Busch Stadium Field Trip

Beth's spring school field visit was to Busch Stadium (the home of the St Louis Cardinals MLB team) - Go Cards! Since the stadium is just a few blocks form my office, I met Beth at the stadium & accompanied her on the tour.

Our first stop was to look at a plaque that showed how the old & new Busch Stadiums overlapped. The old stadium was originally a multi-purpose venue that was used for both football & baseball, which after renovations in the mid-1990s was used exclusively by the The Cardinals. It was a fully enclosed (circumferentially), 'cookie cutter' style stadium, that was designed by the consulting engineering company that I now work for & opened one year after the Gateway Arch was completed (which is what the 96-arch 'Crown of Arches' roof was designed to reflect). The tour guide noted how the new stadium was built around the old stadium (the first base line of the old stadium is painted on the new stadium concourse) & that it was originally planned to demolish the old stadium at the end of the 2005 season. Unfortunately (for the construction schedule) The Cards made it into the playoffs so work on the new stadium was halted. When I first arrived in St Louis, the playoffs had just finished so i didn't get the change to go in the old stadium, but I got to see the stadium being demolished. Lots of items from the stadium were auctioned off (e.g. bleacher seats) & I remember some of my co-workers coming back all excited one lunchtime because they had managed grab some of the stadium concrete from the demolition site!

The new stadium is a much more open-air design. Not only does this provide a panoramic view of Downtown St Louis & the Gateway Arch, but it also provides ventilation at pitch level. Apparently, the pitch was four storeys below ground level in the old stadium & for one of the playoff games although it was 'only' about 110 degrees F outside, at Home Plate it was almost 130 degrees F. The new stadium architecture also includes references to The Arch & other significant St Louis landmarks, for example the Gate 3 entrance on the west side of the stadium includes a large truss resembling Eads Bridge (the first bridge over the Mississippi River connecting Missouri & Illinois).

The tour lasted about an hour. We visited the various 'club' party rooms, the pre-game show TV 'studio', the press room (where radio commentary is broadcast from & is probably the best seat in the stadium), & The Cardinals Club, which includes a high-class eat & drink as much as you can buffet service & the best public seats in the stadium (all for a mere $14,000 per ticket, per year, but you have to buy two). We then went out to the Cardinals' Dugout where all the students (& Beth's teacher) not only got to sit where The Cards do for their home matches, but also got to sing 'Take me out to the Ball Game' (which is an early 20th century song & is the unofficial baseball anthem which is traditionally sung by fans during the seventh-inning stretch of a baseball game) from the dugout - very cool!

Blast Time Again!

Beth's school once again held their summer fair in early May &, this year, Beth invited her friend Hope. Similarly to last year, there were displays by the local emergency services, raffles, games, inflatables (including a huge slide & assault course), carousel swings, snacks, & competitions (including the 'cake walk' which Beth & Hope both won a box of cakes on). Also like last year, it looked as if the weather was going to wash out the event, but by the time it started the Sun was brightly shining & the temperature was in the low 70's - absolutely perfect weather! The same balloon modeller was there again with an apparently increased repertoire of balloon models & even more jokes. It was really funny watching some of the parents being completely serious (because they couldn't tell if he was being serious) when he asked them what class they were in & what their favourite part of school was. We had just found out that afternoon that Beth had Pneumonia (after a mis-diagnosis by the local urgent-care centre earlier on in the week) so she was on prescribed medicine & was having issues breathing, so her & Hope didn't do too much running about (as this made Beth breathless), but she was still able to enjoy the fair, including the chocolate pie eating competition. Unfortunately, Beth's plate fell on the ground, so she didn't win the competition, but she had fun taking part & I was able to take the obligatory 'Beth covered in chocolate pudding' photo!

Pharaoh's Car Show (Culver's, Arnold)

One of my co-workers (Don) is a total petrol-head to the point that makes me look like I have no interest in cars whatsoever. I think he was so used to me replying 'nothing' to his almost daily question, 'so what car have you bought then?', that he didn't believe the screensaver of the car on my computer at work was actually my car. After the shock & the allegations of me copying him (he has a Shelby Mustang that is black with red stripes & also has the red interior package), he mentioned that the Pharaoh's car show (at Culver's in Arnold) was on at the weekend & that he would be displaying one of his cars there. There is no age limit for vehicles (unlike the local Memories Car Club shows where the vehicles have to be 1979 or older) & he suggested that I should bring my car along as well - so I did! I ended up driving into the car park behind Don (he was in his Viper GTS Coupe) & there just happened to be two parking spaces next to each other at the front of the restaurant (the prime parking spot apparently). This worked out well since there was outside seating right next to where we were parked. This show/cruise is very relaxed & included music, a 50/50 drawing, & free attendance prizes (which Don had mentioned were really good at this particular event). I put my name in the drawing & won the first prize - a $10 gift coupon for pizza, two free concretes at Culver's, & two free movie tickets (total value about $40). The weather was great & the attendance was really good with probably at least 100 cars on display.

