Things to Do in Fort Lauderdale, Florida- Jungle Queen Riverboat Dinner Cruise!

     Christmas Eve 2k16, with our toes did and our make up NOT; we made our way from West Palm Beach to Ft. Lauderdale to embark on a remarkable journey. 

     We parked at a near-by hotel across the street from the beach and made our way to a little dock where we boarded the two story boat that would take us on a beautiful journey up the river. 

     As we boarded, we had our pictures taken and we walked up the flight of stairs to the top of the boat. We were lucky enough to get nice seats so we could see directly out of the boat. I didn't know what to expect as we sailed the river because I thought we were just going to ride to our destination to eat and come right back; but what I thought was going to be an ordinary ride, turned out the be the funniest, most inspiring, make me jealous 😜, exciting trip!  As we sailed up the river, we saw these BEAUTIFUL homes and boats lined up along the water!  Basically, it was a neighborhood on water, but with boats instead of cars.  Many of them were decorated with lots of Christmas lights.  Some of these houses...excuse me...MANSIONS, were either vacation homes, retirement homes or just homes!  Like people actually lived in these buildings!

     The Cruise Director was hilarious!  I loved how He casually joked about how rich everyone was & that these lifestyles were no big deal as we passed the biggest houses along the river.  He was very knowledgeable about the properties and the people who resided on them. The most intriguing thing to me was that there was an actual prison along the river because when we passed it, I thought it was a 5 star hotel!!  When the Cruise Director told us it was a prison, I literally thought it was a joke.  We got to sail under multiple draw bridges, all operated by various Mr. Johnsons, and we greeted them every time we passed under.  By the way, all of the Mr. Johnsons are related! 😂  And get this!  We got to see some gigantic yachts up close and personal!  Did I mention they were gigantic?!  These yachts retail for more than $1,000,000!  Can you imagine owning such a vehicle?

     We docked about an hour after we left and the site was beautiful!  It was like a beautiful lit up jungle, but on an island!  The venue where we ate was huge and had tons of long tables.  When you arrive at dinner, there are various waiters that will seat you at your table.  We were lucky enough to dine with another family who was enjoying a girls' night out, and they were very entertaining. They were so full of life, making everyone laugh and just enjoying the moment that we all shared.  Almost immediately after we were seated, we were bombarded with food! There were fall-off-the bone ribs, barbecue chicken, baked beans, rolls, shrimp (regular and spicy), potato wedges...YOU NAME IT!!  Everything was addicting, ESPECIALLY the spicy shrimp!  It's probably a sin how much food we ate!  While we were eating, we were graced with some live jazz entertainment.  The band and the soloist did an amazing job and were very talented!  They even dedicated a few songs to the long time married couples in the place. 

     Once we finished eating, my mom, sister and I explored for a bit.  They had what I would call a miniature zoo outside. We got to see birds, owls, lemurs, monkeys, and guess what?!  ALLIGATORS!!  Whenever I go to Florida, it is my goal to see at least one alligator. Not up close, of course.  Although, we were pretty close to the ones we saw. 

     The last thing that we did on our stop was watch a magic show, 2 comedy shows and real fire dancers!  The tap dancing comedian was the funniest to me!  He was very animated and reminded me a lot of Mr. Brown from the Tyler Perry movies.   Watching the hula/fire dances was my favorite part of the night because in 2015, we went to an event called Christmas in Hawaii and there was supposed to be a fire dance, but it ended up not happening.  So it was so exciting to finally get to see one!  

     The shows were over and my mom, sister and I rushed back to the boat so that we could get a good seat. This time, the ride back to the dock was more relaxing rather than entertaining.  There was soft jazz music playing in the background, it was dark, the water was calm and I was just taking in the beauty of the houses, yachts and the bystanders waving at us as we passed by.  This whole experience was mesmerizing, and it made me want to work so much harder!  Maybe I won't buy a house along the river and maybe I will, but to be able to live a lifestyle like that where you have a beautiful home and can afford to vacation whenever you want, is something to look forward to. I definitely recommend Jungle Queen Riverboat to anybody who visits Ft. Lauderdale.  There are so many beautiful sights to see and the food is amazing.  Tickets are approximately $50 each and totally worth it.  It is something that you don't get to do everyday and it is an experience of a life time!  I'm so thankful that my mom gifted my sister and I with such an amazing experience that we will never forget.

     Please checkout the associated video to get the full experience of the Jungle Queen Riverboat!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G6sWqB7_0Y

Things to Do in Kansas City! -Wine and Design (Lees Summit)

I have been wanting to put that apron on and pick up that paintbrush for so long now!  Saturday, April 15, 2017, my sister and I had a little sister sister date to celebrate her birthday.

