Surprise! An Unexpected Visit to St. Louis

Two weeks ago we decided that going to France doesn't work for us. Tyranny is spreading and there is too much uncertainty. Our goal is to navigate life to be stable and secure and avoid the tyranny as best we can with our bodies, our money, and our life energy.

What sounded good instead was taking a few months to hang out at our beautiful home resort at Wild Heron.

However one thing let to another and within a few days we decided to take a month long road trip to Missouri, Utah, and Arizona. 5,000 miles of driving. Many family and a few friend visits.

So we left the morning of Nov 6 to St Louis to visit Logan, Sydney, and Benson. We packed our car with a bed space complete with a yoga mat and pillows in case either of us felt the need to lie down.

And we are off! Goodbye for a month, Wild Heron. We can't wait to come back :)

We stayed overnight in Tupelo, Mississippi. Elvis was born here. Mitzi's friend Julie in Australia loves everything about Elvis. So we made a stop by the house where he was born and got this picture for her.

In the morning the sun was rising over the fields. Here is the view from our hotel window.

We wanted to surprise Sydney. Logan is out of town for an ortho school interview. So we worked really hard to make sure she didn't find out that we were on the road for two days heading to her house. Total surprise – success!

Grandma Mitzi in grandma heaven with Benson.

We went to our favorite restaurant in St. Louis: Sauce on the Side.

We got a room at the Towneplace Suites. Normally we stay in Hiltons. Mitzi has a hard-won and self-earned Diamond status.

Over the last 20 months of lockdowns and tyranny we've seen the cleanliness of Hilton hotels decline significantly. Our few stays in Marriott hotels however have been excellent. They are clean. They do housekeeping. It feels nice. The employees welcome us with smiles and kindness. This Towneplace Suites is not disappointing.

Sydney and Benson came over to our hotel room. It's so fun connecting with this little happy guy!

Mitzi's been working on another quilt. In the basement of Sydney's house is the long arm. Benson enjoyed being held while the machine did its magic.

For dinner we went to our favorite deli/bakery – Russell's.

Benson was asleep at first. Mitzi stayed in the car with him so Sydney took her drink out to her.

When our food came Benson woke up. So Mitzi brought him in and we enjoyed dinner together. He is starting to enjoy pretty much every kind of food given him. Except carrots. Here he is enjoying a grilled cheese sandwich.

On our way home and Mitzi sat in back with Benson keeping him happy and content.

In the evening while we visited Benson had an energetic session in his jumper. The Jolly Jumper :)

He tired out and after nursing fell asleep. Ahhhh the peace of a sleeping baby.

Day three in Saint Louieeee (it rhymes). We relaxed around the house and enjoyed visiting. Benson keeps us entertained for hours.

As evening got close we left the house for dinner.

Logan and Sydney found Peel Wood Fired Pizza a few weeks ago. They loved it. However they didn't know if they loved it because it was actually really good. Or because Benson was asleep the whole time.

Today he was awake. And they still loved it. Again. So now they know. It's actually really good :)

What a sweet little guy.

The food pictures on Peel's listing are the best I've seen. I needed to get some great pictures if I had a chance of mine getting listed near the top. The food was amazing. And my pictures were placed in the #3 and #5 positions.

These are the best wings I've ever had. Not a joke.

It was such a fun dinner.

We went back to our hotel and visited a bit more.

Tomorrow morning Mitzi and I head out for a three day drive to Utah.

We've loved our time here with Logan and Sydney and Benson. It's sad to say goodbye.