VACATION TO ILLINOIS & MISSOURI
We left, Sunday, August 27 about 2pm in the afternoon to head for vacation - our first of the year! Our first stop was Springfield, Missouri where we visited my brother and sister-in-law (Tony & Vivian). We spent the night in their house that is over 100 years old! On Monday, we ate together at Hemingway's Blue Water Cafe (http://www.hemingwaysbluewatercafe.com/) at the Bass Pro Shops. They have a great breakfast buffet.
After Springfield, we headed to St. Louis (with a brief stop at a Russell Stovers outlet store on the way). We stayed at the Radisson Hotel downtown, and we had a view of the Gateway Arch from our room! The first thing we vistited was the Old Courthouse followed by the Gateway Arch (http://www.gatewayarch.com/). The ride to the top of the arch gives you an opportunity to Rock 'n' Roll! You can see for MILES from the Arch, though, and it is a neat view! At the arch we watched a National Geographic film on the BIG screen about the Lewis and Clark expedition. It was very interesting. After that, we ate at Skeeter's Eatery (http://www.skeeterseatery.com/) in historic Laclede's Landing (http://www.lacledeslanding.org/) - a neat place to window shop.
On Tuesday, due to cloudy and sprinkling skies, we visited the Missouri History Museum (http://www.mohistory.org/). They had great exhibits of Charles Lindbergh and the 1904 World's Fair held in St. Louis (did you know the Olympics were held there that year and tug-o-war was one of the games?). There was more to see, but maybe we'll see it next time. After eating at Jimmy's on the Park (http://jimmyscafe.com/) we made our way to the St. Louis Art Museum (http://www.stlouis.art.museum/). They had some pretty nice exhibits although some were not viewable as there was some construction going on. Then we made our way to The Loop (http://www.ucityloop.com/) where we did some window shopping and ate at Fitz's American Grill & Bottling Works where they make and bottle their own root beer! It was fantastic (http://www.fitzsrootbeer.com/). You can even order their root beer on-line! We even watched a movie at the historic Tivoli Theatre (http://www.landmarktheatres.com/market/St.Louis/TivoliTheatre.htm) also on the Loop. The movie we saw was Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? (http://www.mrsmithmovie.com/) It shows the sad state of our political system.
On Wednesday, we made our way to the Anheuser Busch brewery for a free tour of the St. Louis facilities (http://www.budweisertours.com/docs/stltour.htm). Feeling famished from our tour, we found Zia's on the Hill (http://www.zias.com/). They had the BEST Chicken Parmigiana I have EVER had. Be sure to eat there if you go! Full of good food, we made our way to the Missouri Botanical Garden (http://www.mobot.org/) - what a beautiful place! An additional attraction was a Chihuly Glass (http://www.chihuly.com/) exhibition in the midst of the beautiful plants. The St. Louis Zoo (http://www.stlzoo.org/) was the next stop, and we were lucky to get to see a 350 lbs. "baby" Asian elephant named Maliha! This is a GREAT zoo, but plan to do a lot of walking as it is a bit spread out. We ate at the Thai Gai Yang Cafe. Their food was okay, but REALLY spicy!
On Thursday, we made our way to Kahoka, Missouri to visit my Aunt Maxine, Uncle Eldon, Grandma Bourgeois, and cousins (Brent, Tracy, Ryan, & Latisha). I helped Eldon and Brent a little bit with some work on the farm. That evening we shared a good, old fashioned family meal together, thanks to Maxine's great cooking.
On Friday, we went with Maxine & Eldon to Hannibal, Missouri (http://www.hanmo.com/). To get there, we took the ferry across the mighty Mississippi River at Canton, Missouri (http://www.showmecanton.com/) to Illinois. Then we went through Quincy, Illinois to take care of some errands. After eating at Steak 'n' Shake, we got to Hannibal. In Hannibal, we visited the Mark Twain Cave (http://www.marktwaincave.com/) did some window shopping in downtown Hannibal, even walking by Mark Twain's boyhood home (http://www.marktwainmuseum.org/). After getting back to Kahoka, we ate pizza with our cousins and watched them get ready for their car shows over the Labor Day weekend.
Saturday, we made our way to Versailles, Illinois to visit Grandma Sims. To our surprise, we were greeted by my cousins Andy (and his wife Carissa and their daughter Jaslyn - their expecting a boy in February) and Jake (and his girlfriend Amber). Our visit was cut short, though as Andy had to go play a gig with his band (http://www.mattallendoubledeuce.com/) and Jake had to go work on his house. The rest of the day was spent visiting with Grandma and relaxing.
Sunday we went to church (http://www.chambersburgchristian.com/) with Grandma followed by lunch with my cousin Bob (and his girlfriend, Chris) and my other cousin Bob (and his son, Baylor). Bob and I got a chance to jam before he had to go run lights and sound for Andy's band. Later in the day, we went to Jake's house in Griggsville, Illinois to see all the renovations going on. They are doing great, although they still have a lot of work to go.
