MLK weekend in Little Rock

One of the unusual places on my bucket list has been Little Rock, Arkansas.  I know what you're thinking, Arkansas?????? Who would ever want to go there????? I promise this was a question that I was asked the entire time that we were in Arkansas. People could not believe that we were there on a vacation. It reminded me of the time that I visited Jackson, Mississippi for spring break. 😂

I decided to do little rock for MLK weekend because of the rich history that Little Rock has when it comes to African Americans. It's a history that I don't even think people in Little Rock truly understand how profound the town is. 

Most people may know that Little Rock is the site of Central High School, which is where the Little Rock 9 integrated when segregation was struck down by Brown vs Topeka Board of Education. I've always grown up knowing the story of the Little Rock 9. mostly Earnest Green due to my father. However, nothing in life prepared me for the experience or the knowledge that I gained by traveling to Little Rock. 

Magnolia gas station, where journalist stood, is still the same from 1957

Additionally Little Rock has also been on my destination list because of its attachment with Bill Clinton and since I'm trying to visit all 50 states of the United States, you can understand why we ended up going to Little Rock for MLK weekend. And what a perfect weekend to go. MLK weekend! 

Believe it or not, it is actually expensive to fly into Little Rock from Florida. I have tried to book tickets twice before but paying $500+ for a domestic flight is just not the way that I fly. So, when we saw that there was a sale from Miami to Little Rock, we just felt like it was the perfect opportunity. 

We arrived into Little Rock at like midnight and the first thing we noticed is there were no Ubers or Lyfts. As someone who travels often, I can tell you that this is pretty weird. I caught an Uber at 3:30 in the morning in New York. Ubers/Lyfts are usually always available at the airport. Welcome to Little Rock! We ended up taking a taxicab (who uses these anymore) to our hotel which was about 20. mins. The next day we immediately got a rental car and went about our merry way. 

Our first stop was Central High School.  As soon we rode by the school, I immediately got emotional. There is something about going to historic places, especially those that deal with African American history or trauma, that is so intense for me.  There is always like this energy at these places that is so hard to explain unless you have been there. But as soon as we passed by school, I immediately just wanted to cry. I could already tell that the history that we were going to be learning for today was going to be deep it

After we rode around the school, we found the visitor center which is located across the street. The visitor center is also a museum dedicated to the Little Rock 9 and their integration story. While the museum is small, it is powerful. I think we spent about an hour or two just in the museum, listening to their stories and reading. Some parts of the museum were interactive but for me the most profound part was listening to the stories.  I ended up learning so much more about these individuals and the struggle that they went through by listening to them tell their story in their own words. 

All 9 kids explained why they decided to integrate at this interactive display

As we were heading to the gift shop, the Park Ranger came and said, "hey, we're getting ready to start a tour in 5 minutes" We were the only black people in the museum and the park Ranger wanted us to come into the tour. The tour is broken into two parts: a stroll through the school and a PowerPoint. For the PowerPoint part, if you really went into depth, like we did, at the museum, instead of just walking around, then you pretty much knew everything that was on the PowerPoint. The impactful part came with exploring the school. This is where you get more information. For example, you see where Elizabeth Eckford got off the bus stop and you also see where she had to walk to catch the second bus. It kind of makes it more realistic for you and you get to further understand the pain and trauma behind the infamous picture of the Little Rock 9. 

A lot of the people on my tour were in tears and crying.  The Park Ranger gave us so much extra information that history has never taught us before. For example, the story of Alex Wilson, the African American reporter who was hit in the head with a brick when the mob attacked the black reporters. This man would die a mere 3 years later as a result of that brick. Based on this experience alone, I'm happy that we went to Little Rock. This experience was priceless. Definitely 10/10

When we left the school, we traveled to Daisy Bates house. Her neighbors saw us taking pictures and reading the plague at the house and came over to talk to us. This firsthand knowledge and accounts of what happened during that time period made this experience a once in a lifetime experience. I'm thankful to Tyshon although he would not let us record him for taking the time to explain what it was like growing up with Daisy Bates as a neighbor. Unfortunately, we were not able to go inside of her house because we were there on a Saturday and the museum wasn't open. 

Using the newfound knowledge that we gained, we changed our plans and headed to Dunbar High (Middle) School. This was the high school that was built for African Americans students so that they would not integrate schools. It didn't work. The high school is still functional but now serves as a middle school. 

