Weekend Part II: WonderLab, Upland Tour, and Hiking

We ate a lot while we were in town--went to The Irish Lion, Chocolate Moose, Yogi's, Macri's, and The Village Deli (helllllo, banana Nutella pancakes, oh my!). Yum, yum, yum. In between eating and drinking, we did do a few other things. First, we went to WonderLab (a science museum) which I'd never been to before. I was pleasantly surprised to get us all in for free with our Science Center membership, which made it even better! It was a neat place.

Trying to climb the grape leaves

They were a bit steep and slippery for Lew, so... 

Kevin got in to help him through. They didn't go all of the way to the top, but they made it about halfway up. 

They had a water table which Lewis ran to, first thing. He didn't get nearly as wet as he does at the one here, so that was good. I did throw in an extra outfit, JUST in case.

Being hoisted up by Papaw 

Playing music, or at least listening to Dad play music.

Lew was more interested in putting the drumsticks back in their proper place. 

After WonderLab, we headed out to the west side to take a tour of the Upland brewery. They have a new, bigger location, and Mom found that they do free tours on Sundays. Lucky for us, it was also $2 pint Sundays, so we were able to enjoy a fresh pint while we waited for the tour. It was the best Bad Elmer's Porter I've had, and I can't believe how light the Wheat was that my dad got. It was the first one from a new keg, I think Kevin said. Yum.

Lewis and the Upland sign

And yes, I might have been holding up a yogurt-covered raisin to get him to look at me. It worked! :)

Dad with his Wheat and Mom with her Porter 

Lewis, listening intently on how you make beer.

He was pretty good on the tour--he got fussy a couple times, but we were able to shush and stroll him around a bit. The tour guide was great and didn't seem too annoyed that there was a toddler in tow. Lew seemed to like the malt grains that we tasted, too. 

The one-and-only bottling machine

I'm still amazed that this small machine bottles all of their beer! It kind of made me love them even more, to see what a small operation they really are.

The Beer Freezer

I think Kevin and Dad were both impressed by all of that beer!

As I mentioned, sleep was better Sunday night. Monday we headed in for breakfast at The Village Deli--again, the banana Nutella pancakes were to.die.for. We went back and checked out of the hotel, and then we took a hike before going our separate ways.

Lew riding in Papaw's Backpack (he kept saying that over and over) 

Forging the muddy creek 

We looked for morels along the way but found none. We did find the great oak that the trail is named after:

Dad and Lewis and the 175-year-old oak tree 

 

Giving the tree a hug

He doesn't give hugs with outstretched arms just yet--I guess he's more of a snuggler. :)

Thanks for a fun-filled weekend, Maw and Papaw! It was great!