arriving in St. Louis
After driving for two days, we made a brief stop in Kansas City to see Katie, Andrew’s cousin. Ingrid loves Katie and she spent the whole dinner sitting next to Katie and just looking up at her admiringly. It was really cute and I felt a little sad when it was time to leave, because I know Ingrid would love to see Katie on a regular basis.
Today we’re in Babler State Park, about 30 minutes from Andrew’s mom’s house. We haven’t explored the park much yet but we -love- the campsite. It’s incredibly spacious and beautiful. It’s quiet and relaxed, there aren’t many people here during the week. At night the cicadas take over and it’s super loud but not in an unpleasant way. This morning I found one in the Vanagon and I couldn’t believe how big it was. It looked like one of those bugs in a horror movie that ate something and became gigantic. I think this is the first time I’ve ever been able to see a bug’s eyes clearly without getting close to it. I think it was probably as big as a small bird.
Last night we came home to a massive lighting and thunder show. Well it was massive for me, anyway. Probably not a big deal to Andrew. The lightning lit up the sky completely, I’ve never seen lightning this intense. And the raindrops were huge! It was all part of the adventure and I was sorry that Ingrid missed it. She did wake once in the middle of the night and ask if it was time to pack to go to Grandma’s house yet, then fell immediately back to sleep.
Tonight we have reservations for Ingrid’s favorite steak restaurant, Ruth’s Chris. Andrew’s mom introduced us to this wonderful restaurant and it’s become a tradition for us to go there whenever we’re together. It’s definitely a “special occasion” kind of a place but well worth the money. Our special occasion is the belated celebration of Ingrid’s birthday. Tomorrow Grandma Pam is throwing Ingrid a surprise party at her house. Everything is ready to go and it should be a fun time.