Vacation, Day # 3: My third day of my vacation was meant to be spent amidst the Amish in a town a few hours from St. Charles. As with all things, plans oftentimes change. This particular day was no different. A day prior, my traveling companion contacted me to let me know she would not be able to go after-all. Knowing that I was not just going to sit around wishing that I had something to do, I took action. I remembered that a friend of mine had said he was free for the day. After verifying with him that he was still available, I began to consider options of what he & I could do for the day. Seems quite common for my international friends to say "Heather, you are the one from St. Louis. You know what there is to do. You decide something." When I questioned my buddy Roshan (he enjoys going by "Rico") as to what he wanted to do, he did not let me down. He too, said the same thing that most others have said. I pondered what we could do that he had probably not already done. Having been here a few years, he's seen the Arch, been to the Zoo & for whatever reason, was uninterested in frolicking through the flowers with me at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. A'las, a light-bulb went on inside my ole' noggin & I decided we'd make our way to the Elephant Rocks State Park. From beginning to end, the day was picture perfect in every way. I first saw Roshan about a year ago at the Dashain Party (a Nepali Festival). Our stories differ on our first meeting but whatever the case, we met. For the last year, we'd seen each other a few times on different occasions but had never spent any time together. We talked about hanging out numerous times but our talk was just that-talk. Finally, we took some action. I assigned Rico the duty of picking a place to eat for lunch & I was delighted that not only did he do so, he did quite well with his choosing. The place he picked just so happens to be one of my favorites! Before eating, we bumped into a friend of mine from church. Along with him was his friend, Olya, visiting from the Ukraine. I had hoped to meet Olya but due to other commitments, I was unable to do so at the time that was set to celebrate her time here in St. Louis. No coincidence that she & Doug were found in the Delmar Loop hours before her departure back to her country! Though short, our brief introduction & visit was nice. Olya, happy to have met you! After enjoying some Mexican (thank you again Rico for my meal), Rico & I got back in my car & I began the drive down I-55. I had to laugh when we had not been gone for very long & Rico asked if we could stop to get a drink. Of course, I was more than willing to stop & I did. I just had to chuckle. Seems I cannot manage to arrive anywhere without first getting lost. Same was true yesterday despite having not only directions from off the internet but a GPS as well. I think I took us about 15 miles out of the way before finally determining that I thought I should turn around. Thankfully, Rico did not mind the detour. Eventually, we made it to our destination. We parked & hit the trails.
Though there were cars in the lot, we did not see any other people until we had completed the first trail. After a quick bathroom break (which, Rico was REAL pleased with the restroom facilities), we took off onto the other trail. Well, I'm not sure that there actually was a trail. We more or less just climbed all over the place & went our own way. We spent a while there & once we had seen everything, I attempted to take Rico to another state park. Unfortunately, when we arrived at 5:57, the gates were already closed as the park was closing at 6:00 p.m. On our return, Rico & I had great conversation & I'm happy to report, found our way back without any missteps. As we were heading back, we discussed plans for dinner. Rico mentioned German food. However, since it was getting late, we opted to play it safe & go somewhere that did not involve the risk of possibly not liking the food. Rico again did the choosing--Vietnamese food. I had never had Vietnamese--I quite liked it. The restaurant closed at 9:00 & Rico & I shut the place down as we were heading out the door minutes after closing time. I said farewell to Rico & then moved down the road to visit some friends of mine (one in particular...a different Roshan). I did not stay for long but even for the short time span, it was good to see the guys. I am glad that over the summer, I met such wonderful individuals. Enjoyed visiting with Roshan, Pankaj & Ujjwal. I had hoped to return back to St. Charles no later than 6:30 in order to attend a function at the college. However, when Rico & I didn't even make it to the park until nearly 3:00 p.m., I knew that there was no chance that I'd be back when I had desired. In the end, I'm more than content with the happenings of the day. I could not have asked for a more gorgeous day, breathtaking scenery or better company. I wish I would have been able to just stay down there at the park & camped out for the night...out in the country with nothing but open sky. I'm sure the stars would have been incredible. Though it is a bit of a drive, I am more than anxious to go back there within the next few days if anyone is up for it. Day 3, you took the cake!
