Fun Fall Vacay

Two weeks ago Cary and I decided it was time for a brief, close-to-home vacation. So, we packed up and headed to St. Louis. We had such a great time ! Here are some highlights:

Our first night in the city we decided to just lay low and relax. So, we ordered a pizza and chilled in the hotel room. It was really nice to not have to rush around like crazy people. Seems the last half of this year has been nothing but running, running and more running.

The next day we made our way to the zoo. It was cooler than we had expected, so not all of the animals were out. We stayed nice and toasty with hot chocolate and by visiting the zoo's many animal houses where we got to see penguins and puffins, monkeys of all kinds, hundreds of exotic birds and some beautiful butterflies! One of the sea lions was the most entertaining creature of the day. He happily posed for pictures in an ever-so-dramatic way while his friends frolicked in the water.

By far the strangest and funniest part of the day was the giant "Goo" and the sneaky lynx in the big cat area. The Goo had a treat for us when we walked up...he had a hairball. Cary was filming the cat at the time and we caught the strange event on camera - which THANKFULLY resulted in no hairball, just the nausea leading up to it I guess.

The lynx was another story. We went to see their 'cage' (which is very open...hmmm) and as I am reading about these beautiful cats I noticed one was truly eyeing McKinley like an appetizer. It completely creeped me out, so Cary took him away. As I finished reading about the animals, Cary advised me to remove myself immediately as well. Seems the lynx was also eyeing me as the potential main-course. Whaaaaaat?! FREAKY! He stared me down until he could no longer see us. That was enough big cat for me. I'll stick to my little goos.

We finished up the day at Union Station with dinner at Hard Rock Cafe (which was WAY too loud for all of us...) and headed back to the hotel for the evening.

Day Two - we had a LOT to do! We started out at the City Museum - which was a blast. Everything there had a previous life, if you will, and has been turned into something else entirely that provides fun for kids and adults alike. There were giant 3, 4 and 10 story slides (and little tiny ones too - perfect for McKinley) made from what we think were shocks from vehicles, and gorgeous displays of mosaic work everywhere you looked. I loved the printing press templates used as wall paper, and the architexture museum was a sight - complete with an antique elevator made by Otis!

The three of us made beautiful paper snowflakes with the snowflake lady and McKinley even decorated a Christmas ornament for his tree! We had a great time and it was an interesting place. I love how everything has been repurposed. Pretty cool!

Our next destination was breath taking. We visited the Basillica of St. Louis (as in the actual saint, not the city). This place is amazing. It took over 65 years to complete the mosaic work throughout the enormous building (and trust me, the mosaic work is tiny and EVERYWHERE). The pope has visited there and was just as astounded as all the common-folk who visit the church. While we were there the organist was practicing for the weekend's masses, which included performances by the Vienna Boys Choir. I cannot even describe how beautiful the sound of that organ was. The whole visit truly left us speechless.

We headed home the next day, but we had one more stay up our sleeves. Back in February, Cary won this guest package for one night's stay at McKinley House Bed & Breakfast. Yes, you read that right. CARY won a free stay at MCKINLEY house. Ironic, huh? Anway, it's about 30 minutes away in a little area outside of Brazil, Indiana. The house was GORGEOUS and our stay was so pleasant, complete with a garden tub and a lovely breakfast for all of us.

Finally, Friday we headed home ... to stay.

This little vacation was the perfect pre-holiday getaway, it really rejuvinated us and even put us in the holiday spirit!

Yay for vacay!

Lynn