365 days of beer come to a close

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Two people just finished drinking a hell of a lot of beer. Married couple Chris Nelson and Merideth Canham-Nelson left home in Carmel Valley, CA to hit every major beer destination and festival in the world … in only one year. Ninety breweries and 15 destinations later, they closed out the excursion at the Belgian Kerstbierfestival in December. Along the way, they stopped in Oregon, England, German and (of course) San Diego.

I mean, who doesn’t see “San Diego” and think “beer”?

So, what do you do when a “Year in Beer” comes to a close? Duh, you try to write a book! Until it hits the shelves, if it ever does, you can learn more about these heroes at yearinbeer.com.

[Via USA Today]

Photo of the Day (1/29/09)

by Kent Wien on

Buck Forester is a long-time photo contributor to Gadling’s Flickr group. Buck discovered a rock that was lit from behind by the sun setting behind a rock. With an exposure of 1/4 sec, he captured the explosion of water at Rodeo Beach in California at precisely the right moment.

Nice job, Buck. Hope we see some new pics from you soon.

Are you a Flickr user who’d like to share a travel related picture or two for our consideration? Submit it to Gadling’s Flickr group right now! We just might use it for our Photo of the Day!

Free flight ploy ends in jail

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Some people will do anything for a free flight. Instead of waiting for the airline to screw up, Arthur David Proskin used a bump by the beverage cart as his ticket to glory … and hopefully anywhere in the continental United States. He used what was probably an accident to shout obscenities at the flight attendant who so egregiously wronged him (hint for the tone-deaf, this is sarcasm) and other passengers.

Well, Proskin has learned that wishes do come true. And you better be careful what you … blah, blah, blah.

The guy’s headed to jail. He hatched his plan on a Continental Airlines flight from Houston to Palm Springs, CA and caused it to be diverted to Midland International Airport. On the ground , the gump was arrested.

“Free” won’t be in this 44-year-old’s vocabulary for another 2 ½ years. A guilty plea back in October made sure of that.

What’s the moral of the story? Since a lot of jails actually charge for room and board (at least here in New York), there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

[Via MSNBC]

Business travelers lead the downward spiral

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Thank the recession. In particular, thank the business travelers. These guys are the backbone of the travel industry, racking up thousands of dollars in expenses a week, filling planes and paying full price because they don’t have a choice. I spent five years gripped by that lifestyle, and I don’t miss it. But, I did learn who keeps the travel market afloat, and it’s not you (and it’s not me anymore). Since these guys aren’t spending as much money as they did a year or two ago, everyone is suffering.

And, you could benefit from all this.

Hotels and airlines are offering fantastic deals right now in large part because the business travelers aren’t checking in the way they used to. An AP reporter, for example, nabbed a room at the Waldorf Astoria in Palm Springs, CA for $130 a night (including taxes). Oh, and it was the “Spa Villa.”

So, how bad is it? Smith Travel research pegs occupancy at North American hotels at 52.3 percent, down 10.3 percent from a year ago. Hotels’ average daily rates were down 3.3 percent on average, to $101.84. Hotels are half full (or, half empty?), and rooms aren’t fetching as much.

If you think it could be worse, it is. The real number that hotels watch is REVPAR – revenue per available room. Basically, take all the money a hotel pulls in for a day and divide it by the total number of rooms in the hotel (not just the rooms that are occupied). After all, every room – occupied or not – represents a chance for the hotel to make money. So, the true test of its performance is how well a property is doing relative to its entire inventory. This is the number by which hotels live and die.

It’s down 13.3 percent to $53.28.

So, if you expect Monty Hall to be at the front desk, you won’t be disappointed. They need to make a deal, and you stand to win big. As always, there is a catch. You may have to pay for your room before your trip and submit to draconian cancellation terms. If you can’t stomach such words as “non-refundable,” this market is made for you.

The colorful murals of San Francisco’s Mission District

by Jeremy Kressmann on

San Francisco’s Mission District is a neighborhood with a number of faces. It is at once gritty and unique, increasingly filled with shiny new businesses yet still retaining the vibrant Latino immigrant culture and scruffy charm for which it has always been known. As one walks the area, it’s easy to get a feel for these differences – pungent taquerias and Quinceanera dress shops increasingly back up against indie booksellers and sleek furniture stores.

No matter the changes, The Mission remains the center of a thriving community of Mexican and Central American immigrants, which continues to give the neighborhood a distinctly south-of-the-border flair. This is especially true of The Mission’s vibrant street murals, a tradition that is evident just about anywhere you look.

Murals have a long tradition in Mexican art, particularly in the context of the Chicano movement, which represented the struggles of Mexican Americans for social and politcal rights. Mexican muralists like Diego Rivera played a large role in the movement, painting large scale public art in cities such as San Francisco which depicted a variety of social and political themes.

Though Diego Rivera is long gone, the legacy of his work lives on to this day in The Mission. The casual visitor will find the streets bordered by 16th to 24th and Mission to Valencia are packed with an assortment of wildly colorful murals. While some are strongly tied to the traditions of Mexican mural painting, others are thoroughly modern in scope, referencing themes as diverse as video games, 60’s Psychedelia, Hip-Hop and modern New York graffiti tagging.

During a recent visit to San Francisco we took a closer look at some of the many public murals dotting the area. Take a look at the gallery below for a tour of the murals of the Mission District.

%Gallery-42853%