KSHE95 Rock 'n' Roll Car Show

Went the the to the KSHE95 Rock 'n' Roll Car Show at the Gateway International Raceway in Illinois today.

The raceway has a NASCAR circuit & a drag strip on a single site. It is fairly new, with this year being their 'Turnin' 10' season (it opened in 1997). Compared to the UK drag strips that I have been to, the facilities are really good. It hosts some major events with both the NHRA Midwest Nationals drag racing & the NASCAR Busch 250 being held there. They also hold regular 'Midnight Madness' events where the drag racing takes place between 8pm & 3am!

The car show was really good & included aspects not usually seen at UK shows. There were free kids entertainments that Beth enjoyed &, as the drag strip was there it would be a shame not to use it. Real street racing was the order of the day with the cars being flagged off the start by a bloke raising & then dropping his arms (rather than using the 'Christmas tree' start lights). Even the Hooters girls that were walking around got in on the act & started a few races.

Alot of the cars (about 750 apparently) just parked up, although some of them had a go on the dynomometer. This is a trailer mounted device that the cars have to drive up onto & produces a graph that shows horsepower & torque. The rear wheels sit on a set of rollers & the car is tied down to the platform. When all is ready, the cars accelerate & perform a full power run. The noise is pretty amazing & the sight of seeing a car six foot in the air at full throttle, yet not moving, is pretty mad. I wouldn't want to be in the way if something went wrong, especially after seeing how much the cars loads up under acceleration & move about when not under full throttle!

Chilling Out

Spent Friday night & Saturday chilling out & just doing 'stuff'.

We did our weekly shop on Friday night, but before that we went to the local Red Robin. This is a 'Gourmet' burger restaurant. We had a small (read large) portion of onion rings between us & then Cheryl had a burger that beat her - it was jusst too big. Although it was more expensive that other burger bars, not only do you get real good burgers but the steak fries are bottomless as well (& they are real good)!

Filled up with petrol on Saturday at Quick Trip, which is a petrol station that is well known for its soda fountain. They have loads of 'Slush Puppy' type drinks, including steamed milk & cappucino as well as the usual fruit flavours. They also have a large variety of sodas & also have cherry & vanilla syrup. This means that you can make your own cherry or vanilla Coke, Dr Pepper, etc.

Beth & Cheryl went swimming in the morning at Riverchase whilst I watched from the viewing area above the pool. Beth will be continuing her swimming lessons here, but they will be in the outside pool which isn't open yet.

After swimming, we took Beth to a local Toys 'R' Us & then we drove over to the South County Centre as there is a Macaroni Grill there. Of course, not knowing what road it was on we just drove about on the off chance that we would find it. We did, thanks to Cheryl, & we had a superb meal there.

In a vain attempt to walk off dinner we spent the rest of the day out in the garden. As well as playing with Beth & having fun, we also cut the back lawn. I had been looking at the ride-on mowers at the local DIY stores but thought that perhaps they were overkill. After two hours of solid mowing, I'm beginning to change my mind!

School Time

Even though here in the US schools don't have an Easter Break, we let Beth have a couple of weeks off so that we could spend some time together & she got the Easter holiday that she was expecting.

Beth has now started school & seems to be getting on well, making new friends, & enjoying it. Her school is close to where we live & has some really cool play equipment in the playground (it is more like a park).

The Blue Blues

Went to see the St Louis Blues' final home game at the Savvis Centre. Steve got some tickets for the box, & there were enough for Cheryl & Beth to come as well (cool). Beth liked the ice hockey & really got into the game, shouting for the Blues to win at every opportunity. Unfortunately the Blues got hammered & then lost their final game meaning that not only did they not make the play-offs, but also finished last in the league.

In their defence, most of the players are relative unknowns (apparently) as most of the experienced players were sold earlier in the season. They now have a new owner & so things will hopefully be better next season.

Easter Egg Hunt

Beth really enjoyed the Easter Egg hunt. This was at Bud Weil park which is about five minutes from our house. There is a high ridge near Interstate 44 (Riverchase recreational centre is on it) & I guess the park is on the other size as the hunt was uphill. There was a light rain shower as we were queing up for the hunt, but it only lasted about two minutes & was then replaced by hot sunshine. Whilst we were waiting, Beth got to meet the Easter Bunny & a chipmunk. There was a limit of eight eggs per child, with the eggs being made from plastic & in two parts. They contained either candy or a piece of paper. If you got the paper, you got a bigger prize!

There were complimentary refreshments & an activity table where Beth made some bunny ears, an Easter 'flag' & also did some colouring. Not bad for $2!

Bigfoot

After the excitment of the monster truck racing a couple of months ago, I decided that it was about time that a visit was made to the home of the original monster truck - Bigfoot.

