A Weekend of Classic Hip Hop in Atlanta Ga
Niagara Falls has been on our bucket list since 2020. We were supposed to go that June but then a little world wide pandemic happened. Then we were planning on going in 2023 but plans changed and I went to the US Tennis Open in NYC.
But we finally made it this year. We stayed at the Embassy Suites Fallsview.
We were upgraded to the presidential suite with great views
We met our friends from Atlanta.
The tour we went on was a mostly all day tour and boat ride Journey Behind the Falls
While the wives wouldn’t do it, we went back to Niagara by the Lake and did a very wet jet boat ride the next day.
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The trip was a one and done to cross off our bucket list.
Well it’s been a crazy summer. I had a project at work that was supposed to be a 30 day project. But ended up extending two calendar months because of trips to DC, London and Niagara Falls.
We originally planned to go to London a week earlier than we did. We found out that Lionel Ritchie was performing at the O2 the next week. We changed our flight to coincide.
It was a direct flight on Virgin Airways and we stayed at the Westminster London. It was centrally located and walkable to most of the iconic sites.
We took a day trip to Paris, France on the Chunnel. There were delays all of the way between mechanical issues before we got on and an unfortunate fatality on the track.
Then it took another hour on the tour bus to get to our destination and there was really nothing great to see on our way. Once we got there, we had a three hour boat ride on the river, ate at a local restaurant and walked around until returning home.
Of course we did a food tour with the slight difference that it was a bus ride through the city while having a five course meal.
Most of the rest of the time, we walked around London, hung out at Leicester Square. Funny enough we watched the latest Mission Impossible while we were there and saw many of the iconic landmarks on film that we had just walked by including Trafalgar Square.
Overall, it was relaxing. We didn’t plan every minute and we set aside the first day just to recover from the 9 hour flight.
I didn’t know what to expect going into the WuTang Clan concert. I didn’t know any of their music and the only artist I knew anything about out of the nine was Method Man.
I wasn’t disappointed. WuTang fans are another level. All of the members still had stage presence and have aged well.
When my wife originally mentioned going, we said we owed it to ourselves to buy the tickets since it would probably be thier last tour ever with all 8 surviving members + Old Dirty Bastard’s son.
We stayed at the Hotel Tampa Riverwalk.
We went to Cincinnati for the Queens Tour. We could have seen them in Atlanta. But Ohio was on our bucket list so why not?
We landed late Friday night, did a food tour in the morning and went to the concert that evening.
We got what we expected. Four legends including Gladys Knight who did what she could. But wasn’t as healthy or spry as the rest.
Definitely worth it.
I wouldn’t trade lives with a soul. This one’s mine. I earned every inch of it the hard way. Not through luck. Not through handshakes or mentors or some neat little roadmap. I clawed it together out of mistakes, misfires, and moments no one saw but me. And now that it works, now that I can breathe, I don’t owe anyone the clean version.
It cost more than anyone warned me. Not in money or reputation. In weight. In silence. In biting my tongue until it bled. In carrying doubt like it was part of the uniform. Some wounds were my fault. Some were just the tax for not playing the game the way it was written. Either way, they marked me.
People see the wins now. The calm. The confidence. What they don’t see is the wreckage I stepped over to get here and much of it I caused. They don’t feel the bruises that don’t show anymore. But I do. Every day. That memory lives in my body.
This isn’t about regret. I did what I had to do and now I can admit I could have done it more elegantly. But don’t mistake survival for endorsement. If I could’ve skipped the years of proving, the nights of second-guessing, the exhaustion of explaining myself, I would have. Every single time.
I don’t need applause. I don’t need to perform resilience. I am making it. Not cleanly, not quietly, but fully. And I’m not dragging the old weight another step. It’s over. I’m done carrying ghosts.
This is my life. No edits. No apology. No more looking back.
We saw Anthony Hamilton and Fantasia. We went mostly to hang out with friends that were in town. We both agreed that the Fantasia concert that we went to in Chicago was better.
I didn’t know too many songs from either of them. But Hamilton was pretty good.
DC has been on our bucket list since 2020 before COVID and we finally went this past week.
It was cold and raining most of the time we were there. But we did get a chance to go to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture. We were not ready for the emotional toll it took on us. I can’t really say too much else about it.
