A quick getaway to St Louis

The last weekend which marked an end to the kids' Spring Break found us visiting the aesthetically beautiful city of St Louis in Missouri. A 6 hour drive away from the NW suburbs of Chicago, glorious weather, already quite green and flowery compared to IL at this time of the year, and enough touristy things to quickly fill up 2 days, it did very well to charm. The fact that we went there with another family friends and the kids always had company made it just as much endearing for them as well.

 We took one stop on our way at a rest area and a simple slide became so much fun with 4 kids going down together.







Niño had checked immediately on the map to see where St Louis is and observed there was the Mississippi river which separated IL from MO and had been worried for a few moments as to how we would cross it! I had added to his worries by saying that we might have to swim for a bit to reach the other side (I am entitled to my moments of fun too ;) ) until the light bulb moment happened and he declared emphatically, "Oh I know! There must be a bridge across the the river to take us to St Louis!" There sure was one and he was extremely pleased to finally see the board welcoming us to Missouri right on the bridge after almost 5 hours of having waited for it :)

 We reached Friday late afternoon at about 4 and after freshening up left for the City Garden at 5'o clock. The weather with a slight nip in the air was perfect to enjoy a stroll and enjoy the vibrant and serene blending of lush plantings and internationally-renowned sculpture with delights of water, stone, architecture and design. The kids had a ball running around water, climbing atop the various giant sculptures and then sliding down, all while they gorged on snacks and candy.

Pinocchio finds company!

Chica was all the more chuffed because she and her best friend happened to be wearing the same t-shirt which read 'Chilling out with my BFF'. Totally apt :)






We had a long dinner that day at a local Mexican eatery in downtown St Louis whose name eludes me right now but it was a long wait. We first went there, thought that the 50 minute wait was too long, gave our name nevertheless in the waiting list and then drove around to find another place to eat, realized all of them were fairly crowded and drove back to where we had initially gone. The weather was awesome even for sitting out which is where we sat and first enjoyed tray after tray of fresh chips and salsa. Hungry from all the strolling and sight seeing, we gorged on them like crazy. Fajitas, burritos and quesadillas were relished with the same fetish among chit chat, sips of cool drinks and in general a relaxed and cheery atmosphere

The next day, the first place we visited was the one all tourists in St Louis head to - the famous Gateway Arch. We took a 630-foot ride to the top of this world-famous stainless steel monument for the finest view in the Gateway City. It is the nation's tallest man made structure and how they built it was displayed pretty fascinatingly inside a small museum inside at the base of the arch. The journey to the top itself was pretty intriguing in a capsule which kept tilting to remain horizontally aligned with the ground.

 Inside the capsule for the ride up.

 Fabulous birds eye views from 630 ft up!

A couple of hours we were left with after refreshing the kids with snacks, juice and more candy were spent at the St Louis Zoo. We couldn't go around a lot because it had been getting quite hot that day and the kids were also tired from the morning outing to the Arch. But other than spotting ant eaters and wondering if ants are really all they eat and how they fill their big tummies, cheetahs, elephants and some more animals, it turned out to be another 'climbing on everything climbable' outing!

 Deciding where to go.

 The baccha party.

Climbing galore!











We returned to the hotel early and made a meal of dal chawal (rice and lentils) in the small kitchenette and enjoyed a home made meal (are we getting old to be craving a home cooked meal after just a couple of meals outside) over 'The King's Speech' as the kids played some games and watched some cartoon!

The next morning, for the two or so hours we had before we needed to drive back home, we went to the Forest Park. Forest Park is one of the nation's largest city parks with 1,293 acres, open to the public for golf, tennis, baseball, bicycling, boating, fishing, handball, ice skating, in-line skating, jogging, cricket, rugby and more. The park is also home to the St. Louis Science Center, the art museum, the zoo, and a history museum, all with free admission. Forest Park is really at the heart of St. Louis. We enjoyed paddle boating which was a refreshingly breezy experience on a day which was turning out to be really hot and then splashing water in the beautiful garden overlooking the World Fair's Pavilion. 

 Because feet tire after several minutes of paddling the boat!

It was a fun fun trip, a great break from the daily routine and a much enjoyed one at that! I think I would love to go again because there's still a lot more to do as this link here suggests :)

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A weekend getaway to Kasauli

Am yet to upload pictures of the tranquil serene destination that we went to on a 3 day trip. We stayed at Gharkal from where Kasauli is another 3 kms. We also drove to Chail, another beautiful city in the same state that's Himachal Pradesh. There was nothing much to do and so all we did was relax, took walks in the small markets with the old city charm and the lovely trails which offered bountiful treats to the senses.

