November 2019 – Diary of a PTO Vacationer

I very seldom take what most would consider a vacation. I take what I call “trips”, with packed itineraries. This was my first mini vacation in quite some time.

At the start of the year I made a 2019 bucket list of 6 items. At the top of my list, along with completing my Master’s degree, was to see Marc Anthony in concert. For those who don’t know, I am a HUGE fan and have been for many years. With a Puerto Rican best friend, how could I not be? I grew up hearing his albums playing constantly at her house.

He came to CT while I was in DC. And he wasn’t going to be back in my area until January! Which was too late. So I saw he’d be in Miami this weekend. And as if orchestrated by God himself, the flights were only around $150 round trip from my home airport. I’d usually have to fly from NY for that kind of price. I booked everything immediately. Like I’ve said, sometimes you can get lucky and catch a flight deal close to your departure date. In my case, it was booked only 15 days in advance.

This was a quick 3 day, 3 night, mini vacation. Much like my first visit to Miami this past January, I really didn’t plan any activities. But that’s okay. The purpose of this journey was to see Marc Anthony and to relax. And that’s really all we did.

Friday

We arrived Friday just after 23:00. So by the time we got to South Beach Hotel , it was already early Saturday.

We’d already scoped out Pizza Bar for late night dinner before bed. It was less than a mile walk from our hotel and the prices were reasonable. We ordered a couple HUGE slices of pizza for $8 each, and some wings. I must say, for a late night pizza joint, the food was pretty impressive. We weren’t expecting the slices to be so big and so tasty. The wings were tender, well fried, and flavorful.

Saturday

Included with our hotel stay was a complementary breakfast at Orange Blossom. Though we wanted to sleep in, we had to be there by 10:30 to claim our free breakfast. This place had a nice modern vibe. Definitely somewhere I would’ve chosen to dine regardless of the affiliation with our hotel.

The complementary breakfast menu included yogurt with fruit and granola, pancakes, waffles, and a couple other continental breakfast items. I wanted something a bit more hearty, so I ended up ordering a made to order omelette from their regular breakfast menu. But they also let me add on the yogurt and fruit from the complementary menu free of charge.

After breakfast we changed into our bathing suits and headed up to the rooftop pool. A lot of the reviewers for this hotel didn’t like the fact that the amenities such as the pool, gym and bar were at the adjoining hotel, Boulan Hotel It didn’t bother us at all.

Rooftop Pool

We relaxed and tanned under the cabana for the afternoon. Until we were ready for a late lunch.

When booking this hotel I had no idea that our favorite cafe from our trip to Iceland was right next door! We went to Joe and the Juice for lunch. So refreshing and so nostalgic. We headed back to the hotel for a nice afternoon nap before getting ready for the concert.

Saturday Night

The whole purpose of this trip was to see my man Marc Anthony. The concert venue, American Airlines Arena, was only about a 20 minute car ride from the hotel. I’ve never seen such well dressed concert goers. The concert was everything I needed it to be and more. He sang all of my favorite songs from his first album. Songs I remember hearing played in the background at my bestie’s house when we were kids. I loved every minute of it.

Y Hubo Alguien

Heading back we were in search of someplace nice to eat. We went to Ramen Burger but they were closed. The hotel concierge directed us to Sweet Liberty. I will say this place, though providing a full menu, was really more of a bar than restaurant. The DJ was poppin, but definitely not the type of place you go to sit and eat. I felt like the waitress was rushing us the entire time. No one else was sitting and eating. Everyone was up dancing or at the bar. I had a delicious beet salad, that was too massive to eat in one sitting. We headed back to the hotel, 1 block away, and watched some HGTV before falling asleep.

Sunday

Our second full day in the city, we had no plans other than to head to the beach. After breakfast at Orange Blossom, we went back to the room to change into our bathing suits. The beach was only 2 blocks away. And our hotel stay included towels and free chair rentals at the beach. We made it half way there, and it started raining. Cold rain at that. We went back to the room to wait out the weather. But after about an hour we both fell asleep. We woke up to a grey sky with only about 90 minutes to spare before sunset. Darn you daylight savings!