On a brighter note we went to the National Air and Space Museum the next day. I was equally surprised about how captivating the history of flight was. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised as often as we fly.
As usual, we found a spot to listen to live music Madam’s Organ. The music was excellent, the drinks were cheap and the food was so good we went twice.
On the last day we were in DC, we did a three hour tour around DC where we had the opportunity to get off and walk around on the only day the weather was decent.
We stayed at the Hyatt Place Washington DC/Downtown thinking it was closer to where the monuments and museum were. That was a mistake. Not that it mattered. The weather was so bad, we weren’t going to do much walking around anyway.
Luckily, overall, the trip wasn’t expensive. I used our last batch of Hyatt points from our year of “nomadding” to book the room and JetBlue points I transferred from Amex for the flights.
We are already planning a do over next summer. We are planning to stay at the Hyatt Place Washington DC/National Mall which as its name implies is within walking distance of the National Mall where most of the museums are located.
We took a quick trip to Atlanta GA last weekend to go to the Millennium Tour.
We have learned to adjust our expectations of the performances when going to concerts of older performers, especially hip hop artists.
One good thing was that they started on time, all of the artists started and stopped on time and there wasn’t a large gap between performers.
This was definitely a mixed bag though. Nivea was awful as was Plies and RSVP. But he at least Plies bought out Keith Sweat
Boosie Badazz was great and did the songs you would expect him to do.
Bow Wow was the youngest performer of the group and you could tell by his energy. He brought out Jermaine Dupree for Welcome to Atlanta and the Dem Franchise Boys.
Rick Ross was okay. He didn’t do many of his most popular songs and didn’t use his 15 minutes well.
Ying Yang Twins did pretty well. But age catches up with all of us.
We left as Trey Songs was getting on the stage and walked back from the State Farm Arena to our hotel Hyatt Place Downtown.
Platinum Medallion is the only Delta status we care about. It guarantees Comfort+ upgrades, which means extra legroom.
The way we did it this year, and how we plan to do it going forward after Delta changed how status is earned, is a mix of flying, credit card spending, and the $7,500 MQD Headstart we get just for having three Delta Amex cards. That headstart is a huge boost—it means we only need to come up with $7,500 more MQDs to hit Platinum.
We put enough spending on the Delta Reserve Amex since it earns 1 MQD for every $10 spent to fill in the gap between the $7500 MQDs from having the Amex cards and flight spend.
Between the MQDs we get from spending and the flights we take, we were able to reach Platinum without going out of our way. We don’t book premium cabins, and we don’t fly just to chase status—we just take the trips we need to and let everything add up naturally. Since Main Cabin and Comfort+ tickets earn 1 MQD per dollar, whatever we spend on flights also helps push us toward the goal.
The annual fees on these cards aren’t cheap, but they’re more than offset by the benefits. The Delta Reserve Amex is $650 a year, and both the Delta Platinum Amex (personal and business) are $350 each, for a total of $1,350 in fees. But between the three cards, we get three Companion Certificates that cover a round-trip ticket - buy one get one free - within the U.S., Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America. These alone can easily be worth more than the card fees, depending on the flight. The Reserve’s certificate is even better because it can be used for First Class if we ever decide to book that.
My wife also has the Amex Delta Platinum and Amex Business Delta Platinum for two more companion passes and $350 Delta Stays credits. That’s enough with flights to reach Gold Medallion.
When we fly together, we both get upgraded based on my status.
On top of that, each card comes with a $200 Delta Stays credit per year, which adds up to $600 in hotel credits we’d use anyway. That, plus the value of the Companion Certificates, more than covers the cost of holding these cards. The Reserve Amex also gives us 15 Sky Club visits per year, which makes airport time a lot more comfortable.
This setup helped us earn Platinum Medallion this year, and with Delta’s new rules, it’s how we plan to do it moving forward.
Costa Rica was a wonderful vacation. As soon as we landed at SJO and went through customs we walked over to the domestic terminal to take our flight to Manuel Antonio.
We boarded our flight to Manuel Antonio on a 15 passenger Cessna.
And landed at XQP 30 minutes later.
