I spent several days last week visiting with a few of my friends'
parents, some of whom I haven't seen in over 20 years. On Thursday Russ was at a card game that one of his high school buddies had put together at his house, so Dana, Diane, and I were going out for a bite to eat, but Diane wanted to show off her new house first. Since she lives with her mom, I got to spend a few minutes visiting with her. I knew she had been having some major health problems over the last few years so was amazed at how great she looked! She is 91 but still very mentally sharp. By the way, we never did make it for that bite to eat, but that's a whole other story in itself!Saturday morning Rus
s went to play golf, and I visited my dad's grave at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery and then drove through Sylvan Springs Park, a place where my sister and I played as kids and of which we have very fond memories. I didn't realize it was so close to Jefferson Barracks and just stumbled across it on my way there. The particular area in which we often played was the remains of an old rock house and seemed much smaller now than it did then. What I don't believe either of us realized was that it was the site of a WWII Beverag
e Garden and Picnic Area used by the troops. At least neither of us ever remember seeing this sign posted there when we were kids! The stream it mentions is still there but hasn't been maintained much. Guess that lends to its natural appeal.Then I headed to one of my old neighborhoods to visit the parents of my friend, Linda, who I've known since the 4th grade. We lived next door, and Linda and I were very close spending a lot of time together (especially during the summers on the swim team at the park down the street) until my family moved my freshman year of high school. More on Linda later when I visit her in Florida later this year. Her dad had a stroke last year but is doing remarkably well. When I walked in the house, he knew me immediately and wanted to make sure he got his hug! I had a really nice, long visit with Alice and Bill, and an added treat was that one of Linda's younger sisters, Patsy, was there visiting, too! It was great catching up with all of them.
As I was heading back to the RV, I decided to drive down Meramec Street towards South Grand Avenue to see how things might have changed over the years. As I was sitting at the stoplight at the corner, I glanced to my left and saw Ted Drewes Frozen Custard! Oh, wow! Talk about taking you back! Ted Drewes has been at this location since 1931, and the custard is sooooo yummy! So I just HAD to stop and get a cone, chocolate dipped of course! Then I continued tooling around the area passing a grade school I attended for one year, passing my sister's old high school (which is now a Junior Naval Academy!), and just seeing all the changes that have taken place. My high school closed down many years ago, too, and evidently has just been sold to a group who is running a private elementary school of some sort. The funeral home that used to be down the street now houses a Head Start program, which seems really creepy. It looks exactly the same on
the outside except now there's a Head Start sign. I'm fairly certain they rehabbed the interior, but Patsy and I wondered what they're using the morgue for now!Sunday morning Russ played golf....again. But that afternoon I got to attend the surprise 85th birthday party for Gloria's mom! Gloria had invited me, and I had a blast seeing her mom and the rest of Gloria's family after all these years...and meet all their grown kids! Wow, talk about feeling old!! A couple of Gloria's kids have kids
! The tropical themed party was held at her brother, Dave's, house, and he and his wife, Susie, were great hosts. There was plenty of food and drink, a chocolate fountain, games out in the yard, the Cardinals game on TV....what more could you ask for! As you can see, Mrs. Kuehnle looks great, and I only hope I'm as happy, active, and together as she is when I'm her age! Gloria and Jim have raised four wonderful kids, and I've included a picture of all of them with their families as well.
Tuesday I met the girls at Hodak's Restaurant for a late lunch. Hodak's is famous for their fried chicken and generous helpings, and we did not go away hungry! Afterwards we went to Dana's house to swim, lounge around the pool, and enjoy each other's company chatting away. Seems we never run out of things to talk about! Dana was ready to grill us some burgers but we were still way too full from lunch!
The next day I went to Denise's house for lunch and shopping. Denise has been my sister's best friend since they were in grade school so I've known her for years, and she and I have become friends as well. Denise drove me to the quaint town of Kimmswick, the second oldes
t city in the state of Missouri founded in 1859. Many of the buildings date back to that time including the Post Office, which is still in use today. We ate lunch at The Blue Owl Restaurant and Bakery, which has the feel of a country tearoom with delicious food and the most scrumptious homemade desserts! The restaurant serves over 300 customers a day, and each dining room that has been added on to the original has been given its own name, i.e. "The Owl's Nest", "The Texas Tearoom", etc. For more information on this delightful place visit www.theblueowl.com/. Of course, no quaint town would be complete without all those fascinating little shops, so we just had to check them out.Denise and I had a great time on her day off visiting and reconnecting. I reminded her of something that had happened when we were all much younger. I'm 6 years older than Julie and Denise, and Julie was going over to Denise's house to play Barbies. Since we didn't live far from her, I walked Julie over since she had to cross a major street to get there. Julie had all her Barbie dolls and accessories in a couple small suitcases, and as we were wal
king there a police officer stopped us and asked where we were going. He thought we were running away!! Julie and I have laughed over that many times and turns out Denise says she never knew about it till just a few years ago! Just one of those stories you can tell your kids about, and speaking of kids, Denise has two great ones....Jonathan and Sarah.Wednesday night we invited our new friend, Scott, over for dinner. He is a new fulltimer like us who started his adventure in May. We see him on a regular basis but have had difficulty setting up an evening to get together. This was probably our first "official" dinner party, and Scott showed up promptly at 5 with a nice bottle of wine to go with our steaks, baked potatoes, and salad. Scott recently retired from teaching science in an El Paso, TX, high school. He's a very nice man and that evening ended around 9 after much conversation on a wide range of subjects. He will be here until after Labor Day weekend and then is heading to Elkhart, IN, for a rally. He, like us, is still trying to figure out the best way to continue his travels and where to spend the winter months. We have enjoyed his company on leisurely walks with the dogs and just leaning up against the wooden fence that surrounds our site. He will be joining us this weekend for the Missouri/Illinois football game, which will be his first experience at college football tailgating! Meeting people like Scott and listening to their stories are one of the things that we truly enjoy with our travels. We have met a lot of different people from a lot of different parts of the country and very different backgrounds. Scott is someone we will always remember and hope that our future travels allow our paths to once again cross.
That's all for now....more to come later!
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