Dripping in Luxury Cultural Travel featuring Erika Bullock

Mr. Al Pete (00:01.506)
What's good? Good day. Good afternoon. Good evening. My people is Mr. Al Pete with the mighty MPN network with the Dripping in Black podcast. What's happening? Hopefully everybody is good and everybody is well. Hopefully a week has been good and your weekend is much, much better. All right. So I am one of the special guest hosts for Dripping in Black. You're going to see some other guest hosts, but expect to see deep and dynamic conversations from all of us. All right. So I think.

the Dripping in Black family for having me be one of the mini guests, special guests. I've been enjoying doing this and I'm looking forward to having this conversation with this guest that we have coming up. All right, so before we get into it, please make sure you subscribe to the channel, to the YouTube channel, as well as the website, drippininblack.com. Please make sure you go to drippininblack.com. Check out all the interviews, all the good blackness that's going on on that site.

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dot com to get your latest merch, t-shirts, mugs, and et cetera. All right. So with all that being said, this is season six and we are rolling and rolling and rolling. But first I'm going to be introducing Ms. Erika Bullock. And I hope I said that correctly. I'm so, boy, I'd be, I'd be so nervous with these names and I'm gonna tell a funny story when I say to, when I say your bio. So real quick on that, Erika Bullock.

Erika Bullock (01:41.971)
Yes.

Mr. Al Pete (01:53.74)
is the founder and lead travel designer behind Wander World Destinations with a passion for crafting unforgettable journeys. And she's helped travelers move beyond ordinary vacations and stepped into experiences that feel effortless, elevated, and deeply personal. As a seasoned travel professional, she specialized in luxury escapes, destination weddings, honeymoons, and curated group travel experiences. Through her work, Erika has become known for blending

planning with creative flair, ensuring every trip reflects her client's lifestyle, dreams, and sense of adventures. Yes, we are going to get into that. without further ado, Ms. Erika Bullock, it's a pleasure to meet you. How are you feeling today?

Erika Bullock (02:41.393)
am doing good. It's nice to meet you too. Thanks for having me.

Mr. Al Pete (02:44.554)
Indeed, indeed. So going back real quick before we get into the business things, I was like, you know, I saw Wander W A N D E R, but while I was getting was prepping, I was like, let me go to the dictionary and hit the little buttons so can make sure that I'm saying it correctly. Because what I don't want to do is mess up anybody's name. And you think I would know better, but I still get nervous with pronouncing people's names. So I appreciate the grace that you're giving me right now.

Erika Bullock (03:13.479)
It's fine. People say wonder all the time like W-O-N-D-E-R. So it's all good.

Mr. Al Pete (03:19.872)
Okay, well, as long as they know what the business is, that's what matters. talk to me about these unforgettable journeys. Did this come from a place possibly when you was growing up, like, hey, I want to travel the world or like, where did that, how did this all create?

Erika Bullock (03:26.698)
Right.

Erika Bullock (03:40.565)
Well, I will say as a kid, my parents, they took me to Florida. So I think Florida, Orlando is the place, you know, when you're a kid, if you get to travel, it's to Florida. So we would go there every year for two weeks, you know, and just hang out. But as I got older, as an adult, because when I wanted to go on a cruise as a kid, my parents would be like, that's an adult trip. You're not doing that. That's an adult trip. So I started going on cruises and things like that.

Mr. Al Pete (04:04.792)
Mm-hmm.

Erika Bullock (04:07.975)
And I enjoy traveling so much that I just wanted people to have the same type of feeling or the same type of excitement that I have when it comes to traveling. It doesn't have to be like cruises. It's whatever their thing is.

Mr. Al Pete (04:26.03)
And shout out to Orlando, Florida. I'm from Jacksonville, Florida. And I will say, you know, that's two hours away from us. So I don't know, it's almost like a, I don't want to say a disadvantage, but I felt like we kind of took, we took advantage and didn't take advantage of the factors of where Orlando was. Cause Orlando was definitely a getaway. And that could be for any kid, any type of.

Ethnics, all that stuff. just, it's a very good, I would say startup, but I might sound like snobby being the fact that I'm from Florida. Like I said, Orlando is in our backyard. So I feel like can go there at any time, escape, and that's fine. But I do feel like we do have a disadvantage to, well, we take it for granted. I'll say that. So for other people that come into town, it's definitely like this special monumental thing, especially if you're there for two weeks.

Erika Bullock (05:21.269)
Yeah, and plus I was from Michigan, so that's where I was born. So it's like going to Florida was like the thing. Yes, I was enjoying the weather. I mean, we got caught in a couple of hurricanes, but even with that, I was like, this is the best. I used to look forward to it every year.

Mr. Al Pete (05:24.174)
Oh yeah, you enjoyed the weather, that's what that was.

Mr. Al Pete (05:40.374)
Okay. So fast forward, you're now at an age to where you can take these cruises. the, well, tell us about the first tour. I mean, the first cruise that you went on and did that add to the creation of your business?

Erika Bullock (05:59.477)
The first cruise I went on is when I, my parents actually got me a cruise as a graduation gift when I graduated with my bachelor's. So I know, right? I know. Right, I was like, ooh, I'm an adult now. you I'm saying, those are adult trips. I'm like, ooh, I get to go on an adult trip. So it was nice. I really loved cruises and I currently love cruises simply because you get to experience so many different places in like one trip. So.

