March Madness

Jacksonville

No, my title does not refer to college basketball, though it was fun while the ISU Cyclones lasted in the tournaments. Instead, I am talking about our decision to drive to Florida for vacation during Spring Break Madness. Some friends of ours purchased a condo on the west side of Florida, and invited us to come and visit them. 

We thought if we were going to make the trip, why not drive and see some sights along the way? While our stops were not necessarily ones that spring breakers would frequent, we did not take into account the traffic getting there. Or coming home, for that matter, as the snow birds were heading back to their northern homes. Wow! There were many stretches that were stop and go, making a long drive even that much longer. Live and learn - we won't do that again.

On the way down we stayed in Jacksonville for a few days, which enabled us to visit local forts, preserves and plantations. One of the highlights was a store called Jax Pickleball, which sold everything you need for this sport. I picked up some new pickleball shoes (which are hard to find and harder yet to be able to try on), and Jim got a new paddle. We also drove down to St. Augustine, which was packed! I think we got the last parking spot in a 3 mile radius, so we left the car for the day and walked everywhere instead. I certainly did not think that town would be a spring break destination, but boy was I wrong.

Vero Beach

From Jacksonville we traveled to Vero Beach where some friends of ours have a boat that they winter on. It was fun to be able to see it, and them. While it was too choppy to take it out, we enjoyed sitting outside on the boat enjoying drinks and snacks with them. The next morning we drove to Jupiter, where our beloved St. Louis Cardinals have their spring training games. How great it was to take in a Cardinals game for the first time since we moved away from St. Louis!

St. Louis Cardinals game

After that we crossed the state to go to the Punta Gorda area of Florida. We spent four nights with our friends at their condo, and we can certainly see why they jumped on the opportunity to purchase a condo there. The birding in their community is great, and all the flowering trees, shrubs and flowers really made me miss our gardens back in St. Louis. The Charlotte area is sadly lacking in blooms, especially our community as it is only a couple years old.

Punta Gorda area

The last part of our journey was spent in St. Simon, Georgia. I picked this location because it was about halfway home, and also we had never been to this part of Georgia. It did not disappoint. There was a lot to explore in the area, and we enjoyed our time there. 

St. Simon area

Overall, we had a wonderful trip. We just won't make the mistake of taking another one down south in March. Otherwise I might have to switch vehicles with this woman.

The Company that Wasn't

Due to an illness on their end, we did not end up having company last weekend. Instead we had my sister and her husband over for dinner Saturday night. They had been invited over that day anyway, so we just ended up with a smaller dinner party. The weather was cool and crisp, and perfect for the chili and honey cornbread I had planned for the meal. It was nice to have some one on one time with them, as it has been awhile since the four of us have been together.

Jim took off on a motorcycle ride Sunday morning, which left me with a day alone. Hmmm...what to do? Rumor on the street was that the second Ameren cake, normally inside and available to employees and company guests only, was outside due to an event on Saturday. Early reports on the Cakeway to the West Facebook page Sunday morning indicated it was still out there. So I traded my workout clothes for jeans and a Cardinals sweatshirt, grabbed my camera and my garden gnome, and took off for Ameren. Sure enough, the cakes were there side by side, as well as a couple of other cakers.

Ameren Cakes

Since I was out anyway, I decided to take some new photos in the downtown area. When I originally went to the Shrine of St. Joseph, I didn't realize that even though the cake was behind a fence up on a stone wall, the gate can be opened to better photograph the cake. I also couldn't go into the church in June as there was a wedding taking place. I am so glad that I went back. What a beautiful church! Located at 11th and Biddle Streets, this parish traces its roots back to 1843. The cornerstone of the church was laid in 1844, and it was dedicated in 1846. And I absolutely love all of the St. Louis icons that appear on the cake.

Shrine of St. Joseph

Shrine of St. Joseph cake

Next I went to Citygarden as that cake had been moved to a new location, and then over to Kiener Plaza where I was certain the fountain would be splashing red for the Cardinals playoff game. I was not disappointed!

Kiener Plaza

I picked up a few shots of the Hilton and Drury Hotels for frame of reference shots for my cake book before walking down to the Old Cathedral. It had been draped in scaffolding when I photographed the cake back in June. It looks very pretty now. I took a peak inside, but Mass was just wrapping up so I didn't take any pictures of the interior.

Old Cathedral

This final photo pretty much sums up how it felt to be exploring downtown St. Louis with my camera on a beautiful fall day. Only one last thing to say - Let's go Cards!

Kiener Plaza

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Each year since the St. Louis Cardinals opened their new stadium they have had a Founders Day at the ballpark. Jim and I have been lucky enough to go to three of the events. Since we share our group of four season tickets it is not always easy to score admission to this. Hot dogs, brats, nachos, pretzels, popcorn, ice cream and soda are all free. You can take a tour of the team locker room and dugouts, have your picture taken with the World Series trophy, get autographs from retired players, and other fun things.

David Evans & Patrick Renna

This year in honor of the 20th anniversary of the movie The Sandlot (and how can that possibly be?), the director of the movie and one of the stars were at the stadium. They answered questions from the fans and later signed movies and posters that were available for sale that night. But best of all they played the movie on the giant screen in the stadium! You could sit in the seats or take a spot on the grass in the outfield. What a great evening! We have many fond memories of watching that movie with our son, who was playing ball himself at the time. How wonderful that a whole new group of children is being introduced to this family film. The weather was perfect, the company was exceptional, and we all cheered at the happy ending. Play ball!

