LA – BATTLE OF THE BANDS

For my birthday this year instead of a paying for a party to feed over 50 people, I wanted to do a 3 city tour that included a new passport stamp. That translated into a 12 day travel adventure. First stop was Los Angeles. I always fly Delta which is so convenient for me living in Atlanta. I hit up the Sky Club every time to get my typical mimosa with a Patron shot and a few hibiscus mojitos. 

When I arrived in LA, I got my rental car and stayed 3 days and 2 nights at the Hilton Airport. The hotel was really nice with over 30 floors. I had my car valet parked every day. I felt fancy like a rich auntie. Lol

I’ve been to LA 3 times and the last time I had a great breakfast at The Coffee Company so I went again for this trip. I love their breakfast. Every time I’ve been the line to sit is so long. The food was really good with nice portion sizes. The service was fast and friendly. 

The main reason I was in LA was to see my daughter’s band, Alabama A&M. They performed at the battle of the bands hosted by Nick Cannon at Sofi Stadium. Nick brought out Dr Lee from Drumline. Too cool. There were 6 HBCUs that performed, and all the schools did a great job. I love to see the drum majors and their stunts. The bands created the letters HBCU on the field all together. That was really neat to see. To end the event, Glorilla performed several songs. The band kids got to crowd her stage on the field and she took a few phones to do selfies with the band kids. The youngins in the stands knew all the words to every one of her songs. I sipped on my tasty Patron lemonade drink and jammed right along with them. 

While in LA I had to make a quick trip to the beach to touch the Pacific Ocean. I went at 7 in the morning to Venice beach. There were a few surfers and people walking their pets. I took a nice stroll along the beach and enjoyed a walk through the local shops. I got one of the best Chai teas I have had in a long time from a locally owned shop, The Cows End. I prefer to support local verse the Starbucks that was 2 blocks away.

I left LA on my way to Vegas again on Delta. I hit up the Sky Club again for my typical drinks.

LAS VEGAS – GRAND CANYON

My second stop was in Las Vegas. When I landed, I loaded up my rental car to start my 4 days and 3 nights vacation. I checked into Resort World Vegas and waited for my husband’s plane to land later that night. The hotel was huge and one of the newer hotels on the Vegas strip. The hotel had the typical pools and casino as well as a movie theatre, night club and clothing stores. There were actually 3 hotels in one and over 50 restaurants and 15 bars. There was really no reason to leave. The hotel is on the quiet end of the strip but just a short walk to all the action. 

This was my 2^nd time in Vegas and my husbands first time. We walked and drove down the strip to see the other hotels. We got some close up pics of the sphere at night and during the day. We ate at Suns Out Buns Out restaurant at the hotel. My breakfast sandwich was really good. Neither one of us are gamblers so most of our time at the hotel was drinking at the bars. We had lunch at Crab & Spice. I was not impressed at all. It was all you can eat with crab legs for an additional price. The seasoning was not good and the options for the all you can eat was just ok. The TikTok video hyping up this place was a lie. YIKES! Juicy Crab would never. (Atlanta folks know what I’m talking about.)

We took a quick day trip to the Grand Canyon, East Rim. I’ve been to the West and East Rim. The West Rim is very beautiful but a 4 hour drive from Vegas. The East Rim is still nice and a short 2 hour drive. The tour we took included 3 stops at different locations to walk to the rim that included the sky walk. Its all glass and extends into the cannon for an excellent view of the canyon. We got some authentic cowboy hats on our way out that were made the local Native Americans. 

Our last night in Vegas we walked around the property and the strip again and drink some more at the bars. I enjoyed my time in Vegas. I flew back to Atlanta for a one day stop and back out for the Cayman Islands. 

CAYMAN ISLANDS

The last leg of my 12 day birthday trip was Grand Cayman Islands. I flew out on my birthday with Delta of course with a stop in the Sky Club.  It was my first time in Grand Cayman and one of my lead travel agents, Lovely met me there. When I arrived, she picked me up in our rental car. Be careful, they are a British territory and drive on the opposite side as the US. We stayed at the Regal Beach Club right on 7 Mile Island in a 2 bedroom beachfront condo. The property was beautiful with 2 pools and a jacuzzi. 

Downtown Georgetown was walking distance from the condo and is where the cruise ships dock. There is where you see all the cruisers with melanin. When we were in other parts of the city it felt like we were the only people of color. All the other vacationers were older white families. 

We ate at several restaurants while we were there. A few of the places we ate were Peppers, Rackams, Coccoloba, Chicken Chicken!, Bonny Moon and Macabuca. I would recommend each place and was highly satisfied with everything I ate while here. Boony Moon and Cocoloba were my favorites. They were like beach clubs. We had food and pretty drinks by the beautiful water. 

We went to the night club 3 of the 4 nights we were there. We partied at Bliss all three nights. It seemed to be mostly locals and the only music they played was a mix of dancehall, reggae and Afro beats. They only serve drinks and hookahs, no food. Across the street was The Hive. The location is larger and they play more of a mix of music. They had BBQ and the wings were surprisingly good. 

Whenever I am out of the country, I like to do at least one excursion. We swam with the turtles at Cayman Turtle Centre. This was the coolest experience. You have on life vests and the water is super salty so you float so easily. The swimming area can be as deep is 30 feet in some places. There were turtles and fish to see everywhere. There was a small beach, a bird aviary and walking trail. They had a slide and pool that was great for the kids and a small bar hut for the parents. The prices for food and drinks were very reasonable. 

I would recommend visiting Cayman Islands. The people, the food/drinks and the blue water were just what I wanted to celebrate my birthday.