A Weekend in Saint Louis

Last weekend I took one of my new friends, Amanda, home to Saint Louis with me so that she could hang out with my family and get to see the city a little bit. She is from Omaha and she said that she had never been to Saint Louis except for the airport for a layover. If you have ever seen our airport, you know why I begged her not to judge us solely on its quality.

Amanda and I at the top

On Friday night, we had some dinner with my family and went back to my high school for an improv show. It was a bit strange being back because it had been so long. The school did feel familiar; however, it was almost like it was from a dream instead of real life. While we were there I got a chance to see some old friends which was nice.

The donuts are being made!

The second day, we set out to do stereotypical Saint Louis things. We started at the Arch and then headed to the City Museum. The arch was a nice blast from the past because I went often in elementary school for field trips but I had not been since. We rode all the way up to the top and got to look over what seemed like the whole world. We even saw the beginning of a proposal. A man had some friends setting up letters that spelled out “Alyssa will you marry me?” on the grass below the arch. The letters were as big as the people setting them up. If you have never been to the top of the arch, I would recommend putting it on your bucket list because it really is a breathtaking sight.

After that, we grabbed some quick lunch at a cool “hipster-type” place called the Rooster. There, I had my first savory crepe. Then we rushed to meet my family at the City Museum. We spent over an hour just outside because the weather was so nice and there were so many places to run around out there. I don’t think I could completely describe how awesome it was once we got inside without writing a novel. We saw the largest pair of underwear, watched circus performers practice, learned how to make blown-glass beads, ate mini donuts that were made fresh right before our eyes, went down a ten-story slide, walked through a museum room with pieces of old Saint Louis artifacts, and climbed all over the place. It was an awesome day all together.

As I may have mentioned before I am the youngest of nine children, so I am used to the whole “college process”. I’ve seen plenty of people go to college, make friends, and move on before me, but when I thought of myself going to school I never thought that I would be bringing friends home this soon (if at all). At Rockhurst I have made so many friends so quickly and I could imagine going on a trip with any number of them. We even are beginning to plan a trip for over the summer where I would go to Omaha to visit all my friends there. I can’t wait for all these relationships to grow and become stronger. I love all my new friends and can’t imagine how I was getting along without them before I got here.