Lights! Camera! More Lights!

Talk about holiday cheer!

I was once again lucky enough to “chaperone” our Alumni Club’s Festival of Lights trip. This activity is especially poignant as I’ll soon be of age to join the club myself. I’d share that age requirement with you, but who likes to give away his/her age? Oh, O.K., the requirement is 50. Ugh. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!

Anyway, we once again had a very good turnout. This is our most popular trip for the club; I think it really gets people into the holiday spirit, so members sign up for it year after year. This year we even had Vantage's Chairman of the Board along for the festivities! He joined three busloads of other holiday happy members ready to take in all the lights AmerenUE could handle.

Our first stop was the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville. There we enjoyed a very nice buffet dinner after which we took in the Christmas tree display, some caroling entertainment and the gift shop. Camel rides were also available, but I failed to spy any Alumni Club members straddling a hump. Then it was back on the bus for the Way of Lights tour! If you’ve never experienced this event, put it on your calendar for next year!

But wait, the lights were just beginning! The buses pointed back west and we drove through the brewery (sorry, no stopping there for a tour!), around Macy’s famous downtown store window displays (scaled down this year), and then through the festive city of Clayton, and finally the grand finale—the Winter Wonderland at Tilles Park! We all ogled 75 acres of flickering wonder, over 1.5 million lights and 30 display areas!

Then it was back to the three meeting locations for the buses. And I heard them exclaim as they drove out of site, “Merry Christmas to all, and thanks for the lights!”

If you’re interested in joining in any of the fun of our Alumni Club trips, click here. There are a few requirements for membership in the club. We usually host three to four trips a year. Trips have included Cardinal baseball games, eagle-watching trips near Pere Marquette State Park, a trip to Springfield, Illinois, to experience the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, and other popular destinations.

For a look into what you missed at this year’s Festival of Lights trip, check out our video!