Recalling "Pure Michigan"

It was about this time last year that Luke and I packed our bags, loaded the Trailblazer with our things and the pups and headed north.

A few weeks earlier I had come across an article about the most overlooked parks in the United States.  I fell in love with the photos of "Pictured Rocks National Park" in  Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  Beautifully formed rocky shorelines, surreal turquoise blue waters, lush, towering green forests...it looked like a dream.  I just had to go there.  We did a little research, found a great deal on a cabin for a week and booked our vacation. 

Miner's Castle

We purposely found a rental that would allow pets so we could take "the pack" on vacation with us. All 3 dogs love hiking and exploring so we thought this would be a great opportunity for the whole family  We had never taken them on a long trip like this so we were excited/anxious to see how it would go.  It was a 12 hour drive from our house to Christmas, Michigan where the cabin was located.  The dogs did great in the car and slept most of the way. The drive through the flat farm lands of Illinois was a bit monotonous but driving through Wisconsin and Michigan was beautiful.   We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived at the cabin.  It was cozy and quaint, tucked into the woods on the edge of a small creek and large lake. 

 

 Our home for the week

 We spent our week in Michigan hiking, exploring, walking the beaches of Lake Superior, seeing the sights and enjoying the local fare.  We took a guided sea kayak tour along Pictured Rocks.  It was one of the most unnerving and yet enjoyable experiences of my life.  Sea kayaks are nothing like the kayaks and canoes we are familiar with here in Missouri.  They are much more narrow and more prone to tipping.  We were constantly reminded by Saul, our guide, that the water was around 40 degrees and we did NOT want to fall in because it would almost certainly lead to hypothermia.  Awesome.  According to Saul, we both did great and made it through the 15 mile trip without catastrophe.  

Bridal Veil Falls along the shoreline we kayaked

 The weather while we were there was absolutely amazing.  Temps would reach into the 70's during the day and fall into the low 50's and upper 40's during the night.  My ideal kind of temps.  We were able to explore comfortably during the day and snuggle up next to the fireplace at night.  At dusk each day we would watch as dense fog moved over the shore from the lake casting an eery feel to the small coastal towns.   

Fog rolling in

We drove all along the coast line from as far west as Marquette to Sault Ste. Marie in the furthest east point.   We dined on fresh caught fish at local restaurants, shopped at little "mom and pop" stores and had coffee in little cafes.  We stopped whenever we saw something that peaked our interest. We walked the moss and fern covered forest floors and the pebble covered shores. We held baby bears at a black bear rescue ranch.  We saw more waterfalls than I can recall. The dogs had the time of their lives gallivanting in the woods, running the beaches and swimming.  

Our favorite place was we visited was Marquette.  There we had dined at The Vierling Restaurant and Brewery that overlooked the harbor.  I had a meal of Whitefish chowder and Blueberry Wheat beer complete with floating blueberries that I will never forget.  Perhaps it was the fact that Marquette is a college town or maybe it was all its quirky little stores or the small brewery but it definitely reminded me of Columbia and made me feel nostalgic. 

Marquette, MI    (Photo Credit)

 During our visit we totally and completely fell in love with the "U.P." and the "yoopers" that call it home.  You will be hard pressed to find an area with people more welcoming than those in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  Every where we went we were warmly received and put at ease.  I was in awe of the yooper's strong Northern dialect and their down to Earth good heartedness.  It kind of felt like home. 

Our vacation to the Michigan U.P. was the only trip we've ever taken that we didn't want to come home.  I think it was a combination of the scenery of forests and shores, the amazing weather, the people and the food.   I could have stayed there forever...or atleast until the first 20 inches of snow in the fall :) If you get the chance, I highly recommend a trip to the U.P. I can't wait til our adventures take us back to the "Yoop."   Until then, it will hold a special place in my heart and I will consider myself a yooper at heart.  


Cabin Rental
 http://www.hiawathashideaway.com/index.php?page=Home

Kayak Rental
http://www.paddlingmichigan.com/

Renewed Love of Running

Mid January last year I suddenly had a "great" idea.  I was going to run the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon.  What a great goal to set for yourself, right?  The thing is I hadn't been exercising at all.  I threw down the challenge for myself to go from couch to half marathon in 11 weeks without much thought.  I was an avid distance runner in high school and competed in track.  I loved running back then and was pretty good at it so I thought getting back into it would be a piece of cake. Yeah, right.

