Monday, July 26, 2010

Homeward Bound!

It was a relaxing Saturday morning at the Cheshire Lodge. Jim and the kids went down to the pool for a couple hours, while I packed our things.
After breakfast we took a few pictures at the hotel and headed out. There were two more stops before leaving St. Louis...we got to see the dorms that Pastor lived in at the Sem., and then stopped at Schnuck's for bottles of Fitz's Rootbeer.

Not far from crossing the Illinois border, it began..."Mama, I have to go to the bathroom!" We stopped at a rest stop. Then Pastor took over the driving for a bit. The plan was to stop in Springfield for lunch. Logan was resting and Brett and Katherine were watching an episode of Doctor Who. They were quiet, so we kept going. Jim closed his eyes for a bit. We were going to stop in Lincoln next, but kept on going. It was decicded that we would, for sure, stop in Bloomington. Pastor showed us his vicarage church and then we found an Olive Garden.
After a late lunch (2:30 P.M.), it was time to finish our journey.

Jim drove the rest of the way home. We made good time, got Pastor to his car, and were home by 7:00 P.M. The windows were rolled down in order to appreciate the cooler air. Thankfully, there was no water in our basement! It was good to be home!

3rd Day in St. Louis!

We met up with Pastor at 9:15 outside of the Seminary's Chapel and stayed for the morning service. There was a group there that was heading home from the National Youth Gathering. Logan recognized a couple of the teens from Milwaukee Lutheran. It was good to know that the leaders were taking time to take the youth to the seminaries on the way home.

We spent some time at the St. Louis Art Museum. Pastor said that he could prove that it was better than our museum in 10 minutes. The Milwaukee Art Museum has a much better Renaissance section, but all in all, he was right.

We drove out west (I think) and had lunch at Steak N Shake. The burgers were good, but the water was disgusting! Logan and Brett sat at a table by themselves, and did just fine.

I got to drive the two blocks to the Concordia Historic Institute. We tried, unsuccessfully, to meet with the president-elect. We knew we weren't going to be able to see him, but we had to try! Pastor showed us the Chapel and the museum. The museum tour was a chronologically history of our LC-MS. It was quite fascinating! On our way out the kids did a little shopping at the gift shop. Katherine bought a turquoise apron with wording, "Taste and see that the Lord is good!" Brett bought a gift for a friend.

It was time to feed the group again, so we stopped at another place that Pastor hadn't been to before...Gus' Pretzels. We all got some pretzels and loved the price and taste!

We drove past Anheuser-Busch and Historic Trinity Lutheran Church, before getting to the Gateway Arch. The security wasn't as bad as Pastor thought it might. We walked around The Museum of Westward Expansion, but unfortunately, the line was too long to go up the Arch.
Pastor and Logan sat outside the Arch while the rest of us walked down the many steps to the riverfront.

Finding a Walmart was imperative to fill our cooler with bottled water. Marilyn, the GPS, was able to locate a Walmart about 15 mintues away. Logan and Katherine ordered subs from Subway and ate them while the rest of us ate at the St. Louis Bread Co. (Panera's).

We got back to the hotel too late for swimming. So we got the kids settled in our room and met up with Pastor at the pub. We talked, laughed, and simply enjoyed hanging out. Jim wanted me to try his Irish Coffee. He knows I like Irish Creme but not coffee. I tried it and did not like the taste it left in my mouth. I took a sip of Pastor's beer. Keep in mind, it was the first beer I have ever had in my life! It was ok...just ok. I took the last drop, also, and decided that beer is not for me, either.