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. 

Puerto Rico

I sincerely apologize for my leave of absence from this blog, The last five days I was in the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. Unfortunately this was not a vacation, I was morning the loss of one of my boyfriend's family members. But we also sought out the opportunity to go not only to celebrate her life but to see the sites where a part of my boyfriends family originated.

Puerto Rico, a Caribbean Latin American Island, not that far from Florida and a US commonwealth, felt like I stepped into another county. I have never been to Puerto Rico before, this was my first trip and I can say I loved it there. We arrived around 6 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon, our flight was a two hour trip and went through smoothly... Sorta. Let's just say I found out I do not like flying on a plane. I have nothing against the mode of transportation but its like a roller coaster simulator and I get highly irritated of that feeling. I almost broke my boyfriend's hand when we took off in Florida and landed in PR.

First thing I was told about Puerto Rico before going there wasn't that it was a beautiful country nor was I suggested places to visit. I got the negative first and was told of the high amount of Zika cases present in the country. Hell on the way to the airport, I saw a giant condom billboard ad promoting safe sex, because Zika is sexual transmitted as well. A friend of mine was like "Don't catch the Zika!" So my boyfriend and I packed travel size bottles of military grade bug spray in our carry on bags. I was also told before leaving how the country is practically going bankrupt and how their taxes is higher than those in Florida. Oh not the mention the driving! The driving was worse than a drag race through congestion of the I-95, for those who live in Florida, you know that is hell. My road rage couldn't handle getting behind the wheel.

But I will say I saw many beautiful scenes while I was in Puerto Rico, the mountains, beaches, and the unique community of people made my experience a good one. Not to mention the drinking age is 18 and up, so almost every night I had an alcoholic beverage in my hand. The food, although most of what I had was fried, made me gain a few pounds while I was there. The pork, although I do not eat pork often, was to die for. The crispy skin and the Hispanic seasoning we all know and love made the food there amazing. One of my favorite things to eat while I was in PR was Bacalaítos, fried cod fish in like a pancake batter. My goodness! God bless the Puerto Rican Momma who made this, I had it almost everyday I was there. Each day at Puerto Rico brought me to a new experience to another Hispanic culture besides my own. Learning of their legends, stories and Catholicism traditions in the island has brought me closer to my boyfriend and his family. Stay tuned for each day of my adventures in the beautiful island that is Puerto Rico.

This was taken from my hotel room.

Being the stranger

While reading James Baldwin’s, Stranger in the Village, I felt not only the urge to travel but a sense of empathy towards his story. I understand the feeling of being looked at like you don’t belong. When I was about seven years old, my family and I went on a road trip to a family’s farm in Ocala. Not a beautiful Swiss village like the author experienced, but I experienced the farmlands in Florida. If one has ever been to Ocala, they know some parts of it are very widespread, very country like as far as landscape goes. What Baldwin felt was a strong feeling of dis-attachment to his surrounding area. I felt the same thing, but I was only seven when I felt it, not as an adult. One morning in Ocala, my dad wanted to grab some breakfast at a Dunkin Donuts that we saw the night prior. When my parents, baby sister and I stepped foot into that Dunkin Donuts you can hear a fly fart. The entire Dunkin Donuts lobby was silent, everyone stopped talking and just stared at us. No one moved their eyes from us when we approached the front counter, even a little boy, same age as me at the time, was looking at me like I wasn’t a little girl. I wonder how he saw me, I often wondered how he mentally contrasted us in his young mind. In Baldwin’s article the children ran down the road, calling him a “neger” but they didn’t know better. No one told them it wasn’t polite. Then again no one told the people in the lobby that staring was not polite either. Being only seven years old, I had a problem with not thinking before speaking; I looked at my dad and said loud enough for those to hear “Daddy, why are they staring at us like that?” I believe that snapped everyone into reality because the full lobby of people resumed talking amongst themselves. My dad didn’t say a word to me inside the Dunkin Donuts but when once we left he merely said they were staring because we are different. Now down here in South Florida, I have always been told because of my fair skin complexion no one would ever realize that I am a West Indian and Hispanic mix, most assume I’m just Hispanic, sometimes mistaken as white. When I was in Ocala I feel like those people saw all the minority in me and judged me for it. My father felt the same way Baldwin did in the article, a sense of anger for being looked at differently. My dad said never wanted me to feel racism because of the way I look because he had to go through the same things when he first came to this country from Trinidad. I remember speaking with a student in high school, whose ancestors were American to the bone whereas I am the first U.S born citizen in my family; he told me in his eyes I’ll never be white or considered full American because of where my ancestors hail from and what my mixed cousins look like. At first that offended me but most,not all, white people I have met in my life has proven to me that they hold a piece of racism in them. With either slick comments about me eating rice and beans, black jokes that are out of line, calling indian people terrorist, referencing my family to the Spanish requisition, asking if Trinidad a Spanish country, or assuming my dad or I speak Spanish. I felt the tension in that restaurant and so did Baldwin when he would walk the streets of the Swiss village, we both felt like outsiders. But he was an outsider in a foreign country, I was an outsider in my own home state, in my own country.

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!