PhillyMocha

abandoned, blackwriter, creativewriting, explore, graffiti, nature, newjersey, outdoors, photodiary, photography, trespassing, urbex

Drive-by Treasures

Image | Posted on September 18, 2015 by broketraveluster

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In the midst of frustration I spotted the rust infected white containers sticking up like beacons against the clear blues skies. It was nearing sunset and all hopes I had of a hike were gone since we were foreign to the part of New Jersey that we tried exploring. Google maps is usually a salvation but in this case it lead me to condominiums that I had believed to be a trail. I was very frustrated and almost desperate to explore and add yet another photo to my Instagram gallery. (Do it for da ‘gram) We were driving home to take our dog to the local (boring) dog park and after a frustrating day all I wanted was to conquer some new soil. I don’t know about you but seeing building covered in vines and dilapidated always excites me and I nearly crash trying to swerve off the road to get to them. Those circumstances began this days adventures of drive-by treasure.

adventures, friends, nature, philadelphia, photography, travel

‘Lemme tell U something about my Bestfriend!’

Image | Posted on August 10, 2015 by broketraveluster

What’s a bestfriend?

I don’t think I knew myself til I had one for 8 years. This post is about a celebration of a special life. A special life of my friend. Her names Melissa and she has been my best friend for over 8 years. So let me tell me what my best friend means to me^.^

TRUST

We spent many years gossiping about others surely but we never go behind each other backs on each other.

COMPANIONSHIP

Being an only child, myself, hasn’t been at all lonely due to her friendship. Her house is and has always been open during all my struggles, tears, and escapes.

DISTANCE

It’s great to have a relationship with someone where you don’t have to be with them all the time to keep a bond. We can see each other after long periods hiatuses and pick up where we left off.

LOYALTY

Melissa was the Only ONE person in my teenage years I could rely on. She wanted to be with me, learn about what I loved, and teach me what she loved. That means a lot to me. I never felt unwanted, lonely, or unhappy. Knowing her shielded me from drama that most teens go through. We would meet up almost every day or have long convos on the phone. She put me first and preferred my company. She never ditched me or chose me 2nd to anyone else. I can always count on her for encouragement or a ride at 1 a.m.

TWINNING

Growing up with certain groups of people seems to steer you in certain directions of choices through life (if you let it) The results can be good or bad. My relationship with Melissa has landed me with the best results. We grew to l♡ve the same movies, foods, and even hated the same people. We were so alike that our families were concerned that we would ever get boyfriends. No one seemed to understand how it is to be so happy with being with the same person that it seemed like a sin to be in another person’s company.

TRAVEL

You grow up , get a stable job, and possibly travel between juggling bills or kids. That seems to be the cycle that is harder and harder to maintain in today’s society. Before I get into that cycle I quit school for a while and traveled with Melissa and nothing beats being + traveling with your bestfriend. We starting exploring though when we were young in small ways like taking the greyhound and going to the city. I remember ending the night at her house watching Anthony Bourdain, religiously, and wish to be farther. A couple years later, with mels persistence we went to Canada , then road tripped to Lollapoloza, and lastly Japan. Me and Melissa always dreamed of going to Asia for we first met in a Manga club. I NEVER thought I ever would to be honest mostly cause of my bad spending habits and lack of saving but my best friend would have it no other way. Last summer we successfully went after a winter of slaving and saving. It was well worth it and an unforgettable trip. ♡

LASTLY, L♡VE

We never wore matching best friend necklaces or got anything tattooed to honor our friendship but love is what it comes down to. I don’t have to say it but she knows it and that is all I need in this life is me and my Bestfriend. (Jay- Z voice )

*Enjoy the poorly photographed gallery of me and her during the years and our adventure together ^ ^

Canada

adventures, African-American, blackgirl, explore, gallery, hike, hippie, life, nature, photographer, photography, roadtrip, Uncategorized

‘Coffee Coloured Brutes’

Image | Posted on August 5, 2015 by broketraveluster

The title of this blog is merely my way of transitioning into a story and I thought it perfectly appropriate for this tale. ^.^ I am currently reading a 900 page book on short stories by Agatha Christie. If you are not familiar with her work she writes about mostly murder and syncing it to the human nature of people who you would never suspect as murderers for a minute! In this particular story a character in her book referred to the merchants as ‘Coffee Coloured Brutes’ and suspected them first of being guilty of a recent murder. As it turned out they did not commit the murder and were not mentioned again but that phrase stayed in my mind. It struck me as odd that even in the early 1900’s brown people were always prime suspects of crimes unawares. I was inspired to write this after a recent hiking trip I took to Hamburg P.A. to visit a popular cliff diving spot called Peace Rock.

