Meet Me in St. Louis

Personally I think the title of this post in a little misleading.  NO ONE met me or my sister anywhere!  While the events of this post were taking place, we went to a new kennel that has the word "palace" in its name.  I'm not sure if that's appropriate or not.  It's newer than our last kennel, but as it was our first visit, it's not like being at the Cheers bar "where everybody knows your name!"  Maybe in time.

The title of this post refers to Mommy and Daddy taking yet another vacation without us.  They flew to St. Louis where they met Mommy's brother and his family.  I don't understand; Uncle J and Aunt K brought their kids . . . why didn't we get to go???

The six of them spent a whirlwind two days in St. Louis where they took a riverboat cruise on the Mississippi and traveled up into the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, better known as the Gateway Arch.  That first day the heat index was a miserable 111 degrees!!!

Mommy learned a LOT about her brother on this trip . . . she knew she liked mapping out the best route (just like Poppa), but she's got NOTHING on Uncle J!!!  She conceded King of the Maps title to him and never had to lift a finger as far as maps were concerned the entire trip!

The riverboats were aptly named Becky Thatcher and Tom Sawyer. 

Still early in the trip and not showing rivers of sweat yet . . .

The heat is taking a toll . . . check out poor little Cousin A's plastered hair!  It was definitely a two shower day.  Maybe it's a good thing I wasn't on this trip after all.

All six family members crammed into the same pod to make the trip to the top of the Arch.  It was a TIGHT squeeze!

While in St. Louis, they also ate lots of barbecue and toured the Budweiser facility.  Mommy said as far as factory tours, it ranks right up there with the best!

Mommy's only disappointment was that the Clydesdales were kept in their stalls the entire time.  Maybe it was because it had rained the night before and was muddy outside or because it was early in the day.

Uncle J and Daddy did the math and determined a single canister contained enough beer to pour 38 million twelve ounce servings!  There were 32 canisters in this room alone and we can only guess how many more were on the property.

How can you not like a facility that has an amazing three tiered chandelier?

After touring Budweiser, the family drove to Branson, Missouri.  They spent their first day there relaxing in the pool trying to recover from the previous two days of the trip.  Cousins C and A loved showing off their moves!  I'm sure my dawggie paddle would have been impressive too!

Daddy and Uncle J spent one morning catching about five trout each while the rest of the family toured the fish hatchery.  Apparently trout aren't native to the waters of Missouri.

The girls and little Cousin A also did something Mommy had wanted to do for a while.  They Rode the Ducks!  This girl and her sister would have enjoyed the ride as well!  I like a quacker every now and then too!

The family went to two shows while they were in Branson.  One was the Dixie Stampede!  A show named after ME and I don't get to attend!  How rude!  Thankfully when purchasing tickets, Mommy chose correctly.  She chose for everyone to sit on The South side.  Little did she know, The North was going to be pitted against The South throughout the entire show.  This was a dinner show, that served a ton of delicious food.  Or so I've been told.  Notice anything missing from the picture below?

The silverware!  The entire meal had to be eaten with your hands!  I would have had an advantage had I been invited!  And I wouldn't have complained once about not having a fork or knife.  Daddy was sneaky; he whipped out his pocket knife and proceeded to carve away at his chicken!  Mommy felt a bit like a caveman . . . or cavewoman!

Other down time during the week was spent playing mini golf, trying to win the ultimate UNO battle, determining "who started it" between siblings, and hanging on for dear life while Uncle J and Daddy tried to beat the other to the final destinations since two cars had been rented.

Overall, it was a fun week for the entire family . . . as much fun as you can have minus the most important members, the four legged ones.

Maybe next time, we'll get to go too.  Something tells me not to hold my breath waiting.
Dixie