Observations Of An Out Of Towner

This weekend, we're hanging out in St. Louis at my in-laws. We have a thing about being home on the actual holiday of Christmas so that Santa can visit the wee ones in our own home. This year, we're coming down the weekend before Christmas to spend four days here with the in-laws. It's been fun.

Today, we went to the Rams game. And by "we" I mean my husband and I and his best friend from here. The wee ones stayed at my in-laws who watched them, along with my SIL and niece. By the time we got home, it was time for our first Christmas dinner and then the massive present opening spree.

Somehow, we brought down some arctic weather with us from Chicago. It was 2.8 degrees this morning when we were eating breakfast. This is really not so acceptable for me. I come to St. Louis, in part, because it's warmer than Chicago. Ok, so granted it was 5 below in Chicago. Still, I remember walking around in shorts on year because it was so warm. Is 40's and 50's so much to ask?

A few observations:

• St Louis people wear jerseys to the games, which I totally get. What I don't understand and will never understand, is that in St. Louis, they feel as though jerseys are dress shirts that need to be tucked in and belted. Really, it's not a fashion look. I will say that at least my husband has finally given up this habit.
• It was so cold that one of my husband's friends at the tailgate (seriously, they still had a tailgate) opened up a can of pop for his six year old son. The pop froze as he was trying to drink it. Literally. People should not have to be outside in that kind of weather.
• When I went to go get my free pop because I signed up to be a designated driver (a perk many stadiums offer, by the way), the concession workers told me that they were supposed to consolidate. No new kegs were to be tapped. When they ran out of something that was open, they were to refer people to other stands. Assuming they were open. Lots and lots of the concession stands were just flat out closed today.
• The Rams are pretty bad this year, and the crowds showed it. The Dome was pretty empty, and my husband's tickets are in the upper section. We went down to the lower concourse to do some shopping -- my husband's idea -- since the Ram Store was having a huge sale. By the time the boys finished shopping, the first quarter was half over. I seriously felt like I was in a mall that happened to have a football game on a tv nearby.
• People will do anything for something free. There was a pickup truck handing out free bottles of Monster energy drink as we were walking (ok, running) to the car. We couldn't get past it because of how many people were crowded around the truck. I heard one person say he got a half dozen. I heard another say he grabbed one but doesn't even like it. Ohhh, how I love people. Let me count the ways.
• And my favorite from this afternoon's game. My husband is such a girl. At the end of the game, all the men were standing outside the women's bathroom waiting for them to finish their business. Me? I was the only woman standing by my lonesome outside the men's bathroom.

It's always a different world when you go elsewhere, and we've got a couple more days to go. On the plus side, tomorrow we're apparently going to the mall down here to see Santa. That's another thing we haven't had a chance to do yet this year, and I was sort of bummed that we weren't going to have any pictures with Santa. Now if I can just get those New Years cards out....