I've been wanting to go to the Tumwater Brewfest for a while, but it just never worked out for us with our schedule or the timing of it. Then Covid hit and we had to wait longer. About a month ago, I asked Nicole and Del about the event, and they've enjoyed going during the years that they went. They said they were going to this year's event. Then, I asked Mom and Dad if they wanted to go, and we asked Trish if this was something she was interested in doing. They all said they would get back to us.
They all got back to us, and it was just going to be Mom and Trish going with us. Dad was busy doing something else and Amy didn't want to go. Ben invited Kenyatta and Josh as well because Ben made it complicated by wanting to take people to the Seahawks preseason game against Dallas (he bought four tickets from Mike a few weeks back) on the same day. He also invited Del as the fourth person, and he agreed to go.
We bought tickets for us, Mom, Trish and Josh and everyone paid me back. I printed them out and we waited for that Saturday. Ben planned out his day with his friends and made sure everyone knew what was happening. Trish came down and arrived just after 11:30 and Mom showed up just after noon. I told Ben that I would drive them to Tumwater while he waits for Josh and Kenyatta to get there. He had to get some gas and some money before they came down to the event.
Before we left, I made sure everyone had their tickets and whatever else they needed, hopped into the Escape and drove out to Tumwater. We followed the signs and found out we had to pay to park. Luckily, one of us had some money. I let Ben know they needed money to park. They directed us to where we were supposed to park. I told everyone to bring what they needed with them, and we headed off to the ticket line to get in. I didn't realize this event was so popular! How would I if I've never been to it?
We got to the line, made sure we had our tickets, they checked our ID, they were scanned, we were given a bracelet, and we were given a taster glass and some tokens. I grabbed a map, so we knew where everything was. It was going to be a warm day and I wished we would have known we could bring chairs and umbrellas. I made a note of it for the next time we attended.
We all wandered around for a little bit and went to the brewery and cider tents to get our first taster filled up. Mom wasn't there to drink but she at least tried one of the ciders. Trish and I went to the Lazy Boy Brewing to try their Huckleberry Blonde Ale. We both enjoyed it.
Ben and his gang of goobers showed up, so Trish went to go hang out with her son for a while. Mom and I walked around to all the vendors to see what kind of cool stuff and snacks we could get. I ended up with a cool pretzel necklace and I got some stickers and a poster.
More and more people started to arrive. It was getting busy and warm. I wanted to get another tester, so I went back over to the tents and for my second one, by Mount Olympus, was Midsummer's Dream, Orange Creamsicle and it was just like eating an orange creamsicle ice cream bar! It was so good. I told Trish about it, and she went and got in line. This one, by far, was our favorite of the day.
I got a text message from Ben telling me that he, Josh and Keyatta were over by the blow-up obstacle courses and that I should join them. I really didn't want to partake but I went over and watched them get pummeled by one of the blow-ups. Josh posted a video of it on Facebook. I found out later that Kenyatta broke his watch when he fell inside of the inflatable.
I munched on some of my pretzels and texted Nicole to see where she and Del were. We met up with them and then it was time to use the dreaded porta potties. After relieving ourselves, we sat in the shade and visited for a bit. I asked Del how the event was last year. He said it was super-hot, not enough shade for people, but he and Nicole had fun regardless. We decided to head back over to the tents to get another taster.
The third one I chose was from the Steam Donkey Brewing Company and it was the Strawberry Lemonade Hefeweizen, and it was interesting. The strawberry lemonade was faint, but you could still taste it. We ran into Ben and Trish again, who wandered around the vendors for a little bit. I told her she should try the one I was having so she got in line. We finally ran into Doug and Sonya. They wanted food so they stood in line for a while.
We hung out and I decided to grab my fourth one with Ben. We went over to Acorn Brewing to try the Redbeard's Red. He had already tried this one but liked it to have another one. It was pretty good for a red. I was sad none of the breweries brought in an Amber Ale. We got everyone we could together for a venue picture. We had fun.
Ben, Kenyatta, Del and Josh met up with us one more time before leaving for Seattle. We told them to have fun. We needed some shade, so we found a partial empty table under one of the tents to sit for a while. We sipped the rest of our tasters, visited for a while and let Doug and Sonya know where we were with their food. Nicole sat with us for a while until it was time for her to go. She was supposed to have a family dinner that evening and needed to go get ready for it. She thanked us for hanging out and that we would catch up again later. Doug and Sonya joined us for a while.
You could tell by Trish's face that it was almost time for us to head home. We were "funned" out for our first time at Brewfest. We walked back to the Escape and left the brewery property on a road that I've always wanted to know where it went. I finally got to find that out and it was awesome! I asked everyone if they were hungry, and they said they could eat. I asked what everyone was feeling and decided on Hops and Drops.
We drive over, got in quickly and ordered food. Mom and Trish had fish and chips and I opted for the chicken tenders and fries. It hit the spot. We paid and drove back to the house. Trish thanked me for inviting her out and that we needed to hang out again soon. She told me to have Ben text her when he gets home from the game. I told her that I will and then added to have her text me when she got home. Mom left shortly after that.
I turned on the Seahawk game and got some updates from Ben. They had dinner at Dick's and made their way to the Hawk's Nest to watch the game. We all know preseason isn't as cool as a real game but it still pretty awesome to go to a game even if it's the only one we go to. I am not sure if I will be able to go to a game this year. I guess we will see. I hope our team is competitive this season. They didn't do too terrible against the Cowboys but again, it's guys who are trying to make the team. We did beat them 22-14 and I am sure Kenyatta was sad. I think Ben said that this was his first time to a Cowboys game and to Lumen Field.
I took some stuff over to Erika and Zac's house, chatted for a bit and grabbed some more Hello Fresh recipe cards. They were still going through stuff and getting settled in from the big move. They were doing more yard work, figuring out how to get a fence around the property and trying to keep the homeless people at bay. They really want to put in a security system, so they know what's going on when they aren't home and asleep. I headed home, did a few things and waited for Ben to get home.
When he did come home, we texted Trish, he told me about the game and then we slowly got ready for bed. That was a long, but fun, day.
Next Adventure: Kayaking with Mom and Picking Up Two Caches at Munn and Offut Lake
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