Brian's Birthday, Part 2

Brian's mom came as part of Brian's surprise today to watch the kids- what fun the kids always have with Nana!
Before our adventure began, Brian's mom gave him his birthday gift- a flip handheld camcorder! It's amazing!

So, Brian and I have tried for the past few years to not give "stuff" at birthdays. We have so much already and don't need anything. We've tried to make memories and share events together instead. So, I kidnapped him around 11:30 and we headed to his favorite fast food restaurant, Wendy's in Champaign. He hasn't had it in over a year.

Then, we got on I-74 and headed west. hmmm...he didn't know what was going on. As we pulled into Bloomington, I told him our first destination- the McLean County Historical Museum for their exhibit on food through the ages- from 1800-now. It was great! The museum was so fun and we loved reading all about the history of food and it's local ties to the area.

Here Bri checks out an exhibit.

Here Brian sits in one of the model kitchens from the 1970's

We checked out a few other exhibits, like this one where I took my turn carrying water....

...while Brian checked out the out-house.

As we left the museum, Brian spent alittle time conversing with Abe.

We walked around downtown Bloomington and found this great place recommended by a friend of mine, A.Renee! It was a wonderful litte wine and gift store that just opened a wine bar. At 2:30, we asked them to open early so we could have a glass. The place is AMAZING!!!!

They serve you your wine in your own tiny carafe and small glasses instead of stemware. The owners described it as the way they would drink wine at home sitting in their blue jeans. The place was cozy, SUPER cute, and really great. We loved every minute of our time there.

They had so many little areas to enjoy your wine- we checked out the huge couch!

Then we headed to uptown Normal and I took Bri to my favorite kitchen and food store- The Garlic Press. We then walked around Normal some and Brian just had to take a picture with this guy outside the comic book store.

Snack time! We headed to an icecream and smoothie shop and got a smoothie for our afternoon snack. You wouldn't believe the handmade cones they had with rice crispy treats and tons of candy bar goodies on the outside!

After that, we headed to our final destination...if you hadn't noticed yet- I tried to do everything with a food and beverage theme. We stayed in Normal and as we got closer, I told him we were going to DESTIHL Restaurant and Brew Works.

6 months ago we ran into the assistant Brewmaster at the International Beer Tasting and Chili Cookoff in Urbana. We had a nice conversation and we loved the beer at the tasting. The asst. brewmaster gave us his card and offered to show us around if we were ever in Normal. Well, I saved the card and e-mailed Fred to see if we could still look around. He was happy to.

SO- we stepped into the brewery part of the restaurant around 4PM not really sure what to expect. I think Fred would have been happy giving us a 10 minute tour but more than an hour later, we were still in the brewery-talking beer, asking questions, and loving every minute of it!

Here Fred shows Bri the 4 fermenters.

These are barrels of the newest sour beers- a big deal right now in the beer world!We had to play around some while we were there!! You are so sexy, Bri!

These are the grains they mill themselves to put into their beer. We got to sample them all. They were good, really. One kind tasted just like GrapeNuts!

Then he let us taste a few beers- some from the taps out front and others straight from the fermenter machines. It was awesome! Talk about FRESH!!!

Our empty glasses! We got to sample and talk about 6 beers- it was heaven for Brian. Fred was amazing to us!Then we headed into the dining room for our dinner feast- the menu was incredible! So many choices for both of us. Many items had beer incorporated into sauces or marinades or glazes.

HEre Bri is with a flight of beer and TO DIE FOR eggrolls!

Then, shockingly so- I forgot to take pics of our entrees but we had delicious food and great service ( our server LOVES Allerton and has been there many times).

Here we are with our S'mores dessert!

Happy Birthday, Brian! I hope your birthday was full of surprises and was as fun to experience as it was to plan. I love you so much!

****

Video with Bri and Amara before we left dancing. Brian's cousin, Luke is in an amazing band with our favorite song, The Big One. The kids love dancing to it!