A Warm Heart

I am overjoyed and so heart warmed that so many of you want to participate in Blogging Babe Blowout Weekend 2008! The thought that many of us could meet and share a weekend of fun and friendship overwhelms me. Thank you for your responses! I have always been one of those wimpy folk who fear upsetting anyone and always wish to make everyone happy! Still, I know all too well that no matter which place we choose, someone we all adore may be unable to attend. That pains me, I do hope you all know that and will be gentle with me! I stayed up almost all of last night, tossing and turning over this. The dog and cats were most disagreeable about that. Bill did not seem to notice. He is far too deep a sleeper. That said, what do you all think about late Spring or early Summer? I was thinking the second week of June. After Memorial Day weekend but it still will not be stifling hot. Of course, this is still up for a vote. I thought this would give us all time to arrange our travel plans, save our pennies and for me to lose 100 or so pounds. Okay, so that last item will never happen. You will have to take me as I am I guess! I COULD insist on meeting in NYC sometime in February-March. You see, Brian is doing a play then and well...gee...okay. So that may only thrill me but... And gee does Andi's April in Paris sound magnifique! But I guess that will have to be tabled for another weekend together! I love the idea of Napa Valley or Carmel because they are 2 of my favorite places on Earth. Oh sweet Strawberry Lane but I would LOVE San Diego or LA and the sweet, sandy beaches. We lived there for awhile and I long to return and see it again... Dear Chris...a Boston adventure would thrill me! Our trip to Boston was one of our best and I would so enjoy being there again... And many of you agreed that a Disney weekend would be such fun! Oh what wonderful ideas you all had! But, in truth, I think we will need to go with something very central to everyone. Something with a nice International airport, good public transportation, centrally located hotels/B & Bs, great restaurants and lots of wonderful things to do. Here is what I propose and you all may feel free to smack me around, slap me silly and scream at me until you are blue in the face. Or red in the face as red would be so pretty this time of year...the holidays and all... I narrowed it down to Chicago, Nashville and St. Louis. I love all three. I have spent a great deal of time in all three. All three fit the above specifications. Now, here is where I tossed and turned. And squirmed and whimpered and fussed and cussed and finally said, "A HA!". St. Louis has some of the most wonderful parks, a history museum, a stellar art museum, a glorious botanical garden, the ever popular Arch, casinos, a zoo, Grant's Farm, an old train station with shops & restaurants, lots of beer (Hey! It's the home of Budweiser you know!) beautiful old homes, Mary Englebreit (Well, we COULD invite her!), fantastic Italian restaurants on The Hill, an enclave where many Italian immigrants settled years ago, theater, a symphony, baseball and it is near St. Charles, a gem of a town, rich in history and chock full of shopping and antiques. There are also many antique shops in the area as well as some fantastic high end malls....have I piqued your interest yet? How about if I mentioned that most of the attractions, ala the zoo, botanical gardens, museums, etc. are free or almost free? How does that grab ya? OH! And our Pat lives near by! Hey Pat? You will HAVE to come. You are already THERE! It is as centrally located as we can get, affordable, drivable for many of us, or easily reached via air for the rest. So? What do you think? Have I lost some of you? Ready to soundly thrash me? Hey, I am a big believer in the democratic system. We can put it to a vote. I never really wanted to be an evil dictator. Okay, so I did but that was in 1986 and I got it out of my system. So, go ahead...and in the words of one of my younger years idols, "Hit me with your best shot...fire away!"