and where can be difficult for some people. Take into consideration some of your favorite subjects and shows to get a general idea on where you would like to go. For example, my favorite travel channel show is Ghost Adventures, for one of my vacation trip I chose to visit a town they went to in one of their episodes. Or use things like Pinterest to get ideas on where to go. For example, let’s say one loves all things historic, many states have historic districts, plan a trip to one. Once I’ve picked where I want to go, I looked at what there is to do at that location. I looked at the events going on in the city and “must go” places that are recommended online. I also looked at highly rated (but affordable) restaurants in the town. Also look to see if certain attractions you’re visiting gives discounts for those in college or in the military, which will always help when it comes to the budget. Planning where and what to do can give the trip much more structure and can give a general time frame for each place to see.

Once I picked where to go and what I want to do, I then start looking for a place to sleep. Finding the right hotel can be a little frustrating to young travelers because some places do not book rooms for those under the age of twenty-one. You have to look around and see what hotel will book for eighteen and up. For me, I use hotels.com to help me look for great hotel deals. I am not a picky person when it comes to hotels, it’s not like I’m spending all day at the hotel anyway. On hotels.com they have given me very affordable deals and if you connect it to your email you will get notifications on your android phone about the trip. Unless you have a relative to stay with this is your best option.

Once I’ve picked why, where, when, and what to do, I start to think about the “who” in my five W’s. Invite friends on the trip, traveling is always better with your best friends. I will never travel alone for safety and entertainment measures. Traveling with a friend can also help save more, splitting the cost of things is the best way to do it. By this point I will have figured out the total amount of money needed to for the hotel and attraction. Splitting this between the amounts of people coming along will lower the cost you have to pay yourself. Once you’ve figured that calculation, start adding other necessities, things like:

·         Gas money or airfare

·         Possible rental car

·         Money for drinks (pregame at the hotelroom)

·         Spending money

o   Money for food

o   Money for gifts/souvenirs

Once I’ve figured out how much I need myself, I just start saving after each paycheck. Figure out how much you’ll need to save and start putting it away. For example, if a trip costs $800 and you get paid $300 weekly, put away $75 each paycheck. You would reach that $800 goal in 11 paychecks if planned properly. Manage the time and money differently if you're a last minute planner. Get hype about it too, don’t think of the money you put away or else you’ll be tempted to touch it. Now all you have to do is tell your job or school about your upcoming vacation and go enjoy yourself. I know when I do it this way I have the time of my life. Have fun!

 

Phone Scams

We've all received that phone call at least twice in our life, maybe more. "Congratulations, you've won a trip to Las Vegas, you just need to pay $250 in shipping fees to the West Indies to claim your spot". Do not get your hopes up on phone calls like these, they are scams. Recently I received one of these phone calls, I picked up after the seventh plus time they rang my phone. This type of telemarketing scam have been victimizing thousands of people every year. 80% of those victims happen to be the elderly. Be sure you're telling grandma and grandpa not to send money to a stranger who happened to make contact with them through phone or email.

How can you tell if they are scammers? Pretty easy.
For starters, during the duration of the phone call they will state they are of a company of which you never heard of. They say you have one a large prize of either a trip or of money, which you did not sign up for and you were randomly selected. They will inform you that you need to pay shipping fees for the said prize you have won. They will either ask for your credit card information or ask you to wire money through either MoneyGram or Western Union. They will tell you to send money to a person instead of an actual company name. They will call non-stop until you send the money.

In my experience my scammer asked me to pay $250 in shipping fees for my free prize. If it is free, why do I have to pay for it?

According the the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Info webpage, some scams include:

• Random winner of low cost/free trip
• Foreign Lottery 
• IRS calling for payment
• Loans and Credit card protection
• "Free Trail" offers

To be honest there is no best way to avoid calls like this. All you can do is say no and report the call. You can report the call to the Federal Trade commission and register your number on the National Do Not Call list. If you don't want to do all that for some reason, just block the phone number through your call settings.

If you have already gave your credit card information after receiving said phone call, immediately call the bank to stop this transaction. If you have fallen victim to the IRS/government agent phone scam you can report it to the IRS as well. If you wired money through Western Union services you can call their fraud department at 8004481492 and see what they can do for you. (I am not a paid promoter/endorser, just trying to make sure stuff like this can be prevented)

So remember if a person you do not know calls you up and promises you money if you send money, DO NOT DO IT! Know who you're sending to.