Life in the STL!

What is a hometown? By definition, a hometown is the city or town where one was born and grew up. To me, my hometown is so much more. It is where my family is, where my friends are, where memories are. Although I love life in San Diego, I miss St. Louis because of the environment, family, and baseball.
There are certain things in St. Louis that I never appreciated until I was gone. In St. Louis there was one place my friends and I enjoyed going to. That was Forest Park. It has everything, our famous FREE zoo, and the oldest, and largest outdoor theatre, the Muny, in the United States. My cross country team used to have practice there. Forest park is a great place to be. It is a great place to go with family, or friends. Picnics, field trips and so much more can take place in Forest Park. There are certain restaurants that I miss as well. My favorite restaurant is Steak n’ Shake, a nice 50’s style burger diner where my friends and I enjoyed several meals. I love the food there, apart from Steak n’ Shake there is Imo’s pizza. It is the greatest pizza (in my opinion). Unfortunately, Imo’s is only found in St. Louis.
There is one thing that I have in St. Louis that is in very few places. That is my family. I miss them very much. While we did get into arguments, I had great times with them. I am very close to my dad’s brother and his kids. I miss going to my uncle’s house and hanging out watching “That 70’s Show” with my cousins. Another thing is miss is taking the 45 min. drive to my grandparent’s house to hang out. My grandpa is suffering from Alzheimers and dementia and it is taking him fast. Every moment spent with him was important to me because I do not know how much time I have left with him, which makes it hard being so far away. I know I’ll be back at Christmas to see them, and I look forward to it.
One thing that St. Louis has that is nowhere else is the St. Louis Cardinals. This summer I fell in love with baseball. I went to 5 games, which for me is a huge deal. Baseball is after all the great American pastime. Baseball is my dad’s favorite sport, so I have grown up with hearing about baseball. My dad has taken me to a game every summer, but I never really paid attention, until now. I love baseball, I love the cardinals. My favorite player is David Eckstein; the cardinals lead batter, and Short Stop. Unfortunately, his contract is up this year, and he will not be resigned with the Cardinals. The St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series in 2006, they are awesome. I cannot wait until next summer to watch them play at Busch Stadium.
A hometown is more than just where you live. It is memories, family, and friends. It is what I know, and remember and miss. I love St. Louis and I cannot wait until I go home for Christmas. Sadly, it is off season, so no Cardinals games, but come summer I am there. Although I love life in San Diego, I miss St. Louis because of the environment, family, and baseball.