Type: Wine – Sweet Red
Name: Douglass Hill – 2008 California Sweet Red
Price: $5.99 on sale special
Made: California
Alc/Vol: 10%

Now let me say first and foremost that wine is all about personal preference. Studies and competitions alike have proven that outside the basic dirt cheap stuff, it all comes down to personal preference. Additionally, more and more wineries are looking to make a bottle of wine that won’t reach over $20 because people just typically wont spend big bucks on wine anymore. (more…)

My idea of a vacation doesn’t mean all-inclusive cruises and hours wiled away eating and lounging. I like all-day adventures complete with heart-pounding, adrenaline-pumping activities. Of course, this kind of trip is always best in a beautiful locale.

Some of my favorites include a morning run through the towering redwoods followed by a terrifying yet invigorating bike ride along narrow, winding Highway 1, or a kayaking adventure through hidden coves before a stroll along a sea-glass covered beach. Others entail treks into dormant volcanoes and snorkeling adventures. All of them are near the ocean, encompassing the perfect beach adventure vacation.

Oahu, Hawaii

Volcanoes, rainforest, beaches and a rich, exciting urban center. What doesn’t Oahu have? For those starting small with the adventurous aspect of travel, rest assured you can get everything you need here. From a large selection of dining, shopping, Waikiki hotels and resorts to easily accessible outdoor activities, Oahu is perfect for an active beach vacation. Must-dos include snorkeling, hiking and surfing, all well within reach of many Oahu hotels. Hanauma Bay is one of the best places to snorkel, where hundreds of species of fish swim amid calm waters. Kuilima Cove is the most sheltered and serene spots for beginners to try their hand at snorkeling, with a white sand beach quiet atmosphere.

Hiking opportunities abound in Oahu. Whether you are looking for an easier trek or something bordering on extreme, every type of hike can be found. Diamond Head, just a short drive from Waikiki, is one of the most popular hikes in Oahu. The .8-mile trail is short and strenuous, gaining 560 feet of elevation from the valley floor, and offers an amazing 360 degree-view of the entire Island. On the complete other end of the spectrum is Oahu’s Olomana Trail. The 2.5-mile hike is steep, narrow and scary at times, but the 1,000-foot elevation gain rewards you with bragging rights and an awesome view. See for yourself!

Olomana Hike by kevin1024 on February 23, 2008 on Flickr via Creative Commons

The Big Island, Hawaii

Home to two of the most active volcanoes in the world, Hawaii’s Big Island is commonly assumed to be a barren land of deadened rock and Lava Rivers. However, this island offers a remarkable display of geodiversity. The rolling hills of Waimea are perfect for calm bike rides or horseback adventures. The jungle of the Hamakua Coast proves for awesome hiking, and the calm, inviting sand of the Kohala Coast offers a quiet beach refuge.

Big Sur, California

Where the Santa Lucia Mountains abruptly hit the Pacific, the wilderness of Big Sur is one of the most jaw-droppingly gorgeous places in the world. Rolling green plateaus, dramatic towering cliffs and waterfalls on the beach complete this region as a gem of California. I like to start my day at Sand Dollar Beach with a peaceful stroll before embarking on a serious hike through the Ventana Wilderness. Nearly 170,000 acres strong, the unique area of rugged coastal mountains is characterized by steep-sided, sharp-crested ridges the range from 600 feet to 5,750. The quiet of the woods provides the perfect backdrop to truly connect  with this extraordinary locale.

Humboldt Redwoods, California

The biggest, oldest trees in the world are right here in the lush-fern filled rainforest. Colder and foggier than the Central Coast, the North Coast of California offers raw wilderness in a more rugged form. Agate Beach in Patrick’s Point State Park may be cold, rocky and a decidedly unsafe place to swim, but it is absolutely beautiful. Giant cliffs with the famous redwoods plunge into a wild surf, serving as the inspiration to get you moving up the steep trails into the forest.

Don’t settle for just one of two extremes, i.e. a lounging beach vacation vs. an adventure filled trek through wilderness. Do a little extra research and surely, you can have the best of both worlds when you travel.

Meet the Author: Leslie Leslie is a young travel writer who is obsessed with new adventures in new places, great food and good company. She describes herself as a simple girl from a big city looking to assert her imaginative vision against the creatures of the common place, in hopes of finding something extraordinary in the process.

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Image Property of ChateauStJean.com

Type: Wine – Gewürztraminer
Name: Chateau St. Jean – 2008 Gewürztraminer
Price: $15.00
Made: Kenwood, CA
Alc/Vol: 13.2%

“This elegant wine is composed of Gewürztraminer grapes from Sonoma country’s acclaimed vineyards. It expresses fragrant varietal aromas of honey suckle, rose petals and spice, with flavors of lychee fruit.”

