A favorite part about being in the midwest is catching up with members of my family that we don’t get to see very often. With the A/C saga behind us, we aimed for Missouri where temps were forecasted to hover around 100. Does the outdoor thermometer on the RV get to 3-digit numbers?
Yup…
St Louis
Our first stop was St Louis to visit my aunt Suzy. Her approach to dealing with the heat was to find some interesting air-conditioned places to visit. Her top suggestion was the Missouri History Museum. Built as a monument to Thomas Jefferson – he administered the Louisiana Purchase which added Missouri to the US – the building is striking in its Beaux-Arts architecture. A grand statue of Jefferson greeted us at the door. The museum is situated on what was the entrance to the 1904 world’s fair and featured a scale replica and wing dedicated to the fair.
Charles Lindbergh lived in St Louis at the time of his first non-stop trans-Atlantic flight in 1927. To honor the local hero, a full scale model of the Spirit of St Louis hangs from the center atrium.
Although the former St Louis Sound exhibit is no longer at the museum, we took delight in a ‘hallway exhibit’ with photos, banners and descriptions of the historic music hailing from St Louis.
Suzy, retired from a career as a librarian, also suggested a tour of the newly rebuilt, air-conditioned, St Louis County Library. Not only is it shiny and new and modern and automated and super functional, it’s a model for how libraries are reinventing themselves in the digital age. There were fewer physical books, and there were features such as a genealogy room with technology, skilled staff and other resources to go deep into family research. There were specialty kids’ rooms with lots of fun and educational programming, community event spaces and meeting rooms, and resources for small business owners. Our favorite was the Teen Center, a high-tech space for teens (and adults, for limited periods) to create stuff using state-of-the-art computers and software, 3D printers and other tools to stimulate creative minds. Our favorite here was the well appointed recording studio! Oh, and while we were there Suzy returned a library book, which are still available to card holders. 😉
To get some exercise and spend some tolerable time outside, Suzy suggested an early morning walk through Faust Park. The park has a section where a number of original buildings representing different periods and styles from the late 1800’s have been moved (or de- and re-constructed) to create a small village with interpretive signs. The park also has a huge butterfly house, though our grand finale was to visit the 98-year old St Louis Carousel – inside an air conditioned space – a popular draw for families on this hot day.
In between the fun activities, we got to catch up with Suzy and with lots of family stuff. Turner, the extra-shy cat, finally made an appearance to say hello to the strangers invading his space. Thanks Suzy for a fabulous visit!
Columbia
Our second stop was to visit with my uncle Ray, my cousin Ray and Ray II’s wife, Cat, who live just outside of Columbia. Their place is a small family farm with goats, chickens and pigeons (popular for practice among duck hunters) and a delightful garden that runneth over in this hot and rainy Missouri summer. Their approach to the heatwave was to stay put in their air conditioned home until something needed doing outside. Cousin Ray is a champion storyteller – storytelling being a wonderful indoor activity – and there were so many stories to exchange!
Cousin Ray breeds and trains chocolate labs certified for hunting. The 2 current resident dogs are Pete and Bug who are whatever is the furthest opposite from shy. They are also pro-level photo bombers. They loved us from the moment we stepped into the house! Pete has his own wall of fame, with ribbons from different certificate programs and competitions. He’s sired 3 litters to date. Bug is not certified, though she is brilliant. She opens the screen door using the handle, which she learned by watching Ray do it one time! Pete has learned to simply wait for Bug.
Cat is a professional cook who finds cooking to be her happy place. After working the early shift in a restaurant (4-9 am!), she’ll come home and cook all day for family, friends, and by special request. We prepared a collaborative dinner together and I was in awe of her cooking knowledge and skills. She’s never cooked tofu before and with her help, the tofu I contributed was the best ever! We traded cabbage, carrots, and strawberries from their kitchen for Vermont maple syrup, marinade, salad dressing from ours. Cousin Ray took one bit of the tofu while I tried a taste of his home-made venison jerky.
Uncle Ray loves to get caught up on family news. And I always learn more about our family history from him. Although his (and my dad’s) generation is shrinking – only 4 of 16 siblings remain – there are 2 new generations of the family to get to know. Ray loved sharing photos of his great grand kids!
The farm animals needed attention and food, so we joined cousin Ray in making the rounds. Three baby goats were born that week! They were the cutest things ever! There are also 6 kittens running around the barn, along with a bunch of chickens and a duck.
Thanks, Ray, Ray and Cat! We’re so glad we stopped by.
Afterword
On our way west from Columbia, we pulled into camp for the night and I found I had been totally inspired by Cat. It was over 100 degrees outside (did you see the photo above…), which means no cooking. Since Cat had shared some carrots and cabbage, cole slaw seemed like an obvious cold meal. Hmmm… I’ve been searching for years for a cole slaw dressing that doesn’t use mayonnaise – I just don’t like it. So I did some research, found a few potential recipes, compared and tweaked them just a bit, and came up with something that worked for our tastes. Dinner was awesome! Thanks again, Cat!
For anyone who’s interested, more Missouri History Museum, Faust Park, St Louis and Columbia pix…
