Friday, February 23, 2007

St. Louis Part Deux

I know, I know, I said I would update yesterday and I didn't. I got caught up in other things and I didn't have the chance to. So today, since I have nothing else interesting to post, I will continue with the St. Louis trip. Okay, where did I leave off... Oh yes, after the funeral.

After the funeral we all went our separate ways. Eric and I went back to his dad's home to pack up and Eric helped his dad with a computer problem. After all that was done, we borrowed his dad's little Chevy car and drove to the city to stay with our good friends, Brian and Gabby. We got there and visited for awhile. We got the munchies at around midnight, so Eric and Brian made a Whities run. Nothing is better than White Castle burgers at 12:30 in the morning! After visiting more, we noticed it was almost 2 in the morning (time flies when we all get together!) and since we had church in the morning, we thought it would be a good idea to get some sleep.

Sunday we went to church and Eric was able to see some people that he knew when he lived there. It was fun for him to see old friends (not old as in age, old as in not new, or whatever) After church we ran a few errands to pick up some food to make for lunch, and then went back to Brian and Gabby's to have lunch and take a little nap before going back to church in the evening. After church, we all went to bed early since Brian and Gabby had to go to work the next day.

Monday Eric and I had the day to ourselves. The weather was beautiful (aka cold and rainy) so Eric and I decided to take a drive all around the St. Louis area so he could show me where he grew up. I have to tell you, the towns of Webster Groves and Kirkwood are simply beautiful. Both towns are well kept and their "old town" shopping areas remind you of Main Street USA at Disneyland. All the homes are around 100 years old most of them are preserved and they even have plaques on the front that have historical data on it. If we could afford to live there, I'd move to that town in a heart beat. Even the elementary school that Eric went to is a 100+ year old brick building. It's so beautiful, I wish I could go back to elementary school just to be able to attend there.

Tuesday morning we woke up to "winter mix" weather. Winter mix is a mixture of rain and sleet (for those of you California people who don't know what winter weather is like). After a little bit, the winter mix turned into snow!!!! The crazy girl that I am, went outside with my hair still wet from my shower and snapped a few pictures. The neighbors probably wondered which mental hospital I escaped from. It was below freezing outside, but the coolest thing was I could actually see the full shape of a snowflake when it landed on me. I had never seen that before. After snapping a few more pictures, Eric and I drove into Fenton MO to eat at a Cracker Barrel. We were able to sit next to the fireplace, but still be near a window so that we can watch the snow fall. It was so nice! After eating we walked around the gift shop for a little bit to look at what they had.

After walking around a little bit, one of the Cracker barrel employees, Marissa, decided on giving us a whole tour of the gift shop and stopped to tell us about every little thing they had there. She was so sweet, I didn't have the heart to tell her I had been to many Cracker Barrels before so I had seen most of what they had already. Really, we probably spent an hour following Marissa around the store so she could show us everything. Business must have been slow that day. Anyway, we both left with little treasures (Eric got some cool magnet toy thingy and I got some nice mug coasters that smell pretty when you put a hot mug on it) and we promised Marissa we would tell everyone how great the Fenton Cracker Barrel is. So if any of you ever are in Fenton MO, stop by the Cracker Barrel there (off I-44) and say hi to Marissa.

Tuesday night, Brian got the great idea to go sledding on Art Hill. I was originally going to let the boys go while I hang out with Gabby, but Eric really wanted me to go and see what Art Hill was like, since he used to go sledding there when he was a kid. So we bundled up and headed out. When we got to Art Hill, I realized I should have stuck with the original plan of staying home with Gabby. It was Fah-reezing! Literally freezing. It was about 16 degrees outside, but with the wind chill, it was probably in the negative numbers. Not fun. Eric asked how I was and I told him that my feet were freezing at one point, but then I couldn't feel them any more so it wasn't so bad. Eric said that wasn't good so he made me run back and forth to keep my blood pumping. OK, let me say this. I hate running. I think running is a punishment from God. I hate running on a treadmill in the comfort of a warm gym, so what makes Eric think I'm going to enjoy running in freezing temperatures! That was not fun. I stuck around Art Hill long enough to pressure Eric into going down the hill (heaven knows I wasn't gonna do it!) and then begged like a baby for the keys to the car so I can sit and warm up. After another half an hour, the boys came back to the car and we went home. It took a long time to thaw out from that evening.

Alright, I noticed this was getting long again. I'm wordy aren't I? I will let you all have a break in reading, and then I will post about the last part of our trip when I have the chance.

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