Back in the Land of Fightin' Blue Hens

I am writing this as we are settling in for the night in Frederick, Maryland after a great visit with Dylan yesterday and today. It was strange and yet completely normal to be back at U-Del, walking Main Street once again and enjoying a beer and free popcorn at the Deer Park Inn.

It was funny checking in to the Super 8 on Main Street once again - the same hotel we've stayed at many,  many times over the past 8 years as we visited the boys during both their undergraduate and now (Dylan's) graduate years.  After checking in and getting cleaned up, we me Dylan for an early dinner in Wilmington at the Iron Hill Brewery, then drove over to his new apartment in Claymont (not to far from Wilmington) for a visit.

Dylan and Andre at Iron Hill Brew Pub

This morning we met up again around lunch time and walked around the campus, enjoying the sunny day and reminiscing about the first times we walked the campus with him on a college tour back when he was a teenager. We did a few laps up and down Main Street to choose a restaurant for lunch, and ultimately decided on California Tortilla for some burritos and fajitas.

After lunch Dylan took us back to his lab and showed us around his work bench, describing some of his current work and the implements and gadgets he uses in his day to day research work.  This poster was up in the hallway next to the lab he works in. It was a poster he put together for a conference presentation that describes in detail (and in science-speak) the crux of the work that he is doing for his PhD.

 

It was great seeing what Dylan does on a daily basis, even though I don't comprehend much of it at a deep scientific level.  We said goodbye around 3:30 and headed out of Delaware, making our way slowly west out towards Pittsburgh, PA where we will be visiting Nick over the weekend.

 

A few hours into the ride we got off the main road in search of reasonably priced gas (using our much-valued Gas Buddy app) and drove by this sign...

 

 

Yes, that does say FREE MAGIC HAT. Obviously we stopped and they really were doing a promotion from 5-6 featuring free bottles of Vermont-brewed Magic Hat. No Gimmicks.  They also had flat breads half price and cheap appetizers so we settled in for a bit of relaxation and a break from the road. You just never know what good things await when you step out your door....