Monday, we hopped in the car and drove for over 12 hours to be back in Wichita Falls. Sadly, we had a "welcome home gift." Someone had shot a hole through our kitchen window and blinds. That was a bummer, but not enough to spoil the fun from our vacation!
If you want to see pics from our vacation, go to: http://tampicotimes.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album04.
After Springfield, we headed to St. Louis (with a brief stop at a Russell Stovers outlet store on the way). We stayed at the Radisson Hotel downtown, and we had a view of the Gateway Arch from our room! The first thing we vistited was the Old Courthouse followed by the Gateway Arch (http://www.gatewayarch.com/). The ride to the top of the arch gives you an opportunity to Rock 'n' Roll! You can see for MILES from the Arch, though, and it is a neat view! At the arch we watched a National Geographic film on the BIG screen about the Lewis and Clark expedition. It was very interesting. After that, we ate at Skeeter's Eatery (http://www.skeeterseatery.com/) in historic Laclede's Landing (http://www.lacledeslanding.org/) - a neat place to window shop.
On Tuesday, due to cloudy and sprinkling skies, we visited the Missouri History Museum (http://www.mohistory.org/). They had great exhibits of Charles Lindbergh and the 1904 World's Fair held in St. Louis (did you know the Olympics were held there that year and tug-o-war was one of the games?). There was more to see, but maybe we'll see it next time. After eating at Jimmy's on the Park (http://jimmyscafe.com/) we made our way to the St. Louis Art Museum (http://www.stlouis.art.museum/). They had some pretty nice exhibits although some were not viewable as there was some construction going on. Then we made our way to The Loop (http://www.ucityloop.com/) where we did some window shopping and ate at Fitz's American Grill & Bottling Works where they make and bottle their own root beer! It was fantastic (http://www.fitzsrootbeer.com/). You can even order their root beer on-line! We even watched a movie at the historic Tivoli Theatre (http://www.landmarktheatres.com/market/St.Louis/TivoliTheatre.htm) also on the Loop. The movie we saw was Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? (http://www.mrsmithmovie.com/) It shows the sad state of our political system.
On Wednesday, we made our way to the Anheuser Busch brewery for a free tour of the St. Louis facilities (http://www.budweisertours.com/docs/stltour.htm). Feeling famished from our tour, we found Zia's on the Hill (http://www.zias.com/). They had the BEST Chicken Parmigiana I have EVER had. Be sure to eat there if you go! Full of good food, we made our way to the Missouri Botanical Garden (http://www.mobot.org/) - what a beautiful place! An additional attraction was a Chihuly Glass (http://www.chihuly.com/) exhibition in the midst of the beautiful plants. The St. Louis Zoo (http://www.stlzoo.org/) was the next stop, and we were lucky to get to see a 350 lbs. "baby" Asian elephant named Maliha! This is a GREAT zoo, but plan to do a lot of walking as it is a bit spread out. We ate at the Thai Gai Yang Cafe. Their food was okay, but REALLY spicy!
On Thursday, we made our way to Kahoka, Missouri to visit my Aunt Maxine, Uncle Eldon, Grandma Bourgeois, and cousins (Brent, Tracy, Ryan, & Latisha). I helped Eldon and Brent a little bit with some work on the farm. That evening we shared a good, old fashioned family meal together, thanks to Maxine's great cooking.
On Friday, we went with Maxine & Eldon to Hannibal, Missouri (http://www.hanmo.com/). To get there, we took the ferry across the mighty Mississippi River at Canton, Missouri (http://www.showmecanton.com/) to Illinois. Then we went through Quincy, Illinois to take care of some errands. After eating at Steak 'n' Shake, we got to Hannibal. In Hannibal, we visited the Mark Twain Cave (http://www.marktwaincave.com/) did some window shopping in downtown Hannibal, even walking by Mark Twain's boyhood home (http://www.marktwainmuseum.org/). After getting back to Kahoka, we ate pizza with our cousins and watched them get ready for their car shows over the Labor Day weekend.Saturday, we made our way to Versailles, Illinois to visit Grandma Sims. To our surprise, we were greeted by my cousins Andy (and his wife Carissa and their daughter Jaslyn - their expecting a boy in February) and Jake (and his girlfriend Amber). Our visit was cut short, though as Andy had to go play a gig with his band (http://www.mattallendoubledeuce.com/) and Jake had to go work on his house. The rest of the day was spent visiting with Grandma and relaxing.
Sunday we went to church (http://www.chambersburgchristian.com/) with Grandma followed by lunch with my cousin Bob (and his girlfriend, Chris) and my other cousin Bob (and his son, Baylor). Bob and I got a chance to jam before he had to go run lights and sound for Andy's band. Later in the day, we went to Jake's house in Griggsville, Illinois to see all the renovations going on. They are doing great, although they still have a lot of work to go.
Monday, we hopped in the car and drove for over 12 hours to be back in Wichita Falls. Sadly, we had a "welcome home gift." Someone had shot a hole through our kitchen window and blinds. That was a bummer, but not enough to spoil the fun from our vacation!
If you want to see pics from our vacation, go to: http://tampicotimes.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album04.
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