Day Three Report: Mt. Desert Island is reached

Day three was a bit of a missed connections day. Puritanical values still hold sway in New England, or perhaps it's just labor laws, so many places were closed for Sunday. We unsuccessfully attempted a few breweries, but ended up at a homey bar on the waterfront munching on free popcorn and beer that actually cost money for once. . . at 11am.

By the time we made it to Bar Harbor we were thirsty again, so after several failed attempts at closed storefronts, we swung into Geddy's. Geddy's just happens to be the biggest tourist trap restaurant on the island. It also happened to be open.

They also served me the biggest surprise of our trip - a bad beer! Puffin Pale Ale was absolutely disgusting, or should I say tasted like Bud Lite. Well, same thing. The waitress overheard my complaint and kindly brought me a new beer. The beer still remains a mystery. We don't know who the brewer is and I while I do remember seeing Puffin Pale Ale t-shirts at the Kennebunk Brewery, there doesn't seem to be anything on their website indicating they brew the stuff. Perhaps no one's interested in taking credit for this crappy stuff.

Full of beer, we went and bought more beer at the liquor store. Then we spent a good while hanging out at our luxurious Quimby House Inn. I think we were the only folks staying there, if you don't include the crazy cat that liked to hang upside down off the banister.

We soon got tired of drinking and headed over to the Jack Russell's Steak House and Brewery. Their beer was from the Maine Coast Brewing Company and the four beer sampler was so delightful, we decided all to get one. Some beers and apps later, we were ready to crash. This vacation was getting to be hard work, having to remember one beer from the next!

Beer Tour 2010 in Photos

Beer Tour reunion (all are invited) at my place, coming soon . . .

Day Two Report Part 2

We drove straight to Shipyard as soon as we got into the city, making the 3pm tour by a minute. Shipyard's tour was free and started off with a Jibber-Jabesque video, followed by a quick tour of the facilities. It was big, not Redhook big, but larger Smuttynose for sure. We also spied boxes for the other beer they brew - Peak Organic, Seadog, etc. (These guys really do brew every beer in Maine!) The last 20 minutes were in the tasting room, where we got generous samples of four of their beers, which it turns out we mostly drank down in Kennebunk.

Our tour guide was pretty awful commenting at some point that she doesn't really like beer and drink wine. But the beer was free. We also learned some interesting stories. The master brewer for Shipyard learned in Britain and brought back a recipe for non-traditional English bitter ale. Shipyard is the only brewery licensed to brew the recipe and they can't even put their logo on it. That's why there's a big ol' wort-hog on the label and no sign on Shipyard. It's damn fine beer and thankfully can be found back home at my local liquor store.

Next stop was Sea Dog Brewpub whose mascot is an awfully cute puppy with a sailor's yellow rain-hat. Their restaurant is a chain; there's a few locations in Maine and their South Portland location certainly felt a bit chainy and was located in a strip-mall, surrounded by a parking lot.

The beer there was certainly geared towards the masses. The beer list was pretty extensive with 10 different beers in the tasting for just $10. Some struck us as silly (Blue Paw Wheat Ale and Rasberry Wheat) and others were well done (Owls Head Light Ale and Old East India Pale Ale). The spinach dip was superb however and happy hour specials were just $3 a pint.

On to Sebago. You might think we couldn't drink any more beer, but oh, we could. We found ourselves a little unable to eat, but we happily downed some excellent beer. Chris and Adrian had the Stout aged in a bourbon cask, while Colleen and I opted for something lighter: Hefeweizen and Runaround Red.

While posting a gorgeous picture of the stout on facebook I noticed an update from a friend that lives in Rhode Island and whose couch I, once upon a time, crashed on for a summer.

"Jodie Goodnough is in Portland. Maine, I've missed you so."

I called. Our conversation was something like this:

Hey are you in Portland?

Yeah.

I'm in Portland.

No way.

What are you doing?

