Meet Me in St. Louis!!

I just got home from a fun fun fun weekend with my sister Katherine in St. Louis!! She's been worried you didn't realize I have two sisters because she's felt under-represented on the blog but this blog post should make up for my slackness!!

Some of you probably don't know that I lived in St. Louis one summer during college when I was a summer missionary in the inner-city. Therefore, some of the sites that I remember are much different than what Katherine and Mark experience on a daily basis. Granted, I lived there 12 years ago and a lot has changed since then but I never saw most of the places where they hang out. They just bought a house and it is totally cute! I can't believe my baby sister beat me to the stage of being a full-fledged grownup with a mortgage payment! But she and Mark have done really well with making the house a home and I totally love it! I am so proud of them!

We had a very busy weekend that was completely fun! We packed a lot of fun into a few days! I flew in on Friday (I braved commercial travel) and Katherine and I had lunch with my good friend Linda who I knew from my summer in STL. I hadn't seen Linda in several years and I always look forward to getting to see her and catch up!!

Number one priority of the trip was to stop somewhere to buy some tennis shoes. I made the mistake of not putting them in my suitcase and had I really thought about it, I would have found room because visiting Katherine means doing active things and walking a lot! After I found a great pair at Payless, we were ready to start our full weekend of fun! (Well really I found two pairs and since they were BOGO 1/2 off I had to get them and yes, I did find room in my suitcase for them on the return trip!)

We started Saturday morning (after some really yummy breakfast that Katherine cooked!) by going to the Missouri Botanical Gardens. I had been there 12 years ago because they were near the house where I stayed for a few weeks that was in the hood. I looked back at my journal and scrapbook from my trip there and I wrote how it was soooo beautiful in the midst of such a bad and ugly neighborhood. In the past decade or so, the neighborhood has been cleaned up somewhat and the gardens are still just as beautiful as before! I wish I knew more about plants and flowers but I can tell you that there are a ton of beautiful flowers and trees there!

After we hit Bevo Mill for lunch (which is where Katherine and Mark had their reception in 2005), we headed for Grant's Farm. I had heard of it while I lived in STL but hadn't made it out there. I found out it was owned by the Busch family (which most of STL is) and it's name is Grant's Farm because it's land that Ulysses S. Grant's family owned. It's a wildlife preserve now which a bunch of animals roaming around and a small petting zoo. I did get to see the donkey that was in the Super Bowl commercial pulling the Clydesdales and unfortunately I also accidentally saw a miniature horse. It was a quick glance so there was no hyperventilating! We saw the Clydesdales stables and the young Clydesdales too and then finally stopped by President Grant's house that was there. After all that excitement, I hung out with Mark's family as they were celebrating his nephew's first communion.

On Sunday after going to church with Katherine, we headed to Crown Candy Kitchen in downtown STL (well not the good part of downtown STL.) I had been there several times over my summer there and loved it! They make their own candy and have the greatest sundaes! The best part of that place is they have a deal that if you can consume 5 huge malts in under 30 minutes, you get them for free and you get your name on a plaque on the wall. In 1996, there had only been six people to ever accomplish that feat since the restaurant's opening in 1913. Twelve years later, there were 20 names and one guy did it in 11 minutes and 45 seconds. I challenged Mark to try and he did pretty good. He got through one in about 28 minutes with sharing it with Katherine and me. I think he's going to train and do better next time!

Next we headed to the new Busch Stadium to see the Cardinals play the Astros! I hadn't been to the new stadium yet and it was very nice! The rain held off pretty much for the entire game. And the actual game was great too! I saw two homers and a dugout/bullpen clearing brawl!! And most importantly, the Cards won!! We totally got our money's worth!

And of course, no trip to St. Louis would be complete without a trip to Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. I realize that we had already had one dessert for the day but I think it's a law somewhere that if you go to St. Louis, you MUST go to Ted Drewes. In 1996, I ate there almost every other day. It was so yummy! I was such a regular customer that when I left at the end of summer, they gave me a key chain which still is on my key ring to this day! I have no idea how I didn't gain weight when I lived there and ate it several times a week!! Actually my record is having it three times in one day! Anyway, on Sunday afternoon even though it was a bit cold and rainy, we stopped for some custard! I got the Caramel Apple Pie which was very very yummy!!

I had to end my fun visit with Katherine and Mark and flew home this morning. I had such a great time and I can't wait to spend more time with them the next time I see them! I already miss them!!