This wine was marked down before Thanksgiving and had a sign above it claiming to be “great with turkey” now I’m sad to say I forgot the bottle at home and didn’t grab any leftovers to compare it with, but I did try it to see how it stands alone.

First and foremost with any wine, beer or spirit/liqueur I have to stick my nose in it to get a deep breath of the aroma. It makes me look all aficionado like, you know which compared to a drunk is a good thing – because it’s a fancy drunk. So what did my expertly noviced nose tell me? Well, it didn’t say rose petals I’ll tell you that much. I just so happened to have purchased some roses for my wife recently and nope – not rose petals. It did have a sweet scent and along with the taste partly reminded me of Peter Mertes- Riesling Spätlese, only less sweet to both nose and taste.

The taste was sweet and slightly syrupy, but not overly sweet and then gives to a dry finish with a touch of bitterness. I am wondering if it is from the lychee, although I’ve only had the canned version of this fruit so it could be the pear like syrupy liquid it is in. To be honest this wine goes down smoothly and before you know it you could down a glass or two, so beware

I give this wine 4 out of 5 bananas. It is a good sweet wine that has a nice balancing finish that prevents it from being too sweet.

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Type: Beer – American Amber Ale / Red Ale
Name: North Coast Brewing Co. – Red Seal Ale
Price: $1.79
Made: Mendocino County, California
Alc/Vol: 5.5%

I was delightfully excited to try this beer, as I am a fan of red ales. It boasted “generally hopped for a long spicy denouement” and “water, malted barley, hops, yeast & that’s all.” Both of which excited me, and with such simply ingredients and the style of beer reminded me of a home brew beer I once made and enjoyed. But, that is get ahead of myself.

It poured a nice reddish copper hue, befitting of the name. The scent gave off a spiced malty smell. I could tell from the noise alone that there was something enjoyable to come. The taste was spiced, although a little bit light. The initial hoppy spice that hits you isn’t overwhelmingly strong, and the finish is perhaps too light. I wouldn’t say watered down but a lot lighter than I would expect from the first taste. Then again it isn’t an IPA so maybe its just right and I’m not used to having such a well balanced beer.

The hoppy flavor is strong, there is no doubt about that, but you taste more than just the hops. You get a nice flavoring of spice as well. I’m a lover of red ales so I may be overly picky here but even then this is one I thoroughly enjoyed. Tag along with its great flavor was its agreeable price and overall you got yourself a fan favorite.

I give this beer 4 out of 5 bananas. I know the light aftertaste description might throw you off to say such things and give it a high rating but it is such a contrast of the bitter spice to light finish that right now I’m just not sure how to better phrase it. Sad to say I bought this as a single so I’ll have to wait till my next visit before I can give more input on it.

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Image Property of 21st Amendment Brewery

Type: Beer – Fruit Beer
Name: 21st Amendment Brewery – Hell or High Watermelon Wheat Beer
Price: Free (gift)
Made: San Francisco, CA
Alc/Vol: 4.9%

Now, before I really go into how I felt about this beer I already had a slight pretense against it. A friend of mine, Greg, is a bit of a beer aficionado. Well, Greg has for some time been a fan of 21st Amendment Brewery and what they have been doing out of San Fran. He is also an avid IPA lover but wanted to try this beer even though he isn’t a fan of watermelon, and he hated it. So when someone is telling you this it is hard not to set low expectations.

The problem is I lowered the bar and this beer still seemed to under-perform. I love watermelons, I’m not huge on fruit beers although I liked my caipirinha made with watermelon.

Have you ever bit into a watermelon and it was deep and juicy? It was thirst quenching and refreshing, deep in color and seemed to cool off the summer heat with a single bite. Then, have you ever had a watermelon that was bland, lacking in richness or even color for that matter? It was juicy but tasted more like a melted watermelon Popsicle than anything else. Unfortunately, this beer was the latter.

Now, I don’t know much about old San Fran in relation to watermelon production and I’m not sure what kind of access they have to quality watermelon but it seems like they got a bit of the latter. The problem with watermelon is that it is so juicy that it could easily water down the flavor of whatever you are drinking, add the aluminum can to it and you a weird tangy aftertaste.

It was semi-sweet, yeasty (I thought it was odd/interesting that it said “yeast inside-agitate before opening”) but overall watery. I’d really hate to say this, and it wasn’t that bad, but when I volunteered in New Orleans for a week and we were served FEMA can water it had a similar taste. Which isn’t a good thing.  It hurts me to say this but I can’t give this beer any bananas, its a 0 out of 5 on this beer. But I don’t count out 21st Amendment Brewery, I’ve heard too many good things to not try their other beers. It is just this one will be one of those beers I just can’t get behind.

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