Atlanta Travel Recap | 2020
In 2020, I have been goal oriented and really challenging myself to get outside of my comfort zone. With that being said, one of my personal goals is to travel more. My biggest barrier to traveling has been not wanting to travel alone, mostly for safety reason. However, this past weekend I took a trip to the lovely city of Atlanta. I hadn’t been to Atlanta since I was younger so I was excited to see what the city had to offer and catch up with some family. So let’s get to some of the highlights from my trip…
T H E F L I G H T
While traveling I was sure to take health precautions so that I would not contract anyone else’s germs. I traveled with a flu mask, sanitizer, rubbing alcohol and my hair covered. No games with coronavirus going around…more about that later. When traveling, I am more relaxed with my diet and food restrictions. Full disclosure my diet was vegetarian on this trip. I ate vegan when possible, but also allowed myself to indulge. Atlanta is home to some of the best vegan food around and to be honest, I did not do a good job of visiting those places. When I travel, I am open to trying new things and indulging myself in ways I typically do not - this normally means enjoying some cheese. On this trip, I enjoyed Mexican food, with cheese but was sure to take my digestive enzymes before I ate, to help my digestion. Overall my trip was great, I got to see some family and long time friends, I got to pamper my mind and body at the spa and I had some memorable new experiences. The only downsides to this trip was the awful traffic jams, for NO reason and the non stop rain we had for a day or so.
D A Y O N E
Friday was all about family. Once I had landed I wanted to get settled at my auntie’s house where I was staying and spend some time with her before I started my weekend of fun. We ran a couple of errands and got some Caribbean food from Golden Krust. I had been craving cabbage and was delighted to finally get some. I ordered a veggie lunch combo that came with rice & peas, cabbage and plantains. To be honest, it tasted how I would expect chain Caribbean food to taste. It was nice to catch up with my Auntie and see the area she lives in before I drove to my cousin in Sandy Springs for the night. Friday night we went out for dinner and drinks at this yummy Mexican place, Huey Luey’s. I ordered a combination plate, because I wanted to try their recipes for different things. I decided to order 1 veggie enchilada, 1 veggie hard taco and 1 veggie stuffed chile relleno. I was most excited to try the chile relleno because prior to that I had only tried them stuffed with cheese. Overall my food was good. It was nice to be able to have a crunchy taco with veggies, that is also something I had not seen before. Normally restaurants only serve veggie tacos in soft shells.
After dinner, we went back to my cousin’s house and I texted a few friends trying to link up. One of the people I hit up was an old friend from pre-school. We had not seen each other since we were toddlers! Somehow he came across my Instagram page a few years ago and recognized me after all these years - we reconnected and have been in touch ever since. However, we had not seen each other since we were like 5 years old, now we’re 26 lol. As if this isn’t ironic enough, when he sent his location, he stayed in the same apartment complex as my cousin! It was great to reconnect with an old friend and I look forward to seeing each other more frequently.
D A Y T W O
Saturday was a nice, sunny day in the city. The temperature was only in the upper 40s, but the sunshine added a few degrees. It was a great day to walk around and explore the city! In typical millennial fashion, we started our day with brunch. We ended up at The Vortex, a grungy dive bar with great burgers! My cousin recommended this place as one of her favorite bars due to their delicious burgers and extensive drink selection. Food wise, I opted for the “Sriracha Lovr” burger -which was a black bean patty topped with guacamole, chipotle sauce, sriracha glaze and sriracha sauce- with tater tots. Drink wise I ordered a champagne drink that was served in a tall glass…not a flute and a mystery shot. No, I do not know what was in the mystery shot. All I can tell you is that it tasted like cough medicine. The prices were within my budget, my drink was $8 and while I do not recall the exact price of the burger I do recall an up-charge for non-beef patty. The decor was very cluttered and ALT - I felt like I was at the coolest garage sale ever. Also the tables are very close together so be prepared for loud talking, however the dope music playlist that was playing gave us nice breaks to vibe out. The beer selection was extensive and exciting, if you’re into that. Having Guinness beer on tap is a major reason why this place is one of my cousin’s favs. Overall, the food was better than the drinks to me but I would totally go back again! Check them out if you’re looking for a cool 21+ restaurant in midtown Atlanta (IDs are required for entry).
After brunch, we headed across town to the Trap Music Museum. After we paid for parking, we realized that it was way too crowded and decided to try to go again another day. Btw, the Trap Museum is only open on the weekends, which would explain why everyone and their mama was standing in a mob outside of the building, waiting to get inside. I wanted to do the escape room as well as visit the museum, this is how we were able to reschedule our visit. We went online and booked our escape room for Monday afternoon. All I know is that before we did the escape room, we were allowed to explore the museum on our own. It was basically a private tour with only about 10 people! I’ll share more about that later….
