Beware the blahs
May. 27th, 2008 10:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grammarwomanThe problem with a 3-day weekend is the recovery afterwards. It's nice to not have a day of running after the Emperor, but my mental capacity is hovering on Empty. It may be Tuesday, but it reeks of Monday.
We had a lovely trip to St. Louis to hang out with friends and their new baby girl. The Emperor did a reasonable job behaving himself; I wish we could say the same thing about the weather. It was raining off and on throughout the weekend, which wouldn't have been such a problem except both dogs (ours and the resident) would not settle down with the overnight thunderstorms. Between newborn squalling and dog whining and running, we didn't get a lot of sleep, so mornings were very lethargic.
After our arrival Saturday afternoon, we did manage a trip to the St. Louis Zoo, which was gorgeous: long, meandering paths; beautiful landscaping; and the Emperor's delighted first introductions to elephants, giraffes, and penguins. Each different section of the penguin exhibit was greeted by the Emperor's exclamations of "Penguins, you're so amazing!". It was almost as cute the tenth time as the first.
Sunday afternoon had a short visit to the Science Center. The Emperor enjoyed the laser harp and the virtual fish tank, but the biggest thrill was the animatronic T-Rex: he ran away the first time, saying it was too loud and scary. Then he screwed up his courage and confronted it. It helped that we had indulged him by letting him pick out a Build-a-bear that was right there (I was hoping he'd choose a dinosaur option, but alas, the pull of the classic teddy bear is not to be denied); when confronted during the construction with a range of sound boxes from "I love you!" to insipid giggles, I asked if there were any roaring ones. The attendant gave me a strange look but dug one out. Of course, that was the Emperor's favorite. (That's my boy!) It was an odd combination of sweet teddy bear and homicidal growl, but somehow it works for him.
I appreciated the setup of both the Zoo and the Science Center; they're both free admission, but there's merch all over the place, food, gift shops, etc., as well as pay booths for special exhibits and rides. It worked for us, as we were only at each place for a few hours. We would have loved to visit the City Museum, but by the time we were ready to go, we balked at paying $12 apiece for a two-hour visit. Next time, we'll be better prepared.
And the gas prices - ugh. We did a half-fill here in town, seeing as it was $4.09, and planned on getting more where it was cheaper. We stopped for lunch and filled up for $3.99 about 15 miles from the border, and then kicked ourselves when we saw the signs for $3.75 once in Missouri. *nyargh*
As many opportunities for fun as there are in St. Louis, I just don't think I could live there. The humidity level when we left was appalling for spring; the thought that it would be worse than that all summer sealed the deal. Heat, I can handle in controlled doses, but humidity is my nemesis.
Hope you all had an enjoyable weekend! I'm gearing up for the long, hard wait until Shore Leave.
We had a lovely trip to St. Louis to hang out with friends and their new baby girl. The Emperor did a reasonable job behaving himself; I wish we could say the same thing about the weather. It was raining off and on throughout the weekend, which wouldn't have been such a problem except both dogs (ours and the resident) would not settle down with the overnight thunderstorms. Between newborn squalling and dog whining and running, we didn't get a lot of sleep, so mornings were very lethargic.
After our arrival Saturday afternoon, we did manage a trip to the St. Louis Zoo, which was gorgeous: long, meandering paths; beautiful landscaping; and the Emperor's delighted first introductions to elephants, giraffes, and penguins. Each different section of the penguin exhibit was greeted by the Emperor's exclamations of "Penguins, you're so amazing!". It was almost as cute the tenth time as the first.
Sunday afternoon had a short visit to the Science Center. The Emperor enjoyed the laser harp and the virtual fish tank, but the biggest thrill was the animatronic T-Rex: he ran away the first time, saying it was too loud and scary. Then he screwed up his courage and confronted it. It helped that we had indulged him by letting him pick out a Build-a-bear that was right there (I was hoping he'd choose a dinosaur option, but alas, the pull of the classic teddy bear is not to be denied); when confronted during the construction with a range of sound boxes from "I love you!" to insipid giggles, I asked if there were any roaring ones. The attendant gave me a strange look but dug one out. Of course, that was the Emperor's favorite. (That's my boy!) It was an odd combination of sweet teddy bear and homicidal growl, but somehow it works for him.
I appreciated the setup of both the Zoo and the Science Center; they're both free admission, but there's merch all over the place, food, gift shops, etc., as well as pay booths for special exhibits and rides. It worked for us, as we were only at each place for a few hours. We would have loved to visit the City Museum, but by the time we were ready to go, we balked at paying $12 apiece for a two-hour visit. Next time, we'll be better prepared.
And the gas prices - ugh. We did a half-fill here in town, seeing as it was $4.09, and planned on getting more where it was cheaper. We stopped for lunch and filled up for $3.99 about 15 miles from the border, and then kicked ourselves when we saw the signs for $3.75 once in Missouri. *nyargh*
As many opportunities for fun as there are in St. Louis, I just don't think I could live there. The humidity level when we left was appalling for spring; the thought that it would be worse than that all summer sealed the deal. Heat, I can handle in controlled doses, but humidity is my nemesis.
Hope you all had an enjoyable weekend! I'm gearing up for the long, hard wait until Shore Leave.
