CHAPTER ONE | “The Secret Is Out!”

LAX— Delta Terminal. My flight showed as delayed. Cool. I came to the airport underfed. So I head to the Delta Club, where I COMPLETELY STUFFED myself— jumbo shrimp cocktail, quinoa salad, olive tapenade, leafy green salad. All the yums. Even gluten-free rice crispy treats. Come thru rice crispy treats!!! I was HUNgry and I inhaled my whole plate and washed it down with lemonade. Sugar. Gah!

My flight then decides to start boarding while I’m just getting started on dessert #rude. So I shove the dessert in my purse… (We not wasting no free food y’all)… and I start walk-running for my gate and get there only to see that they’ve only just started boarding. Dang. This means I had time for seconds? Sheesh. [THIS is how my stomach-brain thinks: Foodity—food—food—eat—yum—eat—so good—eat—dessert! Rinse wash repeat-sleep]. Alas. No time to double back. And I DO have dessert in my purse. So we gon’ be a’ight. I board and a deep LOUD voice says: MICHELE!!! I look up to see my childhood friend, Fred, on the same flight.

my childhood buddy, Fred, and me— on board our Delta flight [I’d just missed him in the Delta lounge!]

When we were children, our dads played on the handball courts of Harlem. Fred, his sister/my buddy Crystal and my brother Matthew and I (and others!!!) naturally all became like cousins. Framily. Can’t convince us otherwise. What a treat to see Fred. What a treat to have friends that feel like super-close family. What a blessing to be flying with a happy heart. #wheelsup #flyingwithfamily #travelsnacks4thewin

When I randomly shared all this on social media, my good friend Natasha commented with a pro-tip:

Thanks to THIS very comment from my friend Natasha, my gelato journey was hatched :)

A GELATO MACHINE?!?!? Alrighty then, game ON gelato. Let’s go!

CHAPTER TWO | “Not so fast shorty”

Made it! I arrived super-early to LAX (for an already super-early flight) for my next cross-country trip —with a mission in mind: Gelato, because yummers!

A trip ago, my friend told me that there was a gelato machine hidden somewhere in a far corner of the Delta Sky Club at LAX AND that the gelato was supposedly delish. Well, let me see real quick! So the night before I was scheduled to leave, apart from packing I made my gelato PLANS. Yes-yes y’all, I made a plan— studying the hours of operation of the Delta Sky Club , its proximity to my gate etc. because, you know, foodity-food-food deserves a plan (just like packing does) when you’re #alwayshungry. I found out that da-Club opens at 4am. Yes! woohoo! So that morning I part with that good sleep well ahead of schedule, in service of shoehorning in some good-grubbin’ and gelato at zero-dark thirty because, why not! & Y’all, I came ready (see: hungry).

Happy to report that my grazing had high yield on the yummy scale: Gluten free mushroom veggie egg bite frittata, blackberry chia seed yogurt (delish!), and a small trough of fresh pineapple and strawberries. My stomach-brain was savoring the good grub in front of me, as my eyes started searching in the direction of this mysterious gelato machine. So excited. YAY!

On my feet, while moving in the general direction of the ‘far corner’ of the Delta Sky Club— where this mysterious gelato machine is said to be nestled —a kind attendant just so plainly trounces on my hopes and dreams with:

Attendant: “Sorry, the gelato machine does not open until a little later.”

me (forced nonchalance): oh! Makes sense. thanks.

Also me (inside/my stomach brain and I): 😩 gah!

I slouched away, looking down at the remnants of my mini frittata and fruit— which was all that now stood between me and the oblivion of my stomach-brain’s gelato “crisis” . #travelsnacks #alwayshungry

CHAPTER THREE | “Y’all Play Too Much”

Landed back in LA…safely. Important because… how else we gon’ finally get to know this unrequited love?

So on my way toward the arrivals exit, I happen to be passing the Delta Sky Club—juuuust kidding y’all. I was walking right for it, on purpose, because…gelato. With an all-but “honey I’m home” happy-saunter, I practically skip inside. On my way to searching again for the gelato machine, I see a taco-making station and, naturally, detour. All the yums?! Well then, guess I’ll make myself a plate first. This eating-b4-dessert’ing is somewhere in the adulting manual. So it’s all totally mathing, gastronomically.

