Art Basel

One of the "Dopest" events I have ever attended was the "Art Basel 2017" in Miami this past December.  My wife, daughter, and I drove down for the day and attended the events in Wynwood, where they displayed the multitude of dynamic grafitti art along with a few eccentric sculptures.

Art Basel is an international art fair, it was started in 1970 and currently hosted in 3 different cities around the world, Hong Kong, Basel in Switzerland, and Miami Beach .  The shows are broken up into different categories of contemporary art and features work from established and new up and coming artist as well.

There was a who's who list of people who attended this event .  Despite having quite a few friends and models whom we had previously worked roaming the streets of Wynwood, we never crossed paths.  Although we did meet a lot of cool and very talented people.  Some of the artist working on murals were welcoming of us to photograph them and their works of art.  

This event was so dope for me growing up in the real Hip-Hop era where American graffiti was born.  I remember watching the movies "Beat Street" and "Breakin" and immediately started creating tags on and in my school notebooks, and begging my GrandMa to buy me colored pencils to give it that extra flash.  I am very elated to see the love and celebration of this Art that should be everlasting.  My family and I plan to make this an annual trip and become more involved.  We definitely will be vlogging our adventures in the future.  Until then I hope you enjoy the shots I took from my first Art Basel.

The Big Easy

Out of the millions of reasons why I love my wife , one of the biggest and most appreciated is the fact that she has pulled me out of my comfort zone box .  For the last 13 years working in corporate America I had never taken a real vacation .  Eight months after we began dating , we also began road tripping !   Every year she has tried to take a vacation  to somewhere she had never been before , so last October for her birthday I took her to New Orleans, LA.  

If you don't get anything else from this blog post , please take these two vital pieces of advise .  One enjoy life , travel and experience new things with your loved ones, and the second; take that trip to the Big Easy !!!      

Nola Jazz on Bourbon St.

We arrived to meet our Air BnB host Ms. Kina, a beautiful sister native to New Orleans and well versed in our culture there.  Ms. Kina welcomed us into her beautiful and spacious 3 level home, giving us complete run of the lower level as well as the huge fully equipped kitchen.  We chatted with her for a bit before she left us to settle in.  We took a breath and headed back out to explore the historic French Quarter and most importantly indulge in the "N'awlins" cuisine.  Our first meal was at the packed "Deanie's Seafood Restaurant " on Iberville St.  The food was great the parking not so much.  Despite the Queen wanting to further explore, I had to get rest my tired legs so we headed back to Ms. Kina's.

The next morning we were back at it , exploring the French Quarter and the World Famous Cafe Du Monde,  I'm still upset that I didn't eat more beignets, so soft so sweet, oh so delicous .  This spot stays packed with people but it's cool though because even in line you can chill and watch the activity around the French Market.

We were a couple months (4) too early for Mardi Gras but a great precursor to the "must attend once in your life event" was the  "Krewe of Boo" parade.  It was a small sample of what I have only heard of Mardi Gras, a small very tame version. Lots of fun all the same.

After hearing about the cultural rich city of New Orleans all my life from my Dad who used to jog around the city on his visits, and my Uncles and other family who never seemed to miss a Mardi Gras when I was younger, they were always quick to tell me I was too young to go.  It was great to finally experience the culture and history for myself , and to do it with the love of my life was a extra blessing.

The food , the people, the architecture, and did I say the food ...them shrimp Po' Boys?  We also went to Mother's Restaurant, which is another must do before you leave New Orleans.  I think we went several times while we were there. My wife re-created this pretty dope picture that Beyonce took when she visited a few years before us.

My wife on the right, the other Jay's wife on the left.

 The most notable experience was the history of voodoo, black magic, the practitioners of, and the history of slaves in the largest city in Louisiana back then.  We took several so called "haunted" tours around the Quarter, we regrettably missed the tours for the famous cemeteries , Lafayette 1 and Saint Louis Cemetary #1 which is the burial place of Marie Laveau, the legendary voodoo Queen. 

I have to say that New Orleans immediately has become one of my favorite cities in the world and I can't wait for us to visit again .  I have a great respect and love for the people of New Orleans for all they have been through and their ability to still shine .  I feel blessed and thankful that I was able to make New Orleans my first check off on my travel bucket list.  Hope ya'll enjoy these random pictures I took on this trip,  there would have been more but we really got caught up in the culture.  I Love my People !!  

that Nola Blues - street musician