After visiting all of the sites related to the Little Rock 9, we went to the capital. The capital is beautiful, even more so inside but it was closed for Saturday. What I loved the most was the monument for the Little Rock 9. When you think a little rock, AR you automatically think of the Little Rock 9..... at least I do. I loved that the city had so many displays about the Little Rock 9. There are actually two more displays that we weren't able to go to. 

The next day we decided to visit the HBCU in Little Rock (Philander Smith) and learn about the 1st President that I loved, Bill Clinton. We went to the Bill Clinton's restaurant (42 .. get it) and baby it was BLACK! ....Black wait staff, black customers, black gospel music, black singers, black food. I mean it was black on black on black on black on top of black ... and I loved it. Especially during MLK weekend.  I had such a good time at the Bill Clinton Presidential Library restaurant. I would highly recommend it if you ever go to Little Rock. It was definitely a 10/10 experience. 

The only thing that I was disappointed in was that the snowstorm came, and they closed down the Bill Clinton Museum before we could go through. Basically, everything in Little Rock shut down once the snow started to fall. So, we went back to the hotel and watched the snow continue to come down and come down and come down ..... to the point where I kind of got anxious because I felt like we were going to get snowed in.  Thankfully that did not happen. 

So this was my trip to Little Rock. There are a couple of other things that you can do when you go like visiting the Bill Clinton Museum, going to the sculpture garden, visiting the Old Mill which was the scene of Gone with the Wind. They also have a zoo along with various museums. 

What do you think. Would you visit Little Rock? 

My Salt Lake City Itinerary

The mountains were breathtaking. 

 My daughter's wish for Christmas was to see snow. She has requested this for about two years now. So, this year I finally made it a reality for her. I was going back and forth between Salt Lake City, which is on my bucket list, and Quebec. The flight prices and hotel prices for Salt Lake City won out. Upon purchasing our tickets, I searched and searched my travel groups, TikTok, online forums ... you name it, and I searched it, trying to find out WHAT I could do in Salt Lake City that would be fun and interesting. Finally, I created this itinerary. My daughter rated our trip a 9 out of 10 so I think I did a good job. 😊 So, if Salt Lake City is on your list of cities, check out this itinerary. 

Sunday: 

We arrived in Salt Lake City Sunday, Christmas Eve, at 10 pm. We stayed at the Comfort Suites near the airport. Despite being a Comfort Suites, this hotel had some of the BEST reviews. After staying there, I see why that is. The workers were sooooo welcoming, friendly and helpful. They went out of their way to accompany us. As soon as we arrived, they sent an Uber to pick us up because it was Christmas eve, late and the shuttle driver had gone home. Understandably but them sending an Uber just kicked off what would be an awesome stay with them. They served a hot breakfast daily and it was delicious. They even gave me a personal ride to the rental car spot to pick up my rental car, which you will definitely need when visiting. They also have an indoor pool and hot tub, which we never used, but came prepared for. I just highly recommend them and would not mind staying at their establishment upon returning to Salt Lake City. 

Monday: 

It's officially Christmas!!!! 🥳🥳 After breakfast, we put on what felt like 1000 layers and headed to Woodward Park in Park City, Utah. It was about a 30 minute drive that was full of panic attacks and an abundance of nerves. The mountains were BEAUTIFUL but driving near them on the first day was a bit nerve wrecking. I did a good job and after day one, I never panicked again. 

Paige and I at Woodward Park

We had a 1:00 pm reservation to go snow tubing. This was my daughter's first-time seeing snow and she was in awe ..... for all of 5 minutes 😂 Woodward Park is full of snow. You can do snow tubing, ski, or snowboard. We picked snow tubing, and it was fun. It was $80 per person for 2 hours of tubing. It was a great experience but in typical kid fashion, my daughter was over it after 1 hour. Luckily, they have an indoor area as well where kids can play and jump around (for an additional fee) or families can rest, sip hot chocolate or eat food. Since it had been hours since we had eaten, we picked the later ... and did not regret it. We both had brisket burgers that were tasty and satisfying. 

Paige ranked Woodward Park a 10 out of 10. I ranked it the same. It is definitively a must do if you are ever in Salt Lake City. We spent more time admiring the snow, playing in the snow and getting warm for Christmas dinner. 

Tuesday: 

Today's theme was GAMES! We started off by going to Fashion Mall in Murray ... about 10 miles from Salt Lake City. We went to a spot called Immersive Gamebox. IG had various interactive games ranging from Paw Patrol to Ghostbusters. Since Paige and I are HUGE Squid Game fans ... we decided to do the Squid Game challenge. Now BOTH of us have talked a lot of ish about how we would WIN Squid Games if we ever participated. Chilllleeeeee....

