Summer of Fun: Places to Go

I am working on a list of awesome toddler ideas to keep Jillian and me occupied this summer, things to go see and do and adventures to have at home. Here is a list of places we can go together. As we make our trips, I'll try to blog about our adventures. The list below is in no particular order.

1. St. Louis Zoo (new sea lion exhibit opens June 30)
2. St. Louis Science Center (Discovery Room)
3. Magic House Trip (Sandcastle Beach exhibit May 17-July 1)
4. Botanical Gardens (children's garden and feeding the koi)
5. Tower Grove Park (playground and wading pool)
6. City Garden
7. City Museum (Toddler Town exhibit)
8. Grants Farm
9. Purina Farms
10. Circus Flora ("Little Top" Wednesdays - a special 1 hour show for kids at 10 am)
11. Transportation Museum (new creation station for kids)
12. Swimming at Ballwin North Pointe Family Aquatic Center
13. Swimming at Ellisville Edge Aquatic Center
14. Swimming at Manchester Aquatic Center
15. Swimming at Chesterfield Family Aquatic Center
16. Swimming at Des Peres Outdoor Aquatic Center
17. Free movies at Wehrenberg Theatres (Wednesdays and Thursdays June 6 thru Aug 16)
18. Laumeier Sculpture Park
19. Shaw Nature Reserve
20. Dog Museum at Quenny Park (Is this any good for kids?)
21. Farmer's Markets
22. Contemporary Art Museum (They host playdates for kids ages 2-5 on the first Tuesday of each month)
23. Suson Park Farm
24. Mark Twain Lake - Spalding Beach
25. Miscellaneous parks to add to Play St. Louis
26. Visit family in Columbia, MO
27. Visit family in Chicago
28. Visit family in Peoria, IL

Day 2: Words

Another beautiful day in February, so we took a trip to the zoo. This is on the old water fountain between the train station and lakeside cafe. I love the vintageness of this piece and that it still exists and hasn't been torn out for something new.

Want to play along?

March of the Penguins

We stopped by the zoo this afternoon on our way to Andy's birthday party - it was the last week for the Sunday "March of the Penguins" where they let the penguins out of their habitat and outside into the cold winter sun. Overall it was really neat, but the organization of the whole event was horrible....they should have had one long line and rotated people through but instead they blocked off the line at one point, then opened it back up later. Madhouse!

This guy was literally right in front of me.

this one kept running back and forth in front of everyone

looking down the way at all the penguins

Kudos to MoDot

(photo from http://stlmissouri.com/river.htm)

Kudos to MoDot! They got all the water (and mud and debris washed up by the waters, plus the stoplights working again) from the flood over the weekend removed and the intersection of hwy 141 and interstate 44 open by Monday morning's rush hour! I had to back up and hear it again on the news (with our handy DVR) to make sure I heard right!

You can count on Fox 2...

At this very moment....

"Don't Get Stuck"

That's metrolink/metro bus's new slogan. They are trying to get people to ride metrolink or buses instead of driving when hwy 40 is closed for construction.

Just for the heck of it, I typed in our home address and my work address in their tripfinder feature to see what it would come up with. Keep in mind that my usual morning commute is 5.52 miles and takes 15-20 minutes.

Here are the options that metro's tripfinder provided:

Fire at "the rock" church

The photo above is a striking shot from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, taken at the height of a 5 alarm fire at St. Alphonsus "Rock" Catholic Church last Thursday night. The 135-year-old church is a fixture on North Grand. I've attended mass here a couple of times, and I really feel for the congregation.

Given that the church is located in a sketchy part of north St. Louis, you wouldn't think that they would attract people from all over the metropolitan area, but their faith and dedication to their church really is inspiring. It is one of the largest African American churches in the area - but you don't notice that walking in, you notice their excitement and welcoming attitudes
towards everyone - white, black, visitor or not.

Mass at the rock is generally 2 hours long with a strong gospel choir, and passionate homilies. The kiss of peace lasts 20-30 minutes because everyone wants to shake hands (and/or hug) with everyone else.

They are going to rebuild, but say it may it may take awhile for it to be complete.

Please remember the St. Alphonsus "Rock" congregation in your thoughts and prayers.

White Castle Withdrawl?

Florissant White Castle to pull up its drawbridge for a while

Apparently the locals might experience 'withdrawal problems,' city councilman says - if they tear down the old restaurant and build a new one in it's place....

Seriously...

An ambiguous mascot to yet another ambiguous mascot...

