Ahhhhhhhh...Vacation!

Those happy few who frequent this blog may have noticed that I haven't posted in almost two weeks. Wendy and I had planned a weekend getaway to my parent's "playhouse" on Lake of the Ozarks with our friends Kevin and Becky. Then, a business trip out West got canceled at the last minute and my week was unexpectedly free. So, Wendy and I decided to take an unplanned vacation.

The weekend with Kevin and Becky was a blast. It's not often that we get to take three days to relax and enjoy conversation with good friends. We spent a lot of time in the sun (I have the burn to prove it) and on the lake. We enjoyed great grub, good drink and live music. Most of all we enjoyed the fellowship of friends. It was so much fun that we already have our calendars marked for next year!!

On Monday, Wendy and I got the playhouse cleaned up and headed to St. Louis for the rest of the week. We've never spent time in St. Louis - so we decided it was a good place to have an adventure together and explore. Wendy found us a Bed and Breakfast called Napoleon's Retreat, which was nothing short of spectacular. We stayed in a private carriage house loft complete with kitchen and balcony. We aren't breakfast eaters - but the food was so good we looked forward to it each morning. The place is nestled in the Lafayette Square district of St. Louis, smack-dab in the center of everything we wanted to do.

One of the great things about being a Dutchman in St. Louis is so much of it is FREE. We went to St. Louis zoo - FREE! We went to the St. Louis Art Museum - FREE! We took the Anheuser-Busch brewery tour - FREE! There was so much to do that we couldn't pack it all in - so we'll have to go back!

A couple of our favorite spots:

Square One Brewery - This brew pub was a short walk from where we were staying. The food was great and they make a Ginger and Lemon-grass brew that was really, really good. The outdoor patio was a wonderful place to enjoy the evening. We ended up going back for more.

Bailey's Chocolate Bar - I never would have imagined that a place could do so much with chocolate. Chocolate drinks, chocolate meals, chocolate desserts - and another wonderful patio to enjoy it in the early summer. It was so decadent - so rich that it made me wonderfully sick.

John McGurk's Irish Pub - Live Irish music every night and an atmosphere so genuine that once the door closes behind you - you think you're in Dublin. Recently voted one of the 100 best pubs in America by Esquire magazine. We spent an entire evening there enjoying the food, drink and music.

We got back late Friday and decided to spend the holiday weekend working on projects around the house before the routine starts again on Tuesday.