Friday, February 29, 2008

Need a reason to visit Charleston?

3 Doors Down is coming to the North Charleston Performing Arts Center, March 27, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale to the general public on March 1st.

Pre-sale tickets are available on Friday, February 29 starting at 10:00 a.m. from Ticketmaster.com.

Pre-sale password: Doors

Pre-sale will run from 10:00am to 10:00pm and is only available via internet.

Ticket limit of 6 tickets per purchase

Tickets $49.50 & $36.50 plus applicable fees

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Getting your luggage to your destination.

So you don’t want to pay the $25 fee for a second checked bag on United or US Air. Maybe you’re just tired of standing in line to check luggage and then waiting at the baggage carousel hoping your bags made the connection.

Avoid the hassles and ship your luggage, golf clubs, skis, and/or bikes to your destination. Several specialty shipping companies now offer door-to-door shipping of luggage, etc. Here are just a few:
Happy travels!

US Airways' New Baggage Policy

It didn't take long for US Airways to follow the lead of United Airlines. Beginning May 5, 2008, US Airways will begin assessing a $25 fee for a passenger’s second checked bag. Passengers can continue to check one bag free of charge. The policy applies to all flights within the U.S., to and from Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe.

Apparently charging $25 for a second bag will not affect many of US Air's customers (it claims only eight percent of its customers check two or more bags) but will save the company money on rising fuel costs.

To read more about US Airways new baggage policy, click here.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Restaurant review-JB's Smoke Shack

Just back from a trip to the Lowcountry. This trip was dedicated to sampling Lowcountry foods.

First stop-JB’s Smoke Shack, 3406 Maybank Hwy, John’s Island.

I confess. We’ve driven by this place for years without so much as blinking. The non-descript building does not draw much attention. Once inside the restaurant, I thought I’d made a huge mistake (it was my idea to stop, not my husband’s). Mismatched chairs, vinyl gingham –clothed tables, paper plates and napkins, and plastic utensils were all I saw. No grandmother’s china or silver here.

I knew folks had been visiting JB’s Smoke Shack for years just for the $7.98 buffet! After surveying the buffet which had smoked bbq, chicken, and all the southern sides and desserts, we opted to order from the menu. My hubby decided on the combo plate choosing ribs, brisket, and bbq pork with a side of green beans and a side of collard greens. Knowing I had a week of “diet reprieve”, I settled on a small pork bbq sandwich topped with slaw and a side of collard greens.

While we waited for our food, I had a chance to check out the customers. What an eclectic group of diners! There were construction workers, a young couple and a single ‘business suit” type gentleman. Once our food arrived, I understood why these other folks were here—the portions were huge and the price was right.

All the meats come “dry”, unlike some restaurants where you get a lot of sauce with your meat. JB’s Smoke Shack believes in the flavor being in the meat and the sauce on the side. If you want sauce, there are at least four different kinds to choose. I picked a spicy tomato based sauce for my pork sandwich. Next time I’ll probably skip the slaw as it was a little dry for my taste. I like my bbq sandwiches dripping in sauce and slaw.

The collard greens were cooked to perfection. I was convinced I was officially out of diet mode until later in the day I found out, JB’s does not cook their vegetables in bacon grease or fatback. I’m still trying to figure out how they got those collard greens so tender.

My hubby tried to wolf down all his ribs, pork and brisket. The two plates of food were too much for him. He barely had room to sample his veggies.

After we pushed ourselves from the table and slowly walked back to the car, we added JB’s Smoke Shack to our restaurant repertoire. We’ll be back.

Monday, February 18, 2008

More events added to the Food & Wine Fest

An online auction has just been added and updated!

BB&T Charleston Food + Wine Festival, 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, raises money for various culinary initiatives and for scholarships for area culinary students. This year the Festival will raise money for its selected signature charity—The Diabetes Center at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).

There are some fabulous auction items, including a cooking lesson with Natalie Dupree and tickets to Walt Disney World's Food and Wine Festival (If you've never eaten and drunk your way around EPCOT, nows your chance). To preview the auction items, click here.

See ya' at the auction block.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Walgreens + Cosmetics = Vacation Cash!

If you buy a lot of cosmetics, you might want to start buying them at Walgreens at least for the next couple of months.

Revlon and Almay have a promotion going on with Walgreens. You can earn up to $600 in vacation cash just for buying cosmetics. Click here for the rules.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Charleston Food and Wine Festival


Plan your weekend trip for February 28-March 2, 2008. These are the dates for the third annual Charleston Food and Wine Festival.

As an added bonus, I've just received an email announcing Chef Sam Talbot of Bravo's Top Chef will be back again this year. To find out who else is coming, click here.

United Airlines announces new baggage policy

The "nickel and dime-ing" of air passengers continues. Yesterday, United Airlines announced it will begin charging $25.00 for a passenger's second check bag. To read the article, click here.

Learning how to pack in one bag is even more important now. Discover how to pack for a weekend getaway on my post dated November 1, 2007.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Travel accommodations

Accommodations come in all shapes and sizes. Some folks prefer a fully catered hotel. I love vacation rentals.

Here are my top five reasons to pick a vacation rental for your next getaway:
  1. More privacy: You’re not as likely to hear the comings and goings of the guests in the next room.
  2. More space: When renting a home, you have more space to spread out, relax, and enjoy yourself. No more squeezing into a tiny hotel room!
  3. More amenities: Televisions in every room, DVD players, stereos, video and board games, hot tubs, and outdoor grills are just a of the few amenities you might find in a vacation rental.
  4. More economical: Simply put, you get more bang for your buck when renting a vacation home. Hotels charge by the room; vacation rentals charge for a fully stocked home.
  5. More pet friendly: Vacation rental owners understand how important it can be for families to travel with their four-legged “kids”. While not all rentals are pet friendly, you should be able to find owners who’ll welcome you.
How do you find a vacation rental? If you know where you want to visit, I recommend googling "vacation rental" + your chosen destination. This online search should yield a plethora of choices.

Not sure where you want to visit? Head to one of the big online vacation rental listing sites. A few are Vacationrentals.com , VRConnections.com, and VRBO.com.

Have fun discovering all the choices!