If you had to guess…which city has the World Chess Hall of Fame?

a.            Moscow

b.            New York City (USA)

c.            St. Louis, Missouri (USA)

d.           Oslo (Norway)

e.            Brussels (Belgium)

Okay—I could go on with cities, such as London or Tokyo but the correct answer is St. Louis, Missouri. I was in St. Louis because my brother-in-law called and invited us to dinner. Not unusual, except he lives 350 miles away from us. We decided to go, leaving on a Thursday (I do not have to ask for time off!) so we could be ready for a dinner on Friday night with the family. Christmas time with family is great and we always are doing things, staying busy.

Even if you do not play chess, a visit to the World Chess Hall of Fame is worthwhile. I enjoyed walking around the exhibits and taking advantage of their gift shop. A chess club is across the street and, unfortunately, I did not have a chance to visit. I am not very good, so it is probably just as well.

We were able to stay at the Soulard Little School & Gym Airbnb. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed the area of St. Louis. The location is perfect, with several local St. Louis attractions nearby.

We enjoy going out to dinner and it was a nice night out enjoying our dinner on “the Hill” in St. Louis after we arrived on Thursday. We surprised the family on Friday night when everyone else arrived at the Christmas party. Unfortunately, the Christmas party turned into a tornado watch party in the lower level due to the changing weather. We are from Kentucky and that Friday evening Kentucky was devastated by a tornado from the same storm. We are fortunate to have avoided any issues and our hearts go out to those hurt by the tragedy.

On Friday, prior to the party, we had the chance to play some disc golf at the local Willmore Park in St. Louis and visit the World Chess Hall of Fame.

Lessons learned:

Call up someone you know and invite them over. When my kids were here for Thanksgiving, their favorite question was how to meet people. You have to go out to events and put on a brave face. My brother-in law now has me thinking, who should we be inviting over to spend time with us?

Other Fun:

We were able to run in the Soulard neighborhood and discovered several well-maintained homes and one with a restored car in front.

We hosted the family for Thanksgiving and did a family turkey run on a cold, wet Thursday morning The together time was fun and the run was a challenge because of the changing weather.

No family get together is complete without a disc golf outing. One of my sons had the best score.

We also had four generations of family together. That is a fun experience for all. Although I am not sure the youngest will remember the experience except with a picture like this one.  

When my kids were little, I made up a character to be an example in stories. His name was Fred McGurk. When running and walking in St. Louis we were happy to see the sign for McGurks. I am sure his brother is Fred. My sister-in-law tells me it is a good place and has great music.

No bike rides on this short trip to town for a Christmas party.