This is the terminal at XQP. Yes it’s a hut.
After a short ride in a taxi, we were at Los Altos Resort.
We spent five days in Manuel Antonio. We went there with the intention of a relaxing 5 days without too much planned.
We went on a short boat tour one day. This is the view of our hotel from the boat.
The next day we did a guided tour of Manuel Antonio National Park.
We went to local restaurants and just spent most of the time enjoying the views from the room.
And the walk out pool.
Our first trip of the year. It’s been way too long since I’ve been on a plane…
This past weekend, my wife and I went to see New Edition in Las Vegas. I wasn’t sure what to expect because,, a lot of artists from that era haven’t aged well when it comes to live performances. When we saw Dru Hill and Luther Campbell, they were awful and I was especially disappointed when I saw Janet Jackson—the show just wasn’t that good. She only had four dancers the entire show and they were all male.
The first time I saw New Edition was back in the ‘80s, right after Bobby Brown left the group. I went with my cousins, and Bobby was on the same tour as an opening act.
From the beginning, the choreography was sharp, the vocals were solid, and they ran through all the classics. Each member got their moment—Bobby Brown performed his solo hits, and he’ struggles to move, he did pretty welll. Ralph Tresvant sounded and moved well, and Bell Biv DeVoe (BBD), did their two songs as did . Johnny Gill.
They structured the show in a way that worked around Bobby Brown’s physical limitations without taking away from his presence. Backup dancers filled in when needed, but it never felt like a distraction. The whole thing was well thought out, and you could tell they put in the effort to make sure the show lived up to expectations.
Sociologist Ray Oldenburg describes third spaces as the social environments outside of home (first space) and work (second space) where people connect—coffee shops, gyms, bars, hobby groups, and other places that foster community. These spaces aren’t just about socializing; they create a sense of belonging.
When I started working remotely after COVID in 2020, I lost more than an office—I lost my second space. Work had been a built-in social hub, a place where casual interactions and friendships formed naturally. Even before moving to Orlando two years ago, staying connected with friends had already become difficult. Between COVID, family obligations, and frequent travel with my wife, spontaneous hangouts became rare. Moving made it worse.
In college, my third space wasn’t a café or a bar—it was my friends’ parents’ houses. We spent hours there, watching TV, gaming, and just existing together. After college and before I got married, the gym became my third space, providing structure and familiar faces.
Now, my closest third space is the bar downstairs, where I’ve become friends with the bartender and talk to tourists. I also fly back to Atlanta regularly to see friends and visit Albany to see family. Between those, I’m not sure I need another third space.
Maybe third spaces don’t have to be as fixed as they once were. In different life stages, they change, and right now, mine is more fluid—sometimes the bar downstairs, sometimes a trip back to where I spent most of my adult life. Instead of searching for a perfect replacement, I’m leaning into what already works.
For now, that feels like enough.
Going into 2024, we had no major plans besides selling our home in Atlanta.
This ended up being the year of concerts with two in Atlanta, three in Las Vegas, two in Orlando and one in Los Angeles.
We also went to two outdoor music festivals - never again.
We were only able to remove two new states from our bucket list - Maryland and Hawaii.
We kept going back and forth about getting a car and used SixT for a few months until we finally decided to get a traditional lease.
Going into this year, we “only” have around a dozen trips planned besides random flights to see my parents.
When we first bought our condotel, we were told that we could only stay in our unit up to 180 days.
I looked at our paperwork, and everything we signed said “unlimited use as owners”.
We tried to book our stay for a year and we were told that we can’t stay more than 180 consecutive days.
Now, we have to pack everything we own in suitcases every 180 days, vacate our unit, store our belongings either in the car or with the bellman service and leave for a few days.
We usually schedule our move out as close to possible when we are planning to travel.
It’s a slight irritation. But we have it down to science
I was talking to my coworker and he mentioned that he was going to see Stevie Wonder.
Seeing Stevie Wonder was on my bucket list and this may be his last concert. So I decided to do an overnight trip.
The concert was pretty good. Too many guest singers, too much talking and my view on the floor wasn’t the greatest.
It was nice to meet my coworker in person.
I stayed at the AC Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.
The view was great. The hotel was in a prime location and there were restaurants, bars and live music.