Eating dinner.

Where? I'm eating dinner.

I looked up to see Jodie in the doorway. She was downstairs at the same restaurant.

So I guess we picked the right place to end the night.

UMass - Mexico City Time Warp?

I've been in Amherst recruiting at UMass this week and at times I feel I'm in a Mexico City timewarp. The warmest way to get to the Campus Center where I had a table was to go through the Student Union, up and down stairs and round a twisted way of hallways. At one point the hallway goes by an open area with a mural and statue. . .

much like the winding walk I would do to transferring between the pink and blue lines I would do everyday in Mexico City. Half way through the crazy hectic tunnels you'd pass an Aztec altar they unearthed when they dug the subways out.

And the mural is reminiscent of those that cover public spaces all over Mexico City. This famous one of Diego Rivera's is in a museum, but the Mexico University campus has several that look just like UMass.

So neither are exact reflections, but pleasant suprising reminders of an ancient city and a pleasant vacation.

Day Two Report Part 1

Our second day of Beer Tour was a slow meander up the Maine coast. We land first in Kennebunk at the Federal Jack's Brewery at 11am.

Oddly the power went out just before we got there and the staff apologized they wouldn't be able to cook anything. "That's okay: we're just here for the beer!" we replied. So no problem, we got seated and delivered two orders of the sampler. Oddly most of the beer was from Shipyard Brewery. Chris dutifully took notes of all our tastings. Favorites of the group were the Brown Ale and Chamberlain. I loved the taste of the 'Taint Town a British bitter. (Read the story of Taint Town here.) Taint town unfortunately was the only beer not sold in the gift shop; it was only available in the bar.

Next stop was Biddeford-Saco. On an island between the two towns is a charming repurposed industrial complex with the Run of the Mill Public House and Brewery.

This was my favorite brewpub on the trip. A dark interior with rustic wood everywhere, the big windows opened up to the water. The food was amazing. The cooks weren't thrown off by my request for a reuben vegi burger. The beer was cleverly named: Alewife Ale, Bug Lager, Smelt Camp Strong Ale, Impact Pale Ale, and Cassk Kickin IPA. Folks were fans of the Alewife Ale and Tarbox Cream Stout.

Our trick to making friends everywhere was to announce that we were on a beer tour. The staff were all helpful in making suggestions for our next stop and we learned a bit about the politics and economics of breweries in Maine. Apparently the 'cute and local' Shipyard owned a lot of the breweries we were planning on visiting. Whenever a brewery wasn't doing too well Shipyard would buy it up. Or if a brewery grew past it's capacity they'd give their recipe to Shipyard to brew.

Well, there went our quaint little brewery fantasy. Turns out Shipyard owns Seadog, Casco Bay and Kennebunk. (Later in their brewery we'll see Peak Organic boxes in their brewery too.)

After Saco it was just another hour to Portland. . .

We've made it safely back to Portland for beer tasting three of today.

Day four Checkin

Day One Report

Well I've finally taken this book for a spin. Colleen, Adrian, Chris and I have headed up the Eastern Seaboard for Beer Tour. First stop was lovely Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The schedule was tight: we did a tour at Smutty Nose, then Redhook and finished it off at the Portsmouth Brewery.

Smutty Nose has been our favorite so far. A real microbrewery, you could tell these folks really care about their beer. With no interest on taking over the entire market, the owner has turned down offers to pair up with a distributor to go big, favoring having control over his beer and brewing process. They offer unlimited samples before and after the tour.

Next up was Redhook. Redhook it turns out is a bit of a traitor to many craft-beer enthusiasts. Several years back they sold 33% of their company share to Anheuser Busch to pair distribution with them. Now they're one of the top beers in the country, but some think at a sacrifice to their beer. I didn't find it too lacking. For $1 we got a tasting glass and a tour with a old hippie. (And I'm not just being prejudice here. The guy was wearing tie-dye and was a former Berkley resident.) It was very Sam Adams-styled. Quick tour with lots of scripted jokes finished with lots of beer at the end. And this time no only 3 beers a tasting rule. We drank it up!

