Beer Party!

Standing in the line at the grocery store the other day when my wife surprised me by picking up a big beer.  And, I do mean big: one of those massive Australian lagers that took both hands to pick it up and hand it to her.  Now, I hear what you're thinking:  my lovely wife, buying beer. Double Ewe Tea Eff!

That night, she took the massive can of brew out into the garden and returned with it empty.  So, I'm thinking my wife has a drinking problem.  Well, actually there's no problem, she drank it without spilling so there's that.  In actuality, my wife was after snails.  That's right, snails. 

A couple of months ago, we replanted the front garden (yet again) with new plants.  Unfortunately, they began getting chewed up by snails almost immediately. Zounds! I shouted. Get the salt! Get the chemicals!  Get the garlic butter! (Oh wait...)

My wife, the consummate natural gardener, eschewed chemicals (and garlic butter) for the more natural approach.  Beer.  You see, the snails are attracted to the beer like a college freshman to a kegger!  (Though not for the cheerleaders they hope to see, but for the yeast in the beer.) My wife positioned 4 shallow dishes in the garden and then filled them each with beer.

(Green and red dishes...very festive!)

In the middle of the night, the snails crawl toward the beer, fall into the pool of brewski goodness and drown.  (A moment of silence for the snails.)  The only bad part is that once the snails die, they attract flies by the boatloads, so the dishes have to be switched out regularly.  

Took my wife 4-5 nights of beer parties for us to finally see fewer and fewer snails in the dishes come morning. It also took a second trip to the store for a three-pack of tall boys.

Ain't no party like a Beer Snail Party!

Adventure Science Center Adventure

This last week, my lovely wife and I hosted two of our grand-kids while Mom and Dad went off to Mexico for rest, relaxation and Margaritas. Heavy on the Margaritas. With this onset of this blasted heat in the last weeks we've all been stuck indoors, so we've been looking for things to do that are, well, out of the house, but not in the heat. Also they have to be geared to the youngsters so a night out at the Wild Horse Saloon is out. Pity, that. 

If you search the Internet for things to do, you'll come across any number of things to do in Nashville, but most are outside...in the heat, which is not what we were wanting.  We decided to try the Adventure Science Center. Described as a multilevel museum with hands-on exhibits & a planetarium that teaches kids about tech, health & ecology. I'd been to the place when my youngest was a kid, and we had a great time and I even remember some of the things we learned together. I envisioned great bonding moments aplenty. 

Upon entering, I noticed a lot of changes and not all of them good. To begin, the pricing was a bit high at $14.95 for adults and this counts anyone over the age of 12.  Only slightly less for younger kids, but to tell the truth, the younger ones are the ones who enjoy it the most. There are additional fees for the moonwalk exhibit and the planetarium shows.  We opted out of both extras.  

The biggest change is the exhibits.  Lots of lights, buttons and noise.  In addition, the exhibits were bigger and better laid out.  Where before the exhibits were like pods placed at random across the floor, the exhibits now were large and incorporated the walls, ceilings and more. There is an ambulance that kids can climb into and see all the equipment up close. 

Lastly, when we first visited, the only food available was from vending machines. Now, there is a full service Subway Sandwich Shop right inside the center! Nationwide standardized pricing, too!

And now the problem:  So many other people had the same thought as we did. So the place was overrun with kids.  This wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for the attitude of the parents which was basically just follow along with the running screaming kids while they watch their phone.  The kids run up to an exhibit, punch the buttons, twirl the dials or just grab it and see if it moves.  Then, without seeing what part of science the exhibit may be demonstrating, they run off to the next one.  Lots of noise and voices and more noise.

It was difficult to try to read the exhibit and then figure out what the exhibit was teaching and then impart this to the grand kid in an entertaining way.  Successful? No. Nothing else to do but just punch the buttons and let's move on.

All in all, we had a nice time. However, should we plan this again, I would go on a weekday and I intend to check the parking lot for overcrowding as an indication of a problematic day.