Kenya Allmond (me)

I Found Paradise in Tortola, BVI

kenya — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:00:45 +0000

I was looking for a birthday trip destination. I shopped all the deal sites and ALL the deals were for two. I was discouraged but kept looking. I then saw a deal from LivingSocial Escapes for the British Virgin Islands. I had never been to the British Virgin Islands nor even heard of anyone going but was intrigued. I did some price comparisons on the normal price of the resort and also compared it to what I could get in the U.S. Virgin Islands for the same price. The LivingSocial deal appeared to be a really good one even though it was for two and I was to travel solo.

(More photos are available on Flickr.)

The British Virgin Islands, specifically Tortola, is one of the best places I have been on vacation. I don’t like tourist traps with a lot of people and made up attractions. Although I go, Las Vegas, Orlando and Cancun fall into these categories. When I want to relax, it’s good to be in a place that is quiet and self-paced. Add to that natural beauty and I am in paradise.

The tourism slogan for the British Virgin Islands is “Nature’s Little Secrets” and Tortola for sure is a well kept secret. Everything there was unassuming and understated. Arriving via ferry at the West End terminal I wondered what kind of place I had gone to without doing any kind of real research. Quaint doesn’t even explain the ferry terminal and Customs and Immigration that you have to pass through to enter. I took an open air taxi bus with a family up a steep hill and a downhill hairpin turn and I was at the Long Beach Bay Resort. The resort and Sebastians, where the family got off, seemed like they was just in the middle of the road. Long Bay is the best resort on the island and after talking with other tourists about where they stayed I know why. Long Bay has 53 rooms including beach houses and villas. Those rooms are air conditioned and the resort has modern amenities like a pool, tennis courts, spa, excursions and rental cars on property. My only complaint about the resort was the steep climb to my room. My view was spectacular. The resort is on a mile long stretch of beach on Long Bay.

On the third day, I got the rental car that was included in my LivingSocial deal. I had to continuously remind myself to drive on the left which was easy when there was no oncoming traffic. Whenever I did see oncoming traffic, I would freak out a little because while I’m used to driving in the left lane on the beltway, for instance, I don’t see oncoming traffic on the right. And then I had to tackle that steep incline and hairpin on Zion Hill Road. The first day I ventured out to Road Town and then went to Beef Island since it’s connected to Tortola via bridge. The second day with the car I set out to explore the North Shore and avoid Zion Hill Road. O.M.Gee! There was a serious uphill zigzag on the way to Cane Garden Bay that the rental car DID NOT like. It made Zion Hill Road look like a flat straightaway. The view from up there was stunning but since I was concentrating on driving I couldn’t snap any pics.

I read in the my Fodor’s guide that Cane Garden Bay was the closest beach to Road Town and that it was only a steep incline up and another steep decline between them. I did the steep decline down to Road Town behind a cement truck. That was kind of scary but down is easier than up since gravity helps. The island is small and you could probably drive every road in the space of a few hours (except that Road Town does have rush hour traffic which I got stuck in the first day with the car). I was glad I took advantage of the car and didn’t chicken out with those seriously steep roads. I got to see the real Tortola and discovered that it wasn’t that much different from near my resort. The resorts and hotels aren’t isolated like in many other places; they’re right where people live. The taxi driver that took me back to the ferry station showed me that her whole family lived in several houses right beside my resort.

I did have trouble a few times finding places especially restaurants because when I hear “restaurant” I expect a building. Many of them are just outside. All three of them at my resort were outside. I found some good spots to eat and chat with locals who were really friendly unlike the tourists at my resort. While my resort seemed to have all couples, I would also recommend it for singles. You’ll just have to get off the resort to mingle with folks elsewhere.

Chaka Khan at the Howard Theatre

kenya — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:30:48 +0000

Chaka Khan brought it to the Howard Theatre. She sounded and looked good. I was secretly wondering if in a few months my mid section would allow me to rock this dress (but that’s neither here nor there).

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John Legend’s Marvin Gaye Tribute at the Kennedy Center

kenya — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:00:07 +0000

On May 1, 1972, Marvin Gaye made history performing his album What’s Going On at the Kennedy Center. For the 40th anniversary of that legendary concert, John Legend and the NSO Pops echoed Marvin’s performance. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings accompanied.

This was an excellent concert! It not only featured song but also moving poetry and spoken word from high school students. At one point I thought that Sharon Jones’ strong voice would outdo John Legend but he held his own. After intermission, the crew forgot to place Legend’s sheet music. I was impressed when I realized that he was playing without it when I saw someone run out and place it on his piano.

