For the first time in 2.5 years I took a brief visit to the U.S. This time instead of both Boston and St. Louis, I only visited St. Louis. I got to visit and stay with my close friend, Sue, who owns the house next to mine in the Lafayette Square historic district. I really do like that area, and would like to take you all for a walk around the neighborhood. I also wanted to take care of some legal things, meet our new property manager, and say hello to friendly neighbors.

To tell the truth, I am not a big fan of international travel or plane flights, so needed to keep it simple. Plus there is the whole issue of looking after Pao. Last week was a 5 day weekend in Japan because of the Silver Week Holidays, so Hirokazu was able to take care of him those days. And when he went back to work we used Taki-san, a pet sitter whom Pao loves more than me.

What about Cathy?

I was sorry that my sister, Cathy, was not able to join us in St. Louis. She said she was afraid she was radioactive and might trigger TSA alarms. Sue had a nice bed for her to stay in. I was hoping she would be there, but next time. She did call to say she changed her mind, decided to drive there from Boston instead of flying, the car broke down in Ohio, and she was walking the rest of the way. So if I visit again in a year or two she might arrive by then.

Telling Pao I’ll Be Gone for a Week

He seemed a bit dejected at first. After all, I’m his snack vending machine. Hirokazu is holding his head up though.

Hirokazu Sees Me Off

I left on a Thursday. Japan was headed for a 5 day weekend, and Hirokazu took off two extra days to take care of Pao. So he helped me get my luggage to Shinkoiwa Station, where I caught the Sobu express train, which goes directly through Chiba to Narita Airport Terminal 2. There I was in so-called “preferred boarding” group 5, and crammed into my economy seat for my 12 hour flight to DWF (Dallas / Fort Worth).

Mobile Passport Control

One thing new for me this time was Mobile Passport Control. If you set it up ahead of time on your phone, you are through immigration and customs in — no exaggeration — less than 5 seconds. You don’t even have to show your passport. I did have to pick up my checked baggage from the carousel and drop it off before continuing to St. Louis. And go through U.S. TSA again. But from there I just caught the Skyliner to my domestic terminal. Note: the re-checking of baggage and extra TSA check were not needed on the way back.

Sylvia, Sue, and her Science Fiction Novels!

Sylvia picked me up at the airport in St. Louis and took me back to Sue’s place. Lots of hugs. And get a load of this! Sue is now a published author with a set of completed science fiction novels that she let me read and give feedback on before publishing. Here she is with two of them. I have to admit I’m jealous because I’ve been a wannabe novelist for a long time. Meanwhile Sue has finished an entire series of books. Do check her out — her pen name is Elizabeth Byron. The first novel in her series is Defiance: A Colony Ship Thriller (The Exodus Project 1).

St. Louis Monopoly

Sue managed to get ahold of a St. Louis version of Monopoly. I remember playing it all night with friends at UNCC in undergrad school. We played over 4 or 5 nights. She won the first game. Then she represented Claude in the 2nd game, kept him/it up-to-date, sent him screenshots, and promised to follow all his requests, even if dumb.. She won the first game, and I beat Claude.

Route 66 and Ted Drews

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Route 66, which goes right through St. Louis, near my neighborhood. Sylvia took me over to Ted Drews, where they have a Route 66 souvenir shop, and Sylvia could engage in lime frozen custard. I wish Sylvia and I had more time to spend together. She picked me up at the airport, took me to Ted Drews, and took me to get my rental car, all before traveling off on one of her journeys to – where this time? Alaska? The Adirondacks? Canada? Sylvia is always on the move. I would live to visit the Missouri Botanical Gardens again with her next time, and see the Japanese gardens there.

MacKay Place

MacKay Place (with a capital K) is right off Park Avenue, and runs up from Lafayette Park. It’s in the Lafayette Square historic district. The townhouse on the top is my house, which I am currently leasing to a really great guy who is a dean and law professor at SLU. I visited him for a while and he has really fixed up the place nicely. He’s working on the lawn in back now. The house at the bottom is the four-family that Sue and I own. All on the same block. It was built in 1890, and has electricity now and other modern features. We have a property manager taking care of both properties for us.

Walks around the Neighborhood

This is Lafayette Park, rumored to be the oldest public park west of the Mississippi. It’s just 140 meters down the block from my house.

Leaving Lafayette Park and walking along Park Avenue I passed Park Avenue Coffee, where they sell Gooey Butter Cake. It turns out Japanese customs requires visitors returning from St. Louis to have gooey butter cake with them to give to friends. More on that below.

And along the street back to MacKay there was a Little Free Library, where people can leave and take books.

Stop By To Say Hello to Sammie

Sammie was a good girl. Sue had a memorial brick installed near the fountain, just off of Lafayette Park, on Park Avenue. I dropped by to see how it was doing. Nice memories.

Get Together With Steph

I’ve known Steph ever since I first got my house in St. Louis. Constantly renovating and on the go, plus a high tech person, Steph is always fun to get together with. She loves taking care of feral cats too. We met for tea and coffee at Picky’s — a place I hadn’t been to before, across from Sqwires.

At the DMV for a State ID

In addition to meeting Sue and Sylvia, and seeing neighborhood friends, and checking out how the properties are doing, and meeting tenants and giving them a little souvenir from Japan, there were some other tasks I wanted to take care of. For one thing, since I’m married now, I really wanted to set up a Will to make sure the few assets I have don’t end up in the ether when I’m gone. So I met with a lawyer who has (to the extent I can understand it) worked out a Will and Trust and I designated trusted (and much younger than me) close friends I’ve known since they were born friends as executors.