Rivermen washed away, Chancellor approves Tritons

I thought I'd be excited when UMSL finally changed their mascot from the Rivermen....but they changed it to something equally ambiguous...the Tritons. What's a Triton was my first thought when I saw the headline....

Archbishop quits hospital board over Sheryl Crow

Archbishop quits hospital board over Sheryl Crow

I generally don't agree with the St. Louis Arch bishop, but I actually do on this issue. It's a catholic hospital, and should uphold catholic values.

St. Louis Survey

This is a silly survey I got off myspace, but it is kind of interested too. I have lived in St. Louis since August 2001...and I think I've done more than some St. Louis natives!

In St. Louis I have seen/been to/experienced:

1. The Adams Mark Hotel -- never stayed in it but I have been inside. My dad stayed at it for a conference when I was a kid and then when we came to St. Louis as a family a couple years later he insisted on taking us inside to show us the big horse statue in the lobby!
2. The Old Spaghetti Factory -- many times
3. Driven over the MLK bridge -- yup
4. Driven Over the J.B. Bridge -- yup (well not me in the drivers seat but I've been over it in the car)
   
5. Driven over the Poplar Street Bridge -- yup
6. Been to Pops -- no
7. Been to The Oz -- no
8. Been to Westport -- yes, not a big fan
9. Been to Mardi Gras -- no I think it's just silly to get a huge crowd of people together in the streets to drink. I'd rather drink comfortably at home.
10. Gone to the top of The Arch -- yes but not since I moved here
11. Ridden Metrolink -- many times
12. Shopped at Plaza Frontenac -- no..because I prefer to shop where I can actually afford things.
13. Eaten at Imo's Pizza -- not in the restaurant, but I've had the pizza and it's yucky.
14. Shopped at South County -- yes, only a couple times, it's out of the way.
    
15. Shopped at West County -- yes, they don't have many stores I like
    
16. Shopped at Galleria -- yes, nice mall, will be interesting to see what happens when hwy 40 is closed tho
    
17. Shopped at Union Station -- yes, tourist mall, I used to see movies out there riding metro down from the UMSL dorms my freshman year though
    
18. Shopped at The Mills --yes, they don't have many stores I care for
19. Been to Pink Galleon (any location) -- yes, I hate smokey bars though.
20. Gone to Octoberfest in Hermann -- I think we drove out there once or twice when I was a kid.
21. Been to Ted Drewes -- yes, and I even had some at a department meeting this afternoon!
22. Walked along the Riverfront -- yes
23. Been to the Art Museum -- yes - was going every semester while I was in school for art history classes
24. Been to Six Flags -- yes, at least once a year for the last 5 years or so
25. Been to the St. Louis Zoo -- yes, one of my favorite St. Louis spots!
26. Been to Ronnies Theatre -- no, but I don't think I'm missing anything
    
27. Been to the Muny -- yes
28. Been to Silo X -- I am seriously afraid of haunted houses...but I want to go to a REAL haunted house with real ghosts and spirits and such
29. Been to Forest Park -- yes, it's really quite nice
30. Been to Fast Eddies -- nope
31. Been to the car show at the Edward Jones Dome -- no but I had to pay extra for my parking when I was working downtown and it was going on!
32. Been to a reception at Orlando Gardens -- no but I visited to see about having our wedding reception there.
33. Been to The Hill -- yes
34. Been to (old) Busch Stadium -- yup
35. Been to Busch Stadium II -- yup
36. Been to The Checkerdome -- just learned that this is the old arena, and the answer is no because they tore it down before I moved here.
37. Been to The Keil Center/Savvis Center/Scottrade Center -- I saw Pope John Paul II there back in 1998 (it was Keil then)
38. Been to a concert at Riverport/UMB Pavillion -- yes
39. Skied at Hidden Valley -- nope
40. Been to Hacienda on Manchester -- yes, I love me some mexican food
41. Flown out of Lambert Airport -- yes
42. Been to St. Anthony's Hospital -- no
43. Eaten at Eat Rite -- ha no but I consider it whenever I drive by
44. Been to The Tivoli theatre -- no
45. Eaten at Cecil Whittaker's Pizza -- nope
46. Been to the "'Revolving Restaurant" downtown? -- no
47. Eaten at Crown Candy Kitchen -- yes
48. Been to the V.P. Fair -- yes, loved it, trying to forget about the ride home on metro
    