Wine and Design, located in Lees Summit, Missouri is a creative space where people can go to kick back, sip sip and let their creative juices flow.  In order to participate, you must sign up prior to the date that you want to paint; and there is also space to do group events that accommodates up to 30 people!  You also must bring your own beverage. 

The facility is extremely beautiful!  It is filled with tons of beautiful pictures from previous sessions.  When you walk in, there is a cute chalk board sign and a sign in sheet on top of a barrel.  Our canvases were already set up for us upon arrival as well as our paint.  I was the first to arrive, and with permission from the artist, I walked around looking at the beautiful art and taking video footage for my YouTube channel.  Our group was a little more intimate than I thought it would be as there were only 5 ladies in attendance.

Everything started off so well and it was very therapeutic.  But then my sister got ahead of herself and accidentally messed up her painting.  The artist reassured her that she would be able to fix it, but after a while, there was no coming back from it.  It was quite hilarious actually, even the other ladies were laughing!  I loved the fact that none of us were artists because we were able to laugh at each other’s flaws and joke about how bad we are!  The ladies that were painting with us were extremely funny and nice.  We had such a great time together that I ended up taking one of their business cards and we are going to invite them to come back with us soon!

I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere at Wine and Design.  It was very relaxing and a great way to decompress.  The instructor had a great attitude and she was very patient with us.  Check out the video associated with this post! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10aEdvTQObg

When Friends Become Family

        Sometimes divorce is not just one’s parents separating, but divorcing toxic people in your life.  I never knew that at 20 years old, so many people would have been removed from my life.  And quite frankly, at 22, life is still changing as we speak.  As someone who held on to the fantasy that everyone I would ever meet in life would stay forever, it has been a hard concept to grasp that you grow apart from people.  However, I believe that God will replace what has been removed and it will be better than ever.  Ever since my mom moved back to Florida, with the exception of Christmas, I have always panicked at the thought of not having plans for the holidays.  This year was no different.

         I had already planned on coming home from school to spend Easter weekend with my sister so we could celebrate her birthday early since she’d be out of town on her real birthday.  I almost backed out of it because I thought, “Why come home when you don’t have plans for the holidays when you could just work all weekend?  Make more money girl!”  I felt bad for even considering backing out on my sister.  What changed my mind was when she texted me confirming that she was free for the outing I had planned for her.  Well that locked my travel plans into place.  A few days after, I reached out to a friend offering my story for a project that she is going to be working on.  I let her know that I would be in town the following weekend and IMMEDIATELY, we (my sister, brother in law, and I) were invited to the cookout! 

            So fast forward to Easter Sunday, I went to church and had an amazing time catching up with family friends.  I hadn’t been to my home church in months and it felt amazing to see everyone again.  A few hours after church, we drove to our friend’s house with my famous baked macaroni and cheese strapped in the back seat!  While the grill was going and people were on their way, we entertained the kids and helped out where help was needed.  More friends began to fill the home and it became a party.  There were babies everywhere, toddlers running outside with water guns, tons of Easter eggs ready to be hidden for the egg hunt and a LOT, I said a LOT, of food!  I honestly wish I would have gotten a picture of all of the food we ate, but I was big hungry and it did not even cross my mind to do so.  We had beans, greens, potatoes…okay let me stop playing!

           

            To have someone open their house up to you for the holidays, especially after wondering what the heck you’re going to do, means so much, but it doesn’t surprise me.  They pretty much know our family situation right now and to be honest, I would have truly fallen into a dark place if it were not for them, because seeing so many people post about what they are doing with their family would have been a trigger for me.  It reminds me of what used to be and is no more.  I don’t think the people who have seen and liked the pictures from Easter realize how important it was to me.  Not only were we welcomed into somebody’s home, but we connected with other people who we either just met, or had met in the past but were not close with, and then there were people that we did indeed already know and are friends with.  Either way, nobody felt like a stranger.

            We were the last to leave and I was way too tired to even attempt to drive 2 hours back to school.  So I stayed one last night in KC and got up extremely early to make it back to school.  What I took away from this holiday was that my friends have become my family.  We all came together to celebrate one holiday and it could not have gone any better!  We had great food, many laughs, desserts and an amazing unfriendly game of NERTZ.  If you don’t know what NERTZ is, it is a personal game of solitaire and a collective game of speed going on at the same time.  I could show you better than I could explain it.  And I want a rematch Nia!  I could not have asked for a better way to spend my Easter weekend 2k17 and I thank the Adgers for opening their home to so many of us!  By the way, I totally jacked these photos from my their pages!