Bigfoot 4x4 Inc is located opposite the St Louis Ford plant. This was sort of on the way to a mall that we were going to & so I took the opportunity to have a quick look at the truck that started it all. As well as the showroom, you can look in the workshop & see the latest bigfoot monster trucks being constructed - cool. There are also a couple of trucks parked outside.

Easter Egg Hunt & The Magic House

We signed Beth up for an Easter Egg hunt that we saw advertised at the Riverchase sports centre. This is the recreational centre for Fenton & is about five minutes from our house. It is on the top of a small hill & so has a good view of the surrounding area. The indoor swimming pool looks really good & there is also an outdoor pool, although we haven't seen that yet.

We the went to The Magic House (also known as the St. Louis Children's Museum), which is a non-profit organization that provides children with hands-on learning experiences in a creative and stimulating environment. It is located in Kirkwood (which is about a 15 minute drive from our house) in a three-story Victorian home. The museum was originally built as a private home in 1901 for the George Lane Edwards family. Edwards was the first president of his family's brokerage firm, A.G. Edwards and Sons, as well as a director of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

Beth, well actually all of us, had a fun time playing with the exhibits & taking part in the activities. Beth met Clifford the Big Red Dog & made some Clifford ears which Cheryl ended up wearing for most of the day. It was really sunny, but we were glad to be in the air-conditioned building as the temperature was in the mid-high nineties (not bad for April!).

Grants Farm

I took a couple of days off work this week so that I could spend some time with Cheryl & Beth before Beth starts school. After having breakfast at IHOP (International House of Pancakes) we visited Grant's Farm. This is the 281-acre ancestral home of the Busch family (owners of the Busch brewery which amongst other things brews Budweiser Beer). It is located just south of the city of St. Louis on Gravois Road & is about a 10/15 minute drive from our house. The Farm is home to more than 1,000 animals representing more than 100 different species from six continents.

The Farm takes its name from the 18th President of the USA, Ulysses S. Grant. In the 1850s, Grant founded and farmed a portion of the 281 acres. His cabin (house) still stands within the grounds & is apparently the only property to be built by & lived in by a US president.

Other than parking, this is another attraction that is free. First you board a tram that takes you through the park grounds. Items of note on this part of the visit were the fence made out of civl war rifle barrels (about 2200 of them!) & the gates that are apparently used in the Budweiser adverts done by celebrities. The tram stops at the main 'zoo' type area that has some of the animals on display. We watched a really cool perfomance by one of their African Elephants which was really interesting. We then bought a drink in a souvenir cup. This was really good as it only cost $5 & refils were free! It was really hot (about 32 degrees) so we spent some time relaxing in the shade at the Bauernhof, which is a replica of a 19th century German farmstead. Beth also enjoyed dipping her feet in the nearby water fountain!

Beth fed a Pygmy Goat some milk (which she thought was cool as there was a picture of one on her souvenir cup) & we then had a quick look at the carriages & horses in the Bauernhof. We then got the tram back to the entrance where we had a look in the gift shop, which has a tree growing through it!?!

St Louis Zoo

Went to the zoo on Sunday with Steve & his clan. This time it was sunny & hot! Although you have to pay for parking, entrance to the zoo is actually free, although there are charges for some items (e.g. railroad ride). So that we could do everything, we each bought a wristband which was only $10 & saved about the same amount of money. In addition, we got coupons for free popcorn & a zoo souvenir.

The zoo is split up into different sections & so after taking a ride around the entire zoo on the railroad, we walked round each section. Some of the animals put on 'interesting' displays & the zoo also had some interesting exhibits. The poo table was different & the penguins & puffins were pretty cool (literally, since they were kept in a chilled area that other than smelling very fishy was a nice relief from the heat outside).

After leaving the zoo, we took a short drive to Brentwood where we had a good meal at the Maccaroni Grill (sausage & pepper classico this time).

Botanical Gardens & Chuck E Cheese's

We went to the Botanical Gardens on Saturday with Steve, his girlfriend, & her children. We got there just before midday, & as we live within St Louis County we all got in free (mind you I don't think the receptionist believed Steve at first, wanting to know his zip code before giving him the tickets).

The gardens were pleasant, but the weather was a bit odd. Despite clear skies & enough sun to get burnt (yes I did), it was pretty cold for the entire day. The gardens had just opened a new childrens play area that we spent a couple of hours in. It was great fun with tree houses, caves, slides, a mini town square & some cool water features. These included jumping fountains & spring loaded stainless steel cylinders set onto the ground that squirted out water when you jumped on them.

The evening was spent at Chuck E Cheese's where we met up with 'Engish' Steve (who we work with & has just moved to St Louis) & his wife & kids. This is a mad place! For about $40 you get a large pizza (about 18 inches diameter), unlimited drinks & salad, & 50 tokens. Why do you need tokens at restaurant? This one has loads of arcade games that only work with the tokens. You can win tickets on most of the machines & at the end of the night you exchange them for a toy. Beth won 104 tokens & came away with a small, pink, bag - she thought it was great!

