In this Issue…

Beer dates back to the dawn of civilization. The Code of Hammurabi, our oldest code of laws, regulated beer houses by enforcing the death penalty if brewers watered down the house brew. Egyptian Pharoah Khufu paid his slaves in beer while they built his final resting place, the Pyramid at Giza. The ancient Babylonians were so serious about the quality of beer that they decreed commercial beermakers selling bad beer should be drowned in their own brew.

North Carolina’s brewers suffer no such penalties, but their proliferation (some 160 at last count) is of special interest. In this issue Loring Mortenson and his wife share their experience at two of the area’s most interesting breweries. Hopping Around the Piedmont

This issue begins a special four-part editorial focusing on housing options for the retiree or soon-to-retire. Today, options abound. Whether you are looking to sell your home to move to a super-luxury mid-rise apartment or want the freedom and luxury afforded by a Continuing Care Retirement Community, there is something to suit every taste and desire. This issue begins this feature with a focus on Continuing Care Retirement Communities which offer arguably the ultimate retirement lifestyle choice.

Looking for a quiet weekend with a little High Country history? Check out A Real Deal at the Green Park Inn in Blowing Rock. The Grand Dame of historic hotels, it has been elegantly refurbished, retaining the ambiance of a time 125 years ago. Green Park Inn: The Real Deal

Shakespeare is coming to Raleigh in early May in recognition of the death of Shakepeare of Stratford-on-Avon (1616) to whom the works are attributed. The North Carolina Museum of History was chosen to display the First Folio on its first national tour outside the Folger Shakespeare Museum in Washington. Beginning April 23, theatrical groups throughout the state will present all of the plays (38) in a long weekend in the Museum’s Daniels Auditorium. The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare