Home for the Holidays, St Louis style

Meredith and Colleen won't be with me this Christmas. Pam, Jack and I are going to Scottsdale to stay at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa. [See Blog below] Pam has her Spa appointment set for Friday afternoon. Meredith and Colleen went with their mother, Julie, back to visit relatives in St Louis.

The Girls planned to leave on Sunday morning. Yesterday. They were to fly from Orange County to Phoenix and then on to St Louis. They were flying Southwest and that usually means things will go well. The flight from John Wayne was late and they got to Phoenix late. I got several text messages from them about the stress of nearly missing the transfer flight. Mere worked her "magic" and befriended a Southwest employee who got them on the plane as they closed the door.

They arrived in St Louis late Sunday night. The Temperature was 9 degrees. Colleen agreed to take Pam's "serious" winter coat. Good idea for this trip. The Monday temp is supposed to be a high of 18 degrees. Tuesday and Wednesday will be slightly warmer with snow and freezing rain. That's a real St Louis Christmas memory. 28 degrees and raining ice. Ah.....good times.

But the real Star of the trip, at least in my view, is that Julie booked them a suite at the Ameristar Casino in St Charles. Now that says Happy Holidays. The Ameristar Casino is a floating barge on the Missouri River at the I-70 bridge to St Charles, Missouri. It's about 15 years old...but "recently remodeled". It is also about 12 miles away from the main reason they went to St Louis, Lloyd & Ann Terry.

Lloyd & Ann are my ex-in laws and two of the nicest people on earth. They are Meredith and Colleen's Grandparents. I can say that Lloyd & Ann are the BEST grandparents any kid could ever want. The girls spent many Saturday afternoons at "Grandmas" going to Walgreens and eating lunch on TV trays. They love their grandparents and I'm sure Lloyd and Ann feel the same way. I only wish they were staying with them and NOT at the Ameristar, 12 miles away.

I'm writing this to capture the essence of a St Louis Christmas Holiday for years to come. Meredith and Colleen can add comments to this Blog and keep us all up todate on the "good times". Give Lloyd and Ann a hug for me! Merry Christmas.