Beer Trips

by Adrienne Wilson on

With all the roar about soaring temperatures these days here is a trip to possibly cool you off a
tad. Perfect for the guys and gals that love their occasional and sometimes daily
dose of fermented mash a.k.a. beer, investing in one of Beer Trip’s packages
maybe the best summer vacation experience yet. Now, I’m sure it would be great to sit around under a shady place in the
park with a nice breezing blowing your way, chugging down on your brewskies, but their trips are for beer lovers.

Beer lovers are the folks that want to get in on all the behind the scenes action while exploring Czech Micro
Breweries, Prague, Bamberg, and Munich during the popular Oktoberfest, as well as the distilleries of Scotland.
Endeavors in beer loving countries include introductions to the people, the culture, and also brewing methods. The web
site is packed with numerous package options to making the best fit for you and say, some of your old frat
pals.

Brazil’s Wetlands and Samba

by Adrienne Wilson on

Lisa Grossman depicts a different Brazil than the string bikini filled beaches of Rio. Instead they
sport their string bikini tops and short denim miniskirts at the
farmhouse, which would be her accommodation over the next couple of days. When she paid to work side-by-side with
biologists as an Earthwatch volunteer in the Patanal (the world’s largest freshwater wetland in southwest Brazil) never
had she imagined watching scientists and cowboys show off their best bossa nova moves after a long day of researching
the elusive river otters. (I wonder why? Or maybe the sight was funnier than anything she had initially imagined.)
Though the nights were filled with tons of samba, piranha soup, and caipirinhas these days were certainly filled with
hard work.

Her duties included wielding the GPS unit to track and take note of the otter sightings. The scientists ultimate
goal is to understand the otter’s lifestyle and to create a protection plan to ensure their survival for years to come.
Luckily they are making great strides and Lisa was fortunate to have a small part in working along some smart
biologists who are also wild about their samba. Her story is featured on
Rough Guides online.

Teen Beats Off Bear

by Erik Olsen on

So there you are, a wee lad of 14, sleeping in the wilderness, nothing but the gaping black sky above, when suddenly
you hear heavy breathing. Sure, that could be mom and dad in the other tent, but it sounds a lot closer than that. In
fact, it right outside the tent. In fact, something is now PAWING at the tent and OH MY GOD IT’S A BEAR!

Or so went the likely scenario when 14 year old
Keelan Patton awoke to find a bear pawing at him on Tuesday while he was camping with family near Coaldale, Colo. The
bear actually pawed through the fabric of the boy’s tent, but the boy slugged him. The bear bit the boy’s left hand,
grimaced, and then went on to find tastier children elsewhere. And so it goes in the world of bears.

BTW: Did that headline catch your eye? I knew it would.

Baltimore’s Helmand: Fine Afghan Food

by Adrienne Wilson on

Named after Afghanistan’s longest and most important river, the
Helmand has been doing it’s part in introducing
mouth-watering Afghan dishes to Baltimore. A top pick among several local papers
the restaurant serves fine Afghan food in the historic part of the B-more, but
tasting items like kaddo and the chopan will take your senses far away from home. Zagat claims the kaddo will
make you change the way you think about pumpkin and the reviews continue for there. If you are looking for a new spot
to test, why not try Helmand? I’m a sucker for reviews, especially good ones. If it’s anything like Persian food, which
I am guessing most of it is close, then I’d be there with bells on. But I’m nowhere close. In the area? Been there
before? Let me know what you think.

Travel Dining with Kids

by Erik Olsen on

If you’re abroad with kids you must inevitably face a common conundrum: what to eat and where. It’s not as simple as
it may seem. For me, if I’m alone or with friends in a place like Mexico, I’ll generally eat right off the street.
Nothing satisfies me more than a plateful of
fish tacos slathered in the
local salsa…salsa that has often been sitting out in the sun for the last three hours. That’s OK for me because I trust
the hardiness of my stomach, but I doubt I would expose a young child to the potential gastro-intestinal dangers of
street eating.

So what do you do? How best to manage feeding the younguns’ when you are overseas, especially when your little people
are likely to demand familiar vittles like hoot dogs and hamburgers to the local fare.

Here is an article in Fodors takes on the topic. Lisa
Oppenheimer offers suggestions for how to best get the kids fed without feeling like you are taking them to McDonalds.
First among her suggestions is Never arrive hungry: the reason being that starving kids are likely to
be both more finicky and irritable. She also points out that Murphy’s Law dictates that the hungriest customers will be
served last. Another tip: Be creative. In other words, if your kids are particular (and what kids
aren’t?), make sure that the place you choose will adapt to odd American diets. Will they put ketchup on spaghetti? If
you ask this in some places, it’s possible you will be ushered out the door by an angry cook wielding a meat
cleaver.

The ideas here are basic, but reasonable. Call it food for thought for the traveling parent.