Another thing I wanted to try to do was get a Missouri State ID. It just seemed it might be handy sometimes. I had the minimum ID needed (e.g. passport, utility bills with my St. Louis address, and a W-2 with my SSN on it. So I decided to try it.

Sue recommended not going to the City Hall DMV, so with AI’s help I found this DMV office downtown. That’s the Arch, of course. And the DMV itself was right there on the street, and it wasn’t crowded at all. I used the “ParkLouie” app at a street parking meter, and the people inside really were helpful and wanted to help me get it done. I heard today it was delivered and ready for Sue to forward to me. I ended up getting a Real ID even though I initially wanted just a plain State ID because at my age those never expire. I’m not sure if the Real ID will expire or not. I’ll see what it says on the card when it arrives.

When confirming everything on a screen at the counter, before they took my photos, the display said to confirm I was female. I told the clerk to fix that, so he did, and then I had to confirm on the machine a “gender change.” I wonder if I’ll be a target for MAGA rage now.

At Garcia Property Management

Sue and I changed property managers last year. I had never met them in person, so I wanted to drop by, leave a little souvenir from Japan, and say hello. Wow – what a place! It’s a huge, beautifully designed office space filled with busy friendly people. And even a dog. I told them about the St. Louis edition of Monopoly that Sue and I had been playing and asked them if they were going to charge us property management fees on that, and I think they looked like they would seriously consider it.

Bissinger’s Chocolates

This is a famous St. Louis chocolate company originally founded in 1668 in Paris. In 1845 they moved to America and have chocolate factory tours and lots of handmade delicious-looking (though I don’t eat them) chocolates. It’s another must-bring-home-as-souvenirs treat. In fact, after my visit, Hirokazu demanded I go find an extra 10 Bissinger’s chocolate bars for everybody at his office. So I had to go out hunting for them twice. Once at their main headquarters, and once at an upscale supermarket, Dierbergs, to get the extra chocolate bars.

Here’s their main headquarters, with a shop, and factory tours.

Some of their special collections for the fall.

Hirokazu seemed pleased when I showed him the extra chocolate bars he demanded I get, while taking him on a walk around Lafayette Park via LINE.

And here I am picking up 4 boxes of vacuum-packed gooey butter cakes at the Park Avenue Coffee headquarters shop. I confirmed they would fit in my suitcase. Another Hirokazu request. He wanted to bring them to his office to share.

During out walk around the park we got to see the fountain, geese by the lake, and also a wedding ceremony being held at the park.

Four Muddy Paws

A bit further up Park Avenue, just beyond Park Avenue Coffee is Four Muddy Paws, a neighborhood store for dog stuff. They had made-in-St. Louis dog cookies. I got 5 bags: 1 for Pao, 2 for his two sisters who live next door (Komachi and Anchiru), one for Rocky who lives two houses over, and one for Sui-chan, who has become a close friend with Pao. We even recently went to a dog run together.

Stephen Drops By to Visit

Another old friend of Sue’s from her church choir (going back 40 years), Stephen, came by to visit. I’ve also known Stephen for I guess going on 20 years now. We had a good time and caught up on a lot of things going on with their friends and church. I do have one complaint though. Sue let it slip that (can you believe it) Stephen is actually older than me! Genes?

Sue Leaves the House! And a visit to Jane.

On my last full day there, before returning the rental car to Budget, right by Busch Stadium, Sue was able to leave the house and we went to visit our old friend, Jane, who is living now in an assisted living facility. I’ve also known Jane for years. It really doesn’t seem that long ago that she was driving around and carrying 20 lb bags of kitty litter over to Sue’s house.

Sue, Sylvia, Stephen, and Jane are all members of Bethel Lutheran Church in St. Louis. I met them all through Sue. While I’m not a church member, I appreciate how close we’ve all become over the years.

Returned the Car – right by Busch Stadium

Sue and I drove over to the Budget/Avis office at the Westin Hotel to leave off the car. It was an Equinox and very comfortable. I loved the built-in navigation system with voice control. Afterwards, we took an Uber back to Sue’s place.

Saying Goodbye Early Friday Morning

An Uber came to pick me up at 4:15 am. Sue and I said our goodbyes and Sue waved from her front door as I left for the airport.

Thanks for everything this week, Sue! Not to mention the rice cakes drizzled with date syrup! I didn’t stop eating the whole time I was there. When I got home and weighed myself, well, I was expecting a weight gain. But guess what! It all came off within a week! So I look forward to my next visit. (Not just for food.)

Saint Louis to Dallas / Fort Worth

I left my Davis cap at Sue’s, so got a (nicer) St. Louis cap at the airport.

DWF Gift Shops – All I’ll say is I did not buy this.

Home Again

Hirokazu met me at Shinkoiwa Station, and we took a taxi home, where Pao was waiting. Considering I was gone for a week, I would give Pao’s reaction at seeing me again maybe a 3 out of 5.He rarely looks me straight in the eyes, so I guess that was something.

Approaching Narita – A Perfect Day

On the plane I used my noise canceling headphones (really helps!) and listened to some of my favorite playlists. This popped up on the screen just before landing. It was moving, because yes, it was a perfect day. Sue saw me off with hugs. Hirokazu greeted me back home with hugs. Sue was wonderful and welcoming the entire trip. We had fun, even though we spent most of the time at home. I got to take care of some errands, including some bank stuff for Sue and me. I saw close friends, like Sylvia. And Jane. And it all finished by coming home again. Jet lagged, but with good feelings about a Perfect Day.

You can click here – visit the album for my St. Louis Trip 2026 – and see the full-size version of all the photos – and more that I didn’t post, including more photos from Lafayette Square and the park, beautiful houses in the historic district neighborhood, and pictures of my vegan meals on the plane. 🙂