Mr. Al Pete (06:07.64)
So they finally knew what was up.

Mr. Al Pete (06:18.593)
Right.

Erika Bullock (06:28.821)
Then it was just, you know, I just loved it, you know, going on excursions and things like that. But present day, I use cruising as a way to identify the places that I want to go and stay long term. Like if I want to go for a week somewhere or something like that, then that's how I use cruises. So I'll be like, oh, OK, well, it stopped in, you know, Bahamas. Oh, I really like the Bahamas. So I'm going to come back and plan to stay longer. So just like a little.

like a little taste tester, and then I'll go back and plan a longer trip.

Mr. Al Pete (07:02.22)
Gotcha, gotcha. All right, so with that, you're on your first cruise. Let's talk about the first time you think about this plant. I'm trying to work my way up to when the actual business created. And I'm assuming that you would have created your first itinerary for somebody before the actual business occurred, correct?

Erika Bullock (07:22.045)
God.

Erika Bullock (07:31.249)
yes, of course, of course. So my background, an executive, I used to be an executive assistant to a vice president at an energy transmission company actually in Michigan. And so I would be planning travel for them. But then also on the other side of it, my family and friends would reach out to me like, hey, have you been here? Do you think this is a good place to go? What are your recommendations? So on and so forth. So that's kind of how it led into this.

Mr. Al Pete (07:46.318)
Mmm.

Erika Bullock (08:00.981)
Originally, I started out in corporate America and I mean, corporate America is corporate America, right? So I always thought that I wanted to do something that I actually enjoyed that actually gave me like energy and things like that. And planet trips absolutely gives me energy. As soon as somebody says, oh, I want you to plan a trip for me. I'm like, oh, yes. So I just wanted more of that. Wanted more of, I mean, you know, that whole feeling of being able

Mr. Al Pete (08:08.11)
you

Erika Bullock (08:29.791)
to potentially provide someone with a trip of a lifetime or a honeymoon of a lifetime. So that's kind of how I got into it. I was kind of already doing it for free. So I was like, okay, it just makes sense. And plus I've been to quite a few places, so I'm able to do recommendations and things of that nature. it just kind of was, I don't know, easy transition.

Mr. Al Pete (08:57.342)
All right, gotcha. Like, I mean, when you mentioned that you was planning, planning trips for, you know, where you was an executive assistant, like when you said that, I immediately thought like, yeah, you, you plan and you organize and you structuring things and you know, whether it comes to people flying out all the way to it, people are coming into the business. I'm sure you was doing all of that. So I mean, on top of all of that, you're, and then your family and friends are coming to you.

Erika Bullock (09:19.733)
All of that.

Mr. Al Pete (09:26.088)
it just sounds like a great recipe on top of the fact that you're using and correct me if I'm wrong, but Wander Wander, is that the last name or is that a name, a part of the name or?

Erika Bullock (09:40.729)
So Wander is Wander World Destinations. And so the way I came up with that is because like I said, I've been doing trap like my own personal trips years and years and years. So my Instagram, my IG tag is Erika Wanders because I was just going everywhere. So in order to kind of keep in line with that, I was just like Wander World Destinations because, you know, it's

Mr. Al Pete (09:43.586)
Right.

Mr. Al Pete (09:57.805)
Yeah.

Erika Bullock (10:08.061)
It's more so I feel like it's more so tailored to what you actually want. Like what I might consider luxury, somebody else might not consider luxury. So it's giving you the opportunity to just wander and just see what you like, see what vibes with you, see what type of culture you like, because in my travels too, it's like, yes, vacation is cool, but I also like getting to know the people. So, and there are some people that travel like that. So it's whatever you want to do. You can just

Wander wherever. So yeah.

Mr. Al Pete (10:40.12)
It's not, but it sounded like a very good play of words. Like I was, I was looking at that. Like I was like, I wonder if this is like her, you know, last name or something like that. But nevertheless, the way that you played it off on, on an Instagram to a connecting to, to your business as well as to like, you know, how it's attached to your brand, think is very, dope. Cause it's just a stylish way. You know, I commend that part. It's very stylish how it plays off. Like it just rolls off. then.

It explains like your value, you know what saying? Like even just in this short period of time of talking to you as well as doing my research, like your values is just like, look, let's just be leisure with it and you know, and let's have a good time in the space and the capacity that we're in. And you you're making these experiences happen with yourself as well as people.

So I just wanted to mention that part, the wonder word. I think that's just a great play of words and it just, it rolls off the tongue and it definitely adds to the value of, you know, from your business.

Erika Bullock (11:46.645)
Thank you, I appreciate it. I also wanted to add too, so when I was raising my children, we were going on trips too, because what I do realize is that I know a lot of us, a lot of Black people, we don't get to travel the way that we want to, or you think you can't travel the way that you want to, because you don't see anybody traveling that way. So I always wanted to teach my kids that, you know,

Mr. Al Pete (11:47.372)
Yeah.

