April, 20， 2021 Day 3: Mt. Vernon, Illinois -- Montgomery City, Missouri (just outside of St. Louis)

Missouri garden

We got caught in a blizzard in Missouri Botanical Gardens. We wore rain jackets on top of down coats on top of sweaters, walking in the rain that slowly turned into a blizzard. We were in the middle of the biting wind and admiring hot pink azaleas in zen gardens. The colors of the flowers were in such contrast to the weather. Towards when the rain was turning into snow and sleet, we saw a woman wearing a jacket that seemed exactly like my mom’s - the same shade of salmon pink, same mid-thigh cut, same hood. When we walked up to them, we discovered they were from China and started having a conversation in Chinese. They went were locals and went to the gardens everyday to walk. Her glasses were the same style as my mom’s as well, and their son shared a name with my dad. As they walked us to our cars, the woman named Shirley started inviting us to her Bible study group and asked us about our faiths. I admired her spirit for proselytizing to strangers in a blizzard.

When we got out of the snow, we found a nearby ramen place to eat; the hot noodles were comforting after the cold. On the way my mom spotted an IKEA. She had never been through an IKEA and we went through the store with our dog in the stroller underneath a blanket. There were glass lamps and a 590 square feet apartment furnished for two. It seemed warm and bright with possibilities. IKEA is very good at marketing with the layout and names of designers and Swedish signs. We bought two mats for $1.99 each made of cotton and jute for our dog to sleep on; he’s enjoying them both.

Huge ikea store

unexpected snowing and cold weather

Chinese garden inside the Missouri garden