As this trip approached it looked like the weather could be a factor at various times in the 10 days but when you already have the flights, hotels and game tickets booked…you go!
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
Adam and I flew into St Louis, landing at the Lampert Airport around 9:00 am. We picked up our rental car and headed downtown to the Union Station Hotel. It is one of the Hilton chain’s “Curio Collection”. I highly recommend checking them out as they are usually more interesting than your standard hotel. The Union Station Hotel was originally opened as a train station in 1894 and has retained its historic charm. There is a fire and water show that was visible from our room window but the highlight was the 3D Light Show held in the Grand Hall every night. It was awesome!
The laser light show goes on for about 20 mins. 
Space boy.
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
We woke to a bitterly cold Friday morning so our first stop was the St. Louis Blues team store where we grabbed a couple of sweet toques and some other souvenirs. Then we were off to visit the most famous landmark in St Louis, the Gateway Arch. It got its name as it was considered to be the “Gateway to the West”. It is the world’s tallest arch at 630 ft and opened in 1965. We had a very clear day so the visibility was great.
Gatewway Arch and the flag…very American! 
Jeff at the bottom. 
Adam at the top. 
City of St Louis view from the top. 
Mississippi River view from the top.
After the Arch, it was time for a snack so we headed off in search of an Imos pizza place where we grabbed some lunch. The pizza was a thin crust style and really tasty.
Ted Drewes frozen custard was the next stop, Yes, it was ridiculously cold (the high for the day was -12 C) to be getting a frozen treat but Adam had researched and the reviews were great so we gave it a try. I was surprised at the number of people waiting for custard but once we had some it was obvious why they were waiting. Really good stuff!
Now it was time to head back to the hotel, get changed and head over to the Scottrade Center (now known as the Enterprise Center) to catch the St Louis Blues hosting the Nashville Predators. It was a close game with the visitors winning 2 – 1. The arena was well set up with all the amenities you need.
Game time! 
Check out the sweet toques!
Thursday, December 28, 2017
We got up and hit the road on the first leg of our trip to Raleigh, NC. We stopped at a couple of cool locations along the way including a KFC in Kentucky where we were surprised they didn’t call it “Here Fried Chicken” Strangely enough there were quite a few differences in menu items and they had an awesome dipping sauce they just called the FLG sauce. It lived up to its name and was Finger Lickin Good.
Love the FLG Sauce!! 
Outside of the KFC.
You cant go to Louisville without a stop at the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory. It’s hard to miss due to the World’s Largest Baseball Bat that stands outside the front entrance. It is 120 ft tall and weighs 68,000 pds. Once inside the building, it is a great idea to take one of the guided tours through the factory. They do a really good job of explaining the history of the factory as well as show you how bats are made. As a side note, the Louisville brand is being purchased by a Chinese company as part of a larger multi-billion dollar deal…
Worlds largest baseball bat out front of the factory. 
Interactive game in the museum.
After leaving Louisville we spent a few more hours on the road and grabbed a hotel in Princeton, West Virginia which is about halfway between Louisville and Raleigh. Didn’t do much but have some food and sleep but it seemed like a nice enough place. Very picturesque country.
Friday, December 29, 2017
We got up and hit the road for the 5 or so hour drive to Raleigh. The weather was nice so we got to admire the beautiful scenery. Didn’t stop and do any sightseeing along the way as it was a game day and we wanted to make sure we made it to our destination on time.
We arrived in Raleigh and checked into the Aloft Hotel. A modern hotel where we had a huge room overlooking the North Carolina State University campus. After checking in we got ready and headed over to the PNC Arena to watch the Carolina Hurricanes host the Pittsburgh Penguins. We had great seats right on the glass but unfortunately, the Pens lost 2 – 1. Still great to see the game from that close.
PNC Arena 
Pretty close to Crosby 
Going to grab some Hurricanes money! 
The Boys
Saturday, December 30, 2017
We were in the hotel in the morning when the fire alarm started sounding. It didn’t appear to be a drill as we could hear the fire trucks coming so we made our way down the stairs to the street where we hung around with the other hotel guests and waited to see what was happening. Nothing major as it turns out but still good to see the quick response of the fire department!
As Adam was still deciding which University to attend we spent some time on Saturday touring the North Carolina State and Duke campuses. Both very stunning with a mix of historic and modern architecture.
NC State – View from our room. 
Cool pic Adam took of Duke Campus.
After finishing our tours we headed to the Raliegh Airport to pick up Mary around 6:00 pm and then drove the almost 4 hours to Myrtle Beach for the vacation portion of the trip.
