Lido is a Fredrick Douglass Ave. Restaurant Row staple. It’s one of those places that at any time, there’s a high probability that you will see someone you know from the neighborhood. You might even see a celebrity or two trying to be low-key (or HIGH-key like one day when Cornel West was there).

Lucca Ristorante is an Italian restaurant in my hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. Wedged in between the campuses of Carnegie Mellon University and The University of Pittsburgh on Craig St., its unassuming visage belies delicious delicacies and decadent deserts.

Brown Estate Tasting Room, located in downtown Napa, is a branch of the black-owned vineyard and winery of the same name.

The vineyard itself was established in 1980 with a wine-making component following in 1996. It is a brand that has been growing steadily in popularity in recent years through word of mouth and social media.

Black Stallion Estate Winery in Napa Valley was the first stop in Napa Valley on a cool, crisp overcast morning in October 2021. We visited the former equestrian center after enduring a lengthy Lyft ride from Silicon Valley, and it was worth it!

In downtown Napa Valley among the handsome boutique shops and various wine tasting rooms resides the Compline Restaurant and Wine Bar.

Among the tech giants of the world and adjacent to Stanford University in the Palo Alto wilds resides Evvia Estiatorio, a Greek restaurant whos food flavors capture even the most discerning palate.

For those of you who have already booked an interview for Global Entry but are going an international trip before said interview, consider utilizing the Enrollment on Arrival Program.

I committed a cardinal sin of the international travel lifestyle — I let my Global Entry membership lapse during the pandemic. Understandable with most travel restricted, but not paying attention to the expiration date created quite a shock for me on two fronts:

• My TSA Pre-Check benefit (which is included with Global Entry membership) stopped.
• Not having it on a recent international trip caused me to have to wait in the customs line for almost an hour upon re-entry into the US. Unacceptable.

I love to travel, especially internationally, but depending on where you’re going getting there can be a slog. Sharing bathrooms, trying to keep a reasonably tidy space, resting, and entertaining yourself can get tedious and downright disgusting without proper preparation. Here are a few things you need to make the long-haul flight experience more manageable.

While dwelling in a 5-star resort in Cancun is a superb experience on its own, where would this blog be if I didn’t discuss the food? All-inclusives tend to have ok food, but what happens when all your meals are worthy of a higher status?

Confession time: I never did the college ” Cancún” trip. I’m not a huge party person and when I’m near a beach I mainly want to relax with a drink in my hand. That’s probably the reason why I said “why not” when bae suggested that we spend time in the Mexican city for a few days at the Haven Riviera Cancun resort.