We ended the night at the Portsmouth Brewery with a flight of eight beers and a free pint courtesy of a coupon from the Smutty Nose Brewery. Desert was a delicious milk stout with a shot of vanilla stoli dropped in . . . mmmmmm.

Day One Count: 17 beers

More reporting to come . . .

Day Two checkin

A quick hello from Sebago Brewery!

Day One of Brewery Tour

Just about an hour North of Boston you'll hit the
land of 'Live Free or Die'. Free from the puritanical 'no happy hour' and only 3 tastes per tour rules, we drank it all down at Smutty Nose, Redhook and the Portsmouth Brewery.

Romantic Boston

What cities come to mind when you think romantic? Paris? Buenos Ares? Savannah?

Certainly not Boston.

But Boston can have it's moments. Here's my picks for romantic places around town this Valentine's Day.

Arnold Arboretum

During the Winter season, it's a cold desolate place, but when the lilacs are in bloom and the grass is green, this is a great romantic place to have a picnic. Better yet, sneak off the path on the hills in the woods for some alone time.

South End side streets

Wander down Boston's South End side streets, peek in windows and imagine the life you could lead if you had the money to live in these brown stones shaded by trees.

Charles River

Water is romantic. I believe Venice proves that. So get away from the joggers and stroll the bridges above the pools near the Hatch Shell to be Boston's own Venice.

Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum

Link arms with your lover and stroll through the decadent house and gardens imagining you're in the romantic Victorian era.

Boston Harbor

After dusk when the boat signals glitter and the office building lights make a pretty picture, Boston's harbor is an excellent place for a picnic. Plenty of benches offer perches, just pack your corkscrew, some wine and cheese.

Griggs Park

Carved out by a glacier eons ago, Griggs Park in Brookline with it's gardens and weeping willows is a lovely place to stroll with your partner.

North End

When the moon hits your eyes like a big pizza pie--that's amore. What better place to have a romantic dinner or get serenaded by an Italian Stallion (see above) then the little Italy of Boston? The Jersey Shore has given guidos a bad name, but old school Italians know how to do amore. Every restaurant is guaranteed to be candlelit and playing romantic music.

New Discount Site!

If you know me, you know how I get excited about Groupons (and Living Socials, CoupMes and BuyWithMes).

Every day new deals in my inbox, so good I can barely control myself from clicking 'buy'. So tempting, in fact, that this month I've put the kibash on buying these things for 28 days.

That's why it's so hard to resist this new site I've discovered: Dig Deals.

$50 Bella Luna giftcard for $25

$50 Jacob Wirth giftcard for $25

$50 Otherside Cafe giftcard for $25

And countless other restaurants that I know now that I must try. Arrrg!

One good thing is that they aren't delivered to your inbox, so no daily temptation at least.

Events at MIT

College was great for free stuff. I joined the Commuters Club, International Students Club and the 8 Minute Abs Club. I wasn't a commuter, a foreigner or in possession of ripped abs. I was in it for the free food and fun events. My only weekly expense running the NYUSwings! Club? Brownie mix and milk.But now that you're out of college, what to do? I luckily have a college ID without any dates and a youthful complexion, so I save a lot of money on tickets for shows and museums. But there's more. I'm in Boston--this is college central. One of the best for events I've found is MIT.

That's right. The university of uber-nerds is actually a hub of social activity and free food. I suppose I've known this for a while. I've been a big fan of the Wednesday night free swing dance.

But there's also free tango dancing, movies and more. One of my favorites this year was the F.A.T. (Friday After Thanksgiving) event where 35 teams produce Rube Goldberg contraptions that are linked to create a chain reaction. You got to check out the video here.

