Monday, May 28, 2012

Blue Star Museum Map Announcement


For the second year, we are mapping the location of the participating museums in the Blue Star Museum initiative.  See the Blue Star Museum Map page in our menu bar at the top.

Blue Star Museums is a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 1,600 museums across America. The program runs from Memorial Day, May 28, 2012 through Labor Day, September 3, 2012. The free admission program is available to active-duty military and their family members (military ID holder and up to five family members). Active duty military include Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and active duty National Guard and active duty Reserve members.

Last year we mapped participating museums in 12 states.  This year we have created a national map, and so far we have mapped half of the participating museums, with more to be added as fast as we can.

The most up-to-date list of participating museums is on the Blue Star Museum official website, so be sure to check there before you go, or if you want more choices than our map indicates.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

U.S. 2012 World Beer Cup Winners

Food For A Fraction Of The Cost

Where can you find the best craft beer?

Earlier this month the Brewers Association held the World Beer Cup 2012 - 'The Olympics of Beer Competition'. 799 breweries from 54 countries and 45 U.S. states entered 3,921 beers in 95 beer style categories.

U.S. breweries won 212 of the 284 total awards, with California (55 awards) winning the most, and Colorado (27 awards) winning more than the next highest country (Germany with 23 awards).

So where can you find the best craft beer?  On our map!

We have mapped the winning small & medium sized breweries that you can visit, tour or drink at.  Zoom in to where you are, or where you're going, and click the map pins to see the brewery name and their awards. The map pins are even color coded.  Read more after the map...



In the U.S., the Brewers Association says there were 250 new breweries that opened in 2011, and though overall beer sales by volume were down, craft brewery volume was up by 13%.  Clearly more and more people are enjoying the unique beers being crafted by these mainly local breweries.

You don't have to be a beer expert to enjoy craft beer, but you may want to brush up on some definitions:
  • Microbrewery - A brewery that produces less than 15,000 barrels (17,600 hectoliters) of beer per year with 75% or more of its beer sold off-site.
  • Brewpub - A restaurant-brewery that sells 25% or more of its beer on site. The beer is brewed primarily for sale in the restaurant and bar.
Two resources to find a craft brewery, or your favorite craft beer are:
  • CraftBeer.com -published by the Brewers Association, they have an extensive database of breweries and beer-related information
  • TapHunter - They don't cover every market, but they specialize in connecting craft beer fanatics with the beers they love, the brewers who brew them and the locations that pour them. They have a website plus iPhone and Android apps
If you want to share your beer experiences, two of the largest forums are:
  • BeerAdvocate - a global, grassroots network, powered by an independent community of beer enthusiasts and industry professionals who are dedicated to supporting and promoting beer
  • RateBeer - an independent world site for craft beer enthusiasts that is dedicated to serving the entire craft beer community through beer education, promotion and outreach.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Things To Do: Orange County, CA



Just south of Los Angeles and north of San Diego lies Orange County California. If you're not familiar with Southern California, it's where Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm are located (and a lot more).  Zoom our map out to get your bearings, then zoom in to find lots of things to see and do.

To give you a flavor of what you can find in Orange County, we have mapped the places from ten different articles from four different local media - those that know Orange County the best.

Click around to explore, and see the article list below:



Articles we've mapped:
If you need more local info, check out the official website for Orange County.


Thursday, May 3, 2012

Where To Travel In The U.S. With Kids?

no one deals like we do!

Now is the time of year where you're trying to figure out where to take the family, and this map will focus on the places you should take your kids in the U.S.

To start, we're mapping two articles about where to take your kids before they turn 15, but we'd like to get suggestions from you on other articles we should add:
Leave us a comment below telling us what other articles you think we should add. Happy travels!