I recently spent a long weekend in Puerto Vallarta and did something I haven’t done in years – stayed in a resort. Since trying out Airbnb a few years ago, I hadn’t ventured back into the land of hotels for personal travel. After my first time - a condo in Miami, I was hooked by the affordability and access it provided. While I do still stay in hotels during work travel, Airbnbs have been my preferred lodging for personal travel. This trip reminded me of the pros and cons of both. The Explorer in Me Says Airbnb What I love most about Airbnb is the ability to stay right in the ...
Travel
5 Tips for Traveling with Natural Hair
As I am getting ready to take off for Puerto Vallarta for a long weekend of fun in the sun, I am reminded of the joys of traveling curly. I’m serious! Since transitioning to natural hair a few years ago, quickly grew to love my hair and can’t imagine going back. For all my girls who also have a cabinet full of products, combs, and all sorts of other curly hair doodads, it may seem daunting to bring your routine along. No fear though, as a fully-committed naturalista who also loves to travel, I’ve been able to enjoy traveling while curly. Over the last couple of years, I’ve done a ...
Exploring San Diego – A Long Weekend of Food & Fun
This post is long overdue, but I had such a great weekend in San Diego about a month ago, that the experience is stuck in my mind. Rodney and I love visiting places we can explore on foot, and this city has so much to offer! Here’s a look at our long weekend in San Diego. - Where we stayed My motto is usually - save on the accommodations so I can splurge on explorations. Since we were in town over a holiday weekend, it was a challenge to find accommodations that were both low priced and met our standards - but we managed to find an Airbnb that was perfectly located and reasonably priced at ...
An Urban Oasis: The Sequoia Bayview Trail
Did you know there are many hiking trails right in Oakland? While I do like to get out and explore the bay area and California trails, one of my favorite trails is right here in Oakland. The Sequoia Bayview Trail, apart of Joaquin Miller Park, is a cool trail that offers great scenery and just the right amount of challenging hills - and is only a 10-minute drive from downtown Oakland! Redwood Groves One of my favorite things about this trail, aside from the spectacular view, is the Redwood groves. Once you depart from the main wide trail, you’ll find many smaller trails that take you ...
Mexico City: Traveling While Black
First and foremost, I highly recommend Mexico City for any traveler! After spending a week in this massive and beautiful city, it has already climbed back up to the top my travel list. From the food to the historical sites and architecture, it was truly an unforgettable week. That being said, I highly recommend Mexico City, it's a must-visit destination for black travelers.The sprawling city has so much to offer, and my experience was one of acceptance. Even more so than other Latin American cities, I felt very welcome in Mexico City and was able to fully take advantage of being in the ...
Bay Area Day Trip: Hike to Alamere Falls
This weekend, Rodney and I - and some of our friends headed up to Point Reyes to tackle the hike to Alamere Falls. I’d heard great things about this hike and really it’s hard for me to turn down any hike that will take me along the coast and then to a picturesque waterfall. The Hike To get to the waterfall, you must start at the Palomarin Trailhead. It is about an hour and 30-minute drive from Oakland to get to the trailhead, and I highly suggest getting up there before 10 am so you aren’t parked too far back from the start of the hike. Because there’s limited parking, you could end up a ...
A Guide: One Week in Mexico City
When I learned my friends were getting married in Mexico, I just knew this was the perfect opportunity to extend the trip into a longer vacation. And we did just that, turned a weekend trip into a week-long stay in Mexico City. Looking back on the week we spent Mexico City- I am in need of a serious need of a workout. While in the city, we ate amazing food around the clock! We also did some serious sightseeing and explorations. After doing extensive research prior to our trip, and found countless sights, activities, and most importantly food we wanted to experience; so we built a pretty ...
SF Must Do – Treasure Island Treasurefest
If you are remotely interested in crafts, antiques, independent shops, or food trucks, the Treasure Island Treasurefest is the event for you. The monthly flea market turned festival on the famous Treasure Island brings together vendors with a crowd of pleasant shoppers, and all around good vibes. I spent January 28th, the first day since the rebrand and reopening, enjoying the sun and picking up a few cool pieces. The festival, today, does a great job of hosting several types of vendors that seem like they belong at different events, together in perfect harmony - ie the DIY terrarium stall ...