And So It Begins..

Last month saw San Antonio’s first ever Beer Week, but you’d never know it — for an inaugural year it felt a lot more like it was several years in. The week was packed with a multitude of events at area breweries, craft beer centric restaurants and bars.

One such event was the annual King’s Feast held at San Antonio’s Blue Star Brewing Co, located in the aptly named King William District of south San Antonio. The King William, or Southtown, area of San Antonio has gone under quite a revitalization in the last few years. The changes have locals and tourists alike flocking to this wonderful art district.

In its sixth year, the annual dinner features pairings of Blue Star’s King William Barleywine style ale with fabulous culinary creations from the Blue Star chefs. This year’s dinner featured a vertical tasting of the last three years of the King William, as well as Barleywines from breweries such as Stone Brewing in Escondido, California; Avery in Boulder, Colorado and Sierra Nevada in Chico, California.

The event was hosted by local San Antonio craft beer writer Travis Poling, in conduction with Blue Star Brewing. While we arrived, enjoying sips of the various offering and munching on a light snack of cheese, grapes and crackers, Travis gave a brief history of the King William Barelywine and the dinner itself.  You could see the anticipation on everyone’s faces as they eyed the beers and delectable culinary treats.

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Downtown Oklahoma City is doing a bit of construction and expansion (it shouldn’t disturb your travel plans), and rather than surround the work with blank walls or annoying advertisements they’ve gone the artsy route. Kid art to be exact. It looks awesome.

The designs were created by OKC area children and are so much nicer than the graffiti that would have surely wound up there under different circumstances. Nicely done, Oklahoma City.

This post is part of our Friday Family Series.

Photo: rkrichardson via Flickr

I have a bone to pick with Alaska Airlines, and lucky for me I have the platform to do it. This may or may not be lucky for you. Humor me.

To be fair, I’ve always been a fan of Alaska. Over the past 10 years I’ve spent a lot of time flying in and out of Seattle and often Alaska Airlines has provided the best deal available. I’m budget savvy, what can I say?

In addition to affordable (relative) airfare I’ve also enjoyed their customer service. Just last summer when my family and I were flying to Orlando there was a mix-up with our tickets (between Alaska and a partner airline) which, frankly, freaked us out. The Alaska Airlines rep stayed cool and calm and made everything right. It was the first real moment of relaxation on a great family vacation.

My point? Alaska Airlines has always done right by me. Until now. Read More »

Fare from Taste of Randolph Street

You may have heard of a little event called the Taste of Chicago, where thousands stuff themselves silly on Windy City favorites like deep dish pizza and grilled turkey legs, all in the sticky surroundings of Grant Park. Well, if you’re interested in trendy and cutting edge Chicago spots, skip the Taste of Chicago and catch the Taste of Randolph Street, June 17-19.  Situated in the haute cuisine corridor of  the West Loop, you’ll taste fare from Chicago’s top chefs.

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