About Me Articles Articles Articles Articles Articles Articles Articles Home About Articles Blog Gallery Contact

Explore a featured selection of my writing work below.

PEOPLE.com •

Miranda Lambert and Brendan McLoughlin's Relationship Timeline

From meeting on the set of Good Morning America to their surprise wedding three months later, here’s a breakdown of Miranda Lambert and Brendan McLoughlin’s whirlwind romance

November 2, 2018: Miranda Lambert and Brendan McLoughlin meet on the set of Good Morning America

July 2019: Miranda Lambert jokes about her surprise marriage to Brendan McLoughlin

September 2019: Miranda Lambert credits Brendan McLoughlin with bringing joy back to her life

December 25, 2019: Miranda Lambert and Brendan

Travel Noire •

Off The Grid In Gold Class: Finding Presence On The Rocky Mountaineer - Travel Noire

“What do you mean this train doesn’t have Wi-Fi?”


There I was on the Rocky Mountaineer, one of the most luxurious trains in North America, and some of the first thoughts going through my head (I hate to admit) were that connection through that the small, yet mighty device would be, of all things, rocky.


Between emails and deadlines, work rarely stops for me, even when I’m out of the office. I can count on one hand how a travel experience itself prevented me from checking a Microsoft Teams...
Travel Noire •

Off-The-Beaten-Path Destinations In Brazil You Should Visit Now - Travel Noire

Brazil captivates many travelers, yet most visitors stick to familiar hotspots like Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Beyond these tourist magnets are many hidden gems waiting to be explored. The real magic of Brazil unfolds in its lesser-known corners where authentic experiences thrive away from the crowds. Such under-the-radar spots include the mysterious depths of the Amazon and the wind-swept dunes of Ceará’s coastline.


These secret places offer travelers the rare chance to connect with Brazi...
Travel Noire •

Shutdown Ends, Yet Travelers Should Still Expect A Delayed Path Back To Normal - Travel Noire

President Trump has signed a bill to fund the government after 43 days, ending the longest shutdown in U.S. history, NPR reports. Federal workers — including TSA agents, air traffic controllers, and FAA staff — will receive backpay, and agencies can begin the slow process of returning to full operations.


But the end of the shutdown doesn’t mean an immediate fix for travelers. The FAA’s staffing gaps, weeks of flight reductions, and widespread schedule disruptions created a system-wide backlog...
Travel Noire •

Historic Durham Black-Owned Restaurant Feeds Hundreds As SNAP Crisis Continues - Travel Noire

Durham’s oldest Black-owned restaurant, The Chicken Hut, recently demonstrated its deep community roots by providing 400 free meals to residents affected by delayed SNAP benefits during the ongoing government shutdown. According to a report by WUNC, owner Tre Tapp and his staff distributed boxed lunches to anyone who presented their SNAP card at the restaurant’s Fayetteville Street location.


This act of generosity follows the restaurant’s recent designation as a local historic landmark, cemen...
Travel Noire •

Get Pregnant During Your Stay? This Hotel Turns It Into A Celebration - Travel Noire

In response to Poland’s shrinking birth rate, one of the country’s top hotel chains is getting creative — turning family planning into part of the guest experience. Arche Hotels, which operates 23 properties across Poland with more than 4,000 rooms, is now offering complimentary celebration packages to couples who conceive a child during their stay at any of their locations, according to CNN.


This approach comes as Poland grapples with a demographic challenge, having recorded just 1.2 live bi...
Travel Noire •

Black Travelers: Let’s Talk About The Goodness That Is Vancouver, British Columbia - Travel Noire

One of the first places my friend took me during my first visit to Vancouver, British Columbia, was the sushi restaurant rumored to be Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s favorite. Miku Vancouver was a place I’ve never heard of, and with it being a Saturday evening, I didn’t think it was even possible to get a table. However, not only did we manage to get a table, but we also had an incredible view of the marina and the mountains.


Vancouver, British Columbia, may not be the first city in Canada that comes to...
Travel Noire •

Studio Museum In Harlem’s Brilliant New Chapter Includes You - Travel Noire

“Today, we welcome a new future for ourselves by staying true to our past,” said Thelma Golden, the Studio Museum in Harlem’s Ford Foundation Director and visionary Chief Curator.


