Visit with Brie

I always anticipate visiting my daughter in Illinois. Months before my trip, she will post a preliminary itinerary to which I can add ideas or places I want to go to (or dine at) during my visit. This will progress into a folder of menus for both restaurants and homemade vegan meals with printed information of the sites we will visit and activities listed by day, hour and sometimes minutes. My stay has sometimes been as short as 3 days, but to any other individual, it would seem that we are fitting in a weeks' worth of activities. Through the years that she has lived in Illinois, the adventures have included a visit to an Apple Orchard, a haunted wagon ride, riding wild horses, Painting With a Twist, painting ceramics, and eating pancakes as big as your head.

But this recent visit is one of the most memorable. Actually, Brie will be moving from Illinois so this would be my last visit and she made sure that it was special. Knowing my sense of adventure, she said that it wouldn't be right to move away without showing me the City Museum in St. Louis Missouri. Only a one hour drive from her home in Springfield, I was still skeptical, I'm just not the museum type of girl. Having previously visited the museum, Brie decided that I would love this place and I was not disappointed. I guess it's not unusual to visit an interactive museum, but this is hands down the coolest place I've ever been. Brie talked it up before my visit by saying, "I can't believe noone has died there". Well, of course this is a place that you would want to take your mother.

City Museum is located in downtown St. Louis, easily accessible from the main highway. The former International Shoe building is transformed into a super-sized adult and childrens' playground. An eclectic mixture of old salvaged city parts are repurposed and architecturally arranged into climbing structures. You will find old chimneys,castles, miles of tunnels, cave replicas with tight enclosures, a ball pit, 2 abandoned planes, giant jungle gyms, an indoor circus, and a 10 story slide. And if you can't find the building, just look for the giant Praying Mantis on the roof.

We arrived ready to play and even the $15 parking fee didn't deter us. When we entered the museum, we wanted a map to plan our strategy, they have no maps, they suggested knee pads, we didn't have knee pads.

We played, climbed, and laughed for hours, enjoyed a circus show, and ate lunch in a railway car. After our short break, I guess our bodies had a chance to catch up and our knees and legs protested with bruises and swelling when we tried to continue our ascent on the structures. What fun!! I could go on and on about this place, but I want to cover the rest of my visit with Brie.

Back in Springfield, we met a friend for ceramic painting, my first time ever, and had a blast painting our pieces. I ordered a cake from Incredibly Delicious and had an early Birthday celebration for Brie. We feasted on Nancy's Pizza (Chicago deep dish style).

The next day was even more exciting for me. Brie is an amateur photographer and was treating me to a photo shoot. She took 1500 pics of me dancing and singing to Delta Dawn on a covered bridge. Even though I forgot to change my jewelry and accessories with my wardrobes, and wore my eyelashes upside down, she had the patience of a saint. The following day was the yoga photo shoot, I think her nerves were wearing thin by that time, she only managed 600 photos of me and I forgot all my yoga poses. Each time I tried to show her how we "dance our goddess" in yoga class, she would say, "Okay, we're done now," and walk away. I guess my version of the goddess looked more like a middle aged burlesque pole dancer.

That evening Brie stuffed me as usual with vegan delights including mock Taco Bell crunch wraps, veganized with a nacho sauce containing carrots, jalapenos, nutritional yeast and potatoes, guacamole, black beans, tomatoes and lettuce. Passion fruit margaritas and some sneak peeks at the photos had us howling with laughter. My visit came to an end early the next morning so I hit the road and Brie returned to work after the long weekend. Even though Brie is leaving Illinois, I can bet that we will someday return to the City Museum in St. Louis, and our memories will last a lifetime.

CITY MUSEUM, ST. LOUIS MO