Hello Mustang

......Mustang! A black, convertible, Mustang GT, manual, with red leather interior & matching red racing stripes, no less. I have had to totally change my driving style as this is a car that wants to be driven, but is also a car that screams 'shoot me with your radar gun, Mr Police Officer', so I am driving it with kid gloves. It is quick though, 0-60 in just over 5 seconds, although I haven't had the opportunity to test this out yet (it does feel like it could be quick when you accelerate). There is a dragstrip fairly close by in Illinois, so I am thinking about attending one of the 'test & tune' events so that I can see what my new 'boy toy' can do in a safe environment. Driving with the roof down is a new experience that Beth seems to especially enjoy. It was raining on the day I was scheduled to pick up the new car, but as soon as I got to the dealership, the Sun started to edge out from behind the clouds & when I got home we were able to drive with the roof down - totally cool!!

Goodbye Focus

When Cheryl & Beth first moved to the US, I bought Cheryl a car - a bright yellow Ford Focus. It was a cool looking car & with a 2L engine it was fairly quick whilst still being fairly frugal on petrol. When living in the UK I always quite liked the idea of getting a Focus & as I started to drive Cheryl's car on a regular basis I really liked it. However, I was always going on about getting a new car & Cheryl often joked that I never would because I would have to get rid of her car. Anyway, I was getting our compact SUV serviced & whilst browsing the Dealer's used vehicle lot I took a test drive & guess what - I traded Cheryl's car for a......

Poetry Slam

Jeff Foxworthy is a stand-up comedian with the Blue Collar Comedy Tour (which also includes Bill Engvall, Ron White, & Larry the Cable Guy; the latter played Tow Mater in Disney Pixar's Cars movie) & is currently the host of 'Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader'. He has also written a number of books including the 'You might be a Redneck if .....' series, & his latest venture is the 'Silly Street' book series for children. To celebrate this, there was a poetry competition for 3rd Grade classes held by the local Barnes & Noble bookstore. Students from each 3rd Grade class (there were 29 classes in total) had to submit a poem about their street. The winner of each class would move on to the final at the bookstore poetry slam. Beth was the finalist for her class & did a really good job of reading her poem at the Slam. There were three runners-up prizes (a $10 bookstore gift card) & three winner's prizes of a signed copy of Jeff Foxworthy's new book. Beth did really well & won a runners-up prize!

Dance Recital

Beth has been continuing to take Ballet, Tap, & Jazz dancing lessons & we went to watch her perform in her end-of-year dance recital. Unlike the previous location, where Beth was in the older age-group, she is now probably somewhere mid-level. Similarly to the previous recital there were two events; an evening dress rehearsal, where photos & videos were allowed, & the main 'matinee' event where no photography was allowed. The recital venue was also a lot larger (with a much bigger stage) which meant that more people could watch with an unobstructed view. Beth, did a really good job, putting on a great performance in all her routines.

Spring Local Competition - Poms

Beth took part in the locals competition which, as usual was another 'well' organized YCOA event. Actually, it wasn't that badly organized this time, but then the improvement wasn't difficult based upon the total disaster that was the Fall Regional Competition. This year YCOA were promoting pre-registration as a way to reduce waiting time prior to the event. We decided that if everyone pre-registered then the 'on the day' registration probably wouldn't be that bad. Almost everyone else must have agreed with us since the registration lines were as long as usual & the pre-registration 'booth' was empty. Other changes included a new judge specifically for technical compliance (although you knew that this probably wouldn't make any difference when the MC announced that there was this new judge with this specific role but none of the judges knew who was doing it) & new scorekeepers & checkers. Beth's team did a great job with their cheer & dance routine & placed 3rd - great job Beth!

Easter Egg Hunt

Our neighbours kindly invited Beth to an Easter Egg hunt at their church. They also brought their nieces, Megan & Natalie, who Beth gets on well with. Firstly, all the children listened to some stories & sang some songs before splitting up for rotation between craft activities, snack time, & the egg hunt. There was a limit on the number of eggs that could be collected, but the organizer's forgot to mention this so Beth very kindly gave up some of her eggs so that other children had a few more (all the eggs were filled with candy or special prizes).

Memories Car Club show April '09

The weather this spring has been somewhat of a repeat of last year's with rain, flooding, & cool temperatures. However, for the first Memories Car Club show of the year it was bright sunshine (although still quite chilly) which brought out the cars in big numbers - the parking lot was full (about 400 vehicles) & cars were continually lining up to get in. Some of the more memorable vehicles were an MG Midget, MGB GT (both with their steering wheels on the wrong side!), a pair of 'General Lee' Dodge Chargers, a really cool Corvette that had some very nicely executed body modifications & perfectly straight black paint, & some late-model musclecars (parked outside the show as this particular car club has a pre-1979 rule).

