Hangin' Out in Ol' St. Lou

Our trips to St. Louis are always filled with a flurry of activity, and this year has proven to be no different. We arrived at the KOA Eureka campground the afternoon of Aug. 19, settling into the same spot we’ve occupied the last two years. For those who may not know, Eureka is located just a short distance southwest of the St. Louis city limits and across the highway from Six Flags. It’s a beautiful campground with lots of trees, almost a park-like setting, and the owners are wonderful people. However, this year it seems that business has been way off as there are not nearly as many campers as in years past. In fact most days there are only a handful present. Our friend, Scott, was supposed to meet up with us here, but his surgery in June did not go as well as anticipated. The cancer had spread to his liver, and the prognosis is not good, so he has decided to stay in the Raleigh, NC, area for further chemo treatments and is planning to pay us a visit while we're in FL. For more in his own words, you can refer to his blog entry www.serenityadventure.com/page4/files/archive-jul-2009.html, and we hope you will continue to keep him in your prayers.

Later on the afternoon of our arrival, Steve, Patty, and John stopped by for Imo’s pizza and beer and to welcome us back into town. Imo’s (http://www.imospizza.com/) is a St. Louis tradition whose pizza is prepared with that wonderful Provel cheese, a strictly St. Louis white processed cheese made from a mixture of cheddar, Swiss, and provolone. On Fri. we visited our friend, Bob, at the San Bar Tavern in Russ' old neighborhood for a few brewskies, then headed to the weekly American Legion Fish Fry.

Sat. afternoon Steve, Patty, John, Jim, and Judy joined us for the 3rd annual “Drink As Much Beer As You Can As Fast As You Can Without Puking” party! As you may recall, the first year, the boys drank way too much beer our first night in town, and thus a new tradition was begun. Of course, after that first year, all swore they would drink in moderation each subsequent year, and they’ve been pretty true to their word. Jim and Judy had not been to the previous “parties” but were game to join in the fun. While the boys drank beer, Patty and I imbibed on Blue Bombs (taste like bomb pops!) and Judy drank her Crown & Pepsi. (By the way, we've decided Steve can no longer be in charge of taking photos of us girls because they end up blurred especially when he's had a few beers!) We grilled some Italian sausage served with all the usual accompaniments and a good time was had by all.

Over the next two weeks, in between a couple days of kicking back, relaxing, and doing normal household chores, our days were filled. Russ hit balls one day and played golf a couple other times. One day while the guys golfed, Patty and I saw the new Star Trek movie after enjoying lunch at St. Louis Bread Co., and on another day I met Gloria, Dana, Diane, Lynn, and Mary for lunch at Applebee’s. Since Ellen couldn’t join us, we stopped by Macy’s afterwards (she works there) to say hi and where we also ran into Lynn's sister, Linda. Of course this stop also entailed some mall shopping…the things we do for friends! Ellen told us she was off early the next night so Gloria, Dana, Diane, Pam, and I met her for some excellent Mexican food at Diablo McGee’s (www.diablomcgees.com/). These get-togethers are always fun and a great way to catch up.

Sun. Russ and I met John and his wife, Deborah, at Denny's for breakfast, and on another day we caught up with a couple more of his high school buddies (Kenny and another Bob) at the San Bar. While there, a Dept. of Health Inspector came in, and as we chatted with him we discovered that he is an aspiring actor on the side whose name is Charles (Chuck) Colson (pictured at right). He has not only appeared in many local theater productions but also several movies such as "The Lucky Ones" with Tim Robbins. Gee, the people we meet on the road! Several beers later, Bob treated us to dinner at Lombardo’s Restaurant, one of our favorite places.

The rest of the time was spent planning, coordinating, and preparing for the 3rd annual tailgate party to be held prior to the Missouri/Illinois football game on Sat., Sept. 5, in downtown St. Louis. John hosts this event with us and had said that approximately 45 people would be in attendance this year, the highest number yet. So Russ and I did a lot of calculating and price shopping to make sure we would have the right mix of food and plenty of it. The day before the big game I cooked up 7 lbs. of potatoes for my special homemade potato salad and made nearly 70 deviled eggs. We had purchased 5 cases of Heineken, 2 cases of soda, a case of water, 4 bottles of wine, 40 Italian sausages, 20 brats, all the condiments to go with them, 7 cans of baked beans, a couple bags of chips, and the fixin’s for 3 pots of gumbo and 48 dollar roll sandwiches. We felt we were ready to party!