Jessica's Day at Camp

Day 2 was great.  I had a little time and went out to the backyard pool.  Denise & I floated about and Chris continued to splash us up.  It was lovely, while the water really warm, nice to relax.  Unfortunately I didn't pay attention and about an hour later, I was sun burned!  Yes - ouch - I was warmed by the glow for three days.

This day was a long time in coming.  I had made plans in January to surprise Jess for her 16th birthday.  There was some family responsibilities I had to take care of and had to postpone the visit.

So a belated Happy 16th Birthday for Jessica.  Her choice for the day was to go to the St. Louis Art Museum.  As she put it, "Aunt Patty will take me".  There was one requirement by me, it had to be a dress up day.

So off to the museum we went.  The building was built for the 1904 World's Fair.  It is grand and very stately and subsequently the museum moved in.  It is also undergoing a massive expansion that is expected to open January 2012.  We went over the the front desk to get information and a map.  Did I mention the is no admission to the museum?  That is right for the museum as a whole is free, only the special exhibits needed a ticket.    The exhibit, The Mourners, a must see.  We went to the desk to get information from one of the hosts.  I had some questions and our host was just lovely and explained all about the museum.  He slipped us two tickets for the exhibit.  The exhibit - amazing - 40 figures sculpted from white alabaster dating back to 1404.

After getting our map and thanking our host for the information, we made our way around the vairous galleries.  Jess thought he was "hot" for me.  LOL!! 

One of my highlights was to see Jessica's eyes as we rounded each corner of the galleries.  Being in the same space as so many famous artists always gives me chills.  She would exclaim, "I studied that in school".  A real treat was to see part of Claude Monet's Water Lilies.  Ever since my visit to Paris and immersing myself into French Impressionism, Monet is one of my favorites.  There is something about being in the prescence of great art that is humbling and exhilarating in the same breath.  When I see it, I reminds me that - all is possible.

Before we knew it, time had flown.  We were full of all the art we saw and now hungry for dinner.  We had a few minutes to make it over to the Loop for dinner at The Melting Pot.  I ordered a split of champagne so Jess could taste and I toasted her.  She picked out each of the courses.  Our beginning was a Spinach and Artichoke Swiss with vegetables and bread cubes.  The cheeses were just delightful !  Then on to a brightly made salad. 

The main course was a Coq Au Vin cooking broth and a full assortment of fishes, chicken, beef, and an extra order of lobster all with individual sauces.  Wow - this was really good. Jess had tuna steak for the first time!  We relaxed, talked about school, summer, which sauce was best with each item we cooked.

The menu at the Melting Pot covers just about everything.  You couldn't go away hungry.  What you could go away with, is just a great satisfied feeling of great fresh food served in a fun way.

Then on to dessert - a chocolate fondu with fruits and cakes.  Yes we had room for chocolate!  This is all that was left.  Mind you if the pot wasn't so hot, we would have scraped every last spec of chocolate.  When we looked at our watch, it was three hours later.  Isn't dining, great food and great company, just fine.

This was a special time for me.  I'm sure we will have some more dates like these in the future.  Thanks Jess!