Our second anniversary in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida (September 2010)

My husband and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary in Sunny Isles Beach, Fl. We stayed at the Acqualina Resort and Spa on the Beach, a resort I will go back to in a heartbeat. . .what a glorious location! The staff was super-friendly, courteous and extremely helpful. The room was large, and luxurious, and the grounds were very inviting. The hotel also offers a complimentary house car (actually it’s a Lincoln Navigator) for transporting guests to nearby locations, which was great for us as we used it several times.

Most of the time we just lazed and lounged on the beach, by the pools and in the hot tub having drinks, we went window shopping at two great malls nearby, danced the night away (well…I danced and did the limbo) at the hotel bar one night (Brazilian night), and went for long walks along the beach. Although, of course, it was very warm there, being near the ocean made a huge difference. My husband (who prefers cooler temperatures) was comfortable in the heat.

The highlight of the mini-vacation, however, was a trip to the Everglades. My husband wanted to do this and so I “gave in” and said I would go too (even though I was not too keen on doing this). Turned out that I enjoyed it much more than he did. We rode an airboat through the Everglades, going very slowly at first, then at top speed, doing all of the fancy sliding turns you’ve seen in the movies. We then stopped “somewhere” in the marsh and some of the guests on the boat got out and stepped into the murky, muddy waters of the Everglades. We saw full-grown alligators (which my husband swore were “planted” there for the unsuspecting tourists), and many baby alligators, which were so adorable.

After the airboat ride, there was a show which featured a huge alligator (who mainly laid on his belly and opened his mouth only once for the presenter to put something in it), a poisonous frog (which one of the female tourists was pressured into kissing), a jet black scorpion (which the presenter was holding and startled me with as I walked close by him to my seat), some other small reptiles and a 3 month alligator that you could take a picture with. We passed on this.

The trip was great and we both enjoyed our time and celebrating our anniversary there!

Written by Screenname TriniDiva (a.k.a. NSL-R) on 10/11/10
All photos taken by and property of NSL-R

My Evening in the Presence of Two African Presidents

If anyone ever told me that I would be an invited guest at the birthday celebration of the President of South Africa (right) and that I would have dinner in the very same ballroom in Washington, D.C., only a couple of tables away from not one, but two African Presidents, I would say, "no way." But lo and behold, this actually happened on April 13 and the reality of the evening did not hit me during the event, but came full force the next day after I had a chance to reflect on the previous evening’s celebrations. The Mandarin Oriental hotel in Washington, D.C. was the location for what I call "my evening in the presence of Presidents."

The occasion was to honor H.E. President Jacob Zuma on his 68th birthday, who was in DC for the Nuclear Security Summit hosted by President Obama. His friend, the current Acting Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan (above), (and might I add, "fashionista in his own right," who sported an eye-catching black hat and black leather jacket) was present at the dinner to pay his regards in person to President Zuma. (The audience got two for the price of one, as knowledge of Acting President Jonathan’s attendance was made known only shortly before the celebration began).

After the singing of both South African and United States national anthems, Ambassador Andrew Young, Chairman (left) of the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation (the event sponsor), who is a personal friend of President Zuma, and who has been an advocate for education in South Africa and Africa in general, praised President Zuma for his work before he had the honour to introduce him to his guests. Mr. Zuma took the podium and proceeded to share his following birthday wishes with the audience. President Zuma wished for educating, not only African children, but children all over the world. In his remarks, he said that "[e]ducation is the key to genuine freedom," and also that "[e]ducation is the most tangible and sustainable form of empowerment." He thanked Ambassador Young for the vital role he played and continues to play in making education possible for underprivileged, orphaned and the most disadvantaged youth in South Africa through President Zuma’s organization, the RDP Education Trust.

A formal education-deprived but self-educated man, President Zuma rose to the ranks in the African National Congress (ANC), after being influenced by politics at an early age. President Zuma spoke about the continued struggle of the liberation of the African continent. With many African countries now celebrating 50 years of independence, he wished for and urged all nations to "…commit…to draw on…shared achievements… to build a better Africa."

President Zuma also joked about a bet he has with President Obama, that Mr. Obama said he will fly to South Africa during the 2010 World Cup, if and only if, the final showdown is between the United States and South African soccer teams. Also present at the birthday celebration were Charles Rangel, Maxine Waters and Diane Watson, from the United States House of Representatives and Ministers of International Relations as well as Ministers of State Security and Energy from South Africa. And as long as I’m throwing titles out there, the White House representative at the birthday bash was Michael Blake (Associate Director, White House Office of Public Engagement & Deputy Associate Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs). Whew!

The evening’s host, and President and CEO of the Foundation, Hope Masters, also addressed the audience and spoke of the Foundation’s continued commitment to education.

The evening’s live entertainment were the Temptations who had President Zuma dancing on stage with them during their performance. (I missed them, but heard and read that they were awesome!) Stevie Wonder also made a surprise appearance and sang "happy birthday" to President Zuma.

Master of Ceremonies for the evening was CNN’s "easy on the eyes" weekend anchor, T.J. Holmes, who was quite the comedian and kept the mood of the evening very light.

All in all, the evening was a little surreal to me and in some ways I was happy to realize the emotion of the events the next day, because it gave me a true appreciation for the experience of being in the presence of the two leaders.

Thanks for the invitation!

Written by Screenname TriniDiva (a.k.a. NSL-R)

Christmas 2009 in Maryland USA

Christmas 2009 was memorable for several reasons. My family came from around the world to spend Christmas together. They came from Europe, Japan, New York, North Carolina and various points in Maryland. My mother was in the US, my husband was also here, my brother was home from Japan (after not being here for umpteen Christmases) and the East Coast experienced one of its biggest snow falls on record.

We did the usual rounds of visiting family, as much as the weather would allow as the snow, although very nice to look at, impeded everyone’s ability to get around. Dinner at my niece’s, get together at another niece’s and brunch at my house. Some were sick, kids were having a ball, grown ups played Skip Bo, Scrabble, pool. There was much to eat, drink and be merry about. Always good times!

Then the Holidays were over and everyone headed back home. Until next year! Maybe it's time for Christmas in warm and sunny Trinidad & Tobago!

Written on 1/13/10 by screenname TriniDiva (a.k.a NSL-R)