Driving West


Well, we decided to drive to the IDF Patient and Family Conference in St. Louis. It was a two day trip each way. We didn’t have time for a lot of sight seeing, but we did do a little along the way. One stop was to see the New River Gorge at the Grandview Visitor’s Center in West Virginia. We walked a few of the trails and of course walked to the overlook itself with its breathtaking view of the New River. While we’d been west before we’d not driven west. The route took us out 64 West all the way. We drove through West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and finally into Missouri. We spent a night in Georgetown, KY where we were able to visit with Amanda and her family.


We got to St. Louis on Wednesday just as the rain started to pour down. We drove around a bit just to see the Arch before heading to the hotel to unpack. On Thursday, we were able to meet up with friends, Irene and Michael, and see a few sights with the kids. Since it was raining that morning, we decided to try the City Museum first. What a neat place! Eclectic is the best word I can use to describe it. It’s like a giant maze with tunnels and a jungle gym all built in. The design and artwork that has gone into creating that place is beyond description. The boys had a great time. I
t even has it’s own aquarium. By the time we were ready to leave there the rain had finally abated, so we set off to visit the famous Arch. Alright, call me naive, but I never knew you could go up into The Arch. We were very lucky that the crowds were small. It took us no time to get through security, get our tickets, and head up to the top of the arch. The best description I heard of the little pods in which you ride to the top of The Arch is that it’s like climbing into your dryer.


The conference officially began Thursday evening, but the speakers and events really began on Friday. So much information to take in, I’m still sorting though everything. There were many great speakers and the only bad part was having to choose between them. It was also great to see people we haven’t seen in quite some time. It’s so hard to put so much into such a short amount of time. I would’ve loved to have spent more time with everyone and had time to really talk with them.


We were lucky enough to spend a few hours on Sunday with Terry and his family, along with Amanda and Forest, at Grant’s Farm, a park owned by Anheuser-Bush. Then we had to start the long ride home.


The ride home seemed longer than the ride to get there. I think that’s because we were all tired and thinking about everything we had to do once we got home. We drove together with Amanda and Forest back to Kentucky, then sadly parted ways as we continued our way home.