Located just less than an hour west of Asheville, Sylva has a lot to offer if you’re looking to be right in the middle of the hills and away from the crowds. Sylva has a different vibe from some of the other tourist draws in western North Carolina.  Highlands and Cashiers are a bit on…

  Bars are so last century.  There are so many better beers and great places to enjoy them and 2020’s COVID pandemic has forced us all to be a little more creative.  If you can have a beer each year in each of these locations, then you’ve had a damn good year.   And if you…

I’m fortunate to live in one of the best beer cities in America.  Yes, I’m biased, but I really feel like the Tampa Bay area can stand up to many of the other great beer towns across the country.  There’s a ton of diversity, experimentation, and plenty of crushable beers. It’s always hard to pick…

Beer culture is very subjective and a difficult thing to rank.  But, like pornography, you know it when you see it.  Or in this case, experience it.  I focused on a few things including; how ingrained beer is in the culture, the rise in craft breweries and availability of good beer, and the places beers…

Background Asheville is one of the premier beer travel destinations in the United States and is the beer capital of the South.  Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina, it’s a perfect blend of old south and new hipster. The Basics Where to Stay Downtown is the ideal place.  The majority of…

Trip Background November 17, 2018 to November 25, 2018 This was a seven night family trip from November 17th to November 25th for our Thanksgiving trip.  I think it was an episode of Amazing Race that put Malta on my radar.  I loved the look of the fortress walls on the bright blue waters.  There…

Trip Background November 22, 2019 to November 30, 2019 This was a family trip with my two sons who were 14 and 12 at the time. Cyprus entered our minds as an alternative to Greece after meeting with a client of mine who was from Cyprus. We figured it would be a chance to experience…

Over the last few years, I really started enjoying riding bikes around cities or to different sites as opposed to taking taxis, trains, etc.  I have never been a cyclist, but it just seemed liked a good way to see a little more along the way and get a little exercise along the way. The…

It seems like a new brewery is opening up just about every week these days.  And that’s always a good thing.  But, not every brewery is good.  Some stand out from the others. Here’s my list of what makes a good brewery (if anyone is interested, I do offer free consultations for free beer) 1.…

This list will change constantly as I visit new cities or revisit old ones.  But it’s always fun to keep a list.  Because apparently, I like lists. I don’t use any objective criteria when making this list.  It’s completely about feel.  Sometimes I like big cities, and other times I like small towns.  Sure, access…