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This post was produced in partnership with our friends at New Belgium Brewing. Craft beer in America is more popular than ever. Today’s drinkers become more educated by the day, and the breadth of choices available to them has never been so extensive. This is great for beer lovers, and beneficial on the supply side as well, as a high-quality product created by friendly, local brewers gets consumers to open their wallets a little wider. It’s no longer uncommon for enthusiasts to plan a brewery visit into their vacation. In fact, the opposite is trending: Plenty of people I know actually plan their vacations around a great beer destination. Remote, highly respected breweries such as Russian River (Santa Rosa, CA) and Hill Farmstead (Greensboro, VT) are regularly hit up by this crowd. Here are 20 recommended cities to visit on your beer-based travels (listed in no particular order). 1 San Diego, CA • AleSmith's consistently excellent IPAs, stouts, porters, and barleywines impress critics year in and year out. • Right down the road from AleSmith is one of SoCal's better-known craft breweries: Ballast Point, with 27 taps and specialty drafts. • Green Flash Brewing is also in the neighborhood, and bring your appetite: these guys love their food trucks. • A short drive east down I-8 leads to the Alpine Beer Company, home of some of the world's best IPAs. I'm not sure why the best IPAs seem to come from rural breweries (Hill Farmstead, Kern River, Alpine), but I don't particularly care. Each is worth the drive. • 2008 saw San Francisco's acclaimed Toronado open a sister location in San Diego. This craft beer bar has 56 draft lines and an impressive bottle list. Plus, they often unleash top-notch limited brews for their special events. Photo: Evoflash 2 Austin, TX • (512) Brewing sends kegs all over Austin and South Texas. I enjoy their Pecan Porter. • Jester King began brewing farmhouse-style ales in 2009 and quickly developed a loyal following. Although state law prohibits them from selling beer directly to customers, the brewery tour is a fun way to spend an afternoon in the Texas Hill Country. • Live Oak Brewing's focus on a just handful of beer styles pays off: Their hefeweizen is among the best made anywhere. • Drive about hour south on I-35 to Freetail Brewing in San Antonio. Here, you’ll find an enjoyable mix of traditional American ales with barrel-aged stouts and wild ales. In my opinion, it's the best brewery in Texas. Photo: 3CENT 3 Grand Rapids / Kalamazoo, MI • Founders Brewing has mastered the art of producing exceptionally high-quality beer on a macro scale. Their Grand Rapids brewpub is a popular destination. • In Kalamazoo, Bell's Brewery bottles and kegs an impressively diverse range of beers for all tastes. Some of their best work is only found at the brewpub, however, so stop by to see for yourself. • Since famously declining an invitation to appear in a Nickelback video, Dark Horse Brewing's fanbase has grown rapidly. Photo: Emery Co Photo Intermission 20 best beer towns in America Beer Quest 2008: The search for America’s best microbrew Guide to beer drinking in Alaska 4 Fort Collins, CO • Chances are you already know about New Belgium Brewing and their diverse selection of beers. You might not know they were one of the first sour programs in the US, though, so stop by for a tour and a sample or three. • Oskar Blues led the charge to promote canning in the beer industry. • Left Hand Brewing's popular Milk Stout gained them notoriety, and a visit to their home base will prove they aren’t a one-trick pony

Kim After our brief stop over in Vicenza we trained on to Verona and tried to make our way to our next accomodation. We were staying in a little town called Sona which didn39t sound too far out of Verona when we booked however it was a bit of a mission to get to. Some intense study of the bus timetables and an hours ride later we arrived in the dark finally found our BnB and after checking

