Change of Plans

One thing about this lifestyle is the need to be flexible.  Though we had planned to head west along a southern route and then turn north through AZ and UT, our plans changed for a couple of reasons.  We had been watching the weather patterns and it appeared snow might cause us some headaches at the higher elevations plus our house batteries that we rely on to run the household when we are not hooked up to electricity were having issues.  So change of plans…head north through St. Louis where
we’d probably be able to get new batteries if needed.  As we headed north on I-55, just north of Jackson, MS, we spotted what looked like a miniature version of the Washington Monument.  Turns out that it’s actually a cell phone tower…pretty clever disguise!

 

Being in St. Louis even for a short visit of course means time with friends. As what seems to have become tradition, our first night in town John drops by for pizza and beer.  We were once again staying in the Hollywood Casino parking lot not far from Steve and Patty’s house so they dropped by, too.

 

The next day was spent working on the batteries.  Though Russ had found a nearby distributor for new ones, we decided to try a couple of other things first before forking out the money for 6 new deep cell batteries.  We removed every single cable and deep cleaned them in a baking soda and water mixture, scrubbing well, and then reconnecting everything.  Bob came by to supervise and checked the voltage with his super duper meter.  We decided to hang out a few days and see if this fixed the problem.

 

While in town, Russ fit in a round of golf with his buddies, and I caught up with Gloria and her bowling team to watch, chat, go to lunch, and get in a little shopping.  Dana could only stay at the bowling alley for about an hour so wasn’t in the group photo but we managed to grab one with her and Diane S., and when Diane N. arrived we got one with her but Dana had already left…my high school buds.

 

Lucky for us the American Legion Post 338 Fish Fry (www.thomanboothepost338.com/fish-fry/) had opened for the season!  We ordered 1-1/2 lbs. of cod just for us along with a large side of spaghetti…yummmm!!  Bob was already there when we arrived

       and Mike showed up a short time later each enjoying their own lunch choice.  Another good time with good friends and good food!

 

One place I’d never visited was Laumeier Sculpture Park (www.laumeier.org).  Pronounced

   “lau meyer”, this 105 acre park is free and open to the public and much bigger than I had originally thought!  It’s described as a “living laboratory where artists and audiences explore the relationship between contemporary art and the natural environment”.  Though the indoor gallery is currently closed for renovation, there is still plenty

to see and trust me we didn’t see it all.  Some sculptures are fascinating and some are, well, um, interesting but most have a descriptive plaque which helps explain the art to some degree.  The park is pet friendly so think I’ll plan a return visit when we come through in the fall, bring Abby, a picnic lunch, and maybe even some friends!

 

This year marks St. Louis’ 250th birthday and to help commemorate the event the city has created the Cakeway to the West.  It’s described as “one part public art exhibit, one part scavenger hunt, and one part history lesson.”  There are 250 “cakes” located throughout St. Louis and the

      surrounding area, each standing about 4 ft. tall, decorated by local artists, and representative of its location.  One of these cakes was at Laumeier, and I found another at the historic Kirkwood Train Station.  Only 248 to go!!

 

As luck would have it, Gary Pinkel, head coach of the Missouri Tigers football team, was the guest speaker at Lombardo’s for the monthly luncheon of the St. Louis-Tom Lombardo Chapter of The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (http://www.stlnff.com).  It was our wedding anniversary, and

though we did not purchase tickets for the event, we had already planned to celebrate with lunch at the restaurant.  Bob joined us in the bar where we planned to eat and where some of the overflow crowd was seated as it is just off the banquet room.  Afterwards Bob went into the room to ask Coach a question, and suddenly Bob

  motioned for me to join him.  Turns out the coach was signing autographs, but though I didn’t have anything with me to sign, he was gracious enough to pose for a picture.  Shortly thereafter Carmen surprised us with a bottle of Cinzano Asti Sparkling Wine as an anniversary gift from him and Angelo but left before we could include him in a picture.

 

Even though our stay in St. Louis was relatively short, we still managed to catch up with a few friends.  Sometimes they came to our place like Michelle whom we hadn’t seen in a couple of years or Rick and John who came to watch the baseball game, and sometimes we met up with folks elsewhere.  Plus a huge thanks to Steve and Patty for letting us catch up on our laundry at their house and providing a yummy dinner.  The days were full and the batteries were thankfully holding their own, but it was time to move on and get to Yellowstone.