A full events calendar is online at the MIT website. Sure a lot of events are MIT students only, but I doubt they'll check or just say you left your ID in your dorm room. (Better figure out the name of a dorm I suppose.) Here's some favorites: Annual Hummus taste-off (tomorrow), Fried Rice Iron Chef (tonight), MIT Charm School (this weekend). I'll be putting my favorites on my events calendar.

Yelp Karma?

I go posting about how great yelp is and then just a day later they end up using a quote of mine in the Yelp weekly review!

'Boston Cheese Cellar in Roslindale is "the only store you actually want to be smelly," yelps Megan S, who finds she's "always free to taste any of the dozens of cheese they have in house." '

Make sure you get out there to celebrate National Cheese Lover's Day today!

Yelp!

Yelp, is no longer the sound a dog makes, it's the sound of twenty-somethings writing mini-reviews of their most favorite and hated, restaurants, stores, salons, and just about anything else these days. If you're not on Yelp you are probably not going to the best bars, the cheapest eateries or the tastiest restaurants. Worse yet, you could be going to dull, over-priced places with bad service.

Since Yelp I've only had fantastic meals, drinks and massages.

Here's why Yelp isn't just another Citysearch:

1. The writers are snarky, clever, irreverent and often hilarious. These aren't Zagat's reviews here or even a Lonely Planet tour book. Each person has their own style and it's usually well-written and brutally honest.

2. The map feature is pretty cool - see what top-rated eateries are around where you are. Want somewhere else? Just drag the map over and new places pop up.

3. You can 'bookmark' places to try later and put notes with it. "To Try: Masa Note: $1 tapas on Thursday."

4. Many businesses offer Yelper's discount. Say you saw it on Yelp and at Blu you get 30% off your lunch or $15 off your Thai bodywork session at Boston Thai Yoga.

5. Events and community are also key on Yelp. Waste some time trolling the message boards to see some funny drama. Check out user-posted events like Paper-Rock-Scissors Tournaments. And if you're in the Yelp Elite Squad you get invited to free events put on by local stores and eateries where they wine and dine you to get your 5 star rating.

6. The reviews are usually right on. Folks are encouraged to use their real name and photo and write truthfully. There's also a ton of folks on the site. There's a graph that shows you how many people gave it 1, 2, 3, etc. stars and the average rating. So in the end you get a pretty good picture of if the place is worth checking out.

Hop on Yelp and be sure to friend me!

Highlights from Holiday Happenings

This is the first year that I skipped our paid vacation to Aspen. After my 3 week trip to Mexico I decided I'd had enough of planes for a while. And no matter--I planned a week full of exciting (and cheap!) events while most in the office were gone.

First off was the new Harpoon Beer tasting at the Kinsale and trying out Minibar's cocktails and Aspen-like interior decorating and fireplace.

The next day I organized a group to go the Wine Bottega's chocolate and wine tasting (free) and dinner in the Italian North End (not free).

More free booze on Thursday at Albert Winestein's tasting.

Then Friday I went to the Lexington annual Handel's Messiah. Now on it's 49th year, this is certainly the best sing-a-long Messiah there is. Many people there have been going, 10, 20, 30, event 40+ years! There was an air of camaraderie and a somewhat dorky love of singing aloud. At one point the bass singer finished a particularly good solo and I found myself grinning and nodding. I happened to look around and almost everyone was smiling and nodding in appreciation.

I spent Christmas at home in South Jersey, which is always a unique sensory experience. I spent most of the weekend being shuttled between relatives and family friends' homes. Because my father drove, I usually slept through the rides. It was if I'd magically awake in another strange house. Windows were small and it was dark out, so it was if the outside never existed--just funny knick-knacks, TVs always on and different people's wedding photos.

I'm used to being very aware of my environs. Up until recently I'd bike to work. Thursday I walked the 2 miles to the grocery store in the snow (safer than driving), stopping in shops and the library along the way. You notice the new art hanging in the gallery. You say hi to neighbors and you pet others' dogs. You notice a house's new paint job and feel the immediacy of the wind and weather.

