Jacky's visit March 2020

Hi, this is Laura, happy to finally make a blog post.....

As soon as Lucy was born, Jacky was set on planning to come see her!  I was so touched that she took vacation days and time away from her awesome family to travel all the way from Ontario to meet Lucy and spend time with us.  Jacky and I got a good combination of family time with Johnny and girl time with the two of us and Lucy.  

I drove up Thursday morning to pick Jacky up at the St. Louis airport and Lucy did well in the car most of the way.  She is definitely getting more aware of her surroundings, so that means she now has the capacity to get bored and also is not lulled to sleep as well by the car as she once was.  But, getting aware of her surroundings means she can connect with people and boy does she love Jacky!  The last 30 minutes of the drive to the airport were rough, as Lucy had had enough and was hungry, so first stop after picking Jacky up was the cell phone lot at the airport to feed Lucy and watch some planes and hawks.  Lucy made fast friends with Jacky once her belly was full.


Next stop was to fill our bellies, so Jacky and I decided to go to the St. Louis Zoo and get lunch there.  We also made sure that Lucy saw her REAL family in the monkey house!  Last time Johnny and I stopped by the zoo with Lucy she was too young to really notice any of the animals, but this time she was quite interested.


photo by Jacky MacDonald

Lucy was also very interested in the shark shoes that Jacky brought-- they used to be Jackson's and he wore them when Jacky and I went to the Toronto aquarium when Jackson was a baby.  I don't think Lucy knows they are her feet yet, but she does like the sharks!


We tried to beat rush-hour traffic out of St. Louis, but didn't quite make it.  Luckily, I have a wonderful man at home who had a rainbow trout l'orange dinner waiting for us when we got home- yummy!  

The next morning, we headed out to Marion for the semiannual Kidsignment Expo to score some great consignment deals for Lucy, Jackson, and some friends.  Biggest finds were a kiddie pool for Lucy and baseball pants for Jackson.  Then, we headed to Cracker Barrel for lunch, where Jacky got the biggest sandwich I have ever seen.  I got to nurse Lucy in a real rocking chair in the sun out front of Cracker Barrel where some grandmas walked by and informed me that Lucy was surely cold in the wind...... and then apologized for grandma-ing....haha.  Then, we swung by Rocky Bluff Trail at Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge for a short hike to see the waterfalls and stretch our legs. What great weather we were having!  Most of the hiking/outdoors photos from this weekend can be found at a previous blog post here.
photo by Jacky MacDonald
photo by Jacky MacDonald
Back at home that night, Jacky taught Lucy her first game-- to stick her tongue out after Jacky did. She still has not really done it with us since Jacky left...


The next day, we went for a bigger hike to Jackson Falls in the Shawnee National Forest.  We stopped at a lovely creek above one of the falls while Johnny shot photos and I fed Lucy.  Then, Jacky and I went on a long loop hike while Johnny shot waterfall photos and met up with him later.



photo by Jacky MacDonald
photo by Jacky MacDonald
On Sunday morning, Jacky, Lucy, and I packed up and drove to Alison and Sean's house for a fun day and overnight trip.  It was so special for Jacky and Alison to meet each other.  I just love having Ali and Sean so close to me now!  We got to their lovely house and had a nice McMahon lunch of grilled cheese and soup.  Lucy was decked out in her sloth PJs (from Ali) and duck bib and burb cloth (from Jacky). 


 After lunch, we changed Lucy into a shark outfit and then headed to the new St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station.  Sean, always the gentleman, was a fantastic guide all day, as he drove us downtown in my car, dropped us off to find parking, drove the stroller around, etc.  What a great guy!

photo by Jacky MacDonald
photo by Sean McMahon
The new aquarium was a lot of fun and the experience started with a simulated train ride to the sea.  It was a nice way to incorporate the history of Union Station with the new attractions.  Lucy was fascinated by the show!


Lucy remained interested in the tanks and lights, so we carried her through most of the aquarium.  The sea otter exhibit was great and then we got to see Lord Stanley the "1-in-2 million" BLUE Maine lobster.  He was donated to St. Louis from a fish company in Boston to congratulate the Blues hockey team on their win over the Boston Bruins and the 2019 Stanley Cup title.  


photo by Sean McMahon
Overall, the aquarium was a lot smaller than we expected and the design was odd.  There were some areas that were bright and open and others that were bottlenecked with people and cramped, so it wasn't the most photogenic experience.  They did have really nice sandbar and zebra sharks, though.

photo by Sean McMahon
....and leafy seadragons....

photo by Jacky MacDonald
Back outside the aquarium, we walked around the new Union Station complex a bit to see the sights. 


 We then walked out and around a couple of blocks to the grand hall of the attached Union Station hotel.  Gerri, Johnny, and I had stayed there a few years ago to see Corb Lund and Hayes Carll in concerts, so I knew how beautiful and breathtaking the hotel hall was.  I also knew about the light projection shows on the ceiling of the hall, but did not expect us to see it because of the timing.  We wandered around there just long enough to see a projection show and it was beautiful!  Apparently, it was too mesmerizing to get any photos, though.

Monday morning, Jacky and I relaxed and then headed to the airport so Jacky could be early for her flight home.  Lucy got to feed in the cell phone parking lot again and gave me one of her cheekiest grins yet!  Thank you so much for coming to see us, Jacky!









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