Erika Bullock (12:15.867)
is we can do this too. We can go on trips. So I've taken my kids on cruises. I mean, just some of everything. I mean, I wouldn't, I'm not taking them to like Egypt, but yeah, I'm taking them to cruises and stuff because I believe truly in representation. if you don't see, some people, if they don't see Black people taking cruises or going on, you know, trips to Ghana and things like that, they think it's not possible.

Mr. Al Pete (12:26.562)
Thank you.

Erika Bullock (12:43.765)
So the other part of my mission, I'm wanting to stretch people's minds, especially our people's minds to be able to say, hey, if she can do this, if they can do this, there's a possibility for me to.

Mr. Al Pete (12:56.504)
That's beautiful. that was actually going to be, you wrote into like my next question and you like kind of, partially answered it. But I was wanting to ask like in regards to blacks, know, Black people or whatnot. I think one of the things that is like a hindrance when it comes to seeing the world and traveling is like the expenses part. Like people.

You know, as typical people will look at something and say, it's too expensive to go over there, or it's too expensive to go to stand the place. But nobody is really kind of thinking about like, well, maybe if I did installment plans, or if even if you just put your mind to it and say, hey, I'm going to go here, I'm going to put a dollar a day away, you know, whatever the case may be. What are some of the methods that you have to make people feel comfortable outside of?

I'm sure when you're showing pictures and I know you have like a thing that you talk to people about, but what are some of your methods to talk to people to make them feel a little bit more comfortable with traveling or whatnot?

Erika Bullock (14:03.701)
First, I kind of just get an idea. I always try to talk to clients and figure out like if money was not an object, what did you see yourself doing? And we kind of just go from there. So I saw something like an Instagram thing or something that says you spend $10 a day on lunch, which equals to X amount of dollars a month. You can go on a trip.

Mr. Al Pete (14:13.656)
Where would you go?

Erika Bullock (14:33.781)
And so a lot of people do that, you know, instead of taking their lunch or whatever, they will spend money like $10 a day on lunch. Well, you could put that $10 a day towards something else. Plus the other thing I do, especially with my prepackaged trips, I always try to book them or make them for far, far in advance. So like the trip I currently have, we're not going until June of 2026. So that gives people plenty of time to.

just plan, not to mention I offer what we have pay later, Affirm, Klarna, it's so many payments, different methods of payments that I accept. I just feel like if people feel strongly about wanting to do something, then they will do what they need to do to be able to get to that place provided they have ample options.

Mr. Al Pete (15:23.714)
Right, right. Yeah, I know for me personally, when I read my book, My First Cruise, and I was, I don't know, it was intimidating. I had to get talked off the ledge a lot, but I was glad that I did it because I was able to see the world in a different light. And I felt more responsible. felt more, not even responsible, I felt more like a grownup, even though I was a

fully, fully grown person when I the, when I booked the trip. But it was a mental type of thing where I was like, all right, let me just put some money to the side. Or I had to tell myself, well, I'm 15, $20 here, here, here, here. You know, I might need to just cut that out and just put it somewhere else and then go from there. So.

Erika Bullock (16:18.101)
I mean, and it does require sacrifice, but I feel like just like people go and they buy a Louis bag or something like that. To me, my trips are my Louis bags. I'd rather, you know, just have experiences and memories and things of that nature. So it's also about where people place value.

Mr. Al Pete (16:37.55)
Yeah, yeah, you're right about that. You're right about that. Yeah, you're right. You're right. So by people that are listening that have never went on a, I ain't gonna say never, but haven't experienced a trip. Yeah, please put that in your books to go on a trip. So speaking of the trips, I mean, I would assume that you have been a lot of places. Can you share some of those spots that you have?

been to.

Erika Bullock (17:10.453)
Okay, so I have been to, I would say right now one of my standout spots, I went to Egypt and Dubai a couple years ago and that was amazing. I've been to Cabo, I have been to Montego Bay, El Torrio, Bahamas. Pontacana was another one that I really enjoyed because I was able to get out and talk to the people.

and things like that. like for me, I think I'm more culturally based when I'm on vacation. mean, chilling by the pool is cool. Like I like that too, but I like to get to know the people because one of the things like, say for instance in Jamaica, you know, they have this whole side of tourists with the resorts and things like that. But when you get out from beyond those walls, those people are poor. Like you have the kids on the side of the road, you know.

asking for money and things of that nature, it's really a humbling experience. Especially when you come into vacation, this is like your lifestyle big time thing, but then you have people on the other side of this wall, they are like in poverty. It's just, yeah.

Mr. Al Pete (18:28.214)
Yeah, so more, so you're saying most of the places that you've been to have been more of a cultural aspect. I mean, you do add leisure in there as well, but it's more like, you know, a learning experience, learning about how these cultures exist.

Erika Bullock (18:42.901)
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And I also like tasting the food there in different places, because when I was in Dubai, of course the hotel, they have it where the food there is like more Americanized, but it wasn't until I got outside of those, outside of that area, and I was able to taste some real food from there, and it's really good.

Mr. Al Pete (19:06.818)
Gotcha. So speaking on the culture aspect of it, like, can you talk to me about one occasion or multiple occasions where you went somewhere and learned the culture and it added value to like, you know, to your experience in life, whether it's personal or professional.

