Good Bye St. Louie...Hello...um...Crystal WHAT?

So...we finished in St. Louis! I'm sure you're all wondering - and I just want to tell you know...NO, I didn't have a full voice back, so we did the altered show ONE LAST TIME. We had a nice, long run in St. Louis - we did 11 shows over 6 days. We were presented with some hurdles, and we jumped them. We explored a city unknown to most of us, and we conquered it. And on our last night, we went out on a search for AUTHENTIC St. Louis-style ribs...and didn't really find it, but ended our time in St. Louis with a GREAT dinner at a great BBQ joint. (Check out Super Smokers...for a store near you. Good stuff. The St. Louis Sauce and the Texas Hot were table-favs! www.supersmokers.com )
Our dinner out was an entertaining event! Puppetmaster Chris got one of the largest racks of ribs I think I have ever seen...Jackie found a new nickname on one of the restaurants many posters...Tara couldn't seem to get her 'table spills' problem under control (so our waitress brought her a cup with a lid on it)...and everyone left with a smile on their face and a belly full of BBQ'd goodness.

L: Schardin shows off his rack. (tee hee) If you listen closely, you can hear him purring. R: Jackie, in turn, shows off her new nickname. Mama was excited!

L: Tara reacts to her second or third spill of the night. R: Seconds later, Tara shows off her new cup, complete with lid.

BUT FIRST - back up! After our show, we ended up stopping at a Custard place called DOOZLES. Evidently, the day before, everyone had stopped there (while I was out with my parents...who left Sunday morning and yes, made it home safely) and they were all RAVING about the Pumpkin Pie Custard Concrete (like a Blizzard made with custard). So we stopped - and it was true what they had said. It was DELICIOUS! I am enjoying the spike in pumpkin-flavored products that I am seeing all over the Midwest. Autumn really has arrived! It really IS a great pumpkin, Charlie Brown...

L: Everyone lining up to get their Pumpkin Pie Conrete. Delish! R: Me, Chris and Eric show off our Concretes.

And where is Tara? Horsing around when all signs EXPLICITY tell her not to. I tried to warn her. Just LOOK how much fun she's having! Doozles is AGAINST fun.

After Doozles, and our BBQ dinner, everyone went back to the hotel to pack and relax before our departure the next morning. I remembered that there was a Mormon Temple in St. Louis - and being a Mormon, I decided I wanted to go see it. I knew it was late, so the grounds probably wouldn't be open...but I could still get close and take a picture. Tara came with me, after recovering from her Doozles Fun, and we had a nice drive down to the area where the Temple is.

We snapped some shots, listened to some tunes, saw a possum that we thought should be playing dead, and then saw a possum that was playing dead...except it really was dead, I drove over a curb, and then we headed back to the hotel. All in all, a great night.

Here is the St. Louis Missouri Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. And here I am, proving that there is more than ONE way to get in that fence and see the grounds. Going through the NORMAL gates would've been sensible...and it was closed. And don't worry, I didn't really climb the fence. (Like I could anyway....)

That brings us to our Monday-morning departure...heading to Crystal Lake, Illinois! It turns out to be an uneventful 5 1/2 hour drive North. We are in the suburb of the suburb of the suburb of the suburbs of Chicago. It's cold - we are in a Country Inn & Suites (which we like) - and we have like every THING near us that we could ever want. (For instance...I ate at CHILI'S tonight with Chris and Andrew. And then went to Barnes & Noble. Target had closed. yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!)

Tomorrow we have a day off, and so most of us are heading into The Windy City itself. I'm going to the Art Institute (last time I was there was in high school), to see that big fountain downtown, to go up the Sears Tower, to NOT see the Oprah Show (thanks a LOT for NOTHING, JILL! At Harpo! Sheeeesh!), to see WICKED and probably do some other fun stuff.

Shows start up again on Thursday - and I think my voice will be back to its MAGICAL self!

We're happy to be here...and you know what they say...Crystal Lakes is MY KIND OF TOWN!

Ciao!

Gussy

There are a NUMBER of these signs all over Illinois...just sitting there..making a political statement. The real question is, do people even NOTICE them? I mean, we noticed them because on our FIRST drive through Illinois (beginning of tour) we saw like 100 of them! But seriously...there has GOT to be a better way to get your message out there!