Since we’re budget conscious travelers, we thought to check Groupon for any dinner deals that may be close by. There were several. It was really just a matter of deciding how far/close we wanted to travel, and what kind of food we wanted to eat.

We decided on The Front Porch Cafe. They had a $50 voucher for $25. We had an appetizer, entree and dessert. The service was also excellent. We dined on the patio in the early evening. It was exactly what you’d picture a vacation dinner to be. Just steps from the beach.

After dinner we walked around Collins Ave, popped in a store and redeemed another Groupon at an Italian Bakery for a sweet treat at Rosetta Bakery before heading back to the hotel for the night.

Monday

Monday morning we packed and headed to our last Orange Blossom breakfast. Our flight wasn’t until 15:55, so we had the hotel hold our bags while we headed to Lincoln Road Mall for some browsing. We spent a little over an hour popping in and out of stores. Just walking around and enjoying the 76 degree sunny weather. We then spent our last hour hanging poolside on the roof of the hotel before heading to the airport.

Minus the concert this was a very uneventful mini vacay. I’m only 1 month post graduation. I’ve got tons of resting and relaxing to catch up on. This was a great start. I can see why people from up north spend the winter months in Florida. The weather is perfect. Not too hot or humid. Sunny, and with a nice breeze, it feels like heaven.

Two more eventful trips coming in the next couple months. Until next time.

Cheers!

This was not my first trip to my nation’s capital, but I was still able to experience plenty of new things.

A few months back my cousin Kayla, whom my followers will remember from my Iceland and Miami trips, asked if I’d like to accompany her and some friends from church to Washington, DC for a long weekend.

Knowing I’d be newly finished with grad school, I was happy to sign up. It wasn’t until the week of the trip that I realized this was all organized around visiting the Museum of the Bible. And then it made sense why we’d be going with a subset of her church’s young adult ministry. Disclaimer: this was not a church sponsored event. It was merely just a group of church friends organizing a trip for themselves.

This was the first time I’d heard of this museum. And I was very excited to be visiting it.

Day 1

So we met at their church Friday morning for 9:30. Kayla and I were among the first to arrive. So as the rest of the group trickled in, I was introduced to everyone. There were 15 of us in total. As we loaded up the Sprinter van and played level 25 Tetris with all the luggage, I became more acquainted with some of the group members. I learned that they’re all a part of the creative team at the church. Either marketing, photography, or video production.

Pretty soon we prayed and were on the way to DC. The van ride was smooth. I was asleep for most of it since I’d been up since 4:30 in order to make it to NY from CT at a decent time. To be completely honest, I’m not sure what time we arrived at our Airbnb, but it couldn’t have been later than 15:30.

We picked our rooms and got settled in the house. Half the group left to grocery shop for breakfast and dinner for the following day. The other half held down the fort. But when the grocery crew took at little too long getting back (over 2 hours), we decided to head out for dinner. We were famished.

The main trip organizer, Melanie, already had a restaurant scoped out. We headed to Busboys and Poets which was a venue she’d previously patronized. It was part bookstore, part restaurant, and part poetry club. It had a very metropolitan vibe. The crowd there seemed to be mostly in their 20’s-30’s. I ordered a pasta dish that was pretty decent. Before we were served our entrees, the grocery store crew was seated nearby us. Dinner was filled with good conversation and hearty laughs.

After dinner, we browsed around the bookstore portion a bit before heading back to the Airbnb. Once there we played music, played card games, and talked before heading to bed.

Day 2

We got an early start on Saturday. I woke up to gospel music blaring from the family room and pans clanking in the kitchen.

As Pete and his sous chefs Angelica and Orlando prepared our made to order omelettes, the rest of the group gathered in the family room for devotion led by Aadia. As we read and discussed St. John chapter 17, we were served breakfast. We concluded with prayer and finished getting ready so we could get to the museum.

