St. Louis Day Trip

St. Louis...What a joy you are and yet like a splinter in the thumb... 

Back in mid-September Shayler and I took a day trip into St. Louis since we hadn't been their together yet. 

We both had been their a few times but on separate occasions. I did a few overnighters with Mari-lou (the lady we lived with when we first moved to Columbia) to do temple sessions, and then again to go shopping with a friend since there wasn't any "real" shopping in Columbia. Shayler had gone a few times to drive the missionaries around for their transfers.

The day we went together, we did a temple session, went to the Gateway Arch, and then to a mall to eat dinner. It was a fun day to get out of Columbia.

St. Louis temple

Shayler and Me

Temple again

Gateway Arch

At the Gateway Arch

View of the city from the top of the arch

Looking straight down from the top

Nauvoo again...

The weekend before Shayler left to go to Colorado I asked him what he wanted to do since we wouldn't get another chance to do anything in the midwest for a long time...

So he chose Nauvoo and off we went. :)

The first day we went to Carthage Jail and to the Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds. 

 

Carthage Jail

    

Inside Carthage

 

Joseph and Hyrum Smith

Outside of Carthage Jail

This is one of my favorite places ever. In the past 5 times I have gone to visit Nauvoo since 2004 I have never been able to find it. The last Nauvoo trip Shayler and I drove around for at least an hour and weren't successful. Well on this trip after we went to Carthage Jail, Shayler decided to take some back country corn field roads to get us back to Nauvoo and we accidently found it. I was VERY happy. :)

This is one of the most peaceful and quit places ever.

It's defiantly worth the little drive outside Nauvoo to visit.

The next day we decided to go to all the places Shayler hadn't seen yet from the past two times we had been their.

The Seventies Hall

One thing about me is that I hate public speaking. Nothing terrifies me more than to get up in front of a bunch of people and talk. This is how I think it should be when I do. ;)

Calvin Pendleton Home and School

Shayler on the other hand loves to public speak and is dang good at it. When he was in Vegas getting his Master's degree, he taught the class for 3 years at UNLV.  Anytime we have given talks he has always gotten MANY compliments. If he were a pioneer back then this is what he would have done.

Nauvoo Temple

Blacksmith and Farrier shop

Shayler would have wanted to do this too...play with fire.

Scovil Bakery

This place has the BEST ginger bread cookies.

If I were a pioneer this is were I would want to be as of at least 3 years ago. Before I got married and about a year into our marriage I detested baking/cooking. I was the kid in the family who hated it the most. After a year of eating crap I decided I better start cooking the real stuff,  and now I love it!

Inside the Cultural Hall 

They do a play in here called Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo. 

It's one of the cutest plays.