Valentine is for Beer Lovers

So of course, on the most important of all love days, what better to do than sample local beer. In case you haven't noticed, Northwest Arkansas has become a tiny little beer hub community. If you don't believe me, then read this article from the Fayetteville Flyer. I bet you are impressed now!!

Ok, so now that I have your attention, follow us through our first married Valentine's day together. Yes, Shane and I got married last November and there will most definitely be an epic post on that because we had many beer events associated with our wedded bliss. But today, let's just think about February 14th, 2015.

Judge me all you want, but the day began with a shared bucket of popcorn, and "50 Shades of Gray." Fayetteville is home to a little gem with $4.00 weekend matinees so before you get all fired up about us spending too much money on garbage keep in mind that the ticket was cheaper than your common pint of brew, AND the popcorn was especially fresh, and delicious. I'm no movie critic, so for the movie all I will say is this: movies are supposed to entertain an audience, and I was entertained. If you want to see more of Christian Gray, then I recommend that you check out The Fall (streaming on Netflix) to see Jamie Dornan in his element.

With a belly full of popcorn, we headed north to one of the newest breweries in the area. I wont lie, as   residents of Fayetteville who live near downtown, trudging to Exit 86 feels like a major deal. We actually have a bit of an ongoing joke about going north of Exit 69 (Unless of course it's to go into Missouri). So, we ventured all the way to exit 86 to try out Bike Rack Brewing Co. My favorite part about this place is the space. In sunnier weather it will be even better as they have a great patio. It's right across the street from a Farmer's Co-op which just adds to its charm. It's also on the city bike path which will make it a happening place when the weather is nicer. We tried two of their beers: The Slaughter Pen Ale, and The Angus Chute American Stout. They were out of the FAST Indian Pale Ale, which made me very sad. As far as their beer goes, I love supporting local business and I think they have a lot of room to grow. They are definitely someone to keep our eyes on, but right now, there's a lot of great beer in the area and this is not topping the chart.

We thought about trying Foster's Pints and Plates, but being Valentine's Day, and us having no reservation, and this new restaurant in Rogers having just opened on the 13th, the wait was just too long for me to bear. We will have to head north again to try it on a non-holiday. So instead we headed across the street to Core Brewing 's new tap room in Rogers. Core's beer is solid. Shane claims that the ESB by Core is his favorite local beer, and I will agree that it is a perfect balance of hops and ale with a very refreshing and unique taste. I have my own favorite but I wont share it today. The new space in Rogers is pretty swanky. We still prefer their original location in Springdale, and we are way excited for the new tap room to open in Fort Smith so we can take the in-laws!

The night ended with Hammontree's take out, and a movie at home with Founder's All Day IPA. I think the pups really enjoyed the movie..

A missed flight: Road-Trip

Ok, so obviously I am not an amazing blogger. It's so hard trying to keep up with a hectic life. Seriously. In the past few months, Shane watched three seasons of Breaking Bad, and I watched the entire first season of The Fosters. I know you are judging me for my choice of TV Broadcast while secretly rejoicing that at least the other half watched a "critically acclaimed show."  At least I can brag that an one of my dear elementary, junior high, and high school friend, Marlane Barnes, had a speaking role in The Fosters. I win! So, as you can see, we have been very busy indeed.

I failed to finish the epic road trip across the American Southwest. So here is the other half.

An Unplanned Road-Trip: Part 2

Here is how I remember it. I woke up feeling like I had all the time in the world not realizing the actual time on the clock. We made our way to the tiny airport that has approximately seven flights a day (allegiant), and made our way to the counter. There was no line at check-in, no line at security and the flight was not even boarding. We had no bags to check and very small carry-on items (the kind that fit comfortably under the seat in front of you). None of these things mattered. We were not allowed to check-in for our flights, and we were not given boarding passes. The nice customer representative just informed us that the next flight to our destination was four days later, and that for a small fee of $150, she could change our tickets so that we could catch the next flight, in FOUR DAYS.

Needless to say, there was nothing we could to get on that flight. So, we had two options:
1. Wait around for four days in AZ, and get on the next flight
2. Rent a car and drive back to AR.

After much online research for hotels, cars, other airlines, estimated driving distance.. etc, I made an online reservation for a rental car (with unlimited miles, and no "oneway" fee) for less than $150. So, we walked over to the rental car kiosk at the airport, they handed us the keys to a red Ford Fiesta, and we were on the road before we could really think it through.

So, we did what any sane person would do. See a few things on the way, and of course try local beer.

The road is not such a hard place to be when you have a committed driver, and lovely sights to see all around. In the three days of driving, we went through a temperature drop from 95 in Tempe, to a bit of snow outside of Santa Fe, NM. As you can tell, I had not packed for any kind of cold weather, and that reminds me, I still need to take that blaser to the dry-cleaner.

We made a few stops and drove through the Petrified Forest National Park. You can see some amazing shots that we took with an iPad camera. I made Shane stop at all the signs as we drove through the various National Forests. I figured it was the time to do it.. since we don't know when this opportunity will rise again. Fest your eyes below:

We stopped for the night in Santa Fe. Here we decided to gorge on delicious local food at Maria's New Mexican Kitchen (we sat near Robert Redford's favorite table, he was not there that day.) I will say the food was rich and filling. As someone who grew up in Mexico, and absolutely loves Mexican cuisine, i loved Maria's for what it is. A regional New Mexican cuisine with roots in traditional Mexican food. I would definitely return.

After our meal, we wanted to check out some of the local brews and headed toward Marble Brewery. Their facebook page specified that their tap room was open that night until 10pm, but when we arrived there around 9pm, the had already closed the tap room and were not interested in letting us in. This was our one shot to try their beer, and we were disappointed. JUST SAYIN'! 

The following morning we headed to downtown to explore for a bit. We needed to get back on the road, but not before trying the long established Santa Fe Brewing Company. Their flight was excellent. It was clear by the taste and quality of their beers that they have been around the block and have truly perfected some of their classics. It was so delicious we had to buy some to transport to Arkansas. 

Then it was back on the road for the remaining hours of the trip. We had a long trip ahead of us, and with the extra time spent in Santa Fe, we made one final stop in Amarillo, Tx, at the The Big Texan. They had recently added their own beers at the restaurant, so even through we did not attempt the 72oz Steak Challenge, we did have an interesting flight from their local selection. This place is more for the atmosphere than the taste. We also stayed at the adjacent hotel, with a large group of Australian tourists who were there to party! Very interesting people watching!  

The final adventure on the trip was 10.5 hours of driving through barren lands. So no one was happier to see this sign than these two tired travellers. And so it was that we returned to our beautiful land of Fayetteville, Arkansas, and tasted our way through a bit more of America's Microbrews!