49. Been to Dogtown for the Hibernian's St. Patty's Day Celebration -- nope
50. Been to Ameristar -- no
51. Been to Harrahs -- no
52. Been to Casino Queen -- no
53. Been to Fairmount Park for horse-race betting -- no
54. Been to Dave & Buster's in Earth City -- yes
55. Gone Bowling at Brentwood Lanes -- no
56. Sat on that big Tortoise in Forest Park -- yes
57. Seen the hot air balloon race at Forest Park -- not the race, but I have seen the glow twice
58. Been to the Lemp Mansion -- no but it is supposedly haunted so I want to check it out
59. Been to Grant's Farm -- yes, I love to feed the goats from the baby bottles!
60. Met Marshall Faulk in person -- no and I wouldn't know him if I saw him
61. Met Nelly in person -- no
62. Met Ozzie Smith in person -- no
63. Eaten at Cunnetto house of Pasta -- yes
64. Ridden in the Moon Light Ramble -- no
65. Eaten at Helen Fitzgerald's -- no
66. Been to the Old Cathedral -- yes
67. Hung out on Delmar -- yes, one of the first places I went with people from the dorm when I moved here.
68. Been to Meramec Caverns -- no, surprisingly
    
69. Taken classes at Meramec/Forest Park/Flo. Valley -- nope
70. Been to the notorious East Side -- ha no!
71. Have you ever been asked what high school you go to -- Yes and I tell them Hickman and they look at me like "huh?" Then I explain that I didn't grow up in St. Louis
72. Gassed up your car at the giant Amoco sign at the Highest Pointe in St. Louis -- I honestly can't remember. I know I've met up with people at that station
73. Eaten at Blueberry Hill? -- yes
74. Gone down a slide at the City Museum? -- they are so much fun!
75. Gone sledding at Art Hill? -- no
76. Gone ice skating at Steinberg rink? -- yes
77. Been to Dirt Cheap Cigarettes and Liquor? -- yes
78. Mentioned Buckley? -- LOL NO
79. Been to the science center? -- yes
80. Been on the AB brewery tour? -- no but I have been on Schfley's tour at the Bottleworks!
81. Been to Tower Grove Park? -- no
82. Been to Laumier Sculpture Park? -- yes, I love it there
83. Left St. Louis via the AmShack? -- ha no
84. Moved away and come back? -- nope

It's a girl!

Find out all the details on the St. Louis Zoo website!
(image from stlzoo.org)

St. Louis Barbie

I saw this on stltoday.com today and found it hillarious. Turns out they have a similar list floating around the internet for most major US cities...still funny when it's personalized just for you though!

"Clayton/Ladue Barbie"
This princess Barbie is sold only at Plaza Frontenac & the Galleria. She comes with an assortment of Kate Spade, Prada and LV Handbags, Rolex watch a Lexus SUV, a long-haired foreign dog named Honey and a 25,000 sq ft. patio home. Available with or without tummy tuck and face lift. Workaholic Ken sold only in conjunction with the augmented version.

"Webster Barbie"
The modern day homemaker Barbie is available with Ford Wind star Minivan and matching gym outfit. She gets lost easily and has no full-time occupation. Traffic jamming cell phone sold separately.

"East St. Louis Barbie"
This recently paroled Barbie comes with a 9mm handgun, a Ray Lewis knife, a Chevy with dark tinted windows, and a Meth Lab Kit. This model is only available after dark and must be paid for in cash (preferably small, untraceable bills) ..unless you are a cop, then we don't know what you are talking about.

"Chesterfield Barbie"
This yuppie Barbie comes with your choice of Rolls Royce convertible or Hummer H2. Included are her own Starbucks cup, credit card and country club membership. Also available for this set are Shallow Ken and Private School Skipper. You won't be able to afford any of them.

"Jeffco Barbie"
This pale model comes dressed in her own Wrangler jeans two sizes too small, a NASCAR t-shirt and tweety bird tattoo on her shoulder. She has a six-pack of Bud light and a Hank Williams Jr. CD set. She can spit over 5 feet and kick mullet-haired Ken's butt when she is drunk. Purchase her pickup truck separately and get a confederate flag bumper sticker absolutely free.

"Downtown Barbie"
This collagen injected, rhino plastic Barbie wears a leopard print outfit and drinks cosmopolitans while entertaining friends. Percocet prescription available as well as warehouse conversion condo.

"That one trailer park in Frontenac Barbie"
This tobacco-chewing, brassy-haired Barbie has a pair of her own high-heeled sandals with one broken heel from the time she chased beer-gutted Ken out of Wentzville Barbie's house. Her ensemble includes low-rise acid-washed jeans, fake fingernails, and a see-through halter-top. Also available with a mobile home.