Downtown

As part of my plan to get Cheryl accustomed to Missouri time as soon as possible, we were up early on Thursday. Actually, we were up early so that Beth could have an injection to ensure that her vaccinations were up to date so that she can go to school.

Unfortunately, the health centre was shut on a Thursday, so we went to Sonic for breakfast instead. This is a proper drive-in with you parking in a bay & ordering your food. The car-hop then brings this out to you. I had an egg, cheese, & bacon sandwich made from Texas toast, which came with 'Tater-Tots' (Oven Crunchies). It was really good, with Cheryl & Beth also enjoying their breakfast.

We then went downtown, where we saw the arch & popped into the office to meet my co-workers. Beth was impressed with our reception as it has a black marble/onyx style floor that has recycled aluminimum cans in it. These sparkle & glimmer under the spotlights & really has to be seen to be belived. She also scored big-time when our receptionst, Sarah, gave her some some really yummy candy (I know that it was good 'cos I had some).

After leaving the office, we went to the Maccaroni Grill at Brentwood. The food was good, the freshly baked, warm, Italian bread was even better & Beth thought it was great to be able to draw on the tablecloths (they're paper). Cheryl was impressed with the way that your soda was continually replenished without having to ask, & I think the size of the bill (or rather the lack of size) was the icing on the cake - a hit!

UK time & The City Museum

Cheryl was definitely still on UK time - I was awoken at about 3:30am which would have been great, except for the fact that I also had hardly any sleep the night before as I was tidying up & decorating in preparation for Cheryl & Beth's arrival. Still, I could hardly complain as it was so nice to see them & to know that this time it wouldn't only be for a week or two!

After trying to get a social number for Cheryl & Beth, I took them to the city museum which is across the road from the social office. It is a 10-storey high building that looks pretty mad from the outside with gutted airplanes, platforms, wire tubes, & a fire engine all three to four storeys up in the air. Cheryl & I both (quite reasonably) though that it would have information about St Louis, but other than some architectural pieces there was nothing. It was just about playing, but there were alot of open spaces with nothing in.

We also went to the aquarium at the museum. This had a clear tube running across the ceiling with an animal in (bit like a small dog, even though it was an aquarium - go figure!). This wasn't particularly pleasant as it looked like there wasn't much space & this animal was just pacing backwards & forwards continually. The aquarium was probably really good when it opened but now it looks a bit 'tired'.

There was a really good art section upstairs where Beth made a really cool tie dyed t-shirt - yes it did have pink in it!. We also made some clay models & cut out some paper snowflakes. These were really cool with the lady showing us how to do it saying how she had been watching a program about this & thought that any shape could be used. Mine was a dragon & it took about 20 minutes to cut out due to all the details - they all looked really cool when they were finished.

The art section was free (except for the t-shirt), & although we had a fun time it cost us neally $60 to get in, which I thought was a bit overpriced for what you got. Apparently, next year there will be a water park on the roof & they are changing the exhibits at the moment, so perhaps it will get better.

They're Here!

Hurrah - Cheryl & Beth are finally here in the US!

After a 14 hour journey, I met them at Lambert Internantional Airport at 8:45 pm on April 4th. Beth was wide awake, but I think that Cheryl was feeling a bit worse for wear, espescially as she had hardly any sleep the night before.

After an uneventful journey back to Fenton (except for Cheryl getting startled every few minutes as cars pulled onto the highway - no she wasn't used to me driving on the 'wrong' side of the road), she got her first look at our new house. Despite the fact that it was full up with boxes (our funiture arrived on the same day), it got a big thumbs up with Beth especially liking her new pink bedroom with glow in the dark stars on the ceiling (yep, it looks way cool in the dark).

Windy city?

I thought that Chicago was supposed to be the windy city!

There have been some strong storms lately with a line of thunderstorms passing through St Louis on the Sunday before Cheryl & Beth arrived. I had the weather alerts activated on my PC & I also had my weather alert radio on & so I was aware that there was the potential for severe weather. It had been really hot on the Sunday & I took the opportunity to get some decorating done. Late afternoon the thunderstorm watch changed to a warning which means that you are supposed to go to your basement. As I was closing the windows some seriously strong winds started battering the house so I made for the basement double quick! The storm warning changed to a tornado warning which lasted for about half an hour.

Luckily, there was no apparent damage to the house although some houses were missing shingles & some branches had been blown down. Phil mentioned on Monday that a tornado had 'touched down' in Eureka (a few miles east of where I live), & Steve (who was out with his girlfriend & her kids at Six Flags theme park) had to take shelter in a shop & found that his hire car had suffered hail damage.