So, we picked up our friend diddly do at 7:30am, dropped both the dogs off at the spa and were on the road around 8ish. Given all the rains and flooding, we weren't entirely sure what to expect on our way down but turns out the Avenue of the Saints was just far enough away from the Mississippi that we were safe. Many pee breaks later (see pregnancy post below) we got to St. Louis!!
We went ahead and checked into our hotel and then napped and just vegged for a little bit before heading out to dinner and the show. Lance had never been to St. Louis before, but both diddly and I have. But my trips were so long ago I can't remember much other than the Arch and the Clydesdales. She said there was a pretty cool restaurant across the street from the Fox theatre, so we headed down there. She was right, there was a very cool restaurant right there! But it was about an hour wait and that wasn't going to work, it was a bit past 6, the show was at 8, and already there was a huge line for getting in the theatre.
Next door to this cool restaurant was another one called "Best Steak House" - hmm, really? We gave it a try anyway, I was hungry! (and had to pee) So we walk in and see this snaking line going through what looks like a pseudo cafeteria line. How strange, yet ponderosa like. But within seconds of being in line there is all sorts of shouting. It seems like the shouting is coming from the grill cooks. But then, it also seems like the shouting is coming from the line of customers. Whatever, it was weird, I stopped trying to figure it out - must just be big city-ness. So then Sarah (diddly) says she doesn't want to be first in line, will somebody switch with her? Uh, sure - I can go first, no problem! About 5 minutes later I figure out why she doesn't want to be first...the grill cooks are yelling "NEXT" at each person in line, who in turn needs to "YELL" back their order. Uhhhhh. The scary guy starts yelling NEXT at me and I freeze. The guys in front of me turn around and are chuckling and say, its your turn - I'm like I don't want to! After the scary guy yelled at me again, I made Lance yell back my order. So the yelling continues on down the line, and we inch our way to the front to get our food. I thought the worst was over, but when we got to the way front to pick up our food, the yelling was RIGHT THERE. Even though they weren't yelling at us, they were most certainly yelling through us! It is worth noting that the food was actually more than decent. I can't speak for the steak, but it looked like a lot of people ordered steak...
On to Tom :) We cross the street and get in line around 7pm. Because we had the up close fancy seats, our tickets were at the will call window so we had to be in line. It moved pretty fast though, so within minutes we were in our seats and patiently waiting. Like I said, it was supposed to have started at 8, but because people were still streaming in and being seated, it didn't actually start until 8:45. Apparently the line outside had gotten much longer and slower. He came on stage full of energy and started stomping and epileptic-ing like good ole Tom. I think for at least the first 5 songs I was sitting, literally, on the edge of my seat with my mouth open. After awhile, I settled back in my seat to be more comfortable. He made me laugh, giggle, hoot and holler, and cry all within the first 10 minutes. We had great seats, row L, so pretty close - I could see his face!!
The show itself lasted about 2 hours, which considering he is 58, is pretty good! And rather than play all the songs from his latest Orphans, he was all over the place, playing songs from all his records. What a treat!! I got to hear so many of my favorites, it was just unbelievable to me. I can't think of enough adjectives to describe how utterly fabulous this show was. He came back for a 3 song encore, the last song being Innocent When You Dream - probably my 2nd favorite Tom song...the tears were just streaming down my face uncontrollably. It was so beautiful. I'm not sure if I would have been as emotional being not pg, or if it was the hormones, or if it was just that I love Tom so much...hard to say. But after the show, Sarah said she cried too. :)
We hit the road right away in the morning and got back home the next afternoon. Our little mini-vacation was over way too fast. But it was so worth it.
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