Erika Bullock (19:25.237)
All right, so this was even recently I came back, I was coming back from Jamaica. And what I love about our people, like in different areas is that they can look at you and tell what tribe you're from. And so for me, I'm always enlightened. So I was coming back through the airport and one of the guys that was helping to put the bags on the conveyor to get to the plane,

He's like, you're Tahitian. So for me, the first thing I thought about was Tahitian treat. I'm like, I wasn't thinking like about Tahiti. I was thinking, that's me. That's me being an American. I grew up on Tahitian treat. But anyway, so I was like, this is, he's like, yes, you're either Tahitian or.

Mr. Al Pete (20:02.168)
Pre-hits a treat,

I'm

Erika Bullock (20:19.901)
can't remember where else he said, but it's stuff like that that actually fuels me and wants me to learn more about different places. So now I want to go to Tahiti. So it's always, I feel like it's always something like that, that prepares me to move forward and helps me to identify where I want to go next. So I don't know if that's considered life changing, but I think it kind of is because I think for me,

the end of the day I just it would be nice to be able to know fully my identity and who I am and what different cultures or different you know racial whatever just makes me who I am.

Mr. Al Pete (21:06.368)
Nice, nice. That was funny. I ain't gonna lie to you. I thought about Tahitian Treat as well. When you said it, I was thinking, I thought about the can, the actual soda can. I was like, But then when you think about it, it is like, I guess, Allen-like image on the can. I I know there's a, well, the thing that I'm coming up in my head now with is like a palm tree of some sort.

Erika Bullock (21:25.695)
Mm-hmm.

Erika Bullock (21:36.305)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Well, what's funny too is that a lot of these places, crazy enough, I didn't even know Black people were there. So when he said Tahitian, because I'm thinking like, you know, Tahitian paradise, and it isn't a Tahitian tree, but like paradise and things of that nature, I never made a connection with like this paradise with, you know, Black people.

just never thought about it. Not to say that we as Black people can't live in paradise. It just never occurred to me that there were Black people in Tahiti.

Mr. Al Pete (22:05.942)
Right, right. Yeah. I think there's still a discovery that we all gonna wanna have as people to think like, okay, these Black people don't exist in this spot, that spot, and that spot when I don't know, man, it might be a situation where there is Black people probably everywhere and we just haven't seen it or whatnot. So very, very interesting. So.

Erika Bullock (22:28.98)
right.

Mr. Al Pete (22:34.39)
I'm not sure of if there are a lot of people in this space, a lot of Black people in the travel agency space or whatnot. Are there or aren't there?

Erika Bullock (22:46.409)
There are a few of us, I wish I would have actually looked this up before I came on, but the percentage is low. So like when you go to these travel conferences, there's a handful of us. And I also feel like I was talking to somebody the other day, even when you look for say marketing materials, and you want to find somebody or like a Black couple on vacation or

Mr. Al Pete (22:57.742)
Yeah.

Erika Bullock (23:15.327)
family, Black family trips, it is very difficult to find pre-made marketing materials. mean, thank God for AI, because now you can prompt it, know, actually do it for you. But for me, when I'm advertising, or before AI became like truly available and people were using it like that, you could barely find any Black representation when it comes to pictures and stuff like that. So that's also very frustrating. It's very frustrating.

Mr. Al Pete (23:26.401)
All right.

Mr. Al Pete (23:45.42)
Yeah, I feel like that could be discouraging for sure. Somebody looking at a pamphlet and I'm not seeing that person that looks like me or reflects me in that image. You know what saying? Plus, you have to think about it too. Some of these places really can't go to. it's like, I don't know. There's just so many thought processes when it comes to us Black people. We're already...

Erika Bullock (23:54.825)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Mr. Al Pete (24:10.042)
I think about the expense part. That's the first thing I think about when it kind of travel. I'm thinking like, okay, how much is this trip gonna be? Regardless if it's a year out or three months out, I'd be thinking that thing. like to make other folks comfortable, know what saying? I think it starts with the marketing aspect of seeing a Black person on a pamphlet to say, okay, feel I can take my family to this location as well. Cause I feel like I will be.

Erika Bullock (24:35.187)
Right.

Mr. Al Pete (24:36.174)
comfortable and it's okay for me to get, you know, it's okay for me to be in this particular space, et cetera.

Erika Bullock (24:43.761)
Right, right. And yeah, I just need to see more of it. But like you said, even with the budget, you can, I'm trying to think of a place you can go, but like even Orlando or even the Bahamas, some places in Mexico, you can go for not a lot of money. So I think it's just a matter of people wanting to take a chance and like dip their toes in the travel.

and just see and then you can always travel according to your budget which doesn't have to be thousands of dollars. I feel like if you work with a travel agent who gets to know you, like some of my clients they really don't even have to tell me a budget or anything because I've gotten to know them and I know what they're looking for. So if you're able to travel agent that really knows you and you have a relationship with them then they'll be sending you stuff based on what your budget is.

So if I see a cruise coming up and I know that I have a client who prefers to pay, I don't know, under $500 for a cabin, then yes, I'm sending that to them. Like, hey, look at this. Because that's part of my job too. That's another part of making travel accessible to everybody.