I found a training program online and set out to start training (I totally ignored that the training program said you should be able to run at least 4 consecutive miles and be logging 8-12 miles a week before starting.) As if running my first half marathon wasn't enough I decided to set a time goal for myself.  I wanted to run the half marathon in 2 hours (yes, I may have been a little crazy)  Every other day I would lace up my shoes, strap on my watch and set out on my runs.  I would need to run around 9 min miles to finish in 2 hours so I was constantly obsessing over the little numbers on my watch as I ran.  Speeding up or slowing down as need be, pushing myself to the limit.  Since I had been getting practically ZERO exercise before this endeavour training was HARD.  My body hurt.  My shins ached. My knees throbbed.  I got more blisters on my feet than I care to remember.   But, I had set a goal and was determined to achieve it so I ran on.  

 Before I knew it training was done and it was race day.  I was fortunate to have my brother and Dad running the half marathon with me. They helped put my nerves at ease and gave me great pointers for my first half marathon.  I'm not going to lie, the race was kind of overwhelming.  The hoards of people, the pushiness of other runners, the heat that day. I had been training in cold Missouri Winter and early Spring temperatures.  However, on race day there was a heat wave and temps reached into the upper 80's during the race.   It was awful and people were dropping all over the place due to heat exhaustion.  I pushed forward and finished the race in 2 hrs 6 min.  Not the time I was hoping for but I was so happy that I had finished.

After completing the half marathon I pretty much stopped running cold turkey.  My body was beat up and I was just plain tired of running. Over the next several months I would maybe do a 2 mile run every once a month or so.  I engaged in other activities like hiking, biking, walking, etc but I could not bring myself to run consistently.   I think I had just pushed myself too hard and had been too focused on time when I trained for the half marathon. I had burned myself out on running. 

At the start of this new year I decided I needed to start running again.  I wanted to get back in the routine and get my body back into running shape.  I think enough time had passed that the memories of training had faded a bit.  So I started running again but I decided that this time around I would leave my watch at home.  I wanted to completely change the way I thought about running.  I want it to be a means for keeping myself fit and healthy.  I want it to be a release for stress or other negative feelings.  I want it to be a time to relax and enjoy myself. I started out running a couple of miles a couple times a week then slowly progressed.  I never left for a run with a predetermined number of miles in my head.  I listened to my body.  If I felt good I would run a little further or faster.  If I wasn't feeling so hot I would slow my pace or cut the run short.  If my knees or shins started to give me problems I would take a few days off.  I try to do a couple of short runs, around 30 minutes or so and one longer run, around an hour, each week. 

After a few months of running like this I can say that I am totally in love with running again.  It's not about how fast or how far I run.  I simply live in the moment.  I get lost in the rhythm of  the music playing through my ear buds.  I take in sights of the blossoming trees, the setting sun, the little birds, bunnies and squirrels scurrying about.  I breath deeply and take in the scents of freshly cut grass, flowering trees and rain. When I'm running now, the rest of the world just seems to fade away.  It's all about me and the road ahead.

So far I haven't lost motivation.  I've found that I still have the internal drive to push myself while running.  I'm getting in great shape; I feel stronger and healthier both physically and mentally.  I can run a little further and a little faster each week.  My last long run was just shy of 8 miles and I loved every minute of it.  I definitely see myself running in competitive races again in the future.  Completing a marathon is on my bucket list.  I think with my new outlook on running, training in the future will be much more enjoyable.   

So, my advice to any of you that are wanting to start or get back into running but are a little hesitant:  get out of your head and and into your running shoes.  Don't think about it so much, just be in the moment.  Make a playlist of your favorite songs and listen to them while running.  My current running playlist is chalk full of Bon Iver, The Head & The Heart, Mumford and Sons, The Avett Brothers, The Civil Wars and other relaxing music I can get totally lost in.  Start running slow and low, maybe just a mile at first.  Once you get comfortable and can run that easily go a little further.  Push yourself but also listen to your body.  You'll know when to slow it down or take some time off.  Before you know it you'll be loving your runs and how they make you feel just like I do.  

Grilled Pizza

 Anyone who knows me well has heard me RAVE about grilled pizza.  It is absolutely amazing.   I happened upon this method of cooking pizza a couple of years ago and we have been hooked on it ever since.  I mean how can anything but magic happen when a barbeque grill and Italian food collide?  Lots of people have been intrigued with this idea so today I thought I would share the process step by step. 

What you'll need:

 -A grill.  Duh.

