Downtown (again)

As I had my camera with me from the works BBQ, I thought that I would take a few photos of downtown St Louis on my way home. Nothing in particular, just a couple of photos that you probably wouldn't see in tourist brochures, etc.

Spring BBQ

Work organized a spring kick-off BBQ for the entire office to celebrate the fact that the weather is getting better & that summer will soon be here! This was held on the rooftop (10th floor) of the Missouri Athletics Club building which is just across the road from the office. This is a fairly exclusive place with the main lobby giving the impression of an 'old boys club'. Looking at the membership price list, it is understandable why it is more exclusive than a recreational centre, but they do have really good sporting facilities, apparently. The event was scheduled for 2 hours although most people left before the end, just popping over for the great food (burgers, brats, salad & cookies) & to have a chat with their co-workers in a more relaxed setting.

Swing-A-Round Fun Town

This is an entertainment complex in Fenton just off of 141 before you get to Gravois Bluffs, & so is about 5 minutes from our house. We had promised Beth that we would go there as when driving by it looked like it had minature golf, boats, & go-karts. We went on a warm (read hot) Saturday afternoon & so it was really busy (meaning we didn't do much). They have 3 golf courses & also a batting cage for soft/baseball practice, where the balls are pitched to you by machine. This had different sections for different ball speeds, ranging from slow to why isn't this ?!#@! machine pitching the balls (oh, they are all behind me in the net). Beth & Cheryl had a go on a few of the arcade machines in the main building. On most of the machines, at the end of each game you got some tokens that could be exhanged for prizes.

Having a blast

Beth's school had the equivalent of a Summer fete at the end of term. This ran from 5:30pm to 8:30pm on a Friday night & was really good. I don't know about Beth & Cheryl, but the highlights for me were the pie eating contest & the balloon modelling. For the pie eating, all the children were given plastic sacks to wear that only had head-holes in them. They then had to eat chocolate custard that was in tin foil dishes as quickly as possible. Needless to say all of the children probably had more custard on their faces that they managed to eat!

The balloon modeler was really good. Not only did he make some seriously cool things really quickly, but he was also a pretty good comedian (although I think some of the jokes were perhaps lost on the younger children).

A couple of the activities were free, but the rest had to be paid for with tickets. This seemed like a good idea as it meant that all the money was kept in a single place (i.e. at the ticket table) & the children could just be given tickets & then left to do whatever they wanted.

The raffle prizes were really good, with each class being given a topic that they had to bring prizes in for. So, for example, there was a Barbie basket that had loads of Barbie stuff in it (that Beth wanted to win, obviously). However, the really good thing about the raffle was that you put your ticket in an envelope under the prize that you wanted to win so that you couldn't win anything that you didn't want.

The emergency services were also there so that the children could look around a fire engine & ambulance, & there was also a dog (K-9) unit. The police also brought along a speed camera, but rather than just setting this up for people to look at, they put it to much better use. They set up a net in front of it so that you could bowl a softball at the camera to see how fast your pitching was - cool!

Fenton City Park

We went to Fenton City Park over the weekend - twice! This, funnily enough, is the City Park for Fenton. It has three or four play areas for children, BBQ & shelters that are used for parties, volley ball courts, softball pitches, & a paved two-way path/cycle circuit.

The park has a monument dedicated to 911. It included the twin towers & also had what looked like a marble or black onyx globe in the centre on water jets so that it can be spun around. This was on the side of the park that faces the Meramec River.

We took Beth's bike & she cycled around whilst we walked behind. There were lots of joggers & other cyclists using the park & the softball pitches were full of girls playing softball. Apparently, in college, baseball is for guys & softball is for girls which is why there were no men playing. The games were being played 'fast pitch' which meant that although the bowling was under-arm, the speed of bowling was seriously quick.

Michaels

Beth & Cheryl both love Michaels! This is a craft shop at Gravois Bluffs that is in a large unit (probably about the same size as the B & Q superstore in Ashford - for those that know). Just about every craft you can think of (plus alot that you can't) are catered for here. Even I like it as there is a plastic kit isle (mainly cars, but with the odd aircraft). Last week pratically all the models were reduced to $9.99 so I took the opportunity to buy a few at this bargain price.

They also have a 'kids club' that Beth has become a regular at. For $2, she can make whaterver they are doing that week. So far she has made a pin cushion, a lei (probably spelt wrong, but it is a necklace made of flowers), a flower pen, & placemats. This is really cool, as not only is it great value for money, but it also gives Beth the opportunity to do her arty stuff (which she loves) & there is no clearing up for us to do afterwards!

Hot Rod Heaven

One of the guys I work with, Eric, who also lives in Fenton, mentioned that there used to be a car show every week at one of the local strip malls (like a retail park in the UK) in Fenton but due to the popularity it had outgrown this venue. It had moved to the Life Christian Ministeries which is just off Rte 30 & Old Gravois Road. This looks more like an office building, but it has a large car park with separate access for the public from Rte 30 & showcars from Old Gravois Road.

A chance encounter with a late 60's fastback Ford Mustang on the way home from Gravois Bluffs (local, large, shopping centre) jogged the grey matter & I took a quick detour. Luckily for us when we arrived, the marshalls decided to free up some more space for parking as the place was rammed with cars. The show was free & there were the usual food stalls & kids entertainment. The variety of vehicles was excellent with hot rods, real customs (i.e. from the 50's), musclecars, rat rods, & drag racers - cool! The show happens once a month, & as it is literally a 10 minute drive from the house, you can guarantee that we'll be going a few more times!

It's just too big

I usually have most Friday afternoons off work which makes for a nice long weekend. Although we have a few favourite eateries, due to the seemingly huge selection of different venues where you can eat out, we are slowly trying all the restaurants, burger bars, delis, buffets, etc, to see if we can find any new favourites.

One of the more promising venues was 'Ruby Tuesdays' although I was somewhat skeptical about the size of the burger shown on their website (I've included a picture). I was wrong. If anything it was bigger. Cheryl thought that I was taking small bites so just to look polite in the restaurant. Actually, I couldn't dislocate my jaw sufficiently to bite through the whole burger & so ended up having to dismantle it just so that I could eat it!