One More Day

We aren’t in Chicago yet.

It isn’t because anything bad has happened. We decided that it would be a shame to get all the way to St. Louis only to have to leave the next morning without seeing anything.  So we decide to plan only on driving as far as Bloomington, IL.  I have an aunt in Bloomington who we'd love to see, and a stop won't delay our trip much.  We'll get to Chicago early Saturday morning.

Thus freed, we can enjoy at least something of the many splendors St. Louis has to offer, and that Gail is eager to show us.

We settle on the St. Louis Zoo.  Now we consider ourselves to be something of Zoo connoisseurs.  We’ve been to the Oakland Zoo, the San Francisco Zoo, the Sacramento Zoo, the Zoo of the Living Desert, the Houston Zoo, the Central Park Zoo, and, of course, the greatest of them all, the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park.  We had heard good things about St. Louis’ Zoo, but we really were amazed with what we saw.

Next to San Diego, these were some of the best and most interesting exhibits we had seen anywhere.  A hippo enclosure, a grizzly bear on display, takins - weird goat like ox things from central Asia to behold.  

We spent a full four and a half hours at the zoo and did not see it all.  Gail was wonderfully game, acting as tour guide and adult conversation keeper.  We are most grateful.

As I pack up John plays wooden trains with Gail, setting up the Canadian railway system (O Canada!) based on a National Geographic Atlas.  

John is reluctant to go (as am I – delicious food, wonderful tours, extra grandparents…) but go we must.  Cliff and Gail escort us to the freeway so we have no more GPS mishaps.

The drive to Bloomington is uneventful, and, at its end, are my Aunt Joan, my Uncle Jerry, my Cousin Chris and his girlfriend Alex.  Jerry has been out fishing and there are fresh fish for dinner.  John is amazed.

He doesn’t realize the half of it, because in the den where John will retire to watch sports there are a good dozen mounted deer heads, all hunted by Jerry and Chris.  Chris, currently studying to be health teacher notes that after watching Food Inc and learning how beef is processed, deer is the only meat he wants to eat.  I can see he has a point.

Joan and I catch up reading old letters and pamphlets found at my grand parents home.  My favorite warns of the evils of alcohol:  Did you know that there are 17 million cars on US city streets?  Can you imagine what would happen is prohibition were not in force now?  It would not be safe to drive on any street or even to walk as a pedestrian.

Only a few more hours left of our drive and we will be back with Jay.  I can hardly wait.