With MU Homecoming, and related heavy traffic, pre-Halloween, and additional events all scheduled this same weekend, we thought we would relay our experiences with the craziness yesterday morning. We tried for a less-mainstream collection of events: Ellis Library Homecoming Open House, Halloween ComicFest at Slackers, LEGO event at Toys ‘R’ Us, and Orscheln’s decorate a pumpkin craft. Between football attendees/tailgaters and the parade crowd, parking was challenging. We finally decided to try University Ave Garage on the MU campus. There actually were plenty of spaces still available near the top — yay! As we walked toward Ellis Library, we realized there was no way to get to the library, except by crossing the parade! We found a gap, and dashed safely across. We talked with a librarian at Ellis, and she had to do the same to get there! We had a blast at the library, including tasty treats and a short tour where our kids got to see the quiet rooms and stacks. I found it fascinating that the signs at the entrance to the quiet study areas even say, “no whispering”. Then our daughter found a great spot to watch the parade!
View of 2013 MU Homecoming Parade from inside Ellis Library.
A high vantage point, and no need to deal with the issue of avoiding all the candy that is distributed. After our tour, people were finally starting to come to into Ellis, and we headed for Slackers, then to our car in the garage. Everything was going well; lots of people, but we were able to keep moving. Then we got to the garage. Uh, oh. As we went up the stairs, the line of cars went all the way up, and they did not seem to be moving. Not good. We got to our car, ready to back out, and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. I turned the car back off. Then we waited some more. After about 20-30 minutes, we were finally able to start moving–slowly. We did, finally, make it out of there and to Toys ‘R’ Us. Toys ‘R’ Us had a scheduling challenge with three events of their own, and with everything else going on in town, no one was at at the LEGO table. We enjoyed building our figures, and it was too late to go to Orscheln’s, so we wrapped up and went home for lunch.
Except for the parking garage, we had a lovely morning. We would love to hear about your experiences in the comments below. Have a great rest of the weekend!