Once we left the Museum, we decided to go to the Georgia Aquarium, it was closeby and an activity to help us burn off all of our brunch calories. Unfortunately a lot of the exhibits and things were under construction so I’m sure there is plenty we were not able to see. That did not stop me though, this is someplace that I have been wanting to go for years, I love seeing it featured in movies!
Once we were inside, the first exhibit we headed to was for California Sea Lions. They were the first animals were could see and their display wasn’t crowded. There was a pair swimming around in their tank area, super active and super cute. Other memorable animals to me were the African Penguins, Manta Rays, Asian Small-Clawed Otters, Whale Sharks, Starfishes, Beluga Whales, Seahorses, Blacktip Reef Sharks, Discus fish, Fire Eel, Hawaiian Cleaner Shrimp, Japanese Spider Crabs, Moon Jelly, Ochre Sea Star, Pacific Sea Nettle and so many more! The only exhibit we missed out on was the Bottlenose Dolphin but we were able to see their enormous swimming tank.
I wish I could have gotten more photos but it was difficult with all the other people constantly buzzing around. I would say that my top 3 animals to see where the whale sharks, jellyfish and beluga whales. It was truly humbling to see how massive these animals were in comparison to me as a human. I think humans have a false sense of superiority, that we are the top of the food chain and to be feared by all other species. I’m not so sure how much I believe that is true, especially when it comes to animals of the sea. The oceans are wildly unknown to humans and I am fascinated by our relatively new discoveries. After walking around the aquarium for almost 2 hours, it was time to head home to wash my hands and take a nap. That night we went bar hopping, but honestly it was nothing to talk about.
D A Y T H R E E
My Sunday was quite uneventful. My day’s events went like this: woke up, food run - I got a smoothie from Smoothie King, watched Black Panther in bed, watched End Game in bed, get dressed and drove from Sandy Springs to Austell, got back in bed, ordered Chinese delivery (veggie lo mein, spring rolls & soup), fall asleep around 10:30.
D A Y F O U R
Monday was another busy day for me. I started my day by going to Jeju Sauna & Wellbeing, a traditional Korean bath house & spa. If you are unfamiliar, I am referring to a 24 hour spa that offers several sauna and pool options in addition to spa services available to add on. Most also offer a gym, cafe and sleeping rooms for you to maximize your 24 hour timeframe. When you arrive, you pay an entrance fee of $30 which includes saunas, steam rooms, igloos, hydrotherapy pools, baths, lounge area and fitness center. After you get checked in, you have to take off your shoes and head to the locker room. First, I would recommend heading into the baths to soak. I say this because the baths are located in the locker rooms because they are nude, so I suggest doing all the nude activities you want before dressing. There were 3 different pools - cold, warm and hot water for you to choose from. There were also 2 saunas - dry and steam. In this bath area is where they also had the showers, infrared sauna light as well as areas for the body shampoo, massages and hip bath. I spent most of my time in the hot bath, which was basically a jacuzzi before I out on my provided spa clothes and headed out to the common area to sauna hop. I was only expecting a few sauna options…I was pleasantly overwhelmed by all of the options. There was 5 saunas, an igloo and an ice room…at least from what I recall-I was not able to try them all so I could be missing something. I started in the salt sauna before trying the silver & gold, jewel and charcoal saunas as well. I spent a good chunk of time in the salt and charcoal saunas. The salt room is great at decongestion and decreasing inflammation. The charcoal sauna was all about toxin detox and improved circulation. On the other hand, the jade igloo was a refreshing break from the heat, however I could only tolerate sitting in the ice room briefly because it was freezing!
After about an hour or so of sauna exploration and meditation, I ventured back into the bath area for my spa package. I opted for the body shampoo, collagen facial and hour massage. The body massage consisted of a head to toe body scrub, wash and rinse before I got oiled down and massaged. My body scrub was amazing, it was exactly what I needed to exfoliate my dry winter skin. This was the most extensive scrub I had ever had - she did my front, back and both sides! After the scrub they sent me to the shower and dry sauna for a few minutes before my facial and massage. The collagen facial felt so good. When applied, it felt like a cold jelly being spread on my face, so refreshing yet slightly weird. My massage was heavenly, I was nearly asleep for most of it. After the message they tell you not to shower or get in the pools, so that your skin can continue absorbing the oil. Instead I went into the dry sauna for a few minutes - literally I left right before I started to sweat. By this time, I was hungry and I wanted to test out their cafe. On the menu I was considering a smoothie, fruit plate, ramen and bibimbap. Ultimately I went with the ramen, it was a decent choice. After that I spent a few more minutes in my favorite igloo before I had to say goodbye to my day of oasis.
