American Adventures: June 2018

Let’s all pretend it’s still December, and it makes perfect sense for me to still be writing about the lead up to Christmas.

I flew into New York from Missouri one day, did a little luggage reshuffle, then jumped in a car with Alicia, Carlos and Mum the next morning, and we were off to Connecticut.

Our Connecticut adventure began with a surprise breakfast and train trip to the North Pole courtesy of Alicia and Carlos. We didn’t even need to apply for visas. Apparently they’ll just let anyone swing by.

We were treated to a full buffet breakfast with all the trimmings.

The fam was totally sleighing the silly season.

We may have been the only family without children, which may have explained the elf’s fascination with us.

There was even a little Christmas singalong.

My deer family and I were having a blast.

Our Connecticut trip moved on from the North Pole to a Connecticut Holiday Inn where we found friendly staff, comfortable rooms,

and most importantly, complimentary cookies at reception.

That evening we ventured over to the Velasquez home. Carlos and Samuel are long time friends from who enjoy photo shoots, drinking beer, and photo shoots that include beer.

Now Carlos lives in New York with his wife (and my sister), Alicia. And Samuel lives in Connecticut with his wife Amy, and their two twins. Their two sets of twins, that is. Nicholas, Andrew, Zachary and Lucas round out the Velasquez clan.

We enjoyed a pizza and pyjama party.

The next night we joined them for some more fun, including the jelly bean game where you could either eat a delightful flavour or a disgusting flavour. Unfortunately my strict diet prohibits the consumption of vomit or grass flavoured food products, so rather than take the risk, I documented the game.

Zachary was not fond of that flavour. He did, however, enjoy the toothpaste jellybeans.

We explored the town thanks to our driver, Samuel.

That evening we joined the Velasquez family for a candlelit service at their church.

Later that night everyone gathered around for a Christmas story.

Then the boys left some exotic biscuits out for the old guy with a sweet tooth. No, not Carlos. The biscuits were for Santa.

Then it was time to head back to the Holiday Inn ahead of Christmas. Would I finally have a white Christmas?

I’m terrible at keeping my own surprises, so the answer is yes. Yes, I did have a white Christmas, and you can read all about it in my following blog post, which I’m hoping to write before next Christmas.

North Pole Express

http://essexsteamtrain.com/christmas-essex-station/

Holiday Inn - Vernon, Connecticut

https://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/gb/en/vernon/verct/hoteldetail

Despite my exhaustion, I successfully arrived in St Louis, Missouri to visit Kenzie. Once we arrived at her place I was given the most enthusiastic greeting by Lily - the furriest member of the family.

After a much needed nap Kenzie and I headed out to the Singing House. The flashing, festive lights of the home coordinate with a particular radio station. Kind of like the Osborne Family Lights at Disney World, except this one is free to see... and it still exists.

That evening it was Kenzie's turn to be exhausted. She fell asleep on the lounge, and probably would've slept through a heavy metal concert in her lounge room.

The next day began at the outlets.

Kenzie was delighted with her first brand name bag purchase. 60% off plus an additional 20% off, which I think equalled one million per cent off.

Then it was time to see the famous Arch.

From how many different angles can you capture the Arch?

We'd seen the outside. What about the inside? To reach the top you had to climb into a little pod. The seats are so close you need to Tetris yourselves in.

At the pinnacle of the Gateway Arch you’ll find spectacular views of the city. On one side you can look across to Illinois.

After riding the pod back down we watched a film about the construction of the Arch. Each side had to support itself, until they met in the middle.

Believe it, or not, there's more to St Louis than just a giant, metal arch. First we marvelled at the architecture of the Basilica of St Louis.

We also checked out the Old Courthouse.

Inside we discovered the history of St Louis.

We also found a fabulous pastel and patriotic interior design.

On the way to Busch stadium we heard a voice calling out, which I completely ignored until it declared, "Free fudge!"

That stopped Kenzie and I. We headed in for our free fudge samples. The caramel (I can't actually remember if it was caramel) mixed with the guilt of knowing I had zero intentions to buy any was undeniably delicious.

With that little, guilt filled kick of sugary energy, we surged on to the stadium.

I think the stadium buzzes a little more during the warmer months, but it was cool to see where all the magic happens.

We were even treated to complimentary hot chocolates with all the trimmings in the Cardinals store.

That evening we strolled through Budweiser Brewery, taking in all the Christmas spirit and some free beer samples.

I couldn’t B any more excited.

There was even one beer that I kind of liked. Maybe because it was free.

In our travels we spotted this strange creature.

It was a: (a) bear
(b) pig
(c) gargoyle

It was actually (d) None of the above. Ms Google informed us it was a fox in German attire chewing chicken with a beer in hand.

That evening we also visited the Clydesdales.

There was no time for horsing around.

The most iconic portion of the evening was my first ever S'Mores. We each bought a little kit for a couple of dollars.

Before I knew it I was devouring the marshmallowy, chocolatey, graham crackery goodness.

Apparently my sweet tooth was not satisfied, so we joined a huge line at Ted Drewes for turtle concretes. If I hadn't previously lived in America, I would think a turtle blended into concrete sounds vile, but a turtle concrete is just ice cream with caramel fudge and pecans.

That evening Lily decided to jump into bed for a bit of a relax, and chat before heading off to pitter patter around the lounge room.

My final day in St Louis, Kenzie and I saw Pitch Perfect at the movies. It was a slightly strange mix of Glee meets Charlie's Angels. The film proved educational when Kenzie learnt what the phrase "tarted up" means. Apparently it's not a globally used insult.

After the movie we went back to Kenzie's so I could collect my luggage, and thank her family for their generous hospitality. I farwelled the friendly Lily.