Mr. Al Pete (25:51.171)
Mmm.

Mr. Al Pete (25:58.966)
Yeah, that's good, man. I mean, and that takes the worries from people, because I think that's another thing, too, that people worry they it's you know, people don't like the plan. Well, some people don't like the plan. And it is probably overwhelming to be like, let me search for this place and research for that place. Let me see where I get the best deal from. I don't know if this link or this website is a scam. And because I'm sure a scam runs.

very rapid in this type of industry. I mean, I feel like it's so easy just to tap into somebody's information and immediately get their credit cards and just run with it or charge overcharge. So they all the things. So yeah, I think it's good that we have people like you that genuinely care. Be like, you know, let me invest in this client to make sure that, you know, that this person is getting the best deal. So and it takes the worry off because.

I know me, I sometimes like I'm looking for a flight right now and I'm so tired of going between this flight, that flight, the next flight. And I'm like, yeah, it's just, I just be like, all right, let me just pay this money when I probably could have got a better deal and I probably could have flexed a little bit more, but it's good to have people like you looking out for people of our kind, you know, for the best interests.

Erika Bullock (27:02.101)
Yeah.

Erika Bullock (27:20.053)
Absolutely, Because even if, for instance, I can't find anything in it, I'll tell them I can't get anything in that area. And I would even take it as far as referring them to, like, say one of these travel websites that I know that they can get it cheaper because at the end of the day, I want them to be able to take the trip that they want and for whatever reason, which I don't find is very common, but if for whatever reason, my suppliers can't be

whatever this website has, then still take your trip. I'm not mad. I'm not mad. I want you to go on your trip.

Mr. Al Pete (27:55.724)
Right. Yeah, you want people to experience the good life. So, yeah. Okay. Well, a couple more questions. let's talk about this new trip. My notes, I put new trip because there was a conversation that was had prior to this, but it was new. I put new trip and the parentheses I put for the sisters. So could you explain that please? Or I don't know if that was supposed to be mentioned or not. If it wasn't, my apologies, but.

Erika Bullock (27:59.893)
Right.

Erika Bullock (28:19.796)
Ha

Erika Bullock (28:25.493)
It's fine. That's how I advertise it. is for my sisters. It's a lux posh trip to Napa Valley. We will be staying four nights, five days at the Marataj, which is in downtown Napa. It is going to include daily breakfast. It includes a welcome.

Mr. Al Pete (28:26.509)
Okay.

Okay.

Erika Bullock (28:51.925)
Soiree and a Sunset Toast. It includes a farewell dinner. It also includes a Black car round trip air, airport transfers. I'm trying to think if I'm forgetting anything. We're doing a Black winery tasting and tour. We're doing the Napa wine train, the express lunch. And I also include VIP gifts in all of my packages.

So yeah, oh, and also the resort has a spa included so they can do like yoga, get massages and all those spa treatments and things like that. And so we're doing it. So I started promoting it now, but it's not taking place until June, it's June 17th through the 21st of 2026. But right now I am running, it's called a founder circle special where if you book,

Mr. Al Pete (29:32.364)
And this is a...

Erika Bullock (29:50.741)
don't know when it's going to go away. Like literally, just am like, okay, I can do this for how long? And then it's almost when the ancestor say that's enough. And then I'll put it back to the early bird price. But for right now, the founder special, you get $400 off of the trip. And then the deposit is as low as $100. And it's based on double occupancy.

Mr. Al Pete (30:13.452)
Gotcha. And this is for the sisters, me and this is Grouch Rap.

Erika Bullock (30:16.437)
It is for the sisters, sorry. This is for the sisters. This is, yeah, this is for my sisters. Cause I know we have people out there doing too much. Like these, we as women, some of us are out here doing too much. And that's another part of what I do as a travel agent, because I know we have a lot of women that are suffering from burnout and things of that nature, not taking care of themselves for whatever reason they overworked.

you know, just life in general and the current climate and things of that nature. And people are not prioritizing rest. And it's so much other stuff that goes into this, like how just we as Black women, how we have to work harder, we have to always achieve more, like educational wise in order to get to where we want to be corporate America. That's a lot of stress. And so I feel like when we're in that position, we don't prioritize rest.

And rest is a birthright. It's not something that you take when you don't have anything else to do because at the end of the day, if you don't rest, you're not going to be good for anything else that you have going on in your life. Your husband, your kids, anything like that, your job. So rest is our birthright. And that's kind of my one of my things when I say travel accessible to all. It means every single body because we all men deserve rest too. So I don't want to leave y'all out.

But yes, is our birthright. I mean, even God rests on the seventh day. So we need to take advantage of that.

Mr. Al Pete (31:50.486)
Yeah, no, I agree. I agree. Listen, tomorrow's my rest day. So listen, I understand. I'm like, OK, I got this one thing to do. then after that, like, I just need to rest. So I understand prioritizing rest. then, know, you know, as Black people, man, I've I think I learned this a couple of years ago just by having conversations with some some colleagues and was talking about like that whole like hustle mentality. Right.

Erika Bullock (31:55.946)
I'm

Erika Bullock (32:03.861)
Mm-hmm.