The view from the hotel room was very very soothing - vast expanses of mountains with trees all over, old rustic houses with their residents tending to their everyday chores beginning early morning. I set the alarm for 6' o clock in the morning because I absolutely love the early morning sights and sounds at such places but woke up even before the alarm rang. I went to the terrace first alone and then with Vansh who also woke up soon after and marveled at the scenery as he followed the rumbling buses going up and down the hilly roads and declared that we too ask his school bus to pick him up from this hotel where he was loving it (yeah thats his words not mine) and also told me not to worry as he would be late coming back from school because "Hotel door hai na!" (the hotel is far, no!)

I loved being able to wake up the next morning and read a book in bed, not having to worry about breakfast and packing lunches and sending Vansh off to school and then the kids snuggling close to me and laughing out loud on being tickled and poked and then waking up Ashwini by doing the same. The happy family picture portrayed in advertisement jingles was now my own and I thanked God through and through for that.

Vansh learnt the difference between the yellow number plate of a taxi and the white one of a private vehicle and spent the next two days pointing out one from the other.

He acted like such a darling big brother asking Jiya to take a nap as there was still some time to go before we reached, holding her hand to ensure her safety if the path became steep. In another instance, he called our room phone from his grandparents' room (it was a superhit pastime activity for him - calling up across rooms on the hotel intercom), realised that Jiya was asleep on the bed in our room and immediately cut the phone so as not to disturb her and came back to tell me the same.

The kids loved taking walks on the trails. While Jiya refuses to get down from my lap even if there are very few people around anyplace we go but she literally walked with a jig on the quiet and beautiful trails, the kids threw stones in the deep valleys beneath, picked up sticks and just beat around with them as I took pleasure in watching one of the sights I enjoy the most - kids revelling in the most simple pleasures Mother nature endows on us. They themselves quitened down to listen when the breeze blew causing the leaves to rustle, asking what it was or when they heard a koel cooing its sweet 'coo' and then imitated the same sound themselves.

I wanted to pen down these heart warming memories I returned with even though the pictures are missing. I'll most likely update the post with the pictures in a day or two.

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Back from a fulfilling vacation ...

... we returned last Sunday from a 6 week long vacation, a fun one in many ways. Not having to deal with nasty illnesses would rate #2 on my list, a close second after the gigantic joy of meeting my parents after 2 years. I was quite nervous after our last trip 2 years back when Vansh and Ashwini had the most terrible bout of stomach upset accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea. The kids stayed healthy apart from a couple of instances of moderate cough and cold. They had way too much fun with both set of grandparents, kisses and hugs pouring in from every whichever way, the weather being just perfect for outdoors for the most part, and with a thrilling life sans routines and bedtimes and only specific days reserved for candies and lollipops.

There is no way I can sit down to write about the trip in detail, one because I am anyways finding it hard to adjust back to the quiet life here with just the 4 of us, 3 of us for the better part of the day. The Sunday that we reached, we wondered whether it had always been so quiet here or was that a special day! And two because I wouldn't even know where to start. I believe my subsequent posts would have a distinct flavoring to it with references to the time that we spent there.

We are slowly settling back down. Vansh surprised us with his maturity when he said "Dada dadi nana nani trip finish ho gaya" (Our trip to our grandparents has finished) as soon as we reached our apartment complex and didn't demand to be taken back there until last Friday when I chatted with my parents and he turned into a blob of mush, tears rolling down his cheeks as he stood at the door waiting for us to get out and on the plane. But he understood. Saturday, when we chatted with my in-laws, he once again stunned us when he responded to his dadi's "I am missing you." by saying "Aap US aa jao." (You come to US) completely on his own with no prompting of any kind whatsoever. Jiya is unmistakably sad too. She follows me around the house (She started crawling at about 8-1/2 months), expressing her displeasure if I move around too much, making it difficult for her to catch up by crawling. She was happy beyond words this Saturday when we had a few friends over for some time and today when we went for a playdate, happy to be amidst so many people again. I still think of what I was doing 2 weeks back in India at this time. Even as I cooked chicken this Friday, I thought of cooking it exactly 1 week back on my brother in law's special request. As Vansh runs away from me when I try to change him into his night clothes and I hide behind his room's door to pounce on him as he comes back, I think of my mom who had to literally force him to hug her back and then giggle away to glory. And I smile with misty eyes.

Well, enough for my first post after returning. Shall sign off with a picture of each of the kids which perfectly sums up the fun they had while there.

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