AWANA Pinewood Derby

Beth attends an AWANA club at a local church. One of the many events that they do is the 'Pinewood Derby', which originally started as a racing event for the Boy Scouts of America, but which has now spread to other organizations to the point where there is now an entire industry dedicated to the supply of tracks, timers, car accessories, etc. The car kit comprises (as a minimum) a block of wood (usually made of pine) with two slots for axles, four plastic wheels & four stub axles. The finished car must use everything in the kit (with the exception of the decals), & must comply with certain geometric parameters (e.g. width, ground clearance, & weight. The car can be decorated however the racer wants, but the emphasis is on the racer (i.e. the child) doing most of the work (unless not safe to do so, e.g. cutting the wooden block to initially shape the vehicle). I helped Beth to cut & shape her car & to decorate it, but she came up with the design. The entire car was covered in glitter (purple) with a gold glitter racing stripe, her number (43) on the roof in silver glitter & silver glitter for the windows. We tried to just make this event fun for Beth, but it was obvious that a lot of the parents take it very, very, seriously to the point of bringing tools & weights to the event so that they can alter the vehicle so that it is close to the maximum weight as possible (our car was dead-on the weight limit with no modifications). Call me a cynic, but I think that a lot of the cars were built by the parents (which is not really in the spirit of the event) with young children (5 or 6) having perfectly shaped, perfectly painted cars, that run really fast. The racing was set out in brackets to ensure that each car had multiple opportunities at making it into the final, & as the cars actually pick up quite a bit of speed on the track, a digital timing system is used to ensure that the winning car really is recorded as the winner. We had great fun & perhaps next year we will get serious about trying to win the cup!

Brandon Mull Book Signing

Beth loves reading! Her favourite book series (other than Harry Potter) are Fablehaven & the Candy Shop Wars (both written by Brandon Mull). Beth has the entire series of these books & was thrilled to hear that Brandon Mull was visiting our local Barnes & Noble bookstore for a book signing. The book signing started at 6:00 pm & although we arrived nearly half an hour early we still had a two-hour wait (I actually managed to completely read a book whilst we were lining up). It was worth the wait, though. Brandon Mull was a really nice guy who seemed genuinely excited about his books & all the people reading them. He spent some time taking to Beth whilst he signed all her books & then gave her a signed poster & bookmark. He also gave her a heads-up about his upcoming book & that the rights to Fablehaven & Candy Shop Wars have been acquired & that they will be made into films.

Talent Show 2009

This year the talent show was held in the main auditorium at the local high school. This was a much better arrangement than previous years (the show is usually held in Beth's school gym) because not only were there many more seats (so no-one had to stand), the seats were tiered so that you got a great view of the stage from wherever you sat. This year, rather than perform with her friends, Beth chose to showcase her piano playing skills. She played 'Part of your World' (from The Little Mermaid) but since there was a strict time limit of two minutes per act she had to do some editing, but you would never have realized as she did a great job - well done Beth!

Friendship Party

Beth's Grade had a friendship party around Valentine's Day. All three classes took part with different activities set up in each classroom. One class was game based (e.g. bingo with 'Sweethearts' candy), one was craft based, & the final class was where the students could make their own snack (ice cream with chocolate syrup, sprinkles & Oreo cookies). All the students brought in Valentine's for each other. These ranged from candy to miniature Valentine's cards & everyone had previously decorated bags which were used to collect all the Valentine's gifts.

Daddy Daughter Dance

Beth & I went to a 'Daddy Daughter Dance' organized by Beth's dance teacher. We hadn't booked any tickets (& neither had Beth's friend Hope) as, according to the recreational centre where the dance was to be held, there was no cut-off date for ticket purchases & they never sold out - except for this year :( Luckily, Beth's dance teacher was able to persuade the centre that there was just enough room for us - yay! The girls had a great time at the dance, which included portraits with Daddy, Italian food, bingo (where everyone won a cuddly toy), craft activities, & lots of dancing!

St Louis Auto Show 2009

Despite the bad weather, I made it to the St Louis Auto Show, this time on opening day. Unfortunately, the Toyota Off Road On Site Adventure was not complete (they were still bulldozing the 1000 tons of dirt & 20 tons of gravel) so I didn't get to drive a new Toyota. The most noticeable thing about the Auto Show this year was the space (& lots of it) between the various displays. No doubt this was due to the pretty dire economic situation (especially for vehicle manufacturers), but there were still some notable cars & trucks on display. There were three production Dodge Challengers, the new Dodge Ram pickup, Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (complete with clear bonnet panel), the new Ford F150 pickup (including the F150 based SVT Raptor) & two new Camaros (one of which had been featured in Hot Rod Magazine the week before the show. The car I was most looking forward to seeing was the 2010 Ford Mustang which had been formally launched in December '08 (even though it was promoted as a 2010 model). Unfortunately, Ford was doing the same thing as all the other manufacturers & promoting their more fuel efficient cars (including the new Fusion Hybrid which is more fuel efficient than Toyota's Prius), so musclecars were somewhat thin on the ground. There was one 2010 Mustang on display which looked pretty cool, although the colour that this car was painted in (Grabber Blue) probably wasn't the most flattering!