Adieu to the Lou

My last day in the US: it sounds so monumental.

I had laid out everything in my "to bring" pile on Sunday night after the farewell party and packed on Tuesday morning with the help of my mom & sister, so I wasn't frantically cramming things into suitcases.

I also no longer had a car as of Tuesday, so I couldn't run any solo errands. I bought my 2003 Honda Accord from my grandpa the summer before my sophomore year of college and, 89,375 miles later, sold it to this lovely lady - and newly licensed driver. 

Then came Wednesday. The day before deployment day. I could have made a big deal of it, but August 1, 2018, was blissful in its normalcy.

I got up and went for a run (it was in the low 60's!).
My mom made pancakes for breakfast.
I sat outside and finished reading the latest issue of Cook's Illustrated.
My 2 yr. old nephew was over, so we played outside and went to Wal-Mart and the downtown Kirkwood farmers' market.
I had leftovers and fresh Black Diamond watermelon (try it!) from the farmers' market for lunch.
I laid on the couch reading on my Kindle, watching PBS, and maybe even napping a bit with my dad.
I watched Jeopardy.
My dad barbecued pork steaks (a cut unique to St. Louis) for dinner.
Aaaaaand I went to the Cardinals game - for the second time in a week. I guess that's a little monumental, since I typically only make it to a handful or less in any given season. Our seats in the lower deck were courtesy of my friend's boss; we had a stellar view of a redbird victory:

The game was a long one at nearly four hours, but we managed to cap off the night with Ted Drewes frozen custard - also for the second time in a week - minutes before they closed :) Technically, it was already deployment day by the time I went to bed!

Until next time, blessings!