Naturally, when I’m done, I walk the length and breadth of this inner culinary sanctum (also known as the Delta Sky Club) en route to gelato. Get in my belly!!! Yet, there are still no signs of the now infamously unrequited gelato nor said-machine. Hushing my inner whimper and clinging to a mere dental-floss-width calm, I approach someone who seems to be in the know and she shares thusly:

“Oh we can only bring the gelato machine out when there’s an ambassador here to operate it.”

me: ah. Ok!

also me (internal): Y’all’s ambassadors play too much

also also me: I got time tah’day. Maybe I should sit here?

Alas, I leave. So, yeah, behold a picture of an empty bowl because we still unrequited. Sigh. #alwayshungry #travelsnacks

CHAPTER FOUR | “Where Is Everybody?”

I made it! I arrive at the airport fed and ready for just one thing…GELATO! Woohoo!

So I duck inside the #DeltaSkyClub and immediately see all the delicious-looking food stations. But get thee behind me “yums”. I’m not here for play-play tah’day. It’s nearly 9p. I’ve got a flight to board soon. Gelato. Das it. Let’s go!

Y’all. I turn the corner to finally meet this love and I see…an empty wall. Seriously. No machine. No gelato. No toppings and NO GELATO AMBASSADOR. They really play too much up in here. Where is everybody? For reals y’all.

Me (already knowing but still asking): oh so hey would you know where the gelato machine is?

Person in the know: yeah. We close that around 7pm. They wheel it away.

Me: ah! Gotcha.

Also me (inside): 😩

Sigh.

Gelato Ambassador 3points.

My stomach 0.

#alwayshungry #travelsnacks

CHAPTER FIVE | “The Calm Before the Next Trip”

Tonight I heard SOMEONE say: “No we aren’t going to (xyz) restaurant. We have food at home.” 😩 Y’all remember those heartbreaking days when we felt like our (clearly rich) parentals just didn’t want us to be great; AND then, we had to try not to look pissed off at them?! Even tho’ we just knew they were wrong for that, we did NOT want that fire! #thestruggle

Welp, tonight I was that “someone”. Someone was me 🙋🏽‍♀️…and I was talking to myself. 🥴😂

Listen. I’m traveling soon and I’m trying to eat all the fresh food and leftovers in my fridge (a blessing, I knooooow) before I fly. But I’mma be honest, the food is not really fooding in here tonight y’all. #sendhelp

Tonight I had leftover lentil soup (ok, yum) and then I made a fresh fruit smoothie…but with apple and grapefruit🥴 AND a slice of fresh lemon because I still had a wedge left and that’s all the fruit I have in here. Talk about tart. Sheesh. Also, it was way too thick; so I had to spoon it back. So my mouth glands currently feel punched. But I thugged it out ✊🏾. We not wasting no food.

newsflash: this wasn’t a great smoothie. oh well :)

Breakfast tomorrow is more leftover lentil soup and a bowl of spaghetti sauce over lentil-walnut “meatless meatballs”… because I’m out of egg whites and that’s what’s left in here.

Oh please Lord God, let there be gelato at the airport,♥️🙏🏾 amen. #alwayshungry

CHAPTER SIX | “Unrequited No More!”

Y’all. Y’ALL. Why was I soooo nervous and sorta walking in a haze as I was about to turn the corner inside the Delta Sky Club area where… there was actual gelato today!!!!!

We had a time, all three of us— yes, me and the two cups of gelato that I packaged in coffee cups and savored when I got to my gate. So yummy! My belly is so happy (and unseasonably quiet right now too )

My gelato journey has a teeny prequel to it btw— which began in Italy over the summer —and also included the eating of gluten-free actual food… because, you know, I’m always ready to eat!

Alrighty. Time to sleep off all this sugar. #WheelsUp #travelsnacks #alwayshungry

Yep, it really was worth the wait. Thank you LORD. xo