Ok. First blog post disappeared into cyber space.

The vacation was great. When we got in on Thursday I was a zombie though. I can't believe I was able to function at all. I only dozed on the plane, so I went basically without sleep for 36 hours. Nice surprise when I went to pick up the rental. I had reserved a Ford Focus.....cause it was cheap. ($149/week) When I went to get the car.......they had a Crown Victoria for me. Damn thing was like a boat! Best part was that it was the same price as the Focus! Someone must have screwed up, but I didn't complain;)

We met Chris at the hotel before he left for work (one thing about getting in at the butt crack of dawn) We went in and freshened up, then went downstairs for breakfast. I drove around a bit to get my bearings, then we met Chris and Mike at King Louie's in Wood River for lunch. Not much atmosphere, but damn good burgers:) After lunch, Joseph and I went to visit Cahokia Mounds Historic Site. (www.cahokiamounds.com) Its a 2,200 acre site preserving the central section of the largest prehistoric Indian city north of Mexico. We got back to the room right before Chris did. We went out to eat then came back in to watch Survivor and the Apprentice. I was kind of pissed Lex got voted off, mostly because I cannot STAND Boston Rob. OMG he thinks his shit doesn't stink;/ His attitude makes me want to reach through the tv and smack the crap out of him.

Friday Joe and I went and visited the Lewis & Clark site in Hartford IL. There is an interpretive Museum and a replica of one of their camps. We got a couple of books about them while we were there. After we went there, we went to Alton......I got some pottery at a place called Mississippi Mud, and we went into some antique stores. OMG....the price of antiques there is amazing! Probably half the price of the stores here. While we were in Alton, we went and saw the statue of Robert Ludlow.......he lived there. He was the tallest man in the world. I remember reading about him in the Guinness Book. He was something like 9 feet tall. We got pictures of both of us standing next to him.

Saturday, Chris took the day off, and we drove up to Springfield. We went through President Lincoln's house, then drove to the cemetery and visited his tomb. It was incredible, and a little weird......walking into this huge tomb and seeing the headstone of Abraham Lincoln....realizing the history. On the way back to Collinsville, we stopped at a huge antique mall. I found 2 tablecloths.......one from the 50's....red with musical notes along the border, instead of flowers. I couldn't believe the price.....15 dollars! Vintage tablecloths run anywhere from $40 to over S100 here......even more for some of them (like the map ones that were bought as souvenirs in the 40s or 50s) Speaking of which.....I found a California one!! I was stoked! It was only $23. I felt like I was stealing it at that price.

Sunday, we got up early and went to Easter Mass. It was nice, although the priest looked like Jimmy Swaggart, and that made me nervous;) He was just a little too smooth for my taste. Chris went to work for a couple of hours after that, then, since they were doing NOTHING at the stupid refinery, he took off and we drove into St Louis. We went to visit the Arch, and were happy to discover the museum underneath it was open on Easter. The Arch is an incredible sight close up. We could see it from our hotel window, but it is just awesome when you walk under it and look up. I didn't want to ride up it though.....660 feet in the air is just too high for me. I think Joseph took half a roll of pictures there that day. We came back to IL. and had dinner at a place called The Ponderosa. Good buffet:)

Monday they were still not doing much at the refinery, so Chris took the day off and we went to the St Louis Science Center. Awesome. There is no other word to describe it! Joseph was in heaven! There is so much to see and do there. I highly recommend it to anyone.....more so if you're a science buff like Joseph is. After we finished at the Science Center, we went to Union Station in downtown St Louis. It is an old railroad station that has been converted to a hotel and shops.....very cool. I found a shop there made for me, LOL. Its called Beatles For Sale:) I bought a hat, some bumper stickers and a poster for Joseph's room. I also saw the stuffed Ringo doll I have......its selling for $125. We also went to the Galleria in St Louis (You didn't think I would NOT shop, did you) I was good there though, although they have a Mary Englebreit store, where I could have cheerfully spent a small fortune! Besides an Scottie dog charm and a felt purse with a Scottie on it, I didn't get much except for some postcards she made. I brought one home for Theresa. She loves Mary Englebreit as much as I do. The only other thing we got there was at the Disney store.....4 shirts for $18! What a sale. I know, I know, I have Disney stores here, not to mention our trip to Disneyland, but I couldn't pass up those prices;)

Tuesday was lazy. I had to pack ....and the new clothes I bought all fit into the existing suitcases! The only extra thing I had to carry on the plane was a big shopping bag with the other trinkets I bought, and the pottery. Chris got off work early so we could spend a couple of hours together before we left to catch our plane. The flight home was ok. We had another layover in Vegas.....I won $50 on the way home (and $30 on the way out there) Our flight from Vegas to Sacramento was 2 hours late though. Joseph and I were both so tired......he went to sleep on the floor of the airport, poor kid:/

All in all, it was a nice trip. I still don't know how long Chris is going to be there though:(