Sunday, July 23rd, 2023

Starting mileage: 10,603, Distance travelled: 266

Miles walked: less than a mile, ugh

We woke up and ate breakfast in our hotel, mom finished the last of the laundry and we were on the road again. We crossed into Missouri shortly after driving the state line road for a bit so we got a terrible angle on the sign, but managed it entering the highway. Before leaving Kansas City, we caught a glimpse of Arrowhead Stadium, where the Chiefs play. We realized we were going to pass right through Columbia, where David was born, so we decided to stop there for lunch. We had cheesesteaks at a mall food court because there was a used video game store, where Brady scored a few Dungeons & Dragons books and David got a video game. Meanwhile, Laura got MORE earrings and hair clips at Claire’s.

We made the final drive into St. Louis and landed at David’s friend Erik’s house just after 4:30pm. We spent a lovely evening having dinner with Erik and his wife, Sara, and their two kids, Joe and Selma. Brady and Laura got to clamber up into their amazing multi-story treehouse which Erik built.

Erik and Sara put us up in Erik’s parents’ city loft while they were away on Cape Cod for the summer. It was an awesome spot, that Erik built himself, with huge windows opening out to the city. We could even see the Arch from our window. We could also see an enormous illuminated Ferris wheel right from our loft, which turned out to be located right next to the historic Union Station downtown.