westward bound

After years of saying we were going to take our vacation over spring break, we're finally actually doing it! The western road trip of our dreams (and possibly nightmares) is happening. Brace yourselves!

First stop: St. Louis. We checked into our hotel a little on the late side, and then immediately walked back out to stretch our legs on the way to meet my dear friend Tricia and her daughter, Ella, for dinner. I haven't seen Trish in so long -- probably since Liam was a baby and he and I flew to St. Louis for her baby shower when she was pregnant with Ella, who is now almost 12. I was, as usual, worried that it would be awkward or we wouldn't know what to say to each other after so long, and also as usual, I couldn't have been more wrong about that. It was pretty much perfect. We ate fancy burgers (mine was topped with mac and cheese) and drank beer and chatted away. The kids all got along really well too, bonding over Pokemon Go and ranging out from there.

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel, stopping along the way to admire the Gateway Arch, which kind of shimmers at night. Oh, a word about the hotel: FANCY. I picked it because it was right next to the Arch, right off the expressway, had enough beds for all of us, and was affordable. I don't think I even looked at any pictures. So when we dragged our road-weary selves past the fountain and under the massive chandeliers and into a luxurious suite, it was a surprise to us all. Max actually hugged me and thanked me for booking such a wonderful place. I felt a little bad telling him it was total happenstance, but I wanted to be honest with him, mostly in case the next hotel turned out to be a total rat trap.

In the morning, after an appropriately fancy (and thankfully complimentary!) breakfast in the hotel restaurant, we set off to do a little exploring. We got as close to the Arch as possible, which was difficult because it's under construction, and then we checked out the Old Courthouse, aka the Dred Scott Courthouse, which gave us another nice opportunity to talk to the boys about the more troubling parts of American history, and how decisions made so long ago still have effects today.

Then we drove to our primary target for St. Louis, City Museum, which is less museum and more confusing and scary and exciting and massive playground. It's such a great concept, building a fantastical space using things reclaimed from all around the city. There are caves to squeeze through and slides that go from floor to floor and rebar structures to climb on and ropes to swing from and all manner of oddities. On the downside, though, it was CROWDED and LOUD. As you may know, those are two characteristics that will never make my favorite things list. We stayed for a few hours, but Max wasn't feeling great, so we decided to hit the road with everyone sweaty and exhausted. Onward to the next adventure!