Key West

Okay so I recently went on a little trip and I have failed to tell the world about it.

During the first week of Sept. I celebrated 21 years of life by doing what other 21 year olds do, drinking.

Oh I went drinking alright, but 90 miles from the coast of Cuba. I went to Key West, Florida.

According to the History of Key West, the island was originally called Cayo Hueso, the page goes into detail on the historical use of the island of Key West. Fishing port, trading port, creators of Key Lime pie, and Ernest Hemingway.

I didn't stay in Key West, I stayed in a hotel in one of the neighboring islands, the Sugar Loaf lodge. The place has a wonderful view of the waters in the back, had a bar to order drinks, and a bat tower in the backwoods behind the hotel.

The view from our hotel room. 

The Sugar Loaf bat tower

For my trip I decided to primarily act as a tourist in the Duval area. Drinking at the various bars, visit the Hemingway house full of cats, climb the top of the lighthouse, and went on a ghost tour at night with the Ghost and Gravestones Tour. Every local screamed to us "Doom!" as we went location to location learning of the deaths and history, based on what I learned we were the doomed.

View from top of the inland lighthouse. 

This was not my first time going on a little ghost adventure, I have done a ghost tour before while visiting the historic town of St. Augustine.

But I learned of the eerie hauntings that plagues the town full of bars, expensive housing and tourists attractions. My tour guide claimed that Key West is one of the most haunted cities in the U.S., along with Savannah, GA, and New Orleans, LA. Personally I can't find an article that backs up that claim. But it is one of the most haunted places in FL.

On this ghost tour I was introduced to a peculiar entity, his name is Robert. Robert lives in the Civil War Fort, Fort East Martello. Because it is said that this entity is malevolent, I had to ask permission before taking a photo with the doll so he would not harm us. Originally the childhood doll of Key West painter and author, Robert Eugene Otto, some have dubbed the doll the originally Chucky doll. Here is more information about the legend and history about Robert.

Robert the Doll and myself. 

The ghost tour also introduced me to a darker story than that of Robert and his pranks. A love story that is definitely frowned upon and illegal in the United States. No I don't mean a love between an adult and a minor, I mean a love between the living and the dead. I am talking about the relationship of Carl Tanzler and his precious "Elena", a girl's body he took from the grave to attempt to reanimate her. But in the process of his failed Frankenstein experiments had relations with the body. I got the chance to purchase the novel that tells it all, Undying Love: The True Story of a Passion That Defied Death. It follows the story that put Key West on the map, well besides for its Key Lime Pies.

I also got the chance to kayak on the beach in Key West and enjoy the various sites of what Florida has to offer.

I could rate this trip, I would give it a 8 out of 10. I enjoyed the history lesson of Key West, the bars, and the tourist atmosphere that makes you wish you can stay longer. 

PR Day 3 and 4

Okay let me finish up the remainder of my adventure at Puerto Rico.

Driving to Cayey

The third day we woke up pretty early around 7, maybe even earlier. We all dressed in our black dresses and suits to for the funeral that was beginning at 10 a.m. I am not going to lie I was pretty nervous, I haven't been to a funeral since in years. But we went and it gave me some insight to how funeral were done in Puerto Rico. First off, I was not raised Catholic, I was raised nondenominational christian, we didn't have the rosary and praying to the virgin mother when I was growing up. The funeral was Catholic and in Spanish, let's just say its a miracle I passed my Spanish class because when the Padre decided to start the mass, I was lost. But I repeated what everyone else was saying as we went through the mass. At the end we put my boyfriend's grandmother in the hearse and walked to the cemetery.

Yes, I said walked. I never done this before, but I felt it was beautiful in its own morbid way. She would have wanted it. As the car drove from the funeral home to the cemetery, we followed behind the car on foot and played a certain song requested on her burial behalf. We walked through the streets of Cayey and put his grandmother to rest where she had wished to be. It was beautiful, and I cried like a puppy dog when I saw everyone else and the eerie feeling of death among the group. It made me think about life and death, how fragile it actually is.

The view from the parking lot. 

After the funeral we went to a restaurant up the hills in Cayey. The Lechonera El Mojito. Very nice place, outdoors with a bar and gift shop and it gave off a very festive vibe. We were told that after the funeral we were to eat pork. Now, growing up here in South Florida, pork cannot be escaped, the delicious other meat is prominent down here but there, they made it so much better than I expected. I had three dishes of lechon or pork's shoulder, arroz con gandules, and yuca. The drinks there definitely had me feeling less sad and brought up the spirit of the family who came to celebrate her life. To put it in simple terms, I got drunk. By the time we got to the hotel everyone was feeling good, we drank even more and I passed out by 8 p.m.

