Saturday Tour Around St. Louis!!!

After our plan to surprise Aunt Nett was a success, Melissa and I planned on having a fun day site-seeing around St. Louis Saturday, however the rain we got tried to make us make other arrangements. The rain did finally subside and we were off to visit the Arch, the St. Louis Science Center, & Union Station. Before we started sightseeing we went to a local pub in Laclede's Landing for lunch and then we were off to be screened by security twice and then on our way up to the top of the Arch. Knowing that Melissa is claustrophobic I was surprised that she was able to make it up to the top of the Arch. Once at the top of the Arch I pointed out the several downtown landmarks to Melissa and we hung out for a little bit and then we left the Arch for the Science Center.

We rode the Metro to the Science Center and we had a little bet about where to get off to be the closest to the Science Center since my sister said we should drive to the Science Center. Turns out our idea was better since we didn't have to walk very far (2 - 3 blocks) to get there and the money we would have paid to park would have been more than our subway tickets. Melissa is always fun during a museum/Science Center visit since she is big into interesting things like science and history. We saw several exhibits and did the traditional Science Center thing by purchasing some freeze dried ice cream :-). After leaving the Science Center, we went to Union Station to see the Fudge Makers make fudge and to do a little shopping however we arrived shortly before 6 so shopping was pretty much out of the picture. All in all, it was a great trip to St. Louis, Melissa and I had a great time! I will post pictures from our trip soon.

Happy 80th Birthday Aunt Nett & SURPRISE!

This July 3^rd Melissa and I set out early in the morning to travel to Columbia, Illinois to see/suprise my Aunt Nett for her 80^th birthday. My mom was the only one who knew that we were coming to visit. It took us a little under 5 & a 1/2 hours but we made it. We went and checked into the hotel room rested for a bit and then got changed for the party. We showed up to the party, not even my sister knew we were coming and we walked in the door and my Aunt Nett was talking to someone so I had to wait a minute until Jennifer pointed her to me and said who is that. My Aunt Nett spotted me and started to cry and said, "Oh Gregory, I haven't seen you in ages!" We talked for a bit and I got to see my Uncle's, Bill & Larry, and several other aunts and uncles that I hadn't seen in a long time due to not having much vacation.
After the party, we went and saw Jennifer's new house and I took Melissa for a tour around Waterloo. I showed my old grade school, Ahne's Bakery, the post office, our old house, and several other local landmarks, there are not many in Waterloo :-). We then went back to the hotel and partook in a St. Louis tradition, Imo's Pizza! I would say that my listings of pizza would be:

1. La Nova Pizza & Wings - Buffalo, NY - Link.
2. Imo' s Pizza - St. Louis, Mo area - Link.
3. Bob & John's La Hacienda - Buffalo, NY - Link.

It was a close race between Imo's and Bob & John's but I think this recent taste test put Imo's on top. More to come tomorrow.