Mr. Al Pete (32:17.708)
They say we got to hustle, hustle, hustle. I sleep when I'm dead and all that. And I'm like, nah, man, like it's totally okay to like, like rest. And it's totally okay if you're doing all the, all that work to be able to take time to say, Hey, I want to go to this country that I've never been to before. you know, and, let your seeds, the seeds that you plant, let them grow and, and, and use, you know, cast some of them in to do a luxury trip.

Erika Bullock (32:47.187)
Right, right, absolutely, absolutely.

Mr. Al Pete (32:47.98)
Yeah. Yeah. So I was on your website and then I noticed the special needs travel. I think that is very, very, very dope to have like, and this is outside looking in. sure, I mean, I'm not sure if this is a standard thing that needs to be placed, you know, when in travel agencies and stuff like that. But I think it was really cool for you to highlight the fact that, you know,

people with special needs, they have the accessibility to even travel as well. So I thought that was cool. Is there maybe a story behind that or that was just something that you said, hey, we need to be more attentive to people that might not be of the capacity of a normal human.

Erika Bullock (33:39.711)
Well, I will be honest and tell you that obviously, you know, the American with disabilities, the community is obviously we know about it, but I wasn't aware that there was an actual certification for special needs travel. And so when I was getting my business started, I discovered that there was a certification for this and I was just like, this is really cool because again, I want to make travel accessible for all. And also,

just think sometimes when you have parents that have children that are special needs, like neurodivergent or if they have mobility issues and things like that, it's rough on them too. like I said, I'd be honest to say when I did not realize that there was actually a certification or a group that handled things like that. But when I saw it, I was just like, yes, I absolutely want to do this.

I won't, yeah, absolutely. I'm actually, have a client now who is taking her daughter to New York City for her 16th birthday and she's wheelchair bound. And we're able to make it happen for her from the flights to the airport transfers to the hotel and get her in a central location where everything is, they can.

she can commute in her wheelchair as opposed to like always having to hop in an Uber or trying to get a taxi and then like Subway is absolutely no, I would never put any in my car. Just take the subway. No, but yeah, so stuff like that. So it actually brings me joy when I'm able to open that up for families too. Cause I know it's a little bit daunting sometimes trying to figure out how as a parent, you're going to be able to handle this child that has special needs.

Mr. Al Pete (35:18.882)
Yeah.

Mr. Al Pete (35:40.396)
Nah, listen, I feel bad. I feel so bad. I feel so bad. feel, hold on a sec, one sec. I feel so bad because I just finished, matter of last month I went to Cleveland. So something about me and flying, I'm like, I'm getting kind of over it, but I know when we go to certain places you have to fly, but I'd be complaining so much about like just the...

inconvenience of traveling. But I'm gonna take that back. I'm gonna take that back, especially for somebody that's, you know, bound to a wheelchair or whatever. Think about the fact that these people don't have the normalcy that they can do. the fact that you have it on your website, I just think that's really cool, man. I think that's really cool that you have it there. It is very thoughtful to have because doesn't, know, traveling is not limited to like a person that, you know, that has everything.

Everybody should be able to enjoy that moment in life for sure. Yeah.

Erika Bullock (36:44.849)
Absolutely. It goes for seniors too. Like, so I know some of our elderly people, have issues with either needing oxygen or mobility. They need a scooter. And for instance, with cruising, I can set it up where actually the scooter will be at their cabin when they arrive, the oxygen will be there if they need like, so, know, some people they can't sleep in a bed, they have to sleep in one of those recliners. I can have all that delivered.

when it comes to cruise him.

Mr. Al Pete (37:15.736)
Wow, that's great. That's pretty cool, man. That really shares a lot of hope, you know what I'm saying, to that person, to the communities and all that. that's really good. That's really, really, really good. All right, so I want to read a client review. And then after that, I want to play a really quick game. All right, so client review.

Let's see, I'm just gonna pick one. It says, if you're someone who needs a trip, put together quickly, or if you feel stuck and don't even know where to start, Erika is your go-to travel agent. She makes the process easy, fun, and stress-free. I highly recommend Erika to anyone looking to turn their travel dreams into reality. How does that make you feel?

Erika Bullock (38:10.281)
Wonderful, like that's why I'm here. So like when I get reviews like that, it's just like, yes, mission accomplished. So yeah, I love it.

Mr. Al Pete (38:12.803)
Yeah.

Yeah. Good deal. Good deal. All right. Quick game real quick on the spot. I'm just kind of thinking what not. So you curate this is per your website luxury escapes group getaways, destination weddings and honeymoons. So I want to mention one of them and then just give me one word for it. All right. So I'm going to say luxury. Well.

Let's make this more. Give me a location when I, a location when I mentioned like, I'm going to say luxury escapes. Give me a location and then going forward. All right. You got it? All right. So luxury escapes. Give me a location.

Erika Bullock (38:59.665)
Okay. Yep.

Erika Bullock (39:04.863)
Bora Bora.

Mr. Al Pete (39:06.478)
Bora Bora.

Erika Bullock (39:09.459)
Yeah, they have, I don't know if, I actually just planned a trip this year, Borobor in Hawaii. And these overwater bungalows, listen, they are amazing. Amazing. some of them have the private pool, so you don't even have to leave the bungalow if you don't want to. It's gorgeous. Gorgeous. Yeah, Borobor for sure.

