LODI, Calif. — Five-year-old Nora Dellinger is in hoverboard Heaven.
"Was it fun?" ABC10 reporter Kurt Rivera asked Nora, as she rode one the museum's makeshift hoverboard while sitting in a chair.
"Uh huh," the shy, but happy girl answered.
Her mother, Ramona, is a big fan of the World of Wonders (WOW) Science Museum; home to over 70 hands-on science exhibits.
"There are fun things. There's a rocket ship. The light thing in here is really cool," said Ramona Dellinger.
The museum has big plans to expand. They're purchasing seven old buildings across the street. Plans call for closing down Sacramento Street in front of the museum to create what they're calling a "Science Plaza."
The "wow" factor cost is $24 million, to be built in stages as money comes in to pay for it.
"And it's almost like four stories high. It'll have a planetarium inside of it and also we're going to have a carousel," said Sally Snyde, World of Wonders Science Museum President.
Yes, Lodi, divine for its wine is bursting from the bottle, so to speak.
"Obviously, as you start to see a destination grow, you reach a point, it's kind of that spill over point where, you know, as the destination continues to grow you've got to have those ancillary things that are going to support the destination," said Nancy Beckman, President of Visit Lodi.
They include two new hotels under construction: Candlewood Inn & Suites opening late 2019 with 95 rooms, plus Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott with 72 rooms open early 2020.
The expansion of existing restaurants includes Dancing Fox, Lodi Beer Company and renovation of the popular Pietro's Italian Restaurant. New restaurants include Five Windows, Idol Beer Works, and Brickhouse.
Marcus DeAnda opened up his West Oak Nosh restaurant on Oak Street nearly a year ago. His hip, German cuisine features burgers, sausages, giant pretzels and more, as well as a giant wall of beer.
"Yeah, but definitely a lot of opportunity for restaurants... We jumped on it as quickly as we could," says DeAnda
"The wineries continue to thrive. The overnight visitation is good. So, I think for the foreseeable future we're going to see some really phenomenal things happen here," added Nancy Beckman.
So, as the song goes, "Stuck in Lodi again" is not such a bad thing after all in this up and coming wine country destination.
Continue the conversation with Kurt on Facebook.
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