Celebrating in St. Louis

Greg + I enjoyed celebrating our sixth anniversary in St. Louis … without Cate. Mark it down as a successful first overnight trip without Cate. Our goal is to do one trip like this a year. And I’m certain Cate had a great weekend with Grandmom + Angela, my mom’s best friend. We left Saturday morning and got back late last night, well, this morning. It was a good amount of time because we enjoyed ourselves but were still ready to get home to Cate.

First we went to Six Flags, something we obviously haven’t done in awhile. We rode several roller coasters, cooled off with a couple water rides + talked about how fun it will be to go to an amusement park as a family once Cate is tall enough, like 36 inches, then even more fun when she can ride roller coasters, like 48, then 54 inches.

In the background is Mr. Freeze, a pretty fast + loopy roller coaster. It shoots out of the building + goes through some loops, including that rather large one in the background, and then goes up that straight part you can see. Then it repeats it all … backwards! The lady in front of us in line said it lasts 37 seconds. I believe it. Fast. But a fun 37 seconds.

I mentioned the water rides … Well, this is after the first one we went on. It was that rafting one where the signs warn riders that you will get wet, maybe even soaked. Let’s just say I was among the half of the raft that got SOAKED. And Greg barely got wet! I don’t know if you can tell how wet I am. Let me just say, my wallet is just now dry. And we’re talking two days later!

We slept in comfy Marriott bed with lots of pillows that night, and didn’t wake up until 9 a.m. Once we got around, we went to see “Swing Vote”; ate at Chevy’s, where we last ate while on our honeymoon in Lake Tahoe; and shopped at St. Louis Mills, including Archiver’s and Carter’s, and then Target.

Then we went to watch the Cardinals. They played the Phillies. It was a pitching dual through the first seven innings. 2-1 Cards. Then the Phillies had a couple homeruns and other runners on base, so it was 5-1. Then 5-2. Then 5-3. Then 5-4. The Cards just couldn’t quite do it, which was frustrating because they had the bases loaded in both the eighth + ninth innings. Stranding runners is irritating. So is a bullpen that is quickly building a reputation for blowing games.

We got there about an hour early and watched the grounds crew get the field ready. Have I ever told you I want to spend a summer traveling across the country, stopping at all the baseball stadiums to write about people? But not the players. Rather then grounds crew, official scorekeeper, the guy/girl who plays the organ, ticket takers, etc.

So while we were riding roller coasters Saturday , Cate went to the annual Fancy Farm Picnic. For those of you unfamiliar with the western Kentucky tradition, it’s a picnic with lots of tasty BBQ + old-fashioned political stumping. It’s a very partisan crowd, like literally Democrats on one side and Republicans on the other during the speaking. Before + after (+ even during) the speaking, there’s much heckling + campaigning. Some people wear clever shirts like this …

Cate apparently enjoyed her ice cream cone at Fancy Farm. Mom was going to feed it to her with a spoon. Then she remembered Cate prefers to feed herself!

All sorts of angles …

While we were rooting on the Cardinals on Sunday, Cate enjoyed some time at the park with Grandmom + Angela.

She likes the wood mulch as much as anything!

(Thanks to Angela for the pictures of Cate!)