Easy Come, Easy Go

We had relatives in town for the past couple of days. While the guys headed downtown to a Cardinals game Monday night, the ladies were able to dine al fresco at a local Mexican restaurant. Tuesday's weather was perfect, and I tried to take them to the Missouri Botanical Garden. Everyone had the same idea, and we couldn't even get into the parking lot. Thinking I would show them the Old Cathedral, and the new Arch grounds next to it, I drove downtown. But I was forgetting that there was an 12:25 ballgame. Cathedral parking was $15, and there were no spots in the lot at any rate. I was finally able to maneuver our way out of the downtown gridlock, and I took them to Forest Park instead.

Boathouse at Forest Park

Though it was a long shot, I thought we might try to eat lunch at the Boathouse. It has just reopened for the season, and is under new management. I dropped them off to see how long it would be to get a table outside, and then miraculously a parking spot opened up. Taking that as a good sign, I quickly pulled into the spot. After a 30 minute wait, we had a delightful lunch by the lake.

Following lunch we spent some time at the James S. McDonnell Planetarium, which is where Jim finally caught up with us as he had a meeting he could not reschedule. From there we grabbed some steaks at a local butcher, and the evening was spent sitting outside on the deck enjoying the nice weather. Our company headed out to their next destination early Wednesday.

Today I ran to the Missouri Botanical Garden for a couple of hours, arriving just as they opened. The temperature was still moderate this morning, but the next few days are supposed to hit around 90 degrees. I figured this would be the last opportunity to see the tulips, azaleas and other spring flowers before the heat takes care of them. So much for spring...

Missouri Botanical Garden