Drinking American This Memorial Day? Are you sure?

As we pause to remember those who have served our country in the armed forces today, many of us will be imbibing as well. This is only natural of course because Memorial Day also represents the unofficial beginning of summer.

If your intentions are to drink American today, I recommend that you pay extra special attention to the brand of brew that you reach for in your grocery aisle. As we all know, Budweiser is now owned by the Belgian based company, InBev and Miller-Coors has merged to form an even bigger giant. I say, avoid the big three.

I urge everyone to experiment a little bit today. Try out a local brew. Support your local economy. As Americans, I would like to think that we believe in quality products. If you're in the mid-Atlantic region, why not try out a Dogfish Head (DFH) Shelter Pale Ale? California? How about a Sierra Nevada? Colorado? How about a Fat Tire? New England? Why not a Sam Adams? More expensive you say? True, but some DFH varieties have up to three times (maybe more) the alcohol content (not to mention taste) of Miller/Coors/Bud Light.

Advertising budgets for the big three beer companies are well into the billions annually. Why drink a beer that has to spend billions to convince you that they don't suck? You shouldn't, but then again, it is a free country.

Virginia History Month

Okay, Okay, May is not really Virginia History Month (not sure there is one), but it seems to be for me. This month, I fully embraced the tourist inside me and decided to check out some historical sites in my hometown. There are a few places I've been this month, some I have seen before like Mt. Vernon and Arlington Cemetery, but others I have not, like the Lee-Custis Mansion.

The weekend of May 8-10, my sister, brother-in-law, and baby niece, Katherine (BK), were in town. Upon their suggestion, we headed down to Mount Vernon for the day.

I had not been there since high school, so I figured it would be a good time to actually take some semi-decent newer shots of the place because digital photography was not the norm circa 2002.

We arrived at Mount Vernon by the early afternoon. Tickets are not exactly cheap at $15 a person, but this is definitely something you should go to if you're new in the area or a DC resident that simply takes for granted what is in your back yard. The electricity was out at the residence that day so we had to be given hand written tickets. I mean, George Washington had no electricity, so why shut down the residence for such a minor inconvenience?

The weather was almost perfect, but it was pretty windy, so we had to protect BK in her stroller. The walk around the residence it not too taxing on the body. I got some good shots.







The following Sunday, I decided on an impromptu trip to the Lee-Custis Mansion and Arlington Cemetery. I had been watching a lot of the Ken Burns' documentary "The Civil War" and decided to give the former house of General Robert E. Lee a visit. Currently, the house is undergoing renovations, so there is no furniture in the house, but luckily there are other attractions around the house.







These were both minor trips, but I think having the rich history of the area at your disposal is great. I take it for granted sometimes.