What started as a whim of an idea to take the girls on a nature retreat has officially become a tradition. I think 5 years seals these sorts of things! Every October we drive to Trout Lodge and do one overnight that is packed with way more laughs than nature but honestly, time together away from our norm was my original hope so there's no complaining on my end.
Some things have become standard parts of our trip. We always plan our trip for the end of first quarter long weekend. We leave on Thursday after the girls get out of school for an early release day. We stop at the Blue Owl for lunch, and then at the Wal-Mart in De Soto, making what should be an hour and a half drive from St. Louis at least a three hour drive. Why Wal-Mart, you ask. Who knows why, other than the fact that it's become a tradition that we all love. We always watch Halloweentown, and some of us even stay up to watch Halloweentown High. The lodge always serves roast turkey for dinner.
And some things change year to year.
One year Lucy's lips were so chapped she could barely smile in any of the photos! Another year Emma was in 7th grade, and then another Eleanor was a 7th grader ....and we all survived! One year we drove through the lodge grounds at night looking for a nature presentation in one of the cabins. I got a little off track and we went off roading in the mini-van. Finally we found a little cabin with the lights on and a group of people sitting around. In my excitement I jumped out of the van and ran up to the cabin full of people who were there on a vacation, that did not include me or a nature presentation. The girls still howl about that one. There was the year that I forgot to put my bag in the car before we left home. I had nothing. No pajamas, toothbrush, clean clothes. In a stroke of good luck I purchased a pair of pajamas at the DeSoto Wal-Mart before even realizing my bag was at home. They were a nice cozy pair that I wore to bed and then the next day to breakfast at the lodge and on our drive home. We've taken a pontoon boat ride, played pickle ball, cards, putt putt, tennis and volleyball.
This year had some differences, too.
Trout Lodge isn't open during the week right now so our trip was on a Friday night, not Thursday. So no turkey for dinner. Dinner was actually better than we remembered though! We ate outside in the freezing cold all by ourselves, because everyone else was packed into the dining room. We were as happy as could be! We tried to stop at The Blue Owl but the town that The Blue Owl is in was hosting a Halloween extravaganza of some sort. The streets were full of people, shoulder to shoulder without masks. We could not get out of town fast enough. However, the DeSoto Wal-Mart was a haven for the masked! And the best difference ever was our little political study. In 2016 we were sucker punched by the campaign signs for Trump. It was hard, we were surprised (not exactly sure why we were so surprised) by the enthusiasm! This year we saw Trump signs for sure. But we also saw signs for Biden! We only counted signs once we left St. Louis County. 20 Trump signs. 10 Biden. Hope!!!
2020- Masked beauties!
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