Missouri Botanical Gardens

When my sister Julia suggested the gardens as a place to take my grandchildren I at first thought that was a crazy idea.  But she reminded me that there was a splash park for the children as well as a great playground for them.

Nathan and Clarissa are certainly Florida raised children.  They are usually fairly cooperative with hats and sunglasses, at least for awhile.  It was a pretty warm day the time we were there.  It seemed as though the weather is not much different than the weather we had experienced in Florida.

Every season in the garden seems to have its own beauty, and this Saturday in July proved that to be true again.  The water lilies were all in bloom.  Nathan excitedly pointed out every blooming pant to his Nana and then demanded that the sign next to the plant be read so he could learn the name of said plant.  That got a bit tiresome after awhile.  We did not make it through the whole park by any means.  We thought the Climatron would spark their interest, but Claire got especially fussy there.   So what a pleasant surprise that, upon exiting the tropical rain forest, we found ourselves in a room designed with children in mind.

It was while they were playing that I roamed the room and found an interesting botanical display.

Pictured above is the whistling thorn acacia tree, the thorns of which contain stinging ants.  The ants swarm over the tree when they feel the tree is being attacked. The tree can be found on the Serengeti plains.  Even at my advancing years I continue to be fascinated and in awe of nature!

We were able to move the children from that playroom with the promise of a playground and splash park.  And that was about our day in the gardens.  We may come back another day with the little ones and still have a lot to show them, including the children's garden.  So if your are looking for something to do on a hot summer day with your children, consider the botanical gardens here in St.Louis- it is sure to be a winner for all!

A Trip To Michigan

Yes, we had just made the trip from Florida to Missouri and now we were on the road again a week later.  There was to be the 65th reunion of the Hensler clan in Freeland Michigan (always held the second week-end in July) , and seven of my siblings had plans to attend.  It seemed to be an important trip to make.

On Saturday there was a gathering of just the Hensler cousins at the old family homestead and farm.  I did write of this place when we were there about seven years ago.  Two Hensler families still own and live on this land- but not much going on anymore as far as our family farming the land because renters are now doing that.  There are a few cows in the barn.  It would be nice to keep this farm in the family as it has passed the century mark and holds many memories for all of us.  In the picture  above is the old homestead,  where my mom was born.  A total of 11 children were raised here.  There are 50 first cousins and about one-half that number gathered at the farm Friday evening.  A few more showed up for the main event on Sunday, at which one hundred and sixty-five attended.  Hard to believe that some of us first cousins now have great grandchildren!

A trip to visit family in Michigan always includes a trip to Frankenmuth, a town which still today celebrates its German heritage.  John and I, together with all my siblings, ate at the Bavarian Inn restaurant for lunch on Saturday.  A roaming musician dressed in lederhosen certainly contributed to the German ambience of  the restaurant.  And on the walls are displayed the coat of arms of many of the original families from the area, one of which we found belonging to our mom's side of the family- our Rau heritage.

Saturday afternoon we visited the Saginaw History Museum, which use to be the old post office built in 1897.  John and I have visited this place in the past and enjoyed it because the history displayed there has a lot to do with my Mom's history before she married our Dad.  As a young adult she had worked at Lufkin Rule Company, which was founded in 1892 back in the day when Saginaw was a booming lumber town.  The company manufactured steel, wood, and cloth rulers and tape measures. . Also on display in the museum is  information concerning the Herzog Art Furniture company founded in 1899- the Herzogs are part of Mom's family.

Pictured above is the Bavarian Inn and Cass River which runs through Frankenmuth.  The weather was perfect for our week-end of outdoor activities, a nice break from the 90 degree temperatures which we had experienced both in Tampa and St.Louis.

Traveling with Young Children

We moved our home on wheels on June 22 and drove northward.  Or I should say that John accomplished that on his own for this journey.  I helped my daughter finish up with last minute packing- finally emptying their rental home of last minute items which either needed to go in her van or be pitched.  It was not until about 6PM that we (my daughter and I) headed north for St.Louis, with a very loaded car and children aboard. 
I had expected the worse traveling with a twenty-month girl and a four-year old boy.  The first two days of the trip went well- they were contended playing with toys, paging through books and just looking out the window.  Nathan is trying to understand the concept of states. On the last day of the trip he wondered if we had left "Tuckys" yet ( we understood that as Kentucky).
Two hundred and fifty miles a day was about all they could take.  Evenings and nights were all right with them staying in our rv.  Everything was even better when there was hope for a  pool at the end of a day.  A visit in Atlanta with family also helped the children cope with everything.
But it was on Monday, the last leg of our journey, that we entered into crisis mode.  We were about fifteen miles outside of Belleville, Illinois.  A fly had the audacity to land on the baby's leg!  Now first of all recognize that she has a bad skin reaction to a variety of insect bites,  I am referring here to big red welts, so it is very appropriate for her to react hysterically when any flying creature approaches her.  I quickly unbuckled myself from my seat belt and turned around to comfort her, soon discovering that I had to almost completely throw myself over her body to protect her.  I saw the fly about a couple of feet away but could not reach that far to swat it.  No implement near me to swat it with!  I hung over her for fifteen miles, until we reached Target.  Getting out of the car we opened doors hoping that the offending fly had the sense to get out.  Melissa had an appointment in St. Louis in a couple of hours so we did have some time to kill.  We wandered around the store and Clarissa happily forgot her crisis- a pretty hat helped also.  We bought a black fly swatter.
However,  getting back in the car, Clarissa espied a fly -was it the same one, probably not-thought that one had flown out!  Nathan swung the fly swatter, nearly hitting his sister.  That caused more tears.
We entered downtown St.Louis with me hanging over the baby- I soon learned that she was happiest when I kept my hands over her eyes.  I tried to describe to Nathan all the exciting sights of St.Louis as we entered it on Highway 64-40- like the Arch and Cardinal Stadium.  However, all my joy at seeing everything again was marred by trying to comfort a screaming little girl.  We stopped at Ted Drewes, but happiness there was short-lived for Clarissa.  She was still hysterical.  We stopped at St.Francis park in south St.Louis where Melissa left us for her appointment to complete final papers for the house they were buying.  Clarissa forgot her woes and happily climbed around on the playground with her brother.
However, getting back in the car, there it was again- The Fly.  Fortunately we did not have far to go for our final destination.
John and I are now settled in our usual rv park in St.Charles.  Future plans for traveling are now on hold until our daughter, husband and child get fully moved into their new home.  I am hoping to find an apartment and finally have a permanent place to live- John would like to keep traveling, but he is starting to think that my plan is not so bad after all.  We shall see...