Day 41

Sundermeier RV Park, St. Charles, MO:  It has been 41 days since we've been home, and still no word from the general contractor that they have the permits needed. Discouraging to say the least. To take our mind off things, we went back to the Chase Park Plaza to see the movie, "Woman in Gold", which was great. Didn't get a very good review, but we loved it. What do they know, anyway--whoever "they" are. Sunday we had lunch in Old Town St. Charles. Today we took care of the laundry and grocery shopping. Just playing the waiting game. A pretty nice day today. Low 70s. Oh, and the Cardinals home opener today--always a big deal here. They bring out the full 8-horse hitch of the clydesdales and the big beer wagon and drive them around the inside of the stadium. So special. The Cards are down by 1 right now. Not so special.

Are they magnificent or what?

Day 37

Sundermeier RV Park, St. Charles, MO:  Day 37 since we've been home. Still no permits. I went over to the house today and they still hadn't fixed our storm door that the people moving the stuff out of the family room broke. So, I called and read them the riot act. They supposedly sent someone out there today to fix it. We'll see. And here we sit in this fifth wheel with round after round of severe storms going through. Yesterday we went over to the casino and spent a few hours during the worst of it. At least the truck is in a covered garage in the event of hail. We're going to head over there tonight too--have some drinks, dinner, and gamble a little. I hate this time of year in STL. At least when we're home we have the basement to retreat to and the vehicles are ensconced safely in the garage. It is definitely not safe in this fifth wheel.

Hanging out at the casino.

Day 35

Sundermeier RV Park, St. Charles, MO:  Day 35 since we've been home. Still no permits from the county. Storms threatening this morning. So, I jumped out of bed, took a quick shower, dressed and got ready to take cover in the rest rooms in this park. Mike didn't even wake up. But the worse was south of us--thankfully. You just never know. So, around lunch time, Mike suggested we go out for lunch (of course). So we headed to Old Town St. Charles. More eating and drinking--emphasis on drinking. More bad storms on the horizon. I told Mike we should head to the casino in Old Town on Thursday, which is looking like the worse weather day. More eating, drinking--and now add gambling to the mix. Is rehab far behind?

DAY 34

Sundermeier RV Park, St. Charles, MO:   We've been home 34 days so far. And still no permits, so no work can begin on our foundation, family room, and deck. 34 days! The county never seems satisfied with the documentation that has been provided. We're getting antsy, being cooped up, what with the cold weather and all. So, we go out to lunch or dinner, have a couple of drinks; go see a movie and fill up with movie snacks...more drinks. I'm convinced I'm going to be a fat alcoholic by the time this is over. And, oh yes, the threat of more violent storms this week.  But, we're good. We can still make it to Tony's for dinner and drinks.

The Calm Before the Storm

Sundermeier RV Park, St. Charles, MO:  A beautiful morning, but storms threaten tonight, tomorrow, and tomorrow night. So, we took advantage of this brief respite in the weather and went for a pretty long walk on the trails along the river. Before our nature excursion, however, I spent some time on the computer, talked with the general manager, project manager, and insurance agent. Still no permits for the rebuild. Pot roast for dinner tonight. 78 today!

Trails along the river.

Rail bridge over the Missouri. Originally built in 1881.

This tree is not in good shape.

Lots of beaver activity.

They have been busy.

S N O W!!!

Sundermeier RV Park, St. Charles, MO:  It actually snowed this morning. And they're calling for flurries tonight and tomorrow morning as well. Hopefully that will be the last of it??? We met with the general manager of the outfit that is doing the reconstruction of our foundation, deck, and family room. Very discouraging since they are still waiting on the permits from St. Louis County. We've been home almost a month now. But they did go in there last week and cleaned up some of the mess in the family room and packed up a lot of the stuff to take to their warehouse where they will clean them up and assess whether to keep or not. In the meantime, we're fine in the fifth wheel, albeit stuck inside during the colder days. Warmer weather will be very welcome. I think the high today will be 45. Time to go see a movie perhaps?

Big chunks of concrete on the floor.

One of the boarded up windows.

They righted the entertainment center.

The pile of stuff in front of the concrete chunks is our drapes. Or, I should say, was our drapes.

Chase Park Plaza

Sundermeier RV Park, St. Charles, MO:  Met with some friends yesterday at the elegant Chase Park Plaza Hotel in downtown St. Louis. Went to see Cinderella at the movie theater there. Amy and I loved the movie--a delightful mix of reality and whimsy. I think even Dave and Mike enjoyed it--although they'd never admit it. After the movie we had a light dinner at Cafe Eau in the hotel. A very pleasant afternoon, and it was great to get out of the "homeless shelter" for a while. Pretty chilly yesterday, but today is supposed to get up to 70 or so.

The beautiful, elegant Chase Park Plaza Hotel

Not a very good picture of one of the coffered ceilings.

Private elevator up to the private residences in the hotel.