There must be a light under the bushel!

It's fun to go but good to be home!

I love travelling! My trip to Illinois was this past weekend, and I had a ball. I flew into St. Louis, Missouri Friday morning, and my friend Robin picked me up at the airport. We stayed the night there at the Rennaisance Hotel so that I could get in some city culture before heading out to the country, where she lives.

Our hotel was right in the heart of downtown, so we spent the day wandering around on foot, taking in the sights, and watching all the locals in their element.

I saw the Rams' stadium, Busch Stadium, home to the Cardinals, and the Anheiser Busch Brewery.

We walked by the Arch, which was extremely impressive and awesome to stand underneath. We didn't take the ride up in it though because we were pressed on time and the day was pretty windy (I hear it's kinda scary when the wind gets blowing strong).

We also went to the St. Louis Union Station, where we chowed on some Hooters' hot wings. I'm sure we looked silly (two women in Hooters surrounded by women in skimpy outfits and an almost all male clientele), but dammit, they have really good wings! As we were eating, we kept hearing all this singing and shouting going on, so Robin explained to me that the Fudgery was below us and we had to try and catch a show.

A show? I had no idea what kind of show a candy store would have, but the shouting and singing drew me in. As we walked up, a big black man was working on a huge slab of fudge on a marble table. The candy was a thick liquid consistency, and my stomach (that I thought was full from lunch) started to demand attention. The man told us that the loudest person got the most free fudge. Well, Robin and I aren't shy when it comes to food.

Several of the workers started humming a little tune that eventually turned into a modified rendition of "Stray Cats' Strut." However, the words were changed to pertain to fudge.

The whole experience was delighful, almost as much as the taste of the fudge when it was finished! After taking our samples, we immediately began perusing the choices we planned to purchase.

As soon as I said the first two words (I'm not exactly sure what the words were) to ask for the fudge, the man behind the counter interrupted me with a delighted smile. "Whoa, can you pleeease say that again?" I looked at him in confusion. "Where are you from?" he asked me; "It must be from the South!" I nodded, probably turning a bit red. I like to pretend that I don't have a southern accent. He asked, "Is it really true about that southern hopsitality, that it really exists?" I was still a bit dumbfounded that I was such an enigma, so Robin answered for me that yes, in fact, in the time she lived in Texas, she experienced a sense of welcoming and courtesy particular to the South. I eventually did speak again, and we purchased our fudge, which I nibbled (gobbled) on the way back to the hotel.

Later that evening, we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant. I don't remember the name, but Robin had been there before. The food was so-so. I've always had a hard time finding food in the midwest that particularly appeals to me because it seems to be pretty bland in comparison to what I'm used to. I like some spice in my food!

After dinner, we headed out for a night of fun at LaClede's Landing. There is basically a strip of bars all in one location, and Robin and I started off at one called Lucky. Well, it turned out to be a one-beer-and-then-you-move-on kind of place, so we strolled our way over to the piano bar, The Big Bang. It was fun and a bit different than piano bars I'd been to before because they had a female as one of the singers. She had a great voice, but I noticed her duo was much more tame and friendly than the raunchy (and funny) humor you typically see at that type of place. The second duo, however, lived up to the reputation of piano bars everywhere.

We decided to move on so that we could find a place to boogie. We ended up at a place called Buca, where we found our element. We danced and danced, and people were friendly (but not too much so), and we closed the place down. We walked (sorta stumbled) back to the hotel and called it a night at about 3:30. Who says we're too old to keep up?!

The next day, we headed out of St. Louis after a brief lunch at a Steak 'n Shake.

When we got into Charleston, we took a little nap to help recuperate from our wild night, and then sat outside and chatted amidst a great backdrop of colorful fall leaves (something we don't see much of in Texas). That night we had a wiener roast and played games with Robin's family. It was relaxing and entertaining and downright homey.

The next day Robin wanted to show me around the town, but I thought the best place to start was their local golf course! So, we got in nine holes, where I played my best to date, and then took a trip around to see the local sights.

The whole trip went by like a whirlwind, so when it was time to go home on Monday, I felt like there was still so much I wanted to do and I've missed hanging around with my buddy, Robin, but there was only so much time in a long weekend. I guess that means I'll just have to make time for another trip! But, for now, it is good to sleep in my own bed again and dream of my next vacation.