Saint Louis
After we made the announcement of our move to friends and family, one of Todd's old mission and college friends (who lives in Chicago) called to "reserve" Labor Day weekend with us in Saint Louis. We met Ben and his wife, Christina, on Friday night. We stayed at the Ramada Inn near the St. Louis airport (I will tell more about the hotel later). On Friday we got settled in and stayed up late talking and watching the Glenn Beck show. We got up early on Saturday and headed downtown to the Arch. After a big hassle of getting our "will call" tickets, we got in line for our "pod" that would take us to the top of the arch. There are eight pods that travel inside the arch to the top, where you can look out little windows to the vast flatness of the land below. So, when the doors open to our pod, we stand frozen and stare into the tiny space that all four of us are supposed to fit in. It was in a circle shape and was no more than four feet in diameter. So, we cuddled in and started our way to the top. Brookie was really scared, but once we got to the top, it was a beautiful view.
After the gateway arch, we walked around downtown. St. Louis is a very old city with beautiful architecture that needs a lot of updates. So, it was fun to walk around and talk about how cool it would be if this building or that building were to be restored. (This is the third day I have sat down to write this, so I think I will have to be a little more brief!) We went to th Big Muddy Blues Festival and then went back to the hotel where we ordered pizza and watched the BYU v. Arizona football game. We are all BIG BYU fans.
On Sunday, we found a ward to attend for Sacrament and St. Louis is nice because all of their museums are open on the weekends, and they are FREE! So we hit the science museum and the art museum. (Oh, I forgot to say that we went to the zoo, which is also free, on Saturday). Monday was Todd's birthday and Ben bought us lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. In the morning we walked around Union Station, which has now been converted into a mall. After lunch, and our farewells, we hit the road to come back home. But, of course, we had to stop at "Nostalgiaville" on the way back.
Oh, let me say a little about the Hotel, just in case you want to put it on your "Do not stay at" list. We were at the Ramada Inn. When we got there, we were supposed to have two rooms reserved, but they only had one ready. It wasn't ready until 10:00 at night. Does that make any sense? They said it was still being cleaned. The sheets on the bed were not hemmed, there was no toilet paper (and we had to wait 1 1/2 hour for them to bring some to us). The next day, we came back to our hotel around 5pm, but we couldn't get in because they were still cleaning??????? And the maid forgot to leave us towels. So, maybe it is just that location, but we probably won't be spending time in a Ramada Inn again.
But all in all, our trip to St. Louis was great. It was so good to see old friends, and really fun to explore a new place!
After the gateway arch, we walked around downtown. St. Louis is a very old city with beautiful architecture that needs a lot of updates. So, it was fun to walk around and talk about how cool it would be if this building or that building were to be restored. (This is the third day I have sat down to write this, so I think I will have to be a little more brief!) We went to th Big Muddy Blues Festival and then went back to the hotel where we ordered pizza and watched the BYU v. Arizona football game. We are all BIG BYU fans.
On Sunday, we found a ward to attend for Sacrament and St. Louis is nice because all of their museums are open on the weekends, and they are FREE! So we hit the science museum and the art museum. (Oh, I forgot to say that we went to the zoo, which is also free, on Saturday). Monday was Todd's birthday and Ben bought us lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. In the morning we walked around Union Station, which has now been converted into a mall. After lunch, and our farewells, we hit the road to come back home. But, of course, we had to stop at "Nostalgiaville" on the way back.
Oh, let me say a little about the Hotel, just in case you want to put it on your "Do not stay at" list. We were at the Ramada Inn. When we got there, we were supposed to have two rooms reserved, but they only had one ready. It wasn't ready until 10:00 at night. Does that make any sense? They said it was still being cleaned. The sheets on the bed were not hemmed, there was no toilet paper (and we had to wait 1 1/2 hour for them to bring some to us). The next day, we came back to our hotel around 5pm, but we couldn't get in because they were still cleaning??????? And the maid forgot to leave us towels. So, maybe it is just that location, but we probably won't be spending time in a Ramada Inn again.
But all in all, our trip to St. Louis was great. It was so good to see old friends, and really fun to explore a new place!
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