Wednesday, July 28 - Maryville University & The Butterfly House

For breakfast goodies this morning, Pam and I went to the original Panera Bread--St. Louis Bread Co. After selecting chocolate chip muffies, a scone, and a bagel, we went through the Starbucks drive-thru for our standard lattes before returning to Pam's to devour it all. We needed our sustenance for another day of adventuring.

Pam and Matt are both employed by Maryville University in St. Louis. "Maryville is tucked away in the heart of the suburbs on a 130-acre campus where natural beauty abounds. It's difficult not to be inspired by the rolling hills, wooded areas, creeks, two lakes and miles of walking trails." This Fall, Pam will have been at Maryville for 19 years!! As an administrative assistant in the office of enrollment, Pam must wear many hats. She not only works with counselors and other department staff, but she oversees many interns and workstudy students as well. The amazing aspect to me about Pam's job is that she loves it and puts her heart and soul into it. I don't think I've ever had a job I've loved, so I don't know what that would be like. However, Pam is not only co-worker to many she works with, but friend, confidant, 'sister', and 'mom'. Even though she's taking this week off from "work" to spend time with her actual sister and niece, she wanted us to see where she worked and meet the people she works with.

After introductions and a little tour of the Maryville campus, our breakfast was beginning to wear off. Five Guys Burgers and Fries was definitely a good choice for lunch to take care of that hunger. Pam had never eaten at one but had heard reviews, and we were very glad we tried it. One of their slogans boasts that it's the Willy Wonka of Burgercraft!! My mouth is watering now just thinking about the delicious juicy burger and how all the toppings and fixin's overflowed from the bun. The fries were something to write home about as well!

The Butterfly House in Chesterfield, Missouri was next on the day's agenda. With the heat index reaching 110 today, however, the glass conservatory where over a thousand live tropical butterflies freely fly was more than sweltering. There were not as many photo opportunities as I was hoping for as the cold-blooded, winged wonders did not stop very long to pose. There were a couple of butterflies that did light on Pam for a few seconds. I figure it's because Pam is so sweet.

Obviously after seeing all the beautiful butterflies, the next stop had to be ice cream! Oberweis Ice Cream and Dairy Store served up some creamy goodness that was just the ticket to cool us down. I got a hot fudge sundae with chocolate ice cream, Pam had a scoop of peanut butter and chocolate, and Mary ooohed and aaahed over the cookie dough in a chocolate dipped waffle cone bowl.

Back at Pam's, a nap and some Wii game playing were in order before we ventured back out to finish using our game credits at America's Incredible Pizza Company. We played another round of mini golf, gave Mary some Skeeball lessons, and raked in some prize tickets at some of the other arcade games. We scarfed down some of the buffet items and headed back to Pam and Matt's. We finished up the night watching "So You Think You Can Dance" while eating the warm, fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies Pam kept taking out of the oven.

I'd say we packed in more than an adequate number of adventures today.