-Clean grill grate. Don't want the dough to stick!  You can also spray it with a little cooking spray

- Dough- from scratch, packaged mix, canned- whatever your little heart desires

- Sauce 

- Toppings

- Olive oil

- Grill tongs and Spatula 

- Rimless baking sheet 

Mmm.  Can you smell that rosemary?

 First, you will want to prepare your dough and prep the toppings you will want to put on your pizza.  I like to make my dough from scratch because it makes me feel more Martha Stewart-ish and I also like to add a little rosemary and basil to my dough (you should totally try that if you've never had rosemary pizza crust). Mix and form your dough according to instructions.  Divide your dough into four even portions.  Why divide the dough?  Because working with four small circles of dough on the grill is sooo much easier than one large one.  It also allows for you to do different toppings combinations and if you are having guests over everyone can customize their own personal pizza.  Yay!  

 Next you will prepare a rimless (you will see later why it needs to be rimless) baking sheet  to form your pizza crusts on.  Lube that baby up with lots of olive oil so it's super slick. 

 Work the dough sections into circle-ish shapes on top of the oiled baking sheet.  They don't have to be perfect and trust me, even if they are they won't stay that way for long.  The crusts should be about 1/4 of an inch thick.  Use a pastry brush to apply more olive oil to the tops of the crusts.  Now its time to do a test.  Pick up the pan and tilt it to one side.  When you do this the crusts should begin to slide on the pan.  If they don't remove the crusts and add more olive oil to the sheet til they do.

You are now ready to head out to the grill. 

We have a charcoal grill.  I prefer the flavor of a charcoal grill over that of a gas grill but a gas grill can also be used.  You will want to pre-heat your gas grill to medium heat.  Charcoal grills are a bit trickier.  You will want enough coals to cover the entire bottom of the grill in a singe layer.  You'll want the coals to be moderately hot with no visible flame.   The coals are moderately hot when you can hold your hand about for inches above them for no more than 3 seconds.  If you are using a charcoal grill you will probably want to start the coals before you begin making your dough since it takes around 30 min or so for a charcoal grill to reach the desired temperature.

 Hold baking sheet above the grill and slide the crusts, one at a time, onto the grill.  If you are having trouble you can use grill tongs or spatula to help ease them off the sheet.  I know what you are thinking...that dough is going to fall right through the grate.  Don't worry.  If the grill is at the right temperature the dough begins to firm up instantly.  If any edge does start to slip through just use tongs or spatula to pull it back from its fiery death. 

After just a minute or so the crust will begin to bubble and puff up.  It's time to remove them from the grill.  Slide your spatula under the crust flip them so you place them grilled side up on your baking sheet.  They should easily come off the grate.  If not give them just a few more moments on the grill. 

 A couple of these got a little too done but you get the idea.  You want that side of the crust to be just firm enough to remove it from the grill.  Now you can take your crusts and add sauce and toppings to the already grilled side.  With grilled pizza the crust is really the star here so you don't want to over do it with sauce and toppings- less is more. 

Obviously I feel no need to impress with made from scratch sauce. 

 I prefer to use a mix of pesto and tomato sauce.  Something about the nutty, basily goodness of the pesto just pairs wonderfully with the smokey flavor of the pizza.  I also love tomato sauce and the two play so nicely together.

 Like I said before, go light on the toppings.  This is often hard for me because I just love, love, LOVE pizza toppings.  This night we opted for grilled chicken, bacon, red onion, mushroom, black olives, goat cheese and threw a little parmesan on a couple of them.  I've also had grilled pizza with just a few vegetables and it was  amazing.  That's what I love about pizza....so versatile! I do suggest that if you are using any raw veggies like tomato slices or onions that you give them a quick saute just to remove some firmness because they won't be on the grill for all that long.  Once your pizzas are topped to your liking take them back out to the grill to cook the bottom side of the crust. 

See whats happening here?  Pure. Magic. 

This time you will want to leave the pizza on for a little bit longer around 4 minutes or so. You want the bottom of the crust to turn a light shade of brown and be nice and firm.  I constantly check the bottom by lifting the pizza with a spatula to make sure it doesn't burn.  Once the crusts reach the desired color remove them from the grill. 

Don't they look dreamy?  Swoon.

  At this point if your cheese didn't melt enough you can pop it under the broiler in your oven.  Your pizza is finished!  Cut those suckers up and relish in the deliciousness of grilled pizza.