Mr. Al Pete (39:34.926)
All right, group getaways.

Erika Bullock (39:41.053)
Depending on the group, would say Montego Bay, Napa Valley, Cancun, absolutely.

Mr. Al Pete (39:43.992)
Well, let's say the sisters then. That's it.

Mr. Al Pete (39:51.694)
The plug, the plug.

Mr. Al Pete (40:01.518)
So I went to Cancun 2023, I had to do a wedding over there and essentially I was over there by myself. I need to go back over with a group of people because being by yourself in Cancun was not the business. I was like, I know this experience has to be much better with like a crew of people.

That I know. That I know. Yeah. It was, it was, it go ahead. I'm sorry.

Erika Bullock (40:22.975)
think yes, of course.

Right. Yes, I think.

No, I was just gonna say I think Cancun is definitely one of those places that you wouldn't want to go by yourself. But no, go ahead.

Mr. Al Pete (40:39.34)
And what was interesting about that was the fact that I didn't stay on a resort where the wedding party and the wedding people were at. I went on a resort, so I was in a hotel. So I was like 10 minutes away. So that and I had to get a ride. Well, it was another group of people that was staying that was with the wedding party, but they were staying at the hotel as well. So I was on they time. So that was, man, it was. Yeah. I don't know.

Erika Bullock (41:02.442)
Okay.

Erika Bullock (41:06.549)
So was it an all-inclusive? Was it an all-inclusive or was it legitimately like a hotel?

Mr. Al Pete (41:12.174)
That was a legit hotel. Listen, I wasn't complaining because I got flewed out. So it was like, you know, I was DJing over there. So they paid for all of that. My travel hotel and all that. So I ain't trip. I ain't trip at all. But I was just like, eh.

Erika Bullock (41:24.597)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I just... Yeah, I think... Well, first off, I think that you need to stay at an all-inclusive resort. That's first. Next time you go. I could, in Cancun, I would recommend the Moon Grand Palace. They have something like 14 restaurants. They got a water park. They have a liquor dispenser in your room.

Mr. Al Pete (41:37.548)
Yeah. Yeah.

Mr. Al Pete (41:55.862)
Okay.

Erika Bullock (41:56.735)
So I would say the Moon Grand Palace, but definitely a resort because then too, they always have like activities and stuff. They do shows at the resorts. So even if you buy yourself, which again, I wouldn't necessarily recommend that, but if you go by yourself, you will still have stuff to do.

Mr. Al Pete (42:16.674)
Gotcha, gotcha. All right, so two more. Destination weddings. Where we going?

Erika Bullock (42:27.701)
Hawaii.

Erika Bullock (42:34.965)
Turks and Caicos.

Mr. Al Pete (42:38.592)
expensive.

Erika Bullock (42:40.645)
You say all of my respects to Orlando, Florida. No, I'm kidding.

Erika Bullock (42:48.661)
I mean, yes. Well, because typically like, know, destination weddings I find for the couples, they typically honeymoon in the same spot. So it's just easier to already be in the honeymoon, the honeymoon place. But I mean, yes, it's not cheap, but in theory you only get married once, right? In theory.

Mr. Al Pete (42:58.412)
Right... Right...

Mr. Al Pete (43:06.35)
It's worth it. Yeah. In theory, in theory, marry won. So at the same time too, Jay-Z rapped about Turks and Caicos. And so when he, anything come out of his mouth, I feel like it's going to be a hundred thousand dollars automatically. So.

Erika Bullock (43:21.949)
doesn't have to be, but it is one of the more specific places to go to.

Mr. Al Pete (43:28.942)
Okay, so that answers the last question. So, honeymoons, you would essentially, the same spot where the wedding be at would be where the honeymoon is at. So, you would, those same spots. Okay. Sounds good. Well, listen, we appreciate you for being so, what's the word, what I would like to say? The word that's coming up in my head is considerate because a lot of people don't really have the time to think about

Erika Bullock (43:36.661)
Mm-hmm.

Mr. Al Pete (43:58.284)
relaxation and even rewarding themselves or even feeling like, me go, let me try this upper type of luxury. You know what saying? So I think it's very, very dope of you to be mindful, to help people see the realities and say, hey, well, you can make that dream that you're thinking about. You got this pitch on your wall. You can really go to the place that you got that pitch on the wall.

And you can do it with these few steps and, you know, give value from those things. So I appreciate you for doing that, especially doing that for like our community for sure.

Erika Bullock (44:34.781)
Thank so much. appreciate that. love it.

Mr. Al Pete (44:35.392)
Yeah. Yeah, indeed, indeed. within my snooping, I saw that you were interviewed, correct? You were interviewed. It was a shout out.

Erika Bullock (44:48.917)
Shout out to DFW, yes.

Mr. Al Pete (44:50.444)
So DFW, Keith, what was that? DFW.

Erika Bullock (44:54.581)
Dallas, Fort Worth, that's where I currently reside, Texas.