Fall Colors

The Missouri Botanical Garden fountain

Jim and I took a nice long walk at the Missouri Botanical Garden this morning, cameras in hand. This is my favorite time of year as the trees explode in shades of yellow, red and orange. Surprisingly the garden was not too crowded, even when we left for home around noon. Everyone must have been over at the zoo or something. Too bad for them, as we had the garden mostly to ourselves.

I love that the garden has their main fountain dyed red in support of the St. Louis Cardinals. The fountain definitely rivaled the trees in terms of bright red! We were entertained by a bird having a quick bath in one of the fountains. I imagined him laughing at the other birds as they took a drink from the same place he had been bathing!

Bird bath

Splish splash I was takin' a bath

Japanese Garden

Four Takeaways from the Cardinal's Game Last Night

- Don't judge a winner from the score

- You may be down but you are not out

- It takes a team

and the number one takeaway...

- The Cardinals never give up, and neither do their fans!

Cardinal Fever

Today I was passing through Lambert International Airport in St. Louis when I came upon this balloon archway supporting the St. Louis Cardinals efforts in the World Series. It is such a fun tribute to the Cardinals, and I found myself wondering if that is the concourse the team will be coming through when they come back from Texas.

I flew down to Charleston today for a visit to Folly Beach, and I went to a bar/grill for supper and to catch part of the game. Some guys in the bar, of course getting louder the more they drank, began to first make fun of this series because, after all, who cares about the Cardinals or the Rangers. I could ignore that, and their terrible attempts to sing along with the music in the bar, until they started the name calling. When Albert came up to bat, one of them shouted that Albert was just a fat, stupid fag. At that point I decided to leave and finish watching the game in my townhouse. It is hard to believe how ignorant people can be.

Once Around the Block

We had a block party yesterday, and 181 men, women and children were there! Wow! I'd like to take credit for the idea as a neighbor and I had tossed around the notion of shutting down Maple Avenue for a party. But two women over on Portland Terrace beat us to the punch and organized the whole thing. They included multiple blocks and went so far as to set up a directory of everyone who responded so that we know who lives where. They ordered up a large inflatable jump pumpkin for the bigger kids and someone provide a small inflatable castle for the little ones. Porters chicken and tea, lemonade and water was provided (we all chipped in $5 per adult and $3 per child to cover that and other miscellaneous expenses). Even numbered houses brought appetizers or side dishes, and odd numbered houses provided the desserts.

I walked over at 2:30 to help set up the tables and chairs and then headed back home to get Jim, the dessert and two chairs. Jim had just returned from an overnight motorcycle trip, so I had to wait for him to shower and change. Then we headed over to the party, which was in full swing by then. It was great to meet so many new people (new to me if not to the neighborhood), especially the lady across the street who has been using my book to research the history of their home. I know her husband quite well, but she is extremely shy so I have only waved to her in passing. I also met another man who recently wrote a book about why we climb mountains; a bit of psychology thrown in as I understand it. We are going to get together and chat.

The party broke up just after 7 so we were able to get home in time to watch the Cardinals. Unfortunately it was already 4-0 so we missed whatever the Cards did big in the first inning. It was an exciting game to watch nonetheless. Go Cards!

All in the Family

Labor Day weekend has been a lot of fun so far. On Saturday our daughter-in-law's parents came over to spend Saturday and Sunday with us. We are so blessed that we enjoy every member of Megan's family! We decided to grill hamburgers and brats for lunch since we were going to the Cardinals game which began at 3:15. I tried a new macaroni salad recipe that suggested you make it the night before. I appreciated that hint since I prefer to have as little as possible left to do once my company arrives. We also made an ice cream pie for dessert and that, too, could be made Friday night.

Saturday morning I was able to put together the french toast casserole that I wanted to serve Sunday morning, because it also is best made the day before and refrigerated. So all we had left to do was assemble the condiments and grill the meat. Of course the day would end up with high humidity and a temperature of 100 degrees at the ballpark. Whew! Fortunately our seats were in the shade by that time of the day. We ended up getting rained on though, which was a welcome relief from the heat. The temperature dropped and the Cards won the game - so, perfect!

Following the game we went to McGuirks for supper, and were actually able to score a table in their lovely patio area. It was a very pleasant night to eat outside. Then we headed back home for some dessert.

Sunday we had the french toast casserole, fruit and Canadian bacon for breakfast, and then decided to see what the crowds were like at the Missouri Botanical Garden. The Japanese Festival is going on this weekend, so I expected it to be packed. We did have to park in the far west lots, but once we got inside it was really not all that crowded. With a temperature of 68 degrees, what a difference from the day before at the game! Cheryl and Allen had never been before, so they very much enjoyed themselves. We definitely need to take them back in the spring or early summer when so much more is blooming, but the chance to see the festival was an opportunity that we didn't want to miss. We had a late lunch and then they had to hit the road for home. It was so wonderful to see them as we hadn't had a chance to visit since Christmas.

Tomorrow we also have tickets to the ballgame, so our friends are coming over for lunch and going to the game with us. With a predicted high of 75 degrees, it will be a wonderful day for the game. But I must say that I have been doing quite a bit of laboring on this Labor Day weekend. I'll be tired tomorrow night!