Sunday, December 31, 2017
We were staying in the Holiday Inn – Oceanfront Resort (not quite as fancy as it sounds) but we had a view of the beach so that is always a plus. Sunday was New Year’s Eve so we headed off to Broadway on the Beach which is a great shopping center and entertainment complex on the north end of Myrtle Beach. It has lots of shops and restaurants and, being New Year’s Eve, was pretty packed. We decided on hanging out at Margaritaville which turned out to have great food and drinks. The weather was really cold (-2 C) for that part of the country but the crowds were out in full force celebrating New Year’s Eve.
Monday, January 1, 2018
We woke to greet the New Year with another cold day but the biggest change we noticed was in the number of people still around. It was almost a ghost town. It seemed like a huge group came in to celebrate New Years and then headed back out of town the next morning. The weather was unseasonably cold so many people had actually cancelled or shortened their holiday hotel stays. We were pretty happy as it was still way warmer than back home in Canada so we went out and enjoyed some of the Myrtle Beach attractions that were open including the Ferris wheel and one of the many mini-golf courses.
From the Ferris Wheel on the beach. Our hotel is the beige one. 
Getting ready to tackle the Minotaur 
Adam and Mary before the battle. 
Quiet afternoon on the beach.
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Not much to report for today. Mary and Adam spent a big chunk of the day hitting the local malls (which there are quite a few of) and I got caught up on some work stuff.
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
The big storm that everyone was worried about was scheduled to hit the town in the afternoon so we decided to get up early and make a quick dash north to Wilmington, NC to go visit the Cape Fear Serpentarium. In addition to snakes, it was home to crocodiles, lizards and dragons. Right up Adam’s alley and worth the trip. Unfortunately, the Serpentarium has since closed down so I am glad we visited when we had the chance!
Hello my pretty. 
Great colours. 
Adam playing snake charmer. 
New friend.
Once we were done we jumped in the car and raced back to Myrtle Beach, just ahead of the incoming storm. As we turned down the road to our hotel the roads were beginning to ice up. Normally that is not a big deal for those of us from the Great White North but in Myrtle Beach, it is a different story. They don’t have plows or salting/sanding equipment so a layer of ice becomes pretty treacherous pretty fast. The town emptied out, the airport shut down, roads were closed, all the restaurants, bars, stores, even the convenience stores shut down early. There was literally nowhere to get any food…it was strange! We had a good supply of provisions in our room so we just hunkered down and waited out the storm.
Thursday, January 4, 2018
Adam and I had a flight out to Chicago through Atlanta so we were happy when Thursday cleared up just when we were scheduled to depart around noon. Mary dropped us off at the airport and headed back to the hotel as she was heading out the next day back to Toronto so we said our goodbyes and the boys began the journey north to catch a Blackhawks game.
We landed at Midway and headed to the London House Hotel on E Wacker Dr. It is a nice hotel and we had a room overlooking the Chicago River. It was a spectacular view!
View from our room looking down the river. 
Right across the river from us.
Friday, January 5, 2018
Another crazy cold day with wind chills around – 20 C but we had most of the day free before the hockey game so we bundled up and headed out. First, we walked up the road to check out the “Bean” in Millennium Park. A very popular Chicago tourist attraction. There was an outdoor skating rink right beside it so we hung out there for a bit too. Kinda cool.
The Bean! 
Great outdoor rink…another barn for the list?
After the Bean, we grabbed a cab and headed to the Navy Pier, another popular Chicago attraction. There is everything there from bars and restaurants to shopping and convention facilities. After doing some research, we choose Giordano’s for lunch as it had some awesome reviews for its deep-dish pizza. It definitely lived up to the hype and the pizza was amazing!!
We went for a long walk around the Pier to wear off some of the pizza and got to see the city from a different angle. Still a very cold day so the steam rising from the buildings looked like smoke.
Back to the hotel to change and grab an Uber to the United Center to catch the Chicago Blackhawks hosting the Vegas Golden Knights. We were really looking forward to this one as we had heard good things from various people. The atmosphere was fantastic and I actually got chills during the singing of the US national anthem. It was a close game with the visiting team coming out ahead 5 – 4.
United Center 
Very cool screens. 
Sea of red.
Saturday, January 6, 2018
One of our longer trips, it was 12 days of crazy cold and ice storms but, hey, it’s a hockey trip after all. Three more rinks off the list and six US states. As we flew home from O’Hare we were tired but happy and reflected on what a great trip it had been!
.