Bosco "Iron Gut" Bryson

We spent last Saturday helping family clean out and start renovating a farm house they purchased in Mid-Missouri.  The house has been empty for a while and the previous inhabitant was more than a little lacking when it came to general home upkeep and cleanliness. So, we spent the day cleaning up, patching walls and tearing out carpet.  We were crazy busy and didn't give much thought to the rodent poison that was in closets and the garage to help rid the home of those lovely woodland creatures that like to take refuge in empty houses.  Ellsie and Oscar had sniffed at some when we first arrived and quickly turned away from it.  The dogs were busy exploring, swimming and harassing our nieces so I didn't think they would bother with it.  Bosco, evidently, felt the need to prove me wrong. 

That afternoon as we began preparing to leave, Bosco, who had been driven inside by rain and was following me around whining, became suddenly quiet in a walk-in closet.  I walked in to find him quickly polishing off a tray of mouse poison.  Of course he would do that.  If any dog was going to chow down on a harmful substance like the fat kid in the river of chocolate in Willie Wonka, it would be Bosco.  He once ate a large helping of a grass, fertilizer and mulch composite from the yard just for kicks.   So, anyway, I immediately went into panic mode. .  Not having any children yet, my dogs are my little fur babies. One of them dying a horrible death from poisoning would be devastating.  I knew we had to get him to throw up ASAP so we needed peroxide. Being in an empty house there was no peroxide around.  Thankfully my parents live just a few minutes away so we loaded Bosco in the back of the blazer and I tore down the driveway. The faster we could get the poison out of his stomach the better so I was doing 50+ on the gravel roads and scared the daylights out of an old woman when I flew past her on the one lane road. Sorry for that.  

At my parents house I ran in like a maniac, told them what happened and grabbed peroxide.  My dad and I went to the garage armed with a peroxide filled squirt bottle while my mom called everyone she knows in the veterinary field.  Dad holds Bosco's head and pries his mouth open.  I get a couple of squirts of peroxide in and Bosco immediately projectiles half of it back out and into my dad's face. Whoops. Dad actually handled it very well: wiped his face and grabbed Bosco again. We hold him down and squirt a bit more peroxide in and we wait.  I get a phone call from Luke (who stayed behind at the house with Ellsie and Oscar)  who tells me that he found another empty poison tray in the garage that he knows had been full at the beginning of the day.  Great.  There are potentially two trays of poison in Bosco's stomach.  After 10 minutes Bosco still hasn't thrown up.  He's just walking around the garage wagging his tail, getting into the recycling bin and whining because he wants to go outside.  Time for round two of peroxide.  I squirt some more in and wait another 10 minutes.  Bosco starts looking a bit uncomfortable and begins pacing.  He does a couple of dry heaves but nothing comes out.  I'm telling ya, this dog looked like he was determined to keep his little snack and was swallowing his vomit back down. Ten minutes later he still hadn't puked so I squirt a bit more peroxide in his mouth.  That did it.  In just a few minutes Bosco begins hurling all over the garage- not a pretty sight.  Sure enough a large pile of poison comes out.  Definitely more then one trays worth.  After the puking subsides I start to relax a little bit.

I went inside and my mom tells me that she found out Bosco needs to get a vitamin K shot to reverse any effects the poison could have on him.  She also got ahold of the vet who just happens to live down the road and that she has a vitamin K shot ready and waiting for him at her house. Pretty lucky, huh?  So I load Bosco up and head down the gravel road again, this time obeying the speed limit.  Bosco gets his shot and the vet tells me he needs to go on vitamin K pills but she doesn't have any at her house so we need to get him to our vet and get him started on the pills the next day.  Well, being late afternoon on a Saturday, our vet is already closed and won't reopen til Monday morning so we decide to take Bosco to the emergency vet clinic our vet refers to.  We load all the dogs up and head for home.

Waiting at the Emergency Vet.  Looks so innocent, doesn't he? 

Attempting to escape the exam room and follow the vet.  "Darn leash, always holding me back!"

At the emergency clinic Bosco gets an exam and a prescription for some vitamin K chewables.  When we get home we decide to make Ellsie and Oscar throw up just to check to see if there is any sign of poison in their stomachs.  I head to our unfinished basement with them and peroxide.  Poor pups.  It was a terrible scene, the two of them walking around heaving. They wanted nothing to do with me for a bit after that.  Evil woman with her evil bottle of puke juice.  We didn't find any blue or green in their vomit but it had been several hours so it could have been digested.  On Sunday, because I tend to be a worrier, I keep thinking of "what if" scenarios for Ellsie and Oscar eating the poison. I feared that even a pellet could hurt 10 pound Oscar.  Monday I talk to our regular vet and fill her in on all that went down over the weekend.  She suggests that if we aren't 100% sure that Ellsie and Oscar didn't eat even a little bit of poison that we should start them on vitamin K just to be safe. So, we now have 3 dogs getting daily doses of vitamin K for 3 weeks.  It's like we're running a doggie nursing home.