“This building says to the world: Harlem matters. Black art matters. Black institutions matter,” declared Board Chairman Raymond J. McGuire, silencing any doubt.


And Chief Program Officer Natasha Logan describes the feeling simply: “The ancestors would be proud.”


After seven years without a physical home and o...
Travel Noire •

How One Detroit Mom Turned The HBCU College Tour Into A Journey of Black Joy And Legacy - Travel Noire

In Detroit, where innovation and resilience often grow from the same soil, one woman is transforming how young Black students see the world and themselves. Through The Kindred Collective, a Detroit-founded program, social worker and mother Remeta Hicks-Montgomery has reimagined the classic HBCU tour into a week-long, joy-centered passage through Black history and higher education.


For Hicks-Montgomery, the idea wasn’t born from theory but from memory. “I went on two Black college tours in hig...
Travel Noire •

Republican Florida Lawmaker Pushes To Rename Palm Beach International Airport For Trump: ‘A Fitting Tribute’ - Travel Noire

Republican Florida lawmaker Meg Weinberger has proposed legislation to rename Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) in honor of President Donald Trump.


Weinberger is a state representative for District 94. On X (formerly Twitter), November 3, the lawmaker shared that she’s formally proposed renaming her local flight hub to Donald J. Trump International Airport.


“America’s greatest president deserves an airport that bears his name,” she stated on November 3. “That’s why I have filed legisl...
Travel Noire •

Amtrak Passengers Stuck On Train For 19 Hours

Passengers of two Amtrak trains had a nightmare of an experience Saturday traveling from Michigan to Chicago. Several issues occurred and caused many delays. This turned a normal 3-4 hour trip, into 19 hours. A number of passengers couldn’t even wait any longer and fled the trains onto a busy road. “I was supposed to have a really relaxed day, and then it was high stress,” explained Katherine Kobiljak to Fox 17, she was on the train at the time. Kobiljak, who was headed to Chicago to run the mar
Travel Noire •

Atlanta Just Had Its Very First Art Week And It Was Created By A Black Woman

Atlanta has world-class talent and the leaders of the city are determined to make it known. This fall, the city ushered in its first Atlanta Art Week which was created by a Black woman. 26-year-old Kendra Walker is an art advisor and writer. She’s also the creator of the very first Atlanta Art Week. The four-day event is a culmination of art tours, gallery exhibitions, pop-ups, and lectures. The goal is to amplify the rich and diverse art scene in Atlanta. Related: São Paulo’s First Black-Owned
Travel Noire •

Tourists Shout At Armed Guards After Chinese Airport Placed In Lock-Down

Following the news of several cases of COVID-19 in the region, a Chinese airport placed in lockdown caused frustration for travelers. Reportedly, many travelers were left stranded by the lockdown in Xishuangbanna airport in the province of Yunnan.

The airport in the busy Yunnan province area went into lockdown on Wednesday morning. Armed officers forced arriving travelers to remain in the terminal. In a video filmed and shared online, angry tourists can be seen raging at armed officers in full
Travel Noire •

World's Largest Blackout Ever Leaves 140 Million People Without Power

The Power Development Board said the blackout took place shortly after 2:00 p.m. The power company determined that the outage was caused by a grid failure, though, it is not known what led to it.

Certain areas in the northwest region of the country were unaffected. However, spokesman Shamim Ahsan said, “the rest of the country is without power.” He also alleged the power outage was caused by a technical malfunction and said the situation is “still under investigation.”
Travel Noire •

Mom Gives Birth Mid-Flight On Way To Dominican Republic

One mom found out that her baby didn’t want to experience the Dominican Republic inside her womb. In fact, when the plane took off, so did the kicks, which eventually led to mom, Kendra Rhoden, giving birth mid-flight.

“Everything just happened so fast, it just happened so quick,” she tells WFSB, adding the nurses onboard who helped initially told her not to push because they thought she had more time.

RELATED: Couple And Infant Stranded Without Formula After Late-Night Flight Canceled

It tur
Travel Noire •

Portugal To Welcome Remote Workers With New Digital Nomad Visa

A new Portuguese digital nomad visa is due to launch very soon. Remote workers looking to settle down in the country for a year are in luck.