Video: Dance DC Festival

I Slipped Up And Turned 40

kenya — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:08:27 +0000

I don’t know how it happened. Really it seemed like I just turned 30. I mean, I still feel (and sometimes act) like a teenager. This can’t be happening. I was just sitting here minding my own business. How am I 40?

I am a bit freaked out that I’m old enough to be a grandmother. My grandmother was 40 (albeit almost 41) when I was born and many of my high school classmates are grandparents already. And I was 19 (thinking I was grown) when my own mother turned 40. Seriously, what the heck?

In all seriousness, though, I’m taking 40 in stride. I remember a few weeks before I turned 30, I found a grey hair and ~~almost~~ flipped out. I was seriously worried about “getting old” for weeks. I was also in denial about turning 30; I wanted to stay 28. Now I have more grey hairs than I can count. And it’s mostly okay.

As a child, I couldn’t picture myself at 40 or even 30. I couldn’t even picture myself at 40 when I was 30 for that matter. I think I turned out okay. I haven’t always made the right choices. I’ve had good times, bad times and some meh times. but I wouldn’t do it any differently. Regrets are a waste of time. I’ve made a decent life for myself and I’ve been able to do things I had only dreamed about. I know that I am blessed. Just waking up every morning, I am blessed. God grants me new mercies each day.

I will continue to live every day like it’s my last and do the things I’ve always wanted to do. I just have to make extra effort for those things that are hard. I am not perfect and am glad to have people in my life that love me anyway.

Steppin’ Out of The Negro Caravan

kenya — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 17:00:30 +0000

I was fortunate to attend “Steppin’ Out of the Negro Caravan” at Howard University’s Ira Aldridge Theater. A dramatization of the landmark anthology of African American literature, The Negro Caravan, edited by Howard University professors Sterling A. Brown and Arthur P. Davis and Morgan State University professor Ulysses G. Lee. Howard University drama students were joined on stage by professional actors Avery Brooks, Debbie Allen and Lynda Gravatt as well as Joseph Coleman, a member of the musical group The Platters. The performance was very moving.

Of course I took a few photos at the end.

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I Don’t Need Any More “Friends”

kenya — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:12:42 +0000

When I was young I remember the guys always saying “I don’t need no more friends” any time they felt like they were going to be put in the “friend zone”. That’s because to them the friend zone was the kiss of death and a waste of their time.

These days though dudes seem to want to be in the friend zone. Why? Because they plan to use it as a side door to get at what they really want. The goal is to lull the woman into a false sense of security while the man finds out everything he can about her that will allow them to be together in closer than normal situations. Then they can dismiss anything that happens by saying “I really value our friendship and I hadn’t planned for this to happen … [insert more B.S. here].” (Yeah, I haven’t been on the earth for 40 years and can’t see that B.S. coming at me. Yes you did!) More than likely though, they’ll get mad when nothing at all happens, their advances are met with confusion and surprise or the women take up with men with more direct approaches. For me, if he insists he’s a friend, he’s in the friend bucket and that’s all there is. I have an entirely different post I need to write about the side door friend zone approach gone wrong but I’ll save that for later.

It is not that I think that men and women can’t be friends. We can. I have male friends. They’re great. (Guess who I get my advice on men from.) But you can’t walk up to me staring at my boobs talking about you want to just be friends. You insult my intelligence and mess up your own opportunities being dishonest. That entire “friendship” would be false.

So now I’m saying “I don’t need no more friends.” I am no longer accepting applications for friends that are male. We can be acquaintances, colleagues, business associates or any number of other things but not “friends”. I refuse to invest any time in false friendships.

#INTERSECTIONSDC Duke Ellington School of the Arts

kenya — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 02:00:01 +0000

The Country Shook and the Children Hollered

Outstanding young artists revisit and rework the American conversation as posed by Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Marvin Gaye and more, seizing their own distinctly American tradition.

#INTERSECTIONSDC Marc Avon Evans

kenya — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 02:00:32 +0000

Baltimore based indie and international recording artist Marc Avon Evans and his acoustic band bring an eclectic blend of city soul to DC. Experience what has made his Baltimore series, Acoustic Thursdays, so popular.

#INTERSECTIONSDC Liner Notes

kenya — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 02:00:25 +0000

Paige Hernandez directs a musical journey through hip-hop’s many intersections when multiple artists join The Corner Store Jazz Trio to breathe life into a fading art – the liner note.

My First SXSW via Storify

kenya — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 07:20:55 +0000

Storify goes a good job of presenting my various posts from SXSW.

GrowSmartBiz Conference Notes

Kenya Allmond (me)

I Found Paradise in Tortola, BVI

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