Wanderlust Thoughts

If you know me, you know that I can’t sing to save my life. I’m literally the most tone-deaf person of all time. Never in my life did I imagine that I, the worst singer in the world, would end up at American Idol auditions.  Fortunately for the judges, I wasn’t the one auditioning. But, cheerleading: Now that’s my thing. I can be a hype man any day. A few weeks ago, my adopted brother, Bishop won a karaoke competition in Tampa and the prize was a fast pass for American Idol auditions in Orlando.       So, last Thursday we took a short one-hour drive to Disney Springs in Orlando. We arrived around 9:30 a.m. and made our way to the check-in line. Thank God for that fast pass because the line for the general public was about 2,000-people-long. One guy said that he got there at 4:30 a.m. and there were already 200 people in line. Wow. Unfortunately, only the hopeful contestants could go into the audition area so I gave Bishop a...

I went back and forth about what I wanted to do for my big 21 st birthday for months. First I wanted to go to the Bahamas... Then I came up with this bright idea to rent a cabin in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. Side note: My birthday is December 23 rd and I HATE cold weather. What was I gonna do in a cabin in the mountains? HA! Two weeks before my birthday, I still had absolutely no idea what I was going to do. Finally, my sister, Kiki and I decided that we would take a trip to New York. I had never been to the city at Christmastime and my niece, Sameera was already there as she was attending school in Manhattan. It worked out perfectly.   Even though it was cold and rainy, we had such a great time sightseeing and celebrating my birthday. We saw Keke Palmer as the first black Cinderella on Broadway and I even convinced my sister to go clubbing with me. ‘Twas one for the books! Here’s a photo gallery of Amanee, Kiki, and Sameera Take New York: Part 2! ...

I prefer to travel either very early in the morning or late in the evening for two reasons: 1) Flights are usually cheaper at those times. 2) I can avoid heavy traffic and long lines during off hours. Although I’m usually at the airport during the down times, one of my biggest pet peeves is standing behind a person moving at a snail’s pace in the security line. It could easily be the worst part of your trip, but if you prepare, going through security can be a quick and painless process. Here are a few tips to help you get through airport security like a pro! 1. All Aboard! If your boarding pass is on your phone, turn your brightness all the way up so the machine can read the bar code easily. Just don’t forget to turn it back down once you’ve gone through security to preserve your battery. I keep my electronic boarding passes organized on with the Apple Wallet app. 2. I’m gonna need to see some ID, ma’am. Don’t put your ID all the way...