View from El Morro

The next day we also woke up bright and early, that day we headed to San Juan to be tourists. The trip to San Juan was insane, I definitely had to cover my eyes while the drivers escorted us the lovely historical port and city. First place we visited was the city of Old San Juan and to the infamous fort El Morro. See in Puerto Rico there are two forts that surround Old San Juan, the Fort El Morro to the West and the Castillo San Cristobal to the East. According to the national park pamphlet passed out in El Morro and my feet, it is a half and hour walk in distance between these two forts. Also construction of El Morro began in 1539, making the Fort over 470 years old. And I thought the town of St. Augustine was old, this is a different level. Next to the Fort El Morro is the Cementerio Maria Megdalena de Pazzis, said to be one of the oldest cemeteries.

Feeding the birds

After we went and toured the inside of the Fort, we walked more throughout San Juan. We came to a little park area where a man was feeding the pigeons, there was swarms of these creatures all around this man. He came up to me and asked me to hold out my hand, I obliged and he poured bird seeds into my hand and three pigeons landed and started feeding from me. I cleaned my hands with plenty of soap and water after, I never experienced that before. As a person who has been to New York City, that means a lot.

While we were walking we stumbled across a little restaurant in San Juan. The name currently escapes me.
In this restaurant, my boyfriend and I enjoyed some interesting food. My boyfriend, the seafood junkie that he is, ordered seafood paella. I ordered beef steak cooked in onions with white rice, red beans, and tostones (smashed and double fried plantains). Oh not to mention we ordered drinks.

Mojito

I first started out with a simple rum and coke, but for the first time ever, I ordered myself a mojito. The mojito was out of this world, the lime citrus flavor coincides with the mint flavor and becomes one of the best alcoholic limeade drinks I personally have had. I was told not to drink too much, because after our lunch we were going to head over to the Bacardi Factory in Puerto Rico.

Bacardi Cuba Libra

At the Bacardi Factory, we were presented with three different tours possible to take. The regular historic tour that cost $15 per person, the mixology tour for $45 per person, and the rum tasting tour for $45 per person. I went all out and chose to take the rum tasting tour. At the front table where we paid, the woman gave us little coins and said we can use these to buy our complimentary drinks at the bar at the opposite end of the patio we were at. My first drink consisted of a rum and coke, and later because we had left over coins I also got myself a dacardi. During the tour we learned of the history of the Cuban originated rum and how it came to be. One of the facts I learned was of the bat logo, the wife of the creator went into the distillery and saw bats hanging from the ceiling. She felt the bat represented family and unity and we now know this as the logo to their infamous rum. During the rum tour we also learned of how the rum was created as well as tasting five different types of rums produced by Bacardi. The first one we tried was the Bacardi white rum, the ultimate mixer rum, white because it was filtered through activated charcoal. The second one we tried was the Bacardi Gran Reserva Maestro de Ron, great for a maestro collins drink. We also tried the Bacardi Rum 8 Anos Reserva Superior. We also tried the Bacardi Reserva Limitada as well as the ultimate rum. Our final taste of the Bacardi rum was the Bacardi Casa Special Reserve. Oh was it smooth. By the time I was finished with the rum tasting I was done for the day. I got to drink, see the sites, and walk through an American commonwealth that has a very different culture.

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!

 

Washington DC

I've only been to DC once in my entire life. And it was so historic, I loved it. The only reason DC comes to mind right now is because of the government shutdown. Because of the government shutdown no one is allowed to go in the area, like the mall (not shopping mall).

I remember going on vacation with my boyfriend up to DC for the first time. It was nice, regardless of all the construction going on in the area. I saw the Lincoln Memorial, it was so big and beautiful, it was better than I imagined.. For one I imagined it to be a monkey thanks to that planet of the apes remake. I saw so many statues of liberators it was very nice. I saw the Vietnam war memorial wall, I saw the World War 2 memorial. I saw the air and space museum too (boy was the food in there wayyyyy overpriced!). Seeing all these things were exciting, I went to the botanical garden and saw a whole bunch of plants I knew. I liked walking the nation's capital.

But it was an experience I enjoyed. I toured Capital Hill and went through the Library of Congress. Seeing that historic place made me proud to be an American.
Not to mention I got a good tan out of it too, woo was it hot when I went.