Experience

On a Thursday after noon my boyfriend , me, and my friend piled into my little Nissan and drove away from what we knew. It’s about 2 hours from where I live in South Jersey but what’s 2 hours of good road? We solely followed instagram directions you can find when someone tags a location but that ended us in more farm land and slightly dilapidated but occupied homes. It was still beautiful but I had that itching anxiety to just get there. We found out that the closest u can get to the rock is looking on Google and found someone who betrayed the location 😉 . We followed their directions and as soon as we left the car 2 guys came strolling back to their cars bare chested with a slight look of defeat. We were blessed cause these guys not only let us follow them to the real cliff diving location about 10 min away but also explained that there were 2 sides to get there. The way they went was more hard and required a swim over the creek which isn’t impossible but requires you to leave your valuables. (Aka phones and cameras) We hiked about 2 miles up to the rock and sadly that is when the real disappointment came. Upon arrival to the rock it’s littered with trash and old clothes and there are a bunch of teens just loitering on the rock, not in the least bit friendly looking. The kids I saw from the area were nothing I was used to at home they looked older, rougher, and completely uninterested. The whole vibe was disheartening to we trekked back and decided to hike first instead. Sadly the whole day was full of stares, people moving away or even leaving the trail to avoid us, and being ignored. I know I shouldn’t have felt like this but for the first time in a long time I felt uncomfy being black. Despite the beauty surrounding me, the people made me almost embarrassed to be brown. Before sunset, we went back to the creek and I decided to approach some kids rope swinging to ask for a turn and they didn’t mind. Of course when we walked up most of their friends decided to leave but I was glad to end my day on an exhilarating level.

I’m sure there are many brown people who visit the rock daily and I don’t know why I received such a negative audience the day I decided to go. Loving nature isn’t about race but about your soul. Some are called to be surrounded by wilderness and it took me years to truly realize it. I felt like a brute that day after being ignored and avoided so obviously by almost everyone I met but I couldn’t let that make me embarrassed of the skin I was Born in^_^😍✌

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*I do not want to discourage anyone from going just wanted to share my experience and what I learned.

Saved by the Mexican!

Posted on July 22, 2015 by broketraveluster

So ..how do I begin this?

Most of my blog posts are about places I go , cups of java, or struggles I have had..but I thought to do something different 😉 I titled this ‘Saved by the Mexican’ (cliche instead of Saved by the Bell) cause the influences Mexican culture and people have been in my life. I think I have to save the indulgences of how Mexican culture has been in my life and focus for this post on a specific person…. My boyfriend😍 (Inserts picture) Thats me and my boyfriend of course altered by Mac Book filters, I dont look this beautiful everyday! Ha…ha…(slow clapping) okay I’m done trying to be funny. This post is dedicated to him…💏 for his birthday but before you click away in disgust…I decided to make this post more of a photo diary of all the photos I have taken of him in the course our relationship as a celebration of him, our adventures, and as a rememberence.

The ‘How we Met’ Story

We ‘met’ online, not a flattering story but not every Internet relationship turns out being catfish or ends in a car trunk! We have been together since then for 2 years and some change. I initially thought he was asian and for all you readers who don’t know me I’m a Japanophile aka obsessed with anything Japan or asian related every since I can remember!! Live . Breathe. Eat JAPAN!! (Okay deep breathe). He turned out being Mexican(hence the title). We had many differences that became things in common like his love for Norwegian death metal and my love for the funky old tunes. He has influenced my life, trekked through snow to walk me home from work, been a teacup for my tears, and sometimes the only person who cares.

Happy Birthday Baby🎊🎊

Enjoy.

Beginning/First Year

-Fall & Winter-

Year 2

-Winter into Spring🌸-

Now

🌞-Finally Summer-🌞

The End.✌

adventures, African-American, blackgirl, explore, hike, hippie, life, nature, philadelphia, philly, photographer, photography, rants, roadtrip, Uncategorized

Way-ay-ay Up…. I Feel Blessed!