The last major highlight from my trip was our visit to the Trap Music Museum and Escape Room! After what we arrived to on Saturday, I was looking forward to seeing more than the parking lot. We were scheduled for the escape room at 4:30p and arrived a few minutes after, due to rainy weather. When we arrived, we had a few minutes to look around before the tour officially started. By “tour” let me be clear - it was a self directed tour. They led us to the back room, to the “corner store” where the we began our walk through. The Corner Store was plastered with newspaper coupons and grocery props - good Goya products and whatnot. The next room was like the living room of the trap, I believe it was titled “The Bando”. There was graffiti on the walls along with childhood photos of different trap artists, the couches were fitted with plastic covers, the tabletops were littered with jars of weed, 40s and (prop) pistols while the TV displayed Eddie Murphy’s Delirious standup. After the second room, you go down a hallway that has a timeline highlighting the evolution of trap music. After that you can turn right or left and be met by various art and artist. There was 3 booth areas, that highlighted the aspect of recording on a mic. I heard that when the museum is fully open, you are able to record in the booth. There was a wall of various mixtapes, which gave me heavy high school nostalgia. The importance of mixtapes to the culture cannot go unstated. In addition to rooms that featured a mixture of dope art that highlighted various artists including OutKast, Pimp Squad Click and Three 6 Mafia - there were also different rooms or areas dedicated to specific artist. Jeezy had “The Young Jeezy Snow Room” that included a snow man and wrapped bricks lining the walls. There was a kitchen area that highlighted Gucci Mane and Waka Flocka. One of my favorite rooms was, “The Infamous TI Gun Closet” which was a reference to when TI was arrested hours before the B.E.T. awards in 2007, and a search later found a walk-in safe containing 3 riffles, 2 pistols and a revolver. The display at the museum showcased tailored suits as well as lots of semi automatic weapons and bullets. Not to forget the ladies, there was features for both Nicki Minaj and Cardi B. Lastly but certainly not least, my baby, my favorite 2 Chainz has arguably the largest exhibit in the museum “The 2 Chainz Pink Trap Chevy”.
The escape room was a good time. There was about 10 of us that did it together so we had a good mix of people. I won’t spoil the plot with many details but I can say that we certainly had to work together and critically think. One of the highlights for me was honestly the staff, so there was the guy that basically was managing our group but more importantly there was one actress that accompanied us and helped us during the challenge. She staying in character the whole time but was our lifeline and cheerleader the entire time. Additionally, I was impressed that unlike other escape rooms I had been to, this was not an experience in which we were locked in a room for 45 mins trying to solve brain teasers. This experience was much more interactive, collaborative and Black as hell! By Black as hell I mean that the references made, props and questions were all related to Black and Trap culture. Our group was able to work together and solve all of the puzzles, it was a rewarding feeling to get done.
To end my last day in Atlanta, I had to visit another close friend Ryan. We met during my freshman year at Hampton University. We started as casual drinking buddies and have grown into close friends. I’ve spent a few holidays with his family, when he comes to town to visit for things like Christmas or his little sister’s graduation party. Every time we link I can expect lots of laugh, good drinks and great music. Ryan is a music artist and songwriter so I spent a good chunk of my evening listening to tracks and giving my unfiltered thoughts. I am so proud of my friend! It was a beautiful moment sitting in his 25th floor apartment in midtown, listening to songs he wrote (some that have been picked up by Trey Songz) and cooking dinner. Check out Ryan’s work on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube here! Can someone please tell me how I got talked into cooking while I was on vacation?! I wish I had taken a picture of the food, because it was so freaking good - however I was too busy getting into the sautéed okra I had made. Prior to cooking, Ryan was not a fan of okra. After it was “You can cook some okra” 😊 . I ended up cooking sautéed okra, pasta elbows with spinach and sauce and (for Ryan) some general tso chicken and veggies.
S I D E N O T E
Let’s also talk travel and health. Especially right now with the outbreak of coronavirus or COVID-19, I am very ambivalent about traveling. Airplanes are filthy, let’s be honest. They are rarely cleaned and the people on the planes surely are dirty. Before the outbreak, traveling was never enjoyable to me as someone who is OCD about clean surfaces. After the outbreak, I was damn near ready to cancel everything unless I could travel in a hazmat suit. I am not here to tell you how to travel or cause unnecessary panic, however I think this is something to be mindful of if you will be traveling soon. If you have not been keeping up with this “potential pandemic” please be aware that as of 3am on 2/28/2020 there have been AT LEAST 2,800 reported deaths and infected approx 83,000 people worldwide. Furthermore, there have been 15 confirmed cases in the U.S. already with 1 of those cases having an “unknown origin” aka ‘we don’t know who brought this disease over to our country’. Also, there have been 11 airports within the US that were given “additional resources” to serve as screening points for incoming flights. However, out of all 11 airports NOT ONE SINGLE case of the virus was found via their temperature checkpoints. First of all, who’s dumb idea was it to do thermometer checkpoints? L O L