Auf ein baldiges Wiedersehen

On 12.09. we landed in St. Louis.

We were already welcomed at the airport with balloons and hugs. A short car ride later, we arrived at Aunt Brunhilde's home. We unloaded the luggage quickly and continued.

With VIP seats, we were able to watch the parade of the local high school and observe the candidates for Homecoming King and Homecoming Queen.

Michelle then took us to a great Chinese restaurant and we devoured the buffet.

After that, it was time for Adam meets Adam.

We made a short visit to Michelle's son Adam and his family. There we met Adam, his wife Shannon, and their three cute children.

We ended the evening with a good bottle of wine.

On 13.09., we had a leisurely breakfast and played Yatzy afterwards. So a quiet start to the day.

Michelle came by around noon and picked us up. We went to St. Louis to see the Gateway Arch. A beautiful view at a height of 192m. The ride in the elevator up and down was a bit tight, but definitely an experience in itself.

After our excursion to great heights, we fortified ourselves with a juicy burger.

We were really excited about the next item on our itinerary.

A visit to a baseball game of the St. Louis Cardinals. Adam was delayed at the entrance. He had to walk through the metal detector over and over again. After what felt like an eternity, it was discovered that the buttons on Adam's pants kept triggering the alarm. Nevertheless, he was allowed to enter the stadium with his pants on. Our seats were amazing! We had a great view right behind the batter. The atmosphere was incredibly infectious and we were cheering along with the team. Despite the defeat, the day couldn't have been better!

On 14.09., we started the day quietly. Michelle came by around noon and picked us up. We went to Montelle Winery. A beautiful view from the estate, which is located on a hill.

We were able to taste 5 wines. Since we couldn't decide between 2 wines, we bought them both. We got to keep the tasting glasses. We found a quiet spot and enjoyed the time with good wine and chatting.

In the evening, Mark joined us at Aunt Brunhilde's.

We had Imo's Pizza for dinner. Super delicious pizza!

On 15.09., we had to get up early. Our alarm clock rang at 6:30 am. Michelle and Mark picked us up at 8 am for canoeing. We went to the Meramec Caverns. From there, we continued upstream with an old school bus. Then we got into the canoes and started paddling. Michelle and Mark in one canoe, the two of us in the other. Considering that we had only done something like this once before, it went really well!

We took a break on a sandbank to eat the lovingly prepared lunch packs from Aunt Brunhilde. We cooled off with a quick swim in the river and continued the journey.

Time flew by, with chatting, paddling, laughing, and singing, and after about 4 hours, we were back at the car. In the evening, we had a delicious Mexican dinner at Los Cabos and drank the best Margaritas ever!

On 16.09., Josh surprised us with a visit in the morning. We met him for lunch at the Landing, a popular pub. When we arrived, he was already waiting for us with a bucket of 6 different beers. So we had a beer tasting with our lunch. After that, we went to the Caboose, a decommissioned railroad car, and took some souvenir photos. Josh then showed us his house and we met his dog Oakley. Super cute and very well trained.

In the evening, the whole family gathered at Michelle and Mark's for a BBQ. Afterwards, everyone gathered in the basement and Josh sang and played the guitar. Mark accompanied him on the guitar and harmonica.

A beautiful evening that should never end.

On 17.09., unfortunately, was the day our journey continued. Michelle came to Aunt Brunhilde's for lunch and we spent the last hours together.

At the airport, saying goodbye was very difficult. We would have loved to stay longer.

Finally, at 10 pm, we landed in Miami. We took Lyft to the hotel. We checked into our room by midnight and finally went to sleep!