The first game, red light green light, almost took us out. But this experience was FUN! It lasted for an hour, and we were good and tired from running around the room. It was about $30 per person but totally worth it. Paige ranked it a 10/10 and so did I. 

Ready for Squid Games

After we left, we hit up a local spot called The Crack Shack. It is a chicken spot similar to the Shack Shake. Paige ranked it a 4 out of 10 😬 She said the food was bland. I was a little nicer and gave it a 6 out of 10. My food was ok but it's not a place that I would highly recommend. 

Chicken sandwich with fries

We left The Crack Shack and went to Nicklemania which is about 2 minutes down the road. Now THIS place is a place that I highly recommend. Paige gave it an 8 out of 10 but that is because in this case, Paige is a hater. I would give it a 15 out of 10 if I could but you get my point ... GO! First of all, the nostalgia. They had games from the 80's and 90's. I'm talking Donkey Kong, Super Mario Brothers, Tetris, Galaga, Pacman ... I could go on and on. All for a mere nickel! It's $2.50 per person to enter, whether you are playing or not and then you are able to load up your card. I was not thinking. I put $20 on my card. Do you know how far $20 goes in a space that operates on nickels. We were there for 3 whole hours. Honestly, I could've stayed an additional 1-2 hours if my daughter was not in the background hating because she could not beat me in the games. 😂 

This was one of my favorite activities!

Wednesday

The real life UP house is in Utah

Wednesday was our first day NOT sleeping in. We had a full day on this day. We decided to go to the UP house first and I'm glad that we did. The UP house is in Herriman Utah which is a good 30-minute drive away depending on traffic. It was a nice and pleasant drive. Upon entering the neighborhood, you notice that all of the houses are brown ... and then BAM, there is the UP house. I was a little disappointed because the owners (yes real people live in the house) decorated the house for Christmas which kind of took away from it's UP appearance. Either way, this is a quick stop...maybe 2-3 minutes tops. 

After visiting the UP house, we went to the Hogle Zoo. While we were there, they had a special for $5 Wednesday and we took advantage. Honestly if I would have paid more than $5 I would have been highly upset because the zoo is small. We finished the entire thing in 1.5 hours. Given the climate, cold AF, you can understand why they don't have as many animals as other zoos. It was nice to see grizzly bears for the first time though ... and boy are they HUGE! Paige and I spent about 15 minutes staring and debating whether we would run or play dead if we ever encountered one in the wild. 

After the zoo we went to R&R BBQ. This was our best meal in Salt Lake City. We went to the downtown location. Since we were downtown, we decided to ride around and look at sites that Salt Lake City is known for ... Temple Square and the Mormon community buildings. The Mormons are serious about their buildings. They are huge and downtown SLC is basically their playground with a church museum, conference center, university and various temples. While I understand that some people are truly intrigued by this culture, I was not. I drove by, looked and went to my next destination. Gilgal Sculpture Garden. This is a quirky sculpture garden with various displays. It is something free and out of the ordinary to do. Beware the parking is a whole nightmare. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped by Momo's Gourmet Cheesecake. It is imperative that I try as many local spots as possible while visiting other cities. We got a sample pack. My daughter HATES cheesecake with a passion but murked the Oreo cheesecake in 3 minutes. It's safe to say that she highly recommends Momo's.  

Thursday

We slept in Thursday because it was our last day in Salt Lake City. After checking out of the hotel, we went downtown to the Clark Planetarium. We parked at The Gateway, a notable mall in downtown Salt Lake City. The Clark Planetarium is free and features 3 floors of interactive science games and stations. Paige and I both were locked in and excited. We spent a good 3-4 hours there.  

Afterwards we went to the state capitol. This spot is beautiful and features a few history lessons about Utah that I did not know. Did you know the first woman to vote was in Utah? The capitol is beautiful, informative and free with free parking as well, something that is rare in downtown. Surprisingly my daughter, who favors science over history, really enjoyed it. 

So, this was our time in Salt Lake City. There is soooooo much to do. We literally could have spent an additional 3 or 4 days there. I wanted to go to the Salt Lake, salt flats, view a few of the national parks, explore Park City more, and go and see the bison but we didn't have enough time. However, there is always next time. 😉 Especially since Paige has already said that Salt Lake City will be our destination for Christmas next year. 🙄

So what do you think ...... Would you visit Salt Lake City? 