The car to house, to car to house routine got a little surreal after four days. It's almost as if the state of New Jersey didn't exist, just a few folk's homes--and cars.

This week I returned to Boston with a vengeance. Went to Redbones for a beer launch. The wait was one cold, cold hour outdoors and the keg was kicked by the time we made it in, but the free appetizers of corn fritters, fried catfish, shrimp made a fine dinner. Partied perhaps a little too hardy for New Years with our home-made glögg.

I made up for January 1st's day of sloth with early morning sledding today, followed by more sloth.

Do holidays get any better than this?

Mmmm . . . cake.

This weekend was a snowy cold one, so it was mostly indoors. Friday's cheap event was the annual Lexington Handel's Messiah Sing-a-long. Going on for nearly 50 years, there were dozens of folk that had been coming for over a decade. Two ladies had been coming for over 40 years! No wonder it was the best chorus I've ever heard; these people were well-practiced.

Looking for Cheap Events in Boston? Look no further!

Berlin for Beginners

From time to time I hear that a friend is going to one of my favorite destinations. My skills as the finder of all things good and cheap do extend out of this country. I am excited to help point them in the direction of the best, cheapest, and most inspiring things to take in in town. Let me know if you ever would like me to write a mini-guide for you. For Libby and Mary J, here's a Berlin Primer.

My first tip is to pack warmly! But you probably knew that, no?

First, stop by a hostel on the City Spy list to pick up a Mr. Gordonsky's City Spy Map. It's funny, useful and fits in your pocket. It was a valuable reference for me in many European cities. Do this right away!

Do you like art? Well, free museum day is Thursday. 4 hours before closing time everything is free. I think Pergamon Museum was my favorite--it had a giant Athenian temple. Most of the museums are on MuseumIinsel (Museum Island) so you can hit up most in the 4 hours.

I went through an WWII obsessive phase when I was younger, so Berlin to me was also the place of so many unbelievable stories from my youth. But Berlin made them all come alive. If you're into WWII, I highly recommend Checkpoint Charlie--one of the places where folks would cross between the East and West. Outside is often an American and German soldier (or actors, rather) and the museum is full of objects and stories of the people that tried to escape and resist. I read The Fall of Berlin 1945 right before I got there and I recommend the book to get you in the mood.

The East Germany Museum isn't free on Thursday, but is a new, well-done look at life under communism.

You must go to the Reichtag Building. This is Germany's parliment. It was in use until 1945 where it was one of the last stands of Hitler's Youth. Needless to say, the building was pretty bombed out. As soon as the Wall came down, Germans rebuilt the building and is now in use again as the parliment. Today Germans and tourists alike can tour the top of the building for free which now has a beautiful glass dome. You can look down on the desks of the representatives, symbolizing that Germans are now watching their government and will not let anything like the Third Reich happen again. Get there early as lines can be long. Buy some currywurst, a favorite Berlin snackfood to eat while you wait.

Only thing better than cheap is Free Tours! We took a free tour from a student--they work for tips and therefore, work hard. It was really wonderful and probably the most educational and entertaining thing I did on my whole trip.

Get your passport stamped in East Germany. Over where the hostel boat is, is the last longest stretch of the Berlin wall. Follow it down for a bit and you'll find a tacky gift shop, that will stamp your passport with the DDR (Democratic Deutschland Republic) mark. The boat also has a bar on it, which is quite swanky if you need refreshments.

Also nearby the hostel boat is the Friedrichshain & Kreuzberg districts, which are hip and up-and-coming. Filled with youth, artists and Turks there are beautiful city streets to get lost in and cheap restaurants abound with not a tourist in sight. For other hip neighborhoods and restaurants check out this great article in the New York Times about hidden dining spots.

