NOTE TO SELF: Always, always, always open up the email from ANY airlines that say "you're free to check in now" even if you don't plan on checking in on line as we had no plans to as we were flying American Airlines. We normally check in at the airport kiosks so we can attempt to upgrade if there is availability to be had. Unfortunately; this past trip we neglected to open the email and read about the FLIGHT change we had. Also the notification email of the change in flight came to us back in August. HELLO! It's October; who remembers and email from last week much as less from 2 months prior! We were at the San Antonio airport at 8:20 am in preparation for our 9:45 am departure only to find upon attempting that check in that our flight had changed to 8:45 and the agent would not allow us to proceed. So...unfortunately instead of an 11:30 am arrival we got in closer to 1:30 pm. After waiting for bags, rental car shuttles and the actual rental car itself; we didn't get to our hotel until nearly 3:00 pm. So our entire day of sightseeing was cut short on Saturday. We had plans to meet up and have dinner with a friend of mine who is stationed at Scott AFB in IL. She and I haven't seen one another in 12 years and had lost contact over the years. I was very close to her and her two little girls; who at the time were the most darling 4 and 3 year olds. They now are the most fabulous 16 and 17 year olds! Time does fly.
Instead we attempted to get in an Anheuser-Busch brewery tour only to find we missed the last one of the day. We were told to try Gus' pretzel's only to find they too were closed and were closed on Monday's as well. So disappointed.
We were close to the airport and we planned to meet my friend Mocha and her husband Trent on Saturday night for drinks and dinner downtown. We started out with drinks at the Skybox. I was just slightly disappointed that I had no celebrity sightings! The Skybox was inspired by both sports and St. Louis with a collaboration between Nelly, Marshall Faulk, Larry Hughes and Darius Miles.
After drinks Trent wanted us to try a tapas restaurant. As we parked and made our way through the area we stumbled upon a catwalk and models as we were right smack at the start of Fashion Week in St. Louis! We worked our way to the restaurant where we dined at Mosaic or known as Mosaic Modern Fusion. It was terrific. The weather was absolutely phenomenal; here's a shot of Mocha and I.
After dinner Mocha and Trent went home but Dave and I ventured further out as we attempted our hand at the table games at Lumiere Place casino. Needless to say; we were not lucky and finally called it a night and returned to our room.
On Sunday Dave got in a lengthy run as he is training for the San Antonio Rock "N" Roll Marathon and half marathon. This year he plans on running the half. Anyway; after the run and relaxing in the room we went to see the famous arch! Lots of folks refer to it as the St. Louis Arch but it's actually called the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Gateway Arch. It was built by architect Eero Saarinen. Another NOTE TO SELF: If you are over 6 feet tall or have claustrophobia issues; be warned. The "pod" that takes you to the top is teeny tiny and seats five so if there are some big folks who are in there with you; it's pretty tight quarters. Also; when you arrive to the top; it's a very small, contained observation area. Watch your head! It's crazy really.
Here's Dave and I at the top of the Arch in the observation area. See how tight it is and the small windows looking out?
After the arch tour we drove around with our GPS system (our own; as we take it with us when traveling) and tried to dine at each of the recommended restaurants only to find each and every one was closed! I searched by categories on the GPS and found a Friendly's. Those of you from the NE or from areas familiar with the chain know what it's like to want to dine at some place you haven't dined in years! So when I found it on the GPS I was very excited and told Dave to start heading in that direction. As we made our way through some seedy neighborhoods in South St. Louis we finally arrived at our destination to see that it brought us to Friendly's Sports Bar and Grill; NOT Friendly's restaurant! While it may appear inviting on the website; we took a pass but had a good laugh over it. Instead we made our way back to our hotel and dined there instead.
On Monday Dave's meeting began so my plans were to spend the day with Mocha and her daughters. I drove to O'Fallon, IL; a neighboring community just roughly 15 minutes or so from Scott AFB and had lunch with them. Mocha is from Samoa and her daughters definitely have her family height. Mocha's mom is tall but all legs and her dad even taller. Her daughters Maia and Tessa are no slouches in the height department. Tessa is built just like her grandmother and is even longer and taller than her older sister and yes; she is a volleyball player! Both girls are so delightful and intelligent and look exactly the same to me; only in teenage bodies now!
Here's the three of us at lunch!
I returned to the hotel later that day to meet up with Dave and his colleagues. We had a dinner reservation at Charlie Gitto's at Harrah's Casino. After dinner we did some more gambling then called it a night.
On Tuesday (our return to San Antonio day); we decided to get that Anheuser-Busch tour in! Best thing about the tour; other than the FREE beer at the end? The tour itself is FREE! It's a beautiful facility and the history is incredible. If ever in St. Louis it's a definite recommend. Dave's meeting wrapped up at 1:00 then we made our way to the tour. After the tour we headed back to the airport where we turned in our rental and checked in for our flight. We got home on Tuesday night and we fly out again on Saturday for Connecticut!
Check back for the post on that trip. Thanks for following along with us! Pin It Now!
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