If you won the lottery tomorrow, where are you travelling to?

The lottery has been a big topic recently because the total payout made it all the way up to the billions!  A question amongst the travel community has been, if you were to win the lottery, where would you travel. 

1. South Africa

My first thought when I saw this question is hands down. I would go to South Africa.  South Africa is on my list not only because of Nelson Mandela, but because there are so many different aspects to South Africa. You have penguins, mountains, beaches, safaris and history.  There is something for everyone. South Africa would definitely be the first place that I would want to visit. 

2. Japan

The second place that I would travel to is Japan. I'm. very interested in going to Japan because of the technology advancements, landscape and customs. Last year, my students introduced me to a show where the kids in Japan walk around and they are complete tasks .... independently. The kids were sometimes as young as two years old. This definitely piqued my interest and made me wonder about the culture and the safety of the of the country. The history geek within me is also interested in seeing the remains from World War 2 and the infamous cherry blossoms. 

3. Senegal

African Renaissance Monument

 One of the main reasons that I went to Jamaica was to visit Emancipation Park and see the Redemption Song sculpture. One of the main reasons that I want to go to Senegal is to see the African Renaissance monument. I'm also very interested in Senegal because it was a key place when it came to slavery. Senegal was a major base for European slavery with Goree island containing The House of Slaves and the Door of No Return. There are a couple of sites and experiences that I would like to partake in Senegal. While there are often deals to various locations in Africa, I have not been able to find any deal to Senegal. So, Senegal is one of those places where I'm just going to have to suck it up and pay the full price. Winning the lottery would definitely help with that. 😄 

4. Singapore

I really wanted to go to Bali and some kind of way my computer went to Singapore, and I ended up going down a rabbit hole. Once I dug myself out, Singapore was added to my list of places that I would go to if I suddenly became rich.  Singapore has some of the cleanest cities in the world ..... the WORLD Craig. The country also boasts the worlds best airport ..... the WORLD Craig.  I have read that Singapore is also a foodie's dream location and yall know how much I love food.  If win the lottery next week just know that a trip to Singapore would be high on my list. 

5. Australia

Number five on my list would be to visit Australia. I really want to go to all the continents. Right now. I have visited at 4 (Africa, South America, Europe and North America) out of the 7. So, a trip to Australia would definitely be key. Now in a rare occurrence, Scott's aka GOING had a deal to Australia that truly was a once in a lifetime deal. However, the dates for the deal coincided with the deal that I got for Paris. So, I missed out 😠. I'm so sad about that. It was from Miami to Australia for around $800 roundtrip which is a big deal because tickets, especially from Florida to Australia are very, very expensive. Previously I have looked into flying to California first and then going to Australia which was more affordable but still pricey depending on the time of year. So long story made short, I missed out on that deal. Therefore, if I were to win the lottery (first I have to play 😂) these are the places that I would travel to first. 

Where would you go? Let me know.

Off to Paris for $240 Roundtrip

 

You read that right!!!!!  I am not lying nor am I kidding.  I just scored tickets for me, my daughter, my niece and my mom.....all for $240 round trip. 

Now I've told you all on a previous post about one of the ways that I'm able to get great flights. This is by using Scotts cheap flights aka GOING. I've even given you guys my referral code .  Have you signed up yet? 👀 Well after this deal, you may be kicking yourself and saying, let me go ahead and sign up. I'm going to drop the link again for my referral. (https://goingwith.me/rdmap32d) It is only $50 a year, but as you can see, it is well worth the price.

So today I was feeling a little sad. I will admit I was feeling a little down, so I decided to check my email. The first email that I saw was an email from GOING aka Scott. The email said that they have a mistake fair to Paris for $240. I immediately started calling people that I knew had Paris on their bucket list. I asked my daughter if she wanted to go. She was like what...of course I do. Say Less! I called my mom and asked if she wanted to go. My mom was like well of course.  And then I asked my niece because previously my niece requested that I let her know wherever I was going ... so she could go to.  So, when my sister called my niece to see if she wanted to go, she couldn't get it out her mouth before my niece was like heck yeah! The flight is through American Airlines, so I am holding my breath and praying for a great experience. But overall I'm excited. 