Image | Posted on July 5, 2015 by broketraveluster

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So it has been a year since my accident…✌

Blessed.😊

A whole year living in the Garden State without a car.

Now I don’t wanna sound like a whiny bitch but it was hard… I think I just got used to life by public transport when I finalized the insurance of my car.🚕

I went through the year struggling as most of the nation is to find a job that wanted to give me hours so my paychecks would be over 100 bucks💵. Boy, was it hard! I didn’t get paid in an amount over 300 dollars for like a good 6 months.

Luckily I’m currently employed by the ever so eloquent Nordstrom and most of my financial delinquencies have subsided. (Wipes brow)

Blessed.😊

Any who, as you could imagine paychecks that don’t amount to at least a couple hundred bucks make saving, not impossible, but very hard. In the days that I didn’t work I resorted to becoming a self titled coffee expert and Netflix surfer. It was a fun business but still left me too much time to think of past mistakes and dream of getting a car.

Having too much idle time allowed me to replay my accident over and over and think of all the ways I could’ve prevented it.

Rushing is what I deduced, was the culprit.

Rushing kills cars and people, which Is why I drive like a elderly chap and slow down before every threatening pot hole.

Long story short, I finally achieved my one year goal of saving for my car. I was Blessed with a Nissan which I named Serenity. (Firefly fans will know and appreciate)

This year taught me to count the little blessings which I so foolishly took for advantage. I guess I should end this with a cheesey quote like, ‘you live and u learn.’

But, yo….! you do….. and I did.

Blessed.

*This picture was taken on my first roadtrip.🌞🌲🌻🍄🌎

Three Hiking Minorities

Posted on May 2, 2015 by broketraveluster

Okay , so its spring and shit and people remember what sun rays are and excersizing really is. The pressure is really on to shed that turkey fat and impress strangers on the beach strutting around in a bikini size 1. Huh? I guess thats the allures and pressures of spring transitioning into summer…for most. Naw im good, me and my friends are steady on Google plotting out roadtrips and scratching our heads because of confusing airfare packages for next summer. Life is fun.

So a couple days after Earth day, our schedules aligned and we set off to kick up dust on a new trail. I think we spent $1.41 appoxamitly on coffee and set off. We are poor with life but rich in the luxaries that the untamed wilderness daily offers. It took me about 10 min to find a destination not even 40 min away for us to explore! Oh the excitement of a new destination with blue skies to beckon us down the highway while our hair was having affairs with the wind blowing to and fro…it was gonna be an amazing day😊

Whitesbog is a lil village in Burlington county. Open all year beckoning who it may with a cute setting that takes you back in time. We drove into a little village, void of people and it was breath taking!! We drove past beautiful blond fields situated so perfectly in between little peninsula- like bodies of lakes which allowed the skies reflection off their iced tea colored waters. We had to jump out the car several times to take pictures and capture what beauty our eyes could scarcely believe!

Not only was that trail so decadent with nature , there was a stillness in the air that gave us peace and allowed our minds to forget our nagging worries. Now,surprisingly, this was in New Jersey, a state im always ashamed to have lived in and often cross a bridge to escape the suburbs and wannabe thugs. I was amazed at how this little village in Burlington County proved me wrong and showed off its simplistic beauty without any efforts . This is why I never like to say im bored when there is so much nature to be admired, trails to be trodden, and waterfalls to chase .

So that day ended with us driving with trance blasting back to camden county in a loyal Toyota. Immensely wealthy on the spoils of nature that we explored that day, just Three Minorities in search of a different kind of adventure.