"Central West End Barbie"
This doll is made of actual tofu. She has long straight brown hair, arch-less feet, hairy armpits, no makeup and Birkenstocks with white socks. She prefers that you call her Willow . She does not want or need a Ken doll, but if you purchase two Central West End Barbies and the optional Subaru wagon, you get a rainbow flag bumper sticker for free.

"Ferguson Barbie"
This Barbie now comes with a stroller and infant doll. Optional accessories include a GED and bus pass. Gangsta Ken and his 1979 Caddy were available, but are now very difficult to find since the addition of the infant.

Glass in the Garden

Gimlet and I checked out the Chihuly: Glass in the Garden exhibit this weekend at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. All I have to say is AWESOME. The exhibit is there through October 31, 2006. Check it out before it's gone! However, I don't think that I'll be able to go back to the gardens after the exhibit is gone and not miss it and wish that it was still there.

The glass work is just beautiful. It's organic and goes so well with the nature surrounding it. Some of the pieces even feel like they just grew from the ground alongside the trees and plants. We took a ton of pictures. You can check them out here, but they really don't do justice to seeing it in person!

Get your vote in now...

The St. Louis Zoo and KMOV Channel 4 are holding a contest for naming the new baby elephant born on Wednesday, August 2, 2006. The zoo keepers have come up with 5 names and the public gets to vote on the name they like best. You can vote once a day until the voting closes (noon on Monday, August 28). You'll also have a chance to win some awesome zoo prizes including a "Greet the baby behind the scenes and meet her keepers" opportunity. Here are the names:

• Sundari (soon-dar-ee) which means "beautiful woman"
• Nisha (NEESH-ah) which means "night"
• Maliha (MAH-lee-hah) which means "strong" and "beautiful"
• Sashi (SAH-shee) which means "moon"
• Jaya (JAY-ah) which means "victorious."

I like "Nisha" the best. I'll be voting each day for the next two weeks...you can too...just click here!

Reviewing the rules of the road...

For those of you who have forgotten, here is a review of the rules of the road:

• When the light turns red, stop.
• When changing lanes, check your blind spot.
• Keep your hands on the wheel. On the highway is not the time to refill your coffee mug from the thermas that you brought (I actually saw this on hwy 44 this morning).
  
• When a lane is closed, do not speed around the other drivers patiently waiting to get thru, only to cut into their lane in front of them.
• At a stop sign, you must not only stop, but also let any cars already stopped at the intersection take their turns.
  

LIVE on the Levee

Elizabeth and I went to Live on the Levee on Friday night. There was some good, some bad, and some awesome fireworks.

Friday night's shows were Sister Hazel and Better than Ezra. We didn't end up seeing Sister Hazel because we were searching for food...we walked down to the arch, realized that the supposed "good" food was up on "Eat's Bridge" and walked all the way back up to the Eads Bridge only to find out that the food up there wasn't any better than the food sold down by the riverfront. St. Louis, don't advertise a big thing happening on the bridge if it's really the same as the riverfront, and seriously, I spent the whole night watching traffic crawl over the Poplar Street Bridge, would it have made more sense just to keep the Eads bridge open for commuters??

We found ourselves a seat on the stairs overlooking the riverfront in time to see Better than Ezra take the stage. We were almost to the top of the stairs, thinking that we were far enough back not to have our ears blasted with loud speakers....wrong! If they'd turned the speakers down just a little we would have been able to hear the words to the songs! They did have a sign-language interperter which was really cool to watch. She really got into the music, and the signs were beautiful flowing to the music.

After a few songs we headed to the other side of the arch and sat and talked where we could hear each other without screaming. We headed back over to the arch when the fireworks started. The fireworks were awesome! I've never seen such a good show!

So all in all, Live on the Levee is not a bad idea, but it needed some tweeking to get people to come back - especially in the "Eat's Bridge" vs the riverfront. We walked about 4 miles total throughout the evening.

A St. Louis Survey

An StL survey (it's just like those email surveys that come around every once in a while only specifically for St. Louisans) .

1.) What is your favorite Ice Cream Place? We go to Fritz's a lot, everyone loves Ted Drews but I've only been there once.

2.) Favorite concert seen at UMB Bank Pavillion ( Riverport) -- I've only seen 2 concerts there...Summer Jam 2002 (headliner P. Diddy) and the Goo Goo Dolls. Both were good.