My email from GOING

So essentially, I was able to book four tickets, round trip, from the United States to Paris for $240. 😁

Top 5 countries with the BEST food

Okay. So, here's the thing about your girl. I like to eat. 😊Yeah, I'm a big foodie.  Actually, it's one of my requirements for rating a place as good, bad or indifferent. Your country or city has to have good food in order for me to recommend fellow travelers to visit. You can be beautiful with great adventures but if the food is trash, I can't return ... nor can I recommend you. Yes, I'm looking at you Barbados. 😒 So here are my top five countries with the best food. 

1. Costa Rica

Oh my God. Costa Rica is such a vibe. But more importantly, the food is so good.  I have never had a bad meal in Costa Rica. I've been to Costa Rica twice; the first time that I went I wasn't too happy with the country. However, although I wasn't that happy with the country, I was always happy with the food. The food was so good that it made me overlook a lot of things and return to Costa Rica again a mere three months later with my daughter. Even my daughter proclaimed that the food was "bussin". 😂 The rice and beans are hands down the best rice and bean on the planet ... sorry Jamaica.  You cannot have a bad meal in Costa Rica. I would go back to Costa Rica just to eat. I would LIVE in Costa Rica just to eat. Such good food 

2. Kenya. 

I took my friend with me to Kenya so she can vouch for me when I say this..... the food in Kenya is delicious! Now I feel like I have to make a disclaimer here because we went to two different parts of Kenya and only one part had amazing food. We went to Nairobi for like 4-5 days and then we went to Mombasa for two days. So, when I say the food in Kenya is the bomb, please know that I am talking about the food in Nairobi. I did not care for the food in Mombasa at all.  Every restaurant that we went to in Nairobi was good. The franchise coffee market? GOOD! The hole in the wall joint? GREAT!  One night we stayed in and ordered from Uber eats and that was even AHMAZING! It was just a burger place but hands down they had the best burgers I've ever had in my life. My friend agreed and til this day we still drool and talk about those burgers. Just amazing. Amazing food. Just like Costa Rica, I'll go back to Kenya just to eat. Matter of fact, I have been looking for a Kenyan restaurant in the United States because there are so many different African restaurants that are Ethiopian, West African. etc Unfortunately I haven't found any yet and it makes me sad because if a Kenyan restaurant was to open in the United States, I would be their number one guest.  

3 Jamaica 

Of course, Jamaica is going to be on the list. I mean, come on, it's Jamaica!  I think I eat Jamaican food the most growing up in South Florida, so I am familiar with the cuisine. However, one thing that I do want to discuss about Jamaica is the Devon House. It is located in Kingston, Jamaica and worth a visit. The food here is divine. While there I decided to be adventurous and order a Curry goat patty. This is only sold at the Devon House ... trust me I have searched high and low. You're not going to find this anywhere else in the world. Well, baby, let me tell you, it was the most delicious patty that I've ever had in my life. I've had dreams about that patty ok.  I want to go back to Jamaica for no other reason but to go to Kingston, go to the Devon House, and have that patty with a side of lemonade. Just delicious!

4. Aruba 

Believe it or not, I really like the food in Aruba. Aruba is a vibe. They have a variety of different cuisines so there is something for everyone. They have Trinidad, Jamaican, and Dutch restaurants. All of it was yummy. I ate at Big Mama's Grill on Baby Beach which is a Jamaican restaurant and O'Neill's near the red-light district. O'Neills is just perfection.  I can honestly and without hesitation say that O'Neill's has the best Jamaican food that I've ever had in my life.  Even better than the food that I had in Jamaica. Sorry, Jamaica again.  O'Neill's is also the place that got me addicted to jerk pork.  Since coming back home to United States, I've tried several times to find a place that had jerk pork, and it just doesn't taste the same. So, yeah, I would love to go back to Aruba just to eat at O'Neills. Also, they're Dutch pancakes were very, very delicious. 

5. Brazil

Last but not least, coming in at number five is the country with the best food. The title is going to Brazil.  I mean, Brazil, Costa Rica and Kenya are just like my favorites and if I had to just pick one, I wouldn't be able to do it. 

But Brazil has amazing food. What I like the most about the food in Brazil is that not only did it taste amazing, but it was very affordable with huge portions. One time I ordered this seafood soup, and it was enough for me and my friend..... with leftovers bih! It was also very cost effective. We went out for my birthday dinner, and I remember just ordering like a ton of different items. I just kept ordering and ordering....and then it came up to like $50 in United States dollars. So yeah, Brazil is definitely recommended. Also, I had the BEST churro that I have ever had in my life (I swear I'm not lying) in Brazil for only 1 USD. 

So, here's my list top five countries with the best food. What would you add? What are you surprised by? Let me know.