First of all, this weekend was some amazing weather.  Nice, crisp, cool fall days with just enough sunshine to make it beautiful.  We drove up Thursday, which took about 7 hours as opposed to the usual 5 or so  -  travelling 350 miles with a baby requires a few more stops than usual, but we made it just fine.  Friday, Jodi and Maya and I took the train downtown and walked around.  Had lunch at Elephant and Castle (British pub style place- not overly impressive, but that was more due to lack of attentive service and the impersonal almost anti-family atmosphere of the place), walked down Michigan Avenue and by where I used to work, which was odd to see again.  It took me a while to get my bearings walking around, but I remembered how to make it back to the train station.  We did stop by the Daley Center, which had some Halloween stuff up but not yet open, and a lovely orange colored fountain.  We did happen to go to the American Girl store.  Never before have I seen such an atrocity of unnecessary accessorization.  We left pretty quickly, not knowing what to make of a bitty baby starter kit (WITHOUT doll, I believe) for $110.  The doll clothes were twice as expensive as what I was wearing.  Hopefully we can bypass that whole American Girl thing and Maya will never notice.  Sort of like the big, pink, fully accessorized elephant with matching pink umbrella and hand-stitched leather luggage in the room nobody notices.

[I'm going to sound a bit jerky now...]      Walking around downtown was a bit maddening.  People we met truly did run the gamut.  Many were smiling, cordial, etc., but often, there were just some who seemed self-absorbed, seemingly feeling too important for wherever it was they were at the moment.  Drivers are incredibly aggressive in nature; I used to joke about it, but using a turn signal really is seen as a sign of weakness.  This nature also transfers over to walking:  at crosswalks (we had a stroller), we’d be the first people to the intersection, pull up and wait.  Without fail, people would walk around us and step directly in front of us to wait for the light to change so they could get ahead.  There’s a constant sense of urgency that induces feelings of stress I’d not felt since living there.  I’d pretty much developed a hardened sense of it at the time, but now I totally recall that feeling of continually needing to be someplace else instead of enjoying where I’m at.  Maybe God has worked on my heart to take that away, maybe it’s simply the change of pace St. Louis has comparatively speaking; either way, I like where I’m at.  I think at the end of the day, we pretty much decided that other than the sights, we weren’t missing much and would likely skip downtown next time. Maya’s cuteness on the train could change that, though.  For now, she was more impressed with the sidewalk and dogs than the big buildings and fancy stores.[/ end jerkiness]

Saturday, we went to the NU Homecoming game against Purdue.  What a game for Maya’s first trip.  Even with some bad plays (a couple turnovers in the first quarter could’ve proven more costly than they did) and a couple missed scoring opportunities, the Cats really looked good.  Hopefully they’ll move on and grow stronger.  Maya had an awesome purple sweater and matching hat that Grandma made for her.  Mommy even sewed on the Northwestern logo, so she had a hand in it as well.   The weather, as I stated, was simply gorgeous.  We walked around some during the second half, enjoying the Randy Walker Terrace (big outside portion overlooking the field from one end zone), which had stuff for kids to do, space to run around a bit, etc.  That’ll be a lifesaver in coming years with little ones.  Wildcat Alley before the game was fun, including the Goose Island beer garden.  Beer at 10:00am?  Hey, at least it’s good beer.  Had a Honkers Ale, which was good as usual, and a Harvest Ale, which had a dark malt profile similar to the Honkers, but lots more hop forward notes.  If they have that available in bottle, I’d like to pick some up.  After the game, we walked around the campus a bit, went by the lake and looked around some.  There was still some tailgating going on, which was 1)  surprising in that it was at NU  but 2)  not surprising, given the weather.  We all agreed the burgers smelled so good we would even have hung out with Purdue fans. 

Tired, we went back to my sister’s house and enjoyed a really good Italian dinner.  My sister and brother-in-law recently returned from a 2-week trip to Italy, so they’re in full-on Italian food mode- which was good for us.  Penne with roasted tomatoes, artichokes, and wine sauce, some good Pinot Grigio, fresh bread, and grilled eggplant.  Sunday, we packed up the car, went to church with my sister, and drove home.  Maya slept most of the way.  Couldn’t have asked for a better weekend.  God blessed our time with them, and it was good to see them.  [Click here for more pics]