happy, happy Christmas

Michael and Amy weigh a suitcase

Last Monday morning our bags were packed  and weighed,

and we traveled northward to St. Louis to return our rental van.

With a few extra hours to spare before taking our flight to the NW, 

we visited the St. Louis Arch,

the Gateway to the West.
(For us it's more of a gateway to the East...)

We rode to the top of the arch; 630 feet up.

The view from the top was breathtaking,

but not more so than the swaying of the arch

under us...

It was  good to get our feet back on firm ground again.

decorating the tree

Then on to Seattle, where we've been celebrating the season

together with family.

building gingerbread houses

  These are sweet times.

Happy, happy Christmas, 

that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, 

recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, 

and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!

~Charles Dickens