Day 3: The Odd Couple Go Shopping!

Making it to St. Louis in time to celebrate Ginny's brother Tom's 70th birthday is just part of the reason for visiting!

Tom Chapman and his "older" sister ;-))

Today we actually spent most of the day with Tom and his friend Ernie running errands with them and taking care of some personal tasks.  It has been our custom to take the guys to Sam's Club so that they can do their big shop for the month without them  having to pay for cabs (they don't get the Uber concept yet).  In some ways it's always a hoot because it is like shopping with the Odd Couple ;-)) They are constantly bickering back and forth about what to buy and for how much.  Tom was recently diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and is just getting used to watching what he eats.  Ernie ends up being the policeman and Tom is the reluctant motorist who is determined to change as little as possible because "that is just the way I am!" and "it's hard to make changes!"  No truer words have been spoken.

For the readers who know St. Louis, we had pizza for lunch at Adriana's on "The Hill", a traditionally Italian neighborhood close to where Ginny grew up in the City of St. Louis for some years.   After that we headed out to some watch repairs and other grocery buying and rolled back into Tom's place where we made a nice meal and wrapped up our visit with the guys.

We were pooped and headed back to the Airbnb where we had a lovely conversation with our hostess, Emily Melick.  Speaking of Airbnb, this has been an incredibly positive experience.  Unbeatable prices, extraordinary convenience and a wonderful hostess were the hallmarks of the stay.  The house was a quaint little bungalow built in the 1930's just blocks from the famous St. Louis Zoo and Forest Park.  

So we will be leaving in the morning and heading to Colombia, MO and dear friend Fran Madden's home with a stop along the way in Eureka, MO to visit classmate Linda (Graser) Harre.  Lots of road time but the visit with friends always makes it sweet.

Just some observations about St. Louis before I wrap this up.  From 1961-1964 I attended seminary high school in Chesterfield, MO.  Needless to say, we didn't get to see much of the city except Union Station where we boarded the Wabash Cannonball for the train ride back to the Vernor St. station in the Motor City.  So I really didn't know much about this wonderful town.  Since then I find myself falling in love with the Gateway to the West.  The city is built on these wonderful rolling hills giving the feeling, in the city, of being "perched" on the hills. This is also a sports crazy town that was recently badly screwed over by the arrogant owner of the Rams, Stan Kroenke, who just up and left town declaring that "...St. Louis was not much of a sports town." LA was more than happy to build him a new stadium and flip off St. Louis.  In many other ways, St. Louis' attitude reminds me of the Motor City....for what it's worth.

Busy day of driving and visiting tomorrow.  Reports coming then.