This was probably my favorite piece, incorporating both the arch and baseball:
The kids, particularly the twins, love the pictures from Europe where Billy is interacting* with the Art, so we took a new one just for them.
later days
*
Showing posts with label St. Louis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St. Louis. Show all posts
29 April 2018
Corporate Art in St. Louis
I feel like it's very rare that we spend enough time walking around a city with an opportunity to capture pictures of their corporate art. The trip to St. Louis was a nice exception, and I captured several pieces of art from all around the city to include in my post.
This was probably my favorite piece, incorporating both the arch and baseball:
The kids, particularly the twins, love the pictures from Europe where Billy is interacting* with the Art, so we took a new one just for them.
later days
*
This was probably my favorite piece, incorporating both the arch and baseball:
The kids, particularly the twins, love the pictures from Europe where Billy is interacting* with the Art, so we took a new one just for them.
later days
*
11th Anniversary: St. Louis
I can't believe that we've already been back a week from this adventure! Billy and I marked our 11th anniversary last month (3/10) but scheduled our trip around the Cardinal's baseball schedule. = ) So, on April 18th, we caught an 8:45 train heading for Chicago.
There is no baggage check since this is a "commuter" type train. We did pick business class seats, which was a little bit of an upgrade from coach, so we got free coffee. = )
On our way, we saw lots of wooded areas, and a few cool places that we might want to check out later.
As we skirted lake Michigan, it was lots and lots of industry out the window.
Union station was under construction, so it took us a trip around the perimeter to find the waiting lounge. We also bought William's souvenir (a toy train) and a postcard (that actually arrived back before we did!)
This view was the only side of the great hall not under construction:
On the platform:
Our little room!
Make a face, we're on a train!
This was what almost all of Illinois looked like outside of Chicago:
We arrived in St. Louis at dusk, but by the time we started walking it was dark. We passed by the theater where Willie Nelson was playing, and I had the opportunity to be in the same building as Willie Nelson! Although we did not get to see him perform.
It was cold and windy out, and my ears were numb by the time we made it to our hotel, so we called it an early night.
The next morning, we set out to do all the things in St. Louis we hadn't had time for the last time. Though not nearby, you could see the arch from our window! Also, the water pressure in our hotel was phenomenal, and the shower easy to use.
Breakfast was included, and ran for a good long time.
St. Louis has some new construction going on, and a variety of building styles.
Our first stop was the Old Courthouse, where we purchased our steamboat tour tickets.
Our next stop was a the casino. We thought we'd spend $50 each and call it a day, but after playing some slots and video poker for an hour or so (and enjoying complimentary sodas) we had dropped $9 and decided that we could check it off our list. = )
There were lots of little alleys and paths down by the river, and so we went exploring.
We found a brewery where we stopped to sample the beer and have lunch before our boat ride.
The trip back was much shorter, and more protected from the wind, since we went under the train tracks.
There are some record flood markers along the river, showing just how much water the Mississippi clears out from it's northern tributaries!
We headed to our boat for a 1:30 departure. We were joined by a few other couples/families and two large field trip groups.
We sat on deck through most of the cruise, but it was a bit chilly to be in the wind on the river.
During our cruise, we learned that the casino we had visited earlier in the day was actually a raft floating in a custom built water basin to adhere to the casino laws of Missouri.
Our boat was just a replica, and the paddle wheel was non-operational. = (
After our boat ride, we both went on our first carriage ride! It was a lot like a hay ride, with less hay and more paved road. = )
Luke was the muscle behind (or rather in front) of our ride.
There were people hanging out in the lawn under the arch, and it always looks so appealing. Since I was covered in pants, sweaters and jackets, Billy took a picture of me in the impossibly green grass.
We had walked all the way around the arch by the time the day was over, but did not repeat our journey to the top.
We had to bide our time until the tower restaurant we had missed out on during our last trip opened. We found ourselves in the cardinal's nation center, where the postponed game vs. Chicago from the previous day was now live on the big screen.
Once 4 o'clock came, we took the elevator to the top of the Hilton (where we had stayed before) where we enjoyed impressive rooftop views of St. Louis.
Schlafly was a good choice, and is made right there in St. Louis! We later saw a truck, and their slogan is "drink MO beer." #totalwin
We headed back to the hotel to freshen up for our evening at the speakeasy. We had lots