USA

Who Invented the Pina Colada? Barrachina vs Caribe Hilton

If there is any cocktail that immediately evokes thoughts of a palm tree-lined beach, it is the Pina Colada.

This cocktail, made of rum, coconut, and pineapple, is the quintessential beach drink and is one we have come to love simply through our frequent visits to its birthplace- San Juan, Puerto Rico.

But the origin story of this classic is, shall we say, heavily debated. Two iconic establishments lay claim to creating this refreshing beverage, and we did what any enterprising cocktail lover should do in order to get to the bottom of the debate- we went to both.

Enter the Barrachina, which claims to have invented the Pina Colada in 1963, and the Caribe Hilton, which claims to have invented this classic in 1954. So who really made it first and, more importantly, which is better? We had to find out.

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Visiting the Manhattan Project B Reactor Near Tri-Cities, WA

Odds are good you know a bit about the development of the nuclear bomb that ended the Pacific campaign of WWII. 

If you haven’t gone deep into the history, discussions are often relegated to the Manhattan Project’s work in Los Alamos where the bombs were built and tested. But did you know the nuclear materials used in said bombs were not created in Los Alamos but instead were split between two other sites in the USA (for safety and security purposes)?

The plutonium enrichment was actually achieved at a reactor outside of the Tri-Cities in Washington state, and the Hanford B Reactor is now a National Historic Site that is open for tours in partnership with the Department of Energy!

I was fortunate enough to attend a media visit to this one and have to admit, it is a pretty amazing tour all around.

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5 Things to Do In Cleveland, Ohio On Your First Visit

Cleveland is our neighbor to the west (about two hours away from our home in Pittsburgh), and we love visiting this city as much as possible.

But the more we visit, the more things to do in Cleveland we find. In fact, there is so much to do in this Ohio city that you can barely begin to scratch the surface in a single visit.

That being said, when visiting Cleveland for the first time, we highly recommend checking out some very important spots!

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Hike Through Fern Canyon – Jurassic Park in the Redwoods

Imagine yourself walking through a prehistoric jungle of various ferns growing on a canyon. Fern Canyon is a Northern California hike that takes you through a fern-covered canyon. Located in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, the Fern Canyon hike is the greatest canyon hike you can take in the redwoods.

This place is so unusually beautiful that Steven Spielberg’s The Lost World: Jurassic Park shot a film scene here. Plus, two dinosaur documentaries – Dinosaurs Alive (IMAX) and Walking with Dinosaurs (BBC) – were also filmed here. Here’s all you need to know about the Fern Canyon hike including insider tips:

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