The peroxide at our house.  When you have a Bosco you invest in the value size.

pills, pills, pills

My sister-in-love, Laurie, has told me I could probably write a blog exclusively about Bosco.  I would say she is probably right. All of the above didn't slow Bosco down for even a minute.  Poison?  Ha! He must have an iron gut. Bosco is a one of a kind dog.  He keeps things very interesting around our house.  If there's a dog that is going to get into trouble in any situation, its Bosco.  Perhaps he ate the poison because he just couldn't handle that the Tigers lost in a huge upset the day before and wanted to end it all.  Perhaps he thought our day at the farm was a bit dull and wanted to add some excitement chaos.  Perhaps he just really thought it tasted delightful.  I mean, millions of dead rodents couldn't be wrong!  Perhaps, that's just so very.......Bosco.

Big THANK YOU to all who helped us during our little crisis.

Thanks to you Bosco will live to die another day.....hopefully

in the distant future :) 

Florida and Spring Training

Luke and I were given the opportunity to join his parents in Florida  for 4 days to see opening day for the
St. Louis Cardinal's spring training league.  We were super thrilled.  So we packed our bags and boarded a plane for sunny Florida.  Now, for those of you who know me, I don't do well on planes.  I think of them as flying torture chambers.  I'm a bit of a control freak (I'm working on it) and would like to think if my life were in danger I could do something about it.  On a plane, you relinquish that.  If that sucker is going down, you can't do squat.  Even if you could fly a plane they aren't letting you in that cockpit and you can't take parachutes as a carry-on so, just sit back and say your good-byes.  Anyway that part doesn't tend to bother me as much as my body's total aversion to flying.  As soon as that plane leaves the runway it feels like my insides start spinning.  And I know what you're thinking: Dramamine.  Yep.  I take it.  And I wear the Sea-Band pressure bracelets and take ginger root supplements and chew ginger gum.  Doesn't always work.  On the flight down I used all the sick bags in my row, but I made it.  We stayed in the Sheraton PGA Resort in Port St. Lucie.  It was so beautiful.

(photo credit)

(photo credit) 

Who doesn't love a ginormous chess game?

 I think the pool was my favorite spot.  We had it all to ourselves 2 nights and floating on your back in the pool or sitting in the hot tub and looking up at the moon and stars was pure bliss.  On our first full day (Saturday) we were ready to take in all the area had to offer.  We took a tour of the Port St. Lucie River Estuary on a pontoon boat with a very opinionated guide.  We saw a few manatees (couldn't get a good picture though) lots of birds and lots of beauty. Much to my dismay, we didn't have any luck seeing dolphins. 

Jellyfish in Port St. Lucie River Estuary

Pretty boat being restored

A bit inhuman

Sure were a lot of naked men though (I kid)

 After the estuary tour began tour we began our 3 day goal of gorging ourselves with as much seafood as possible.  Let me tell you, we were successful.  We started at Conchy Joe's.  Had to take a picture of their sign, too good to pass up.  So just to give you an idea of the amount of seafood I took in over 72 hours here is a list:

• Alligator
• Conch
• Calamari 
• Mussels
• Salmon
• Alaskan Crab 
• Stone Crab
• Shrimp
• Mahi-Mahi
• Pompano
• Grouper 
• Cobia 

It was amazing.  I live for seafood.  At every meal we all ordered different entrees and then swapped bites.  I think that's how every meal should go when you are with a group.  So many flavors to enjoy!

Hot dogs on the water.  No need to leave the boat!

Exploring Jensen Beach

On day 2 (Sunday) we woke to overcast skies and high winds which then turned into a drop in temperature (upper 60's, oh my!) and sudden down pours.  We had been scheduled go on an air boat through the swamp but due to high winds the captain had to cancel.  Total bummer.  Can you believe we didn't see a single alligator on this trip? But we did eat some so that sorta counts, right? We ended up heading to Jupiter instead to scope out Cardinals Spring training and to tour the town. 

Juptier Lighthouse

75 y/o  Banyan tree outside of  Jupiter Lighthouse.