3.)Would you rather go to the Dome, Savvis Center, or Busch Stadium? Busch Stadium...mostly because I can stand baseball more than hockey or football

4.)Favorite Bar? The Venice Cafe is cool, but I'd have to go for any bar that my friends are at with me.

5.)Favorite Place to eat in the Loop? Blueberry Hill

6.) Favorite Fast food? I don't really eat fast food...but occationally I get a craving for McDonalds fries.

7.)Would you rather go to the Zoo, Science Center, or the City Museum? Holy cow...I can't make a choice here! I love them all! If I have to choose one I guess the zoo.

8.) Have you ever been to the balloon races in Forest Park? Seen the balloons...but at the balloon glow the night before. I've seen the races over Gimlet's grandma's house tho!

9.) Would you rather go to the Muny or the Fox? Well the fox, but the free seats at the muny are quite tempting for some shows.

10.) Favorite Mall in STL? Galleria, then West County

11.) Have you ever been to Grants Farm? Yes...I love to feed the goats there!

12.)Favorite time of year to go to Six Flags? I usually end up going there during Fright Fest, which is pretty cool, but I'll take any time.

13.) Favorite casino to go to? Never been.

14.)Did you ever go to Incahoots or Liquid? nope....

15.) Did you ever see Sesame Street on Ice at the old Kiel Center? that would be a NO

16.) Ballwin Days or Manchester Days? Never been to either...but since I live in Ballwin I'll go with the Ballwin Days.

17.) Favorite Pizza Place? Papa John's, by the way...I HATE Imos!

18.)Favorite Place to watch fireworks? Downtown over the river!!!

19.) Best part of the VP Fair? Hello! Fireworks

20.)What High school did you go to? Hickman High School in Columbia, MO

21.) Favorite place to see a movie? I hardly ever see movies...so...any place without annoying teenagers and decent seating

22.) Best Sub place? Quiznos or Penn Station

23.) Would rather eat on the Hill or the Old Spaghetti Factory? The Hill because it's personal

24.) Chilli Cook off in West Port Plaza or The Taste of Clayton? Never been to either

25.) Mickey's Car Wash or Waterway? I wash my car at home (or sometimes Gimlet washes it)

26.) Would you rather go Ice skating in Forest Park or go look at Christmas Lights at Jellystone Park? Ice skating...but I've never been to see the Christmas Lights at Jellystone...

27.) What hospital were you born in? Boone Hospital in Columbia, MO

28.) Have you ever been inside the Arch? of course...hello...what else do you do when you visit St. Louis as a tourist. The last time was spring break my sophomore year...1999

29.) What radio stations are programed in your car? Y98, The River, The Arch, Z107

30.) If you could bring back one thing to STL what would it be? UM......geez I don't know...

St. Louis ranked 18th 'smart place' to live

St. Louis ranked 18th among nation's 'smart places' to live

I just read that St. Louis has been ranked #18 in the Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine's top 50 "Smart Places to Live." Aparently this survey ranked the cost of living, homes, crime (Funny, because just a few months ago, in a different survey, St. Louis was ranked the second most dangerous city in the country), health care, climate, environment and education.

Three other Missouri cities also made the cut: Kansas City came in sixth, Columbia 24th and Jefferson City 35th.

I wonder what cities were considered, and whether it was the "city" of St. Louis or the entire St. Louis metropolitian area that was judged to be a "smart place" to live. Also interesting is the size of St. Louis vs. the size of Columbia for example...

the beginnings of an obsession

Most of you know, my thesis project last year was about painted advertisements on walls in St. Louis (In case you are unfamiliar, check it out here stlwalls.com).

Well, now that I work downtown I have gotten into this topic more, and someday I'm going to update that site with research about the specific buildings and add more pictures. I have also become obsessed recently with urban decay and what I think of as the life cycle of a city. Basically, you have buildings from around 1900 to 1930 that have been used by several different businesses, services, or factorys over the years that have come and gone. These buildings usually have something beautiful about them - architectural details which you don't see in buildings today. However they have decayed to the point where they either need to be torn down or renovated. Doing either of those completes the life cycle of the building because it is either being torn down and then a new building goes up in its place, or it is renovated (or basically gutted to a brick shell and rebuilt) which also makes it mostly a new building.

So why am I going on and on about this? Well, my new obsession (in addition to the wall paintings) is this urban decay - it's ugly but it's beautiful idea.

Here are some websites you can check out to help you figure out what I'm talking about:

• Irrational Ecstasy Blog
• Ecology of Absence Blog
• St. Louis City Hospital: A History
• Built St. Louis (I love this site!)