The hotel was right in front of the venue Crypto Arena
We flew to Honolulu Hawaii last month. We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort.
It was overly touristy, a lot of shops and it just felt old. There was a small pool and it wasn’t like we were expecting. We were expecting a more Caribbean feel or at least for it to feel like our own home in Florida.
Traffic was horrible and getting around felt like driving in Atlanta.
The hotel was at least free for us on points.
We went to a food tour and it was the worse one we have done yet.
The only saving grace was the luaha. Where the food was decent and they did put on a good show
We were so over it that we ended up cancelling one of our plans.
We had been talking about going to Hawaii since 2018, we were really disappointed.
Maybe we went to the wrong island or it might have been our life is so much different now than then and we have done so much more that our expectations are different.
We went to see Justin Timberlake at the Kia Center the day after coming back from Daytona.
Not much to say. The visuals were great. The choreography was top notch and he put on a good performance.
We took a quick trip to Daytona beach to see my friend’s band play at Punk Rock Pizza.
He is the lead singer of Anxiety Attack. It’s an independent band.
I first met the lead singer as the bar tender downstairs. I just started going down to the bar to hang out with him on the weekend and found out he was in a band.
It was fun, different and the food was good at Pirate’s Pizza.
Our third and final trip to Las Vegas for the year was to see Maroon 5.
We flew to Las Vegas four days after returning from our cruise from Miami.
It was a great show. He was a great singer and performer. The seats were amazing and he did part of his set right in front of us
However, I am ready to take a break from Las Vegas after going three times in one year.
We usually aren’t into cruises. But we always seem to end up on one. When we do go, it’s usually more to hang out with friends than the cruise itself. This time was no different.
We flew into Miami the day before and stayed at the Hyatt Regency Miami
I don’t really have too much to say about the cruise. Just read the review
It’s an all adult cruise. There isn’t as much entertainment as Carnival Cruises. Depending on your point of view, it’s either boring or relaxing.
The food is definitely better. Another difference is that with Carnival, every adult in your cabin has to buy a Cheers Beverage Package if one person buys one.
With Virgin, you can open an optional bar tab that gives you bonus spend.
You also get free basic WiFI.
As far as the stops, we stopped in the Dominican Republic and did a rum tour…
We had a day at sea and then stopped at the THE BEACHES OF BIMINI, THE BAHAMAS. We just went to the beach and hung out in the water.
This is very much a been there done that thing. It was…fine. But we probably won’t do Virgin Voyages again. Vir
We were back in Las Vegas a second time in September to see Bruno Mars at Dolby Live. It was a great concert. He is a talented singer, the choreography was great, and he is also a wonderful songwriter.
I don’t have any pictures of the concert since they made everyone put their phones in a locked bag.
The best description of the concert can be found here
We went to the “I love R&B” festival in Los Angeles last month.
And stayed in the Conrad in Los Angeles on Hilton Honors points. We definitely wouldn’t have paid cash for the hotel even though it was “nice”.
It was less than a block away from the venue - Grand Park.
Honestly, we wouldn’t have bought tickets for this concert if we had experienced the Orlando Funk Fest before buying the tickets. Lesson learned. Don’t attend a concert outside and where you will see a bunch of one hit wonder performers who are past their prime.
Because we aren’t ones to fall for the sunk cost fallacy, just because we paid for the tickets isn’t a reason to stay outside in the heat. We ate and left after the first artist and went back to the hotel.
These last two years have been all about learning what we like and don’t like. We definitely don’t like outside venues….
At the end of July, we saw Ciara, Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliot in Concert at the Kia Center here in Orlando.
There isn’t too much to say. Everything about the concert was excellent. Great performances, choreography and visuals.
Pictures just don’t do justice for how great the concert was. It was definitely the best concert we had seen up to this point.
This has definitely been the year of concerts for us. We have been to Las Vegas three times this year.
The first trip back to Vegas was to see Robin Thicke and Boys II Men.
We stayed at The Jockey Club.
The concert was okay. I knew not to expect too much from older artists.
This was our first time back in Vegas since last year when we were there for a month and half. It was like being back home. We went to our old spots at Miracle Mile. My wife went to various gyms to work out with friends.
