Week 3

This week I was out of town for a graduation vacation. The vacation was fun but I also burned through the time I had to complete my personal website and blog site. However, my week was full of new experiences and surprises.

Originally, I was supposed to go to Florida, but my Aunt told me that there were complications and that we were just going to stay in Atlanta. Naturally, I was devastated! I mean, it’s sort of a downgrade going from Florida to ATL. But, a day later they ‘surprised me’ with a trip to Florida. The reason I quoted “surprised” is after I got the news of NO FLORIDA, I was kinda banking on us going on pure optimism. I guess you can say that “God works in mysterious ways!” (Wink Wink) Anyway, we went to Destin, Florida and I had the time of my life!!! The first day, we went to the beach and I stayed in the water for about 3 hours. (I’m sort of in a long-term relationship with the ocean.) We went closer to the evening because of the time we arrived in Destin. The next day, we rented scooters and a scoot-car. I had to sit in the scoot-car with my G-mommy because I didn’t have a drivers license. (I know! Bogus right!?) I could’ve driven but I was kinda tardy for the license bus if you know what I mean. The wind felt good though. The sun was high as we drove on the road. I had a good laugh because my older Aunt kept telling my g-mommy to “Speed Up! You’re blocking traffic!” What made it funny was the crazy look my grandma gave me in response. Her face said ” Is she crazy? I’m not going any faster than this!” Mind you, her idea of ‘fast’ was 10mph. XD We drove through some small streets and saw a lot of people staring. What felt good though was when some little kids were smiling at us as we drove by.

When we were done with the awesome drive we headed back to the hotel.  I found out that I got a really bad sunburn while sitting under direct sunlight. I guess I should’ve put on more sunscreen.

Later that day, we went to the harbor and went on a snorkeling adventure. It was the first time I had ever done anything like it. The best parts were seeing numerous dolphins, swimming like a mermaid with flippers on my feet, and the humor from the captain and his first mate. A couple of highlights from the boat tour were the hermit crab race and the dolphin viewing as the sunset.

When the captain brought us back to the harbor, there were musicians playing good ol’ New Orleans music. The harbor was booming with life from the mobs of people around. The reason the crowds were swarming was that there was going to be a Fat Tuesday parade. The parade was awesome! I screamed as loud as I could and I got around 12 necklaces by the end of the parade. This was another first experience for me as I have never celebrated Mardi Gras before. It was thrilling and I would love to celebrate the real one in New Orleans sometime.

On our last day when we headed back to Atlanta stayed for a day, then went to Cincinnati. Everything was chill. We ate some Diorios pizza that night and chillaxed by the television. My dad’ family told me that we were going to a brunch the next morning. Knowing them this luncheon must be another AKA (Alpha Kappa Alpha) event. I went to sleep, woke up, and got ready for the day. When we got to our destination, I was somewhat confused. We were going to a restaurant for this occasion. Usually, the luncheons have been at hotels, but I just went along with it. when the waitress at the front led us to a back room, the glass doors opened and “Suprise!!!”  All of my cousins and aunts and uncles from Cinncinati were there. I was speech-less! I glanced to the right and saw a big set of polka-dotted, pink and green suitcases. Everyone was smiling and saying congrats. I tell ya, it took the iron will of God to keep my tears in. My family had thrown a surprise graduation party. It was the first time I had ever, really, been surprised. All of these experiences and surprises really made this week special and even more excited to head back to work at Empowered.