Those looking for a European country to enjoy while continuing to work remotely have long favored Portugal. Digital nomads who can work from anywhere – providing there is a strong enough WiFi connection – are in luck in Portugal. According to Time Out reports, the visa is designed for those intending to live in the country for up to 12 months.

Sound good?
Travel Noire •

Get To Know DLTBrunch: London's Finest, International Black-Owned Day Party

DLTBrunch has truly changed the face of the day party scene in London, England. For those who have attended an event, the name itself brings nostalgic smiles to faces and for those yet to experience it, curiosity and a sprinkle of impatience. Representing all that you want from a bottomless brunch party in an international city, DLTBrunch exists to give the diaspora a new way to enjoy London’s party scene. Initially conceived after a string of amazing day party memories from times spent living i
Travel Noire •

Americans Smash Two Sculptures In The Vatican

Inside the Museo Chiaramonti, one of the many museums within the Vatican which holds close to 1,000 works of ancient history. The man in question started to take down the artifacts with his hands during lunchtime. The tourist knocked down two portraits, one while he was angry and the other just toppled as he tried to run away from the scene. The assailant was demanding to see the pope. When staffers and the authorities told him he could not see the Pope, he hurled a Roman bust to the ground. The
Travel Noire •

Killed On Vacation: NAACP Leader Shot In Turks And Caicos

Kent Carter, of the Arlington County NAACP was killed on vacation while riding in a shuttle van back to his hotel. Police say a gang of men started shooting at the vehicle, which murdered Carter and injured another passenger in the van.

“Just a really great, standup guy, you know? One of the best neighbors you could have,” stated Robert York to FOX 5. York was a neighbor to Carter and couldn’t believe the news of what happened. “He and his family, just really great neighbors. So this is just in
Travel Noire •

How To Save For Holiday Travels

In 2020, I paid off $30,000 in student loan debt. While there are no one-size fits all strategies for debt repayment, I was able to accomplish this with a mixture of increasing my income, decreasing my spending, and creating and sticking to a budget. One of my motivations for paying down my debt was so that I could travel more. And for the past year, I’ve been able to do that and have traveled from London to Dubai, all while working remotely and building a brand.

The holiday season is one of th
Travel Noire •

Issa Rae and Delta Team Up to Launch Travel-Inspired Collection at L.A. Fashion Week

Delta Air Lines is hitting Los Angeles Fashion Week with its first-ever fashion collection. In collaboration with multi-hyphenate artist Issa Rae, Delta is combatting the common discomforts of flying by equipping travelers with a line made for style and comfort created by small business designers across the country.

The apparel and accessories collection is designed for the “chic, adventurous, and well-traveled,” as described on the Delta Runway Collection website.

Delta and Rae each announced
Travel Noire •

Surviving #Yachtnik — Inside Seychelles ‘Luxury’ Trip Scandal & The History Of Its Origin

As a young professional, Tyler M* was an avid traveler. But there were certain experiences that she never imagined would be accessible to her. So when she came across an Instagram post from a company called Yacht’Nik in July 2021 promoting a decadent excursion to Seychelles, an East African archipelago of islands tucked away in the Indian Ocean, it seemed— as the well-worn adage goes— too good to be true. “I never thought I would be on a luxury accommodation trip before the age of 30,” Tyler exp
PEOPLE.com •

Miranda Lambert and Brendan McLoughlin's Relationship Timeline

From meeting on the set of Good Morning America to their surprise wedding three months later, here’s a breakdown of Miranda Lambert and Brendan McLoughlin’s whirlwind romance

November 2, 2018: Miranda Lambert and Brendan McLoughlin meet on the set of Good Morning America

July 2019: Miranda Lambert jokes about her surprise marriage to Brendan McLoughlin

September 2019: Miranda Lambert credits Brendan McLoughlin with bringing joy back to her life

December 25, 2019: Miranda Lambert and Brendan
Travel Noire •

TN Awards: Meet The Nominees For Best Black-Owned Restaurant

Good food brings people together and builds community like nothing else. And now that TN Awards season is here, we want to recognize the Black-owned restaurant that threw down like no other. The line-up includes a variety of cuisines from vegetarian southern fare, to Insta-worthy Unicorn brunches and everything in between. It’s an international array of palate pleasers from Atlanta to London with some West Indian flair in between and heaps of southern comfort. Cast your vote for your fave until
Load More