Museum of the Bible

The museum was only about 20 minutes from our Airbnb. So we arrived around 11:00. Everyone was in awe of the entrance. We took several pictures before heading inside.

After clearing security. Some of us browsed the gift shop, while others went to the cafe while waiting for Melanie to purchase our admission and JJ and Jocelyn to park the van.

We decided to split up into 2 groups. And then to meet at 15:00 for the Washington Revelations experience.

There was so much to see and experience in this museum. I couldn’t possibly see and absorb everything in the few hours I had there, but I’ll just highlight some of the most memorable exhibits.

George Washington Carver (Christian scientist)

I was so engulfed in the exhibits, that there are a lot of photos I didn’t even think to take. The very first exhibit, “Bible in America” stood out to me. It walks you through the history of the book in America. All the way from Plymouth Rock to the Civil Rights era. As an African American woman, it was interesting to see actual copies of the Slave Bible. A “Bible” modified by slave owners to keep slaves ignorant of freedom.

The museum was filled with many groups of Christians, obviously. We bumped into a choir singing the hymn “It is Well with my Soul” in the replica village area. It gave me the chills.

Hands down my favorite part of the museum was the Hebrew Bible experience. It’s an immersive experience which includes 360 degree animated videos, sculptures, sound effects, and lighting. It literally walks you through the first half of the Old Testament. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but my jaw was on the floor when there was burning bush 20 feet away from me.

Before we knew it, it was 15:00 and time to meet with the other group at Washington Revelations. This was a ride simulator which “flies” you over DC to highlight different biblical references engraved in different locations around the city. You feel the wind blowing in your face and everything.

After this we left and split up for lunch. We agreed to rendezvous at the National Mall area. After eating, everyone wanted to ride scooters to the National Mall. Uber and Lyft have rentable electric scooters riddled throughout the city. You just use their apps to locate and rent one, and then you’re on your way. It’s something like $0.25/per minute and you have a 15 mile range to travel. 3 of us unfortunately couldn’t find one charged up enough to get to the National Mall. But I wasn’t too disappointed. It’s been well over 10 years since I’ve been on a scooter 🛴, and I wasn’t sure I could manage one well enough on the road.

National Mall

For those who are unfamiliar, the National Mall, it isn’t an actual mall. It’s the name used to describe the area from The Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial.

Those who successfully acquired scooters weren’t able to make it all the way there. They shut off right before the Mall. This was due to the parade being thrown in honor of the Washington Nationals winning the MLB World Series earlier that day. The Mall was FULL of people in red t-shirts, hats, and jackets. At first we thought it was some type of MAGA event, until we looked closer.

In the proceeding hours, we walked the entire length of the Mall. Starting at The Capitol, and ending at Lincoln Memorial.

As we were leaving the Washington Monument, a low flying helicopter went right over our heads. 1 minute later it landed in the front lawn of The White House. Was in the President? We don’t know. I unwittingly was recording a video at the time.

So that was it. By then it was night time. We went home around 20:00 and arrived to a family style dinner prepared by Pete and his sous chefs.

Day 3

Many stayed up to take advantage of the extra hour. Kayla and I went to bed to take advantage of the extra hour of sleep.

Another early start on Sunday. We had to check out of the Airbnb by 10:00. So we had to fit in showers, breakfast, and cleanup by then. Somehow we pulled it off and had the van loaded up by 9:45.

We attended church service at National Community Church held at Lincoln Theater. We arrived just a bit early for the 10:30 service. We congregated outside and took some pictures in the alley next door.

Service was absolutely beautiful. I wanted to take some pictures of the service, but I didn’t think it was appropriate. We were out around 12:00. We split up one last time for lunch and agreed that meet up at the van for 13:30. My group went to DC Noodles, just a few blocks down from the church. We shared a great meal and conversation. Afterwards we met at the van and made our way back to Brooklyn.

Overall this trip was a lot of fun. Sometimes it can be tricky traveling with a larger group. But everyone was able to stay unified throughout the trip. I look forward to traveling with this group again.