Hey! Black people Hike too…

Posted on March 31, 2015 by broketraveluster

Sooo….I don’t want to get all racial with my blog posts repetitiously to drive away a diverse studio audience…but…oh well what the heck! So if you haven’t seen my avatar already I’m black and it wasn’t til 1 year ago that I realized my one true love was nature. For some reason, hiking and being black seem so far on a spectrum from each other. Every time I hit the woods in Pennsylvania I hope to see someone else like me (forever tan and dandy) on the trail but it never seems to be. Now I’m sure there is an explanation for this, like many people don’t have the means of transportation or time. I guess the average black person doesn’t wake up at 7 a.m. to get a quick hike in before grudgingly heading to work at 3. Well, flash note, there are some like me who do! I wish black media veered from just focusing on big booty video vixens and frightening looking rappers to showing a different way some black people live. I get many surprised looks when I say, ‘ I hiked the Grand Canyon or quit school to travel.’ Is it surprising that I’m 23 and not pregnant or spending my night in the Chinese food line at the mall? I am a 23 year old black girl who loves to hike but no one is running up to me interested to learn about cool trails or waterfalls like people are interested in the latest M.kors bag.It doesn’t make me mad I realize that’s how it is nowadays. I rarely get likes on Instagram from other black people who love to spend their days conversing with the trees and finding friends in the wilderness. I guess I’m in the wrong state or continent?. I just wish to meet and connect with more brown folk who can argue about flight prices and favorite abroad experiences instead of paying your phone bill vs. Buying the new Jordans. *To all ya’ll sensitive people, I am not saying those black people DON’T exist I’m merely saying that 97 percent of the time I don’t meet them. 😦

I’m happy that people find contentment and temporary happiness from material things but I wish I didn’t feel like the only black hiker in Pennsylvania. So yes, black people hike too, is the statement I want to close with. It may not be a media selling fact but we(brown people) love the splendor that land can give us just as white people do too. We don’t all spend our days eating fried food and cussing, some of us …just some. .. look to the forests for happiness and peace.

adventures, blackgirl, explore, life, philadelphia, philly, snow, visitphilly

‘I’m in love with that coco’ #SnowBye!

Image | Posted on March 26, 2015 by broketraveluster

all dat coco

So after almost a year after my car was totaled I have really taken up walking as a chore, like I had a choice! Walking everywhere is my situation and I decided not to let the ‘coco’ ruin my adventures this winter. After walking away from my car crash with all my gear unharmed, I succumbed to depression instead of counting my blessings of good health and kissing my honey browns. I cried and pouted but one day I decided to take on the cold weather and find something new to get into 😉 Long story short I kinda bonded with the snow because of my situation this winter.Through that, I found an interweb of explorers who were in abandoned buildings, churches, and schools taking pictures in 20 degree weather risking their limbs. Now that’s my kinda fun!

So this was another inspiration for starting this blog, to share my adventures with many photos along with a short story full of run ons and spirited adventures. ~~#grammernazisitdown~~ Anyway, not having a car forced me to explore this city more in depth instead of jetting away to some state park as I would’ve liked. I was stranded to explore a concrete jungle that was always in front of me. So yes, I’m in love with that coco/snow cause I was forced to bundle up, toughen up, and be content with my situation til I can change it. ٩꒰ ˘ ³˘꒱۶~♡

Bout that Java life- Chapterhouse Cafe\ Philly

Posted on March 23, 2015 by broketraveluster

Aside from cheesesteaks, Philly is known *at least by me for some banging cafes. Now a little about me, I am a coffee snob. It is a fact that I gradually and reluctantly learned about myself. The type of coffee snob I have turned into is the, ‘Oh I don’t drink from coffee shops that are chains like starbucks etc’ but before you stop reading I’m not here to complain I’m here to praise. I leave it to all Instagram pages like visitphilly or phillybestfoods to find the best coffee joints. I have sunken deep into following well-known Philadelphia Instagramers and stalking them endlessly and my endeavors have paid off quite deliciously too. Through them I have learned about the coolest local java spots like Chapterhouse Cafe which is just on 9th and South. I hope you enjoy my first post!

Their menu is pretty diverse but the one thing that caught my eye was the nutella latte. The one thing I loved about Chapterhouse was that they were open on the weekend til after 6! I love a cup of coffee at night but most coffee shops close their doors by 6 but not Chapterhouse, they are open til 10. Now If you can believe this I walked from Northern Liberties to South Philly for a cup of their coffee mostly cause I was too cheap to jump on the L. The cafe is great for studying and HAS WIFI for the cyber needy. The barista I had that night was grumpy but despite her gloomy bear glares my nutella latte was amazing! ^^ I say go try it out, send great vibes, enjoy your java and leave a comment if you found this enlightening or even if you didn’t. ʕ·͡ˑ·ཻʔ