Day 8 of the Drive East: a day for the birds (penguins and Cardinals)

Jason got up early to work out in the hotel's fitness center (like he does most mornings). When he got back to the room, Levi was up, and he was unhappy. "I wanted to work out with you," he told Jason. Jason told him he couldn't, because you have to be 18 to use the fitness room. Levi was unimpressed: "We could have just told them I'm 19," he said.

That was our first clue we'd have fun today.

We arranged our trip to spend today in St. Louis so we could see the Cardinals play tonight, the first game of their current homestead.

During the day, we took a friend's suggestion and went to the St. Louis zoo.



It was a great zoo. Highlights for us included a giraffe hanging out with an ostrich, the house of bugs, gorillas chasing each other, the Somalian Wild Ass (we're not making that up), and the host of different antelopes.





On a warm, humid day, we especially enjoyed the penguins, which were not only interesting to see but were housed in a room that was around 40 degrees. Cool. Very cool.





Along one stop at the zoo, the animals' area was empty, except for some rather large, uh, droppings. We couldn't figure out what was supposed to be there. Then an elephant wandered into view. Dylan turned around and said matter-of-factly: "No wonder the poop is so big."



Jason and Yvonne spent some time at the zoo taking care of petty details, like trying to resolve some issues with our home purchase in Maryland, coordinating delivery of the vehicle we shipped, postponing the delivery of our household effects, and Jason catching up on some work issues. Multi-tasking, baby.

On our way back to the hotel, a mere four blocks from Busch Stadium, we noticed all the Cardinals fans gathering. We planned to buy tickets at the stadium, but figured we better order then sooner rather than later. We pulled it up online, and then did a quick Google search for discounts. Bingo: a code for 50% off. So we ordered better seats than we expected at half the cost. Jason's sister, who lives in nearby St. Charles, drove over and attended the game with us.



We had a great time. Levi made a friend (a college-age student who sat in front of Levi and high-fived him whenever a good play happened). Carson (wearing some horn-rimmed glasses he borrowed from Mel) kept a meticulous scorebook. And we all enjoyed a 4-1 Cardinal victory.



The highlight was in the bottom of the fifth, with two outs and bases loaded, when the Reds pitcher walked the Cardinals' #2 hitter, bringing up slugger Albert Pujols. The crowd of 40,000+ surged with energy as ZZ Top's "Got Me Under Pressure" blared from the stadium speakers and Pujols stepped to the plate. We were all on our feet. Jason yelled to the kids over the crowd: "this is what we paid to see; the rest was free." Alas, Pujols lined out to left to end the inning, but it was quite a rush while the at bat lasted.



Tomorrow, we'll spend the morning in St. Louis, cross the Mississippi and head east to Louisville, Ky.