In June, we celebrated Duke’s 3rd birthday as a family at the Downtown Houston Aquarium. It’s close to home and Duke likes animals so I thought he’d enjoy an experience at the attraction. I was partially right. He was not as enthused about it as I would’ve hoped which in part is just Duke. He is not big on being around people and seemed a bit like a fish out of water (pun intended) when we first got there. It helped that my mom brought my nieces. He loosened up once other children were in the mix. We walked through the attractions and saw the animals then we went outside and rode some of the rides. It was hot! Afterwards we had lunch in the restaurant, sang happy birthday and cut the cake. His Paw Patrol cake didn’t turn out as I had hoped design wise, but it tasted good. The birthday boy was pooped and asleep in my arms by the time we were done. Overall we had a good time, but not sure if I had it to do over again that we would’ve gone here. We would’ve either gone to the aquarium in Galveston, or to Chuck E Cheese which Duke loves! But hey, mama tried.
Pictured above are some snapshots from our trip. Our visit to Morgan State, the MLK Memorial, and the Apollo Theater. As you know, I love museums, so I had to feature some shots from the National Museum of African American History & Culture! Starting with images and a quote from Alvin Ailey. I absolutely love watching the Alvin Ailey dance company perform and so admire him and his legacy. I also included Johnetta B. Cole’s inaugural robe from Bennett College where she served as president. She was also the first female president at Spelman and is one of my sorors. I heard her speak at a commencement when I was a little girl (she was the president of Spelman at the time). I love that her regalia included African inspired symbols and also stanzas from Maya Angelou’s poems “Phenomenal Woman” and “And Still I Rise.” The quote about style I just love because (and no disrespect to other ethnic groups) it’s a celebration of Black people in contrast to the marginalization we often face. Last but not least, I had to include pictures of my bucket list experience on Broadway.
