TTT: Get a beach safe or waterproof wallet

My travel tip this Tuesday is directed towards those of you heading off for fun in the sun – and especially cruisers.  People staying at a hotel can leave their valuables in their rooms and wander around with just a room key, but cruisers don’t want the hassle of returning to the ship to snag their cash.

OMG, you guys!

The Durham Performing Arts Center just announced its first Broadway Carolina season (2008-2009).  Season tickets are on sale now for the season, which consists of:

• Rent – January 20-25, 2009
• Fiddler on the Roof – March 17-22, 2009
• Legally Blonde – April 14-19, 2009
• The Color Purple – May 12-17, 2009

Wow!  DPAC, booked by the Nederlander Company and PFM, promises Wicked in the next season.  With Broadway Carolina AND Broadway Series South, Triangle residents’ options for Broadway tours just keep getting better.

Speaking of BSS, they are also now offering season tickets for their 2008-2009 season:

• Rain, the Beatles Experience – Novemeber 4-9, 2008
• Chicago – December 2-7, 2008
• A Chorus Line – January 6-11, 2009
• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – March 31-April 5, 2009
• Happy Days – a New Musical – April 14-19, 2009
• Wizard of Oz – May 5-10, 2009

Now if only the two groups would offer make-your-own-combo season tickets… 

Images from Palace Theatre, DPAC, BSS, and BSS.

Events in the Triangle tomorrow

Ooh – I wish I had been paying more attention to what’s going on around here.  There are a few really interesting things going on in the Triangle tomorrow.

Triangle Beach Music Festival – This year the festival (the 10th!) is at Bryan Farms in Garner, NC.  The show is from 10 AM to 5 PM with the Chairmen of the Board, Band of Oz, Craig Woolard Band, Jim Quick & Coastline, and Spare Change.  There’s an after party beginning at 6pm at Cleveland Draft House, and there’s a pre-party there tonight.  Neat!

The Return of MMA – An MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) tournament is finally in Raleigh – April 26 at the Dorton Arena at 7 pm.  Very interesting.

The World Beer Festival is also tomorrow, but don’t bother looking for tickets.  They’ve been sold out for ages.  If you’re planning to visit downtown Raleigh tomorrow and aren’t going to this, be prepared; it’ll probably be pretty busy.

My Destination Friday post will have to wait until tomorrow some other day.  I’ve just been too busy today.  Arrg!

Big Boss Brewery

Every second Saturday of the month at 2 pm, Big Boss Brewery, a brewery in Raleigh, opens up for a brewery tour.  After lunch in Franklin County, we met up with some friends to check it out.  I had a hard time hearing the first part of the tour due to people talking instead of listening, but the rest of the tour was neat.  The best part, however, were the free samples.  Upon entry, they give each person two tickets, which are redeemable for two beers.  They had 3 kinds available for sampling: Bad Penny, a nut brown ale; Hell’s Bell, a Belgian blond; and Angry Angel, a Kolsch style ale.  My dh doesn’t like beer, so I got to try all three.

I tried the two lighter beers first.  They were pretty good, but not something I’d necessarily buy on a regular basis.  Then I finally tried Bad Penny.  I was VERY excited because it reminds me of my new favorite beer, Southern Pecan (which I discovered on my Easter trip to NOLA).  It’s nutty and a bit sweet, but it’s not too sweet.  We tried to buy a couple six packs of the Bad Penny at the special brewery tour price ($7.50), but they were sold out.  Bummer.  I didn’t have too tough of a time finding it at a grocery store near the house though, so I’m all set.  For now anyway.

Recommendation: If you like beer and are in NC, look for Big Boss’s Bad Penny.  Visit the brewery for a tour if you’re around on the second Saturday of the month.  Otherwise, consider visiting their taproom upstairs to try their seasonal brews as well as their standards.  If you’re in MS/LA, look for Southern Pecan.