Overall Berlin is just about as perfect combination as you can get. The city is easily navigable and cheap. It's a hot spot for radical politics and artists. This city is full of history and trying to remember it, so as not to repeat it. But at the same time it is trying to reinvent itself to leave all that nastiness behind. So double wrap that scarf around your neck, pick up your beer (I recommend the Heffeweissen mixed with banana juice, a Berliner favorite) and start exploring!

Be a Winner!

So your chance of getting in a car accident, plane accident or getting struck by lightening are better than winning the lottery. But your chances of winning travel and local contests? Very good!

This weekend I did the JP Holiday Stroll and collected 10 different stickers from local businesses to be entered in a raffle. It was either bad advertising or the cold rain, but each of the dozens entrants won. I think I got the best steal with a $50 Ten Tables gift certificate. On Thursday I'm going to a concert courtesy of Berklee School of Music.

So far I've won a 70 lb (and worth 70 British pounds) World Atlas, a book on Australian wine, pocket guides for Beijing and Madrid, and how-to books on surfing, snorkeling and skiing from DK Travel. I've won a USA tour book from Lonely Planet. Rick Steve's Travel as a Political Act, from Rick Steves. . . and more! Most contests require you do a bit of writing, like reviewing your favorite restaurant on DK Travel, or answering a survey for Lonely Planet. But nothing so difficult. Here's a few recommendations of places to try your luck:

• Friends of Harpoon: You get nifty little card that gets you discounts at a few bars and shows, but you can also enter drawings to go to special tastings. I attended the wet hops beer unveiling there this fall with 50 other invited guests.

• Berklee School of Music: Sign up for the newsletter and you get info on all the upcoming shows (sometimes free), but they have contests to win tickets. This Thursday I'll be attending a Mark O'Connor concert for free!

• Hostelworld.com: Another newsletter with good stories, and a contest every month to win a stay at a hostel. (Suppose you still have to get to the hostel, usually located in Europe, somehow.)

• Lonely Planet Newsletter: Again, good stories each month, special deals, and answer one travel trivia question to be entered in a drawing to win a book each month. Right now if you sign up for the newsletter, you are entered in a contest to win $10,000 worth of travel.

• Travel DK: These guys make the inspiring, yet awful in use colorful eyewitness guidebooks. But, they do have fabulous prizes. I've won 3 times already! By sumitting a new highlight for a city, or designing your own city guide with their program you are entered to win prizes every month.

If you do win, let me know!

The Proverbial Cherry on Top

On Tuesday I flew out of quaint and quiet San Cristobal straight back into the devil's mouth--Mexico City. The flight was uneventful. Though I saw an interesting news story on the tv at the airport about a woman falling in the path of what looked like the orange line in Boston!)

I had reserved the cheapest room nearest to the subway line that would get me back to the airport the following morning--which turned out to be right next to the main square, the Zocalo. A complete 180 from my wide-eyed marveling on the train when I arrived 17 days before, I rode the subway head down, ipod on, not even blinking at the pda and shady sales going on around me. I emerged in the Zocalo. It looked like at any minute a massive rock concert would be starting and children everywhere had glowing toys resembling quidditch balls that they'd fling into the air and let fall back down gently.

I dropped off my luggage, and ate the free dinner of butter and cheese coated spaghetti. I met some Israelis who informed me that the square chaos was a celebration of Mexico's Revolution Bicentennial and recommended it. I headed back down to the square.

What followed was the most spectacular spectacle that ever was created by man. Better than the Boston Pops Fourth of July, better than the Mummer's Parade, even better than Disney World.

This video does the most justice to the show, but really you had to be there. It's hard to describe what happened but I am now convinced Mexico is the greatest country on Earth.

Well, convinced during the duration of the 15 minute show. At the very least, Mexico City has lost my deep loathing and instead redeemed itself as a visit-worthy city.

I went to bed early and steeled myself for 16 hours of travel the next day.