Road Trip. CC Image by .aditya. (Flickr). By DON ELFRINK There’s nothing more evocative of summer than the road trip. Whether you’re beach-bound or heading up to the higher elevations in the mountains for a little R&R, this is the time of year to do it. However, if you’re planning a road trip, you’ll need a few basic tips to help ensure that not only do you survive it, but that you arrive safe and sound at your destination. Here are some essential tips for summer road trips. Stay Off the Road during Peak Travel Times Summer is the nation’s peak travel season, but there are specific peak travel times when you need to stay off the road. Obviously, you want to avoid rush hour traffic if you’ll be traveling through an urban area, but in general you should stay off the road during the afternoon when possible. Avoid driving during the highest temperatures of the day. Not only will this help you avoid problems like your car overheating, but it can also help you squeeze a few more miles out of each gallon of gas. Service Your Vehicle before Leaving While keeping up with basic maintenance is always important, you should have your car professionally inspected before taking a road trip. Take care of any impending maintenance issues now (oil changes, tire rotations, etc.), but also make sure that the shop inspects the car for any problems that might rear their heads during the trip. This can and should include an inspection of your radiator and hoses, your brakes, your tire pressure, your suspension system and a check for oil leaks. It should also include a full charging system test (battery, starter and alternator). Check before You Leave Don’t leave anything to chance. Just because you recently had your car serviced, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be vigilant. Just before you leave, do another check of all your car’s fluids, including the engine oil and the radiator coolant. Double-check the tire pressure and condition, and visually inspect the belts and hoses under the hood. Is the A/C Working? If you’re traveling during the summer, you’re going to need a working air conditioner. Unless you plan to drive only at night or in the very early morning, this really isn’t optional, either. If the A/C in your car seems to be cooling less than it used to, have it checked at your mechanic’s shop. A quick shot of coolant might be all that’s needed to set things right. Pack Right One of the most important parts of preparing for a road trip is to make sure you’ve packed correctly. This goes far beyond making sure you have your bathing suit and toiletries. You should make sure that your car is stocked with an emergency kit in case you break down somewhere. The kit should include water, blankets, nonperishable snacks, a flashlight, jumper cables and a first aid kit at the minimum. Plan Ahead Too many road trip disasters occur because drivers didn’t plan ahead. Make sure you map out your route. Even if you’re using a GPS unit, make sure you also have a physical map on hand as well. Electronics have a habit of dying when it’s least convenient, and you can avert disaster just by being prepared. You should also read up on what natural dangers you might encounter along the way and at your destination – bears in the mountains for instance, or snakes indigenous to the area around the lake house you’ll be visiting. Having an issue with your car while traveling can put a damper on the entire trip, but your summer road trip can be a blast if you take the right steps before venturing off on vacation. Don Elfrink is the owner and operator of AutoMatStore.com. AutoMatStore focuses on providing custom floor mats for your car or truck. Prior to opening his own business, Elfrink spent over 30 years working in the automotive industry. The post Preparing Your Car For Summer Road Trips appeared first on Travel Blissful.

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Rode 600 miles in 12 hours yesterday got in late. Expect to be home today will post missing blogs then

Namche Bazaar to PhakdingSPRING HAS SPRUNGWake up to the rock tappers dawn chorus. We decide to take Dhana and Chitra for a coffee at Everest Bakery as a goodwill gesture before we start todays walk we think they spotted us there yesterday and were a bit put out. Actually I can39t take the credit for the idea it was Mary39s she is much nicer than me. Anyway it ended up being just Dhana

Woolly says I think Im going to have to put my paw down with a firm tusk 6am Why do we have to wake up so early We hadnt meant to be up at this time but as the sun was rising and the warmth was taking over the tent we bundled a grumpy Mammoth into Oliver and headed off. Woolly says I didnt know where we were going to and all Ian and Jo would tell me was that I would enjoy it

Hotel Glymur is one of the best hotels in Iceland it certainly is one of the best we have ever stayed in and we have stayed in innumerable hotels. The service was impeccable.We had villa Nature and we had all the amenities we needed. But for me the highlight was soaking in a hot tub heated naturally from the volcanic lava passing beneath under the moonlit sky. The sensation was weird but exhilar

Gelato flavour of the day Kiwi this one not particularly true to its flavour but the right colourFor some reason we thought we had forgotten we had purchased items for our lunch today and as we needed fresh bread we planned a walk down the easy road to a pekara local lingo for bakery after breakfast.The rangy young cat that has walked by a couple of times and also last night got a co

Well finally i am able to get on the internetWe arrived in Venice on Sat by train and it took no time at all. Found our hotel which is right beside the Danieli hotel which is very elaborate. Deb Paulides had arrived early on Sat and was there waiting for us. After Julie and Julia arrived we went to San Marco sq and treated ourselves to a bubbly music and sunshine at Florian Caffe in the square.