By now you've probably heard of the "stay-cation", the "day-cation" or recently the "no-cation". Like many Americans, my family will not be traveling this year so we've decided to take "brew-cations" instead. Over the next few weeks we'll be traveling to San Francisco, Hawaii, the Near and Far East, Germany, Great Britian/Ireland and Mexico. And we're not leaving home to do it!
So what is a "brew-cation"? Well, it starts with good beer. Past that it can be pretty much anything you can come up with which brings home some of the joys of traveling. For this series of articles I will be focusing on beer, food, movies and books. Everything you need can be found here in Charlotte.
Besides trying out the local craft brews, when we do have the opportunity to travel my husband and I love to visit the local grocery stores to browse the items on the shelves and even make a meal or two from them. It's a tradition we began while spending three weeks in Ireland on a shoe-string budget.
In Charlotte, we have the good fortune to have Latin, Asian, Indian and even South African specialty grocers. There's also Total Wine & More with their unsurpassed selection of craft and import beers by the bottle, Trader Joe's and World Market who carry assortments of regional and international foods and beers. Supermarkets like Harris Teeter have international aisles as well.
For movies and books, I'll be using Netflix and the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County. Most of the titles shoud be available through other local and internet resources.
By adding your own dash of creativity you can customize your "brew-cation" to fit your family's interests and budget. If you have kids and are planning to "visit" Hawaii you might schedule a day at Ray's Splash Planet, the indoor water park which is part of the Charlotte/Mecklenburg parks system. You can team up with friends and take turns hosting different destinations. Party City and Hobby Lobby (local stores) and Oriental Trading Company (online) can help with decorations, games and crafts.
It's time for me to pack my bags, grocery bags that is, and head for San Francisco. I'll give you the how-to's and reviews for the "City by the Bay" when I get back!
For more information: San Francisco Brew-cation
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I found this article very useful. Because of the worldwide recession, a lot of people have cut back on their budget for travel, and Joni's suggestions on alternative ways of "traveling" the world could really come in handy.
To see Joni's original posting, click here:
http://www.examiner.com/x-13367-Charlotte-Craft-Beer-Examiner~y2009m6d18-No-money-to-travel-Take-a-brewcation
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