Mr. Al Pete (44:57.998)
Gotcha. Okay, cool. I don't know if I saw that or not, but I was like, DFW, I just started reading. congratulations on that. But have you been in front of a magazine before or like been on a cover or anything?

Erika Bullock (45:05.415)
Mm-hmm. Thank you.

Erika Bullock (45:13.397)
No, not at all. That was my first article. didn't... Yeah, they reached out to interview me. I should have asked them how they even found me, but I didn't because I was just like... Me? You want to interview me? So, I mean, hopefully you can tell I'm pretty much like laid back down to earth and all of that. So, I was just surprised they wanted to interview me for real. So, but no, that was my first feature.

Mr. Al Pete (45:43.234)
Gotcha. Is this your first interview?

Erika Bullock (45:47.389)
Besides the one I did for them, yes.

Mr. Al Pete (45:49.773)
Wow, okay, cool. So, all right, so we have something for you to add to your first interview with Dripping in Black. That's pretty cool. So we have this for you, ma'am.

So this is your personal cover of Window Seat with Erika.

Erika Bullock (46:05.257)
Thank you.

Wow.

Erika Bullock (46:14.965)
Thank you so much. That is beautiful. And I'm not even talking about my picture, but the way they set it up, it's beautiful.

Mr. Al Pete (46:22.446)
And okay, well, let me throw this plug in. the pictures that you have some gorgeous pictures. I mean, you're beautiful yourself, but like those pictures are like, I was like, yo, those pictures are very crisp. So yeah, for sure. But yeah, this is your cover from a Dripping in Black Family, the production. We want to say thank you for being.

Erika Bullock (46:29.512)
Thank you.

Erika Bullock (46:35.071)
Thank you.

Erika Bullock (46:39.689)
Thank you.

Mr. Al Pete (46:42.168)
part of this interview process. Hopefully this interview, you can take it and be able to use it for promo or just to say that you did it and this is something that you can add to your journey. And we wanna honor you and everything that you do for yourself as well as the people surrounding you and for just the communities all around, the coaches, all the things that you put your hands into. We greatly appreciate you. So hopefully you like.

Erika Bullock (47:08.211)
love it. Thank you so much.

Mr. Al Pete (47:10.188)
And also we'll be getting that to you so you'll have a physical copy as well. So we'll get a physical copy to you so you can put it up in your office or your home or whatnot. So can show people and say, hey, I was in front of a cover. I'm on a cover.

Erika Bullock (47:16.826)
nice.

Erika Bullock (47:25.501)
That so wonderful. Thank y'all so much. I really appreciate it. That's amazing.

Mr. Al Pete (47:28.608)
Ed.

Yeah, no problem. So again, we thank you so much for being for lending your time for this. I thoroughly enjoyed having this conversation. probably I mean, so if I wanted to book you, don't I don't we don't have to be in the same city anything, right? Because I'm near Orlando. I could play I could play my own Orlando trip. I'm trying to go somewhere. I can literally get my.

Erika Bullock (47:50.293)
No. No. No, no, no.

Erika Bullock (47:58.793)
You sure y'all need any help?

Mr. Al Pete (48:02.208)
It might be some places I don't know at Orlando, who knows? But no, for real, I feel like I done ran Orlando to the ground. Again, it's literally two hours away from me and I go down there a lot. But I don't need to be in the same city or anything to book with you, correct?

Erika Bullock (48:05.724)
Hehehehe

Erika Bullock (48:12.863)
Right. Mm-hmm.

Erika Bullock (48:18.779)
No, no, not at all. If you go to my website, it's www.wanderworlddestinations.com. There's a contact us form on there and there is also a link on there to be able to book a complimentary consultation call with me so that I can just get an idea of what you're wanting to do for your vacation. What is your travel dream for this particular trip? So no, you don't have to be

in the same city I've booked for Detroit all over.

Mr. Al Pete (48:53.464)
Gotcha. Okay. Cool, cool. And what else? I mean, you want everybody to go to the website to find you everywhere else? So do you want to let everybody know where your social's at?

Erika Bullock (49:03.221)
So on Instagram, I am Erika E-R-I-K-A underscore wanders, W-A-N-D-E-R-S. And I do have business pages on Facebook, but they kind of mimic what I have on my Instagram. So, but if you want us to go on there, like to check out my reviews and things of that nature, it's Wanderworld Destinations on Facebook also.

Mr. Al Pete (49:28.162)
Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha. Again, we appreciate you. Please hold tight. We're gonna close this show out, but Erika Bullock, Wander World Destinations. Please go check it out and book your next trip with Miss Erika, okay? All right, my people, Dripping in Black, Dripping in Black, Dripping in Black. Please make sure you go to the website, drippinginblack.com. Make sure you subscribe to us. Subscribe to the YouTube page. Share this with your people. Share all this Black excellence that we have going on.

this show. Also, if you want to get drip, drip, drip merch, go to the drip shop, go to D I B K drip shop.com. Again, that's D I B K drip shop.com. Get you a mug, get you a shirt and get on this Black excellence train that we are riding. Okay. Again, thank you so much to the Dripping and Black family, my Ummah creative group, folks, everybody that I know. Thank you so much for watching and be good to others and be good to yourselves. It's Mr. Al Pete.

to the top. and keep it Black.