The Gateway City

St. Louis Arch

Following our Kentucky and Indiana stops, we drove the remaining three hours to St. Louis. Even after all these years, it remains a thrill to catch sight of the Arch as you cross the Mississippi River into Missouri.

The main purpose of our trip was to attend the 30th Anniversary celebration of SWT Design, the company Jim founded with Ted Spaid and Susan Trautman in 1995. What an accomplishment!

But the trip also gave us an opportunity to catch up with friends and family while we were in the area. We were able to see my sister's family, which was great, and Jim got in a bit of motorcycle riding with his friend.

While he was off the first day, I met a girlfriend at the Sophia Sach's Butterfly House. It was a pretty hot day so neither one of us wanted to go on a long walk outside. While the butterfly house is on the warm side, at least you are in the shade. It was great to sit and chat while the butterflies flitted around us. We grabbed lunch after that. 

Butterfly House

The next day while Jim rode, I picked up another friend and she and I went to the Missouri Botanical Garden. I have been to many gardens in my travels around the world, but I have yet to find one that is as wonderful as the one in St. Louis. It is easy to navigate while offering a different visual and sensory experience around every corner. As this particular friend is also a photographer, we were in perfect sync stopping to photograph the flowers and insects around us. When we were finished, we went to the Trainwreck Saloon for lunch. This restaurant is owned by a gal that I worked with at the American Cancer Society from 1980-1982. In all the times I have eaten there, she has never been around. But that Wednesday was my lucky day as Chris was in! We had the best time catching up, and since my lunch friend graduated from the same high school as Chris, they had things to talk about as well.

Missouri Botanical Garden

On Thursday Jim and I spent the day together since the party was later that afternoon. We first went to the St. Louis Zoo. Again, I've gone to a lot of zoos in my lifetime, and none of them compare to this zoo. And it is FREE to get in! SWT Design has done a bit of work in the zoo, so in addition to enjoying the animals it was fun to check up on the progress/maturation of some of their work. The nice, hot day necessitated a stop at Ted Drewes for some frozen custard - always a highlight of a visit to St. Louis.

St. Louis Zoo

That afternoon was the SWT celebration garden party. While it was hot, it was wonderful to catch up with staff members and clients. I don't think Jim and Ted ever anticipated what their dream would one day become. It's a huge milestone to make 30 years in the design field, and to know that their projects have made and are making a lasting impression not only in St. Louis but throughout the country.

Friday was our last day and we began it by playing pickleball in a nearby park with Jim's riding buddy, who has been playing even longer than me. Then the three of us had a late breakfast, and the guys dropped me off at the hotel so they could go pick up the motorcycle trailer. For a few months Jim's motorcycle has been garaged in St. Louis. But it is time for the annual inspection and licensing, so we needed to get it back to Charlotte. It seemed easiest to trailer it back so Jim wouldn't have to make that long bike trip on his own.

Saturday morning we left St. Louis as the sun was rising and made the thirteen hour drive back home. The trailer added time to the trip as we had to stop more often for gas, and be a little more cautious when driving through the mountains. So we saw the sun rise and the sun set, but made it safely back here.

sunrise, sunset

 

Kentucky Whisky

A couple weeks ago we drove up to St. Louis to see friends and family. As it is a long drive, we stopped in Loretto, Kentucky so we could experience the Maker's Mark Distillery tour. There's a bit of a connection between Loretto and Webster Groves, the St. Louis suburb that we lived in before moving to North Carolina.

Loretto is known as the national home of the Sisters of Loretto, which were founded in 1812 to provide education and serve the community. The early nuns enlisted the aid of Father Charles Nerinckx, the Flemish missionary priest who served the area, to help them establish their community. We visited the Loretto campus, and saw the sign for a road named Nerinx. 

Sisters of Loretto

In Webster Groves, very near where we lived, is a girl's Catholic school called Nerinx Hall. It was founded in 1924 following the Loretto values, and the name is a tribute to Reverend Charles Nerinckx of Kentucky. Also nearby is Webster University, which was founded in 1915 by the Sisters of Loretto as Loretto College. It was one of the first women's colleges west of the Mississippi River.

In Loretto we stayed at the Hill House Bed & Breakfast, a home that was built in 1863. We had a lovely stay there, and the hosts recommended that we head to Yellowstone Bourbon for a free flight of whisky. As I am not a whisky fan (and felt bad about only getting a free flight with our coupon) I ordered a gin Old Fashioned. It was tasty!

