St. Louis: Pluto is Still A Planet


Blue's City Deli for a Poboy.
Erin's turban is from pepper lou.

As promised, the riveting follow-up about our trip to St. Louis last week. I take it you couldn't sleep last night due to excitement? Me either, friend. Me either.

Before we left Anson had three expectations for this trip:
1. To see fireflies.
2. To see the arch.
3. Eat Grandpa's licorice.

On the first night in town, we bathed the kids, put them in nightwear and took them outside to wait for the fireflies to show. We sat there.
Sat there.
Sat there.
Until I heard Anson's sugary scream,
"I SAW ONE!"
Then the fireflies proceeded to give us quick shots of light, a parade of luminescence all over the wooded backyard. May I never forget that moment.
After that evening, every evening was ended with the "firefly show" as Anson and Grandpa coined it.

But more importantly what did we eat?

Imo's Pizza, a St. Louis cracker pizza known to draw haters or lovers on either side. I couldn't wait to have Chup try it for himself. He was a lover, as am I.


Blueberry Hill:


(That mythical centaur almost made me lose my appetite, to be honest.)

Another St. Louis original, Fitz's Rootbeer which we drank in six packs:


My favorite place to eat, Blue's City Deli for sandwiches French-cafe-esque neighborhood corner stop for hungry citizens and crooners alike.


Pappy's for BBQ:


And of course Ted Drewes, the creamy custard frozen in a cup, a concoction St. Louis can't live without:


One night Chup and I took the car and shuttled into the city for some Park Avenue Coffee Gooey Butter Cake and we would've taken a photo of that joy but it was consumed too quickly.

Just imagine a square of paradise.

To fulfill Anson's second request, Grandpa took us to the arch our second day in the city. Though I had visited that grand piece of metal, the gateway to the west if you will, I had never been up in the elevator. Grandpa bought Anson, Chup and me tickets and before I knew it I was ushered inside a tiny concrete claustrophobic capsule which ascended slantingly with the most painful sounds of pulleys and wheels (eeeee rrrrrr eeeee rrrrr) up 630 feet.


It's really hard to keep your balance at the pinnacle of an arch--which is what I realized when we finally reached the top. Topsy turvy. Plus this is your view:



Death would've found me more relaxed at that point.

But not Anson, he was as sure- footed and excited as ever. He asked me if this was a view Spidey could see when he jumped from building to building.

And I suppose it is.

We're all allowed to post pictures we're not proud of at 630 feet:



Once safely on the ground Chup couldn't get enough photos of the arch,
"There's just no bad angle" I heard him say twenty five billion times.
Why does he never say that about me?






This is a good angle of me, no?


As it turned out, number three on Anson's list was all-together too easy to check off. Umi had replenished Grandpa's licorice stash before our arrival. There was blue-raspberry and strawberry licorice liberally.

With all three of Anson's expectations checked and crossed off, there was only one thing left to do for his stimulation, THE SCIENCE CENTER!

(They held hands without any parental prodding, honest):






You're never too young for science, SQUISHY:


And that ends day two of our trip, on Thursday I'll end this travelogue with a great dramatic flair (including some obscure Mormon doctrine and a sing-song number with my son). Shoot. You're gonna get NO sleep this week are you?

Tomorrow Chup is posting a Father's Day gift guide. Wish him luck.

Until then, me and Umi flashing gangsta signs.
(Mine is M for Missouri, hers? I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS.) Again, turban pepper lou.

Ok, all right, another picture of me at Jon Hamm's high school before he was that tragic little boy Don Draper. (Oh Don Draper don't do it! You were doing so well this season practicing fidelity and such!)
 (A thousand sighs...)

I dedicate this photo to Callie Charles Appelstein. Hamm's most-trusted peer.

p.s. If you've gotten this far, go ahead and give yourself $10 off of anything in the dressy/causal section at beautifullymodest.com. Use cjanekendrick. Dress in the picture above from that very dress shop (Toe the Line). Bless you honey child. 

*all pics from Chup's Instagram account: Christ8pher

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