Holliday and Berkman at practice

After taking in what Jupiter had to offer we drove to Vero Beach to have dinner at Ocean Grill.  It was the best meal of the trip.  I learned I have a love for beet salad with ginger soy salad dressing.  Who knew?  The only bad thing about this part of Florida is you have to drive for what seems like forever to visit different places of interest.  We were beat after dinner so called it an early night and headed back to the hotel.

Logo on Cardinal's Clubhouse

Day 3 was reserved for the St. Louis Cardinals.  We loaded up and headed to Jupiter again to see the Cards take on the Marlins in the Spring Training Grapefruit League Opening.  We arrived a couple hours early so we had plenty of time to walk the grounds and gawk at all the baseball awesomeness.  Let me say this:  If you are truly a baseball fan you need to get yourself to your teams Spring training at least once in your life. It's a totally different side of the MLB.  Everyone (including players) is more laid back and accessible.  The stadiums are smaller and easier to enjoy the game in. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

 When we were able to go inside the stadium to find our seats for the game we were pleasantly surprised.  We were seated in row 3 but there was no row 1 so we were one row back from the field just to the right of home plate.  The Card's dugout was to our right and the on deck circle was right in front of us.  Luke was on such a high it was hard to get his attention.  This was baseball heaven!

Roger Dean Stadium home of Card's Spring Training

View from our seats

So a little back story here.  Luke has been a Mark McGwire fan since Big Mac became a Card in 1997.  When we started dating Luke's entire room was plastered with McGwire posters, pictures and other memorabilia.  McGwire was his idol all through highschool. Since 1997 he has been trying to get McGwire's autograph.  His mom told me about the hours he and his brothers spent around Busch Stadium before and after games waiting for a chance to see McGwire. We learned from the staff at the Cardinal's Spring Training clubhouse that McGwire is kind of reclusive.  He doesn't like attention and rarely gives out autographs. Okay, now that you are caught up back to Spring Training. 

So we are sitting in our seats watching the pregame ceremonies unfold on the field.  Suddenly, Luke is quiet and trained on the dugout.  Mark McGwire was standing on the end closest to us.  I tell Luke to go ask him for his autograph.  He replies with "I'm a guy.  He'll just ignore me or turn me down.  You do it."  Okay.  Here is my chance to get my husband his idol's autograph.  There are major "wife of the year" points on the line here.  So, I get a baseball and Sharpie from Luke (he had bought an entire bucket of balls from Walmart the day before) and head over to the dugout.  Immediately McGwire looks up at me, then back over to the field.  " Mr. McGwire?"  He looks back up at me.  "Could I please get your autograph?"  I hold out the ball and sharpie.  He replies with an uneasy "Sure" nods his head and motions with his hand to throw him the ball.  So, I toss the baseball then the Sharpie down to him.  It then quickly hits me that he will soon be throwing them back to me.  Awe, crap.  I'm at risk of dropping both and looking like a fool in front of Mark McGwire and all the fans that I'm sure are watching this interaction.  FOCUS!  He quickly finishes signing then tosses back the ball.  I catch it!  Yaay!  Then the Sharpie.  Woohoo!  I am totally looking coordinated in front of a baseball great and a crowd. Ball and Sharpie secured, I shout "Thank you so much!  You just made my husband's life!"  This gets a smile, laugh and a wave.  I headed back to my seat victorious.  Luke later paid me back a bit by getting me Mike Matheny's autograph.  Matheny is one of my favorite Cardinals players of all time.  I was so happy when they announced him as the next manager. 

Luke with his McGwire autographed ball

Matt Holliday

Carlos Beltran

The Brysons enjoying the game

The Cardinals ended up losing the game by one run but nothing could pull us down from our baseball high.  I am so ready to see what the Cardinals do this season!  12 in 12! 

Mike Matheny

Nerdy staged photo

And we thought gas was high in STL...

After the Cards game we were totally drained so we grabbed a bite to eat and headed back to our hotel.  The next day we were up early to head to the airport for our flight back to St. Louis.  The only remarkable thing about that day was that I DID NOT throw up on the flight home.  VICTORY!  We had an amazing whirlwind weekend in Florida.  I am so thankful to my in-laws for inviting us along.  It's so nice to get away if only for a few days.  I look forward to another trip to Florida and maybe making it back to Spring Training sometime in my life. 

Sunset over the water

A big THANK YOU to my parents for watching our dogs so we could take this trip!  They LOVE the farm.  

Oscar when we got home.  Tuckered out from the farm.