Yellowstone Bourbon

Following a delicious breakfast at the B & B, we drove the few miles down the road to Maker's Mark. The campus, also known as Star Hill Farms, is approximately 1,100 acres. Our tour began at 11:00 and lasted an hour and a half. The tour guide provided a lot of interesting information about the history of Maker's Mark and the process they use to make, bottle, label, seal and ship their whisky. An added bonus for us was the Chihuly glass exhibit that is taking place this year. After the tour we made our way to Huntingburg, Indiana, where we spent the night at our daughter-in-law's parent's house. They are right on the way to St. Louis, so it was great to be able to catch up with them for a bit. 

Maker's Mark Distillery

Hand Book

Dupuytren's

On Wednesday I saw the hand surgeon regarding the lump on the palm of my right hand. More accurately, I should say that I went to the hand surgeon's office. As it turned out after waiting 40 minutes to be called back, I only saw her physician's assistant. I know that stuff happens and offices start to run behind, but I would have appreciated a heads up on the delay, as well as an apology for making me wait. It was also disappointing to not see the doctor as I had never met her before. Apparently my case was not serious enough to warrant her attention.

Anyway, the PA took one look at my hand and said that it is Dupuytren's disease. Basically it is a build up of collagen that forms tough
tissue under the skin. As it progresses it may form rope-like cords on the palm, which can cause one of more of the fingers to bend toward the palm. Over time, the finger(s) cannot be straightened.

This disease is more common in men than women (!), and people of Northern European descent are more likely to get it. It is hereditary as well, though I don't know of anyone in my extended family who has ever had it. It is also more common in smokers, and I have never smoked. I guess it is just my year for oddball medical conditions.

The PA said there is nothing that can be done for it right now. There are procedures that can be performed when it gets to the point where I can't straighten one or more of my fingers. But because the disease can reoccur, they prefer to wait as long as possible before doing injections or surgery. Since it doesn't hurt or cause problems with my pickleball game or other daily activities, I am fine with doing nothing at this point. He did send me off with a Patient Guide on Dupuytren's Contracture (though I am not at the contracture stage yet.) It kind of lends new meaning to the words "Hand Book", right?

hand book

Grandma Time

 Following our week in Massanutten, I spent a little over a week with the kids to help out with my granddaughter while my daughter-in-law went away for the long holiday weekend. They had her in daycare for the first few days so I took advantage of the beautiful weather and enjoyed a local park and long walks with Monty, their small dog.

Green Springs Gardens

I also visited our nation's capital. I rode the train in with my daughter-in-law, so I arrived pretty early in the morning. A good friend from college lives in Arlington, so she took the metro in and met me on the mall. We had an incredible day together, picking right up as if we had just seen each other last month instead of years ago. We saw many of the iconic structures of DC in addition to stopping at some of the Smithsonian exhibits. I logged over 22,000 steps, and had the time of my life. It never gets old to visit the seat of our democracy.

Washington, DC

On Friday we took A to the National Zoo. It was another beautiful day, and we were blessed to see the new pandas that have arrived from China. There's nothing like a trip to a zoo to bring out the kid in all of us.

National Zoo

The days passed quickly, and soon it was time for me to fly home. It was such a treat to get to spend so much time with my sweet little gal (and her parents, too, of course!) She is still very much a grandma's girl, so I'm going to eat that up while I can. I know it won't last forever.

Family Trip to Massanutten

our Massanutten lodging

Last month we rented a house in Virginia at the Massanutten Resort for a family vacation. We had not known of the resort before but were looking for some place that would be an easy drive for our son and his family to make, and not too long of a drive for us either. When I asked on our community page if anyone had visited the area, I was amazed at the number of comments I received. Apparently there are a large number of time share units in the development, and some people here still own theirs while others recalled fond memories of traveling to the resort as children. 

With the positive feedback in mind, I booked a four bedroom, single-family home for our small group. The house gave us the privacy we desired without sharing common walls as in the condos. It was perfect as it gave some separation for the adults, and had a nice playroom in the lower level. A bonus for Jim was that it also had a pool table down there.

We found plenty of things to do at the resort with the two recreation centers, multiple pools and playgrounds, pickleball courts, miniature golf, etc. The surrounding area had good restaurants when we didn't want to cook, as well as wineries to visit. Nearby Shenandoah National Park offered a beautiful drive and the opportunity to put a new stamp in our National Park's book. 

infection

The only negative thing that occurred on the trip was the fact that my recent ED&C became infected despite all my efforts to keep it protected with Aquaphor and bandages. I even used waterproof bandages while at the pool, and the doctor had okayed me going into pool water. I reached out to my dermatologist's office, and they sent a prescription to the local Walgreens. A week of using the ointment cleared it up with no additional issues.

While we enjoyed our visit to Massanutten, I think we all agreed that we would like to try someplace new next year. I'll keep looking in Virginia as that makes it easy for the kids while not being too bad of a drive for us.