Jeff had told me about my birthday present several weeks ago, mainly because he knew I'd need some time to adjust to the idea. He surprised me with tickets to see my favorite band, Foo Fighters, in St. Louis. I missed their Memphis show (and I've never missed a Memphis show) because of graduation, so as soon as I casually mentioned they'd be within driving distance a few days after my birthday, Jeff jumped at the chance. He somehow found a good deal on a room at the Ritz Carlton, set up care for Cooper and Avery, found restaurants he thought I'd liked, and budgeted everything. I was shocked and yes, it did take me a while to adjust to the idea. This was the first time I left Cooper overnight where we weren't in town and even though I knew he was in very capable hands with Nana and Bob-O, I did need some time to be okay with it.
Saturday morning, we dropped Avery off at my parents' house and Cooper off at Jeff's parents' house, then were on our way. The drive seemed like it took forever- Memphis to St. Louis isn't the most scenic drive- but we made it there around mid-afternoon, just in time for a little shopping. We checked into the hotel and when we got to our room, we found this:
Somehow, we got a room with a fabulous view of St. Louis. Even though it was cloudy, we could see the Arch and a hot air balloon race from our balcony:
And Jeff pointed out the ballerinas in front of the hotel:
He wanted me to get out and pose like them and when I refused, I was told "You are no fun. You are acting like you're 30!" Well, then.
Jeff really did his research and found some great places for us to eat while in St. Louis. On a previous trip, we ate a deep dish pizza place on The Hill, but it has since closed. Jeff found Pi, a restaurant that won the Best of St. Louis award for deep dish pizza. It definitely did not disappoint- fresh ingredients, great atmosphere, and our waiter was wonderful. Unfortunately, our camera was on the fritz at dinner, but we did get this picture on the way out of town (yes, Pi is closed and it is raining):
On to the Foo Fighters! Can I just tell you how absolutely giddy I was? Seriously, I could barely contain myself and you'd have thought I had never seen them, or any other, concert. I pulled a total fan geek move and got a t-shirt (but didn't go so far as to wear it at the concert; that's just wrong). We walked around the arena during the opening act and made it to our seats in plenty of time to do some people watching. Oh my. St. Louis citizens are an interesting group of people, I can say that much. Anyway, The Foo Fighters did not disappoint and if I had known my camera wouldn't have been confiscated, I would have taken it and gotten much better pictures:
Opening with "Bridge Burning"
The band and Pat Smear on the big screens
Dave Grohl performing "Best of You"
They played for almost 3 hours, including a 7 song encore and a cover of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "Breakdown" that was unreal. And yes, I know I sound like a freak show groupie gushing on and on about the concert, but it was amazing and I loved every minute of it.
Sunday morning, we went to breakfast at Winslow's House, an organic restaurant and gift shop. I think Jeff and I both thought it would be like a farmer's market and restaurant, but it was more knick-knacks than anything. I had pancakes with apples that were very good and Jeff had French toast with berries that he said were good, but he'd definitely pick something else if we ever went back. After that, we were on the road back to Memphis, both ready to see Coopie and surprise him with his Cardinals hat.
A big thank you to Nana and Bob-O for keeping Cooper; Pops and YaYa for keeping Avery; all of them, plus Tada for keeping the surprise secret for several months; and especially to Jeff for making it such a perfect weekend.
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