NC Eatin’: Franklin County

Saturday, April 12, 2008
Gigi’s Gourmet Deli
120 East Main Street
Youngsville, NC 27596

About a week and a half ago, I decided it was high time I visited another county for my NC Eatin’ tour.  I rounded up my husband and my friend Rachel, and off we went to Youngsville in Franklin County.

TTT: Travel with friends – and say thanks

My travel tip this Tuesday is to travel with friends.  Since I finished school, I just don’t have as much time to spend with my friends.  A lot of them don’t live nearby anymore, so traveling is a great way to spend time with them.  For my friends who do live nearby, there’s time to get to know things I would’ve never known other than by traveling/living with them, and there’s time to catch up on things that have been going on since we last had a good chunk of time together.  Plus the shared experiences enrich our relationships.

After my recent trip to Disney World with some friends, I decided I really needed to say thanks to the friends who went with me.  They’d all been before, but they made sure I had a wonderful time and got to do things they wouldn’t necessarily have done (like the spinning teacups).  To show my appreciation, I made little 8×8 scrapbooks for them.  Click on this pic to see a slideshow of my album:

Extra charges for seats in COACH?!

According to an article on CNN, US Airways is going to join the trend of charging passengers extra for some seats in coach.  “The new Choice Seats program, which begins May 7, will charge passengers $5 per flight for an aisle or window seat in the first several rows in coach.” 

JetBlue charges $10 per seat for its Even More Legroom seats.  Northwest has a Coach Choice program under which it charges an extra $5-50 per seat for preferred coach seats.  United has an Economy Plus section, which is a special section with additional leg room.

What do you think?  Is it fair to allow people to lay claim to the best seats by shelling out a few extra bucks, or should airlines let travelers lay claim to those seats on a first come-first served basis?

Image from United.

Destination: Chicago

Everyone should go to the Windy City.  It’s as though it was designed to be the perfect long weekend (or week-long) destination.  It’s home to terrific museums, comedy, music, skyscrapers, sports, and, of course, PIZZA!  It’s really cold in the winter and sometimes super hot in July and August, so I recommend visiting in the spring, early summer, or fall. 

An – a restaurant in Cary

Last Thursday, my husband and I met up with a friend for dinner at An.  The place and the food are gorgeous.  Yeah, the food was really really pretty.  Thank goodness it was tasty too!  I’m so proud of Cary for having a place like this.  It’s perfect for a business meal, rehearsal dinner, or just happy hour on a nice day on their terrace.

Most Traveled People

One of my visitors directed me to MostTraveledPeople.com.  The fellow who started the website enjoyed the Guinness Book’s Most Traveled category and was disappointed when Guinness abandoned the category in 2000.  When the Traveler’s Centurty Club declined to take over the responsibility of judging the Most Traveled Person, the founder of MTP decided to take it on himself. 

MTP’s judgment of a visit that counts is a bit different than that of the TCC:

For the purposes of this website, a visit shall be as follows:

1. Across borders where immigration is regulated, official entry must be made through immigration/passport control.
2. Across borders where passport control does not exist or is unregulated, such as between states within a country, or between countries under a common border agreement, such as the EU, the traveler must stand with both feet on land fully within those borders. This includes landing on islands. Sailing through territorial waters alone does not count, nor does flying through territorial airspace.
3. In the case of islands where landing is prohibited by law due to wildlife concerns or other natural heritage status, it is acceptable to touch a portion of the island above the waterline (whether while swimming or from a boat) in lieu of landing.

…

The Travelers Century Club has the loosest definition of a visit, accepting airplane fuel stops, airport transits, and surreptitious or illegal border crossings.

-MTP Standards

I like MTP’s standards better than those of the TCC, but I still really like the TCC goal of visiting 100 countries.  I like MTP’s “places,” which includes states and regions within countries.  I think this encourages people to do more than just hop into a country to say they’ve been there.  I still, however, am attached to the idea of the 100 countries goal of the TCC.

You know where I stand on my way to becoming a TCC member (19 countries).  According to MTP’s count, I’ve visted 54 places with 619 remaining.  Do me a favor – go sign up at MTP!

Image from World Travel Maps.