Many people
know St. Louis as the gateway to the West.
It was this for the Lewis and Clark expedition as well as countless
other explorers and settlers throughout the turn of the century. For me, it was
the gateway to the whole world, and the first of many stops in the coming
weeks. Why St. Louis? Well hopefully you
all remember my dear friend Jason. He has made St. Louis his home for many
years now and after his visit to Idaho and then to China, I thought it was about
time I got my butt out to the Midwest to see his stomping grounds. He
works for a telecommunications firm and is
preparing to move into his brand new
custom built dream home on the outskirts of the city. I simply couldn’t that!!
So let’s
backtrack a bit before I get too carried away. After my return from Portland, I
had a rat race ten days trying to prepare for my impending journey.
So last
Thursday Charlie and I saddled up and headed for the airport with much gusto. Sadly we were delayed 3 hours in Phoenix,
which was a bummer because the Phoenix airport is unbelievably stuffy and quite
frankly smells like an armpit. Maybe it was just my wing of the airport…luckily,
because we had so much time I took Charlie outside to their fabulous pet relief
area so he could run around and do his thing and I could get some fresh air.
When we were finally collected in St. Louis at around 10:30pm I was so tired I
could hardly function!
After a good nights sleep and a
little unpacking, Jason and I did a bit of sampling at some nearby wineries.
All was well until a bee bounced off my forehead and landed in my wine! Not to
worry he was swiftly saved from death by booze and I cautiously finished the
rest of my beverage with my hand over the mouth of the cup. 
Over the next few days we walked along the
Missouri and Mississippi Rivers and did some rock climbing at a very cool
facility near the city. It was Jason’s first time ever and he rocked it! Way to
go bud! After our forearms were completely jellified we went to Jason’s Mom’s
house for a yummy home made dinner of chicken alfredo, salad, garlic bread, and
strawberry shortcake for desert. I got to spend the evening chatting with his
Mom about cooking, teaching, and traveling and even met his lovely sister on a
rare but seemingly deserved study break. Thanks for a great evening girls and
good luck Janette on your exams!! : D
On Tuesday
we took a trip into the heart of the city to see the St. Louis arch which was
very cool and had a wonderful view of the city from the top, although the cable
cars where quite small and slightly claustrophobic. After the arch we visited
Forrest Park and the history museum that sits in the middle of it where we spent
a few hours perusing fun facts about western expansion and the Louisiana
Purchase. 
When we had our fill of
historical date and figures we headed to Little Italy to have our fill of
delicious Italian food such as toasted raviolis and saffron seafood cannellini
soup. Yum!!
We did have
one minor mishap during the week which involved Jason accidentally breaking his
car key off in the ignition and although the car would still start, we
subsequently locked ourselves out of the car while taking the pups to the dog
park….ooops….BUT after a little extra walking and some phone calls to AAA we
had that baby opened up and dropped off at the Chevy dealership while Jason and
I rented a car from Avis for a couple of days.
It was quite a process, but we got everything under control just in time
to meet Jason’s friends Dan and Kelly that evening for dark chocolate
martinis…not even kidding, that’s a real thing and my word are they something
to behold.
Hope
everyone is well and enjoying their spring! Please let me know what you are all
up to! I am always only an email or Skype call away!! xoxo
