Austin's visit

Austin got his one stateside visit early in his deployment, and flew up to St. Louis for the weekend. We had a whirlwind weekend here, but he was able to see several more of the sites in town, and we got to spend some great time together. His leave was scheduled to start on February 11th, but he didn't get to Atlanta until the 13th, and got to spend a few hours there before he boarded for his scheduled flight here. We were so happy he was able to make the flight, I had almost given up hope that he would arrive in Atlanta in time. He arrived Friday night, and we went for an always wonderful dinner at a local Greek restaurant, Olympia. He had never tried Greek food before, so he got a taste of several menu items. Saturday we started early with a huge breakfast, then driving around touring Forest Park. We tried to get into the Jewel Box greenhouse, but they had just closed. We dropped off Mark for some scheduled mice injections (the mice wait for no one!), and Austin and I headed off to the Anheuser Busch brewery. He had not been able to go there on his visit last summer since he was on crutches and it requires several blocks of walking. So we made it our first stop this time around! When we arrived, they had this baby Clydesdale patiently standing outside for pictures.

The tour includes lots of stops at the various processing points for beer. I am only including the picture of the bottling facility...it is a very interesting tour though! This was the first time I have done the tour and seen bottles being packaged...typically it is cans, which don't look as cool.

After the brewery tour, we went and picked up Mark then headed to the Soulard area of St. Louis, which is a very old historic area that holds a Mardi Gras celebration. They were having the "Taste of Soulard" on Saturday, which meant we bought tickets and got samples at a range of restaurants thoughout the neighborhood. We walked from place to place, enjoying the neighborhood and the Mardi Gras decorations and costumes. Lots of good food and new restaurants to visit! We went home to a dinner of seafood gumbo, which none of us really had room for, but....it was a good end to a busy day.

Sunday, we headed to the St. Louis cathedral, which is apparently one of the most elaborate cathedrals in the US. It has mosaics that were started in 1914, and finished in 1988. I had been before, but Austin enjoyed the beauty of the walls, ceilings and floors. Here is the exterior...

And a few pictures of the interior...



Next stop was the Jewel Box greenhouse, which is within Forest Park, the large city park close to our house. I have been by the Jewel Box many times, but they are only open for short hours, since they host weddings and other private events frequently. We finally found them open, and were able to view the inside. It is such a beautiful space!

After Jewel Box, we headed to the farm. We toured most of the trails, and showed Austin the house site, and all our favorite trees. As usual, I did more pictures of things than people, but we did get Mark to shoot some pictures in front of Elmer, our tree with a face. Note the mouth above our heads!

Monday, we got up and went out for a breakfast of bagels and lox and headed to the airport. It was hard to say good bye to him, but I'm sure the time will fly and he will soon be safely back home. He has received many boxes from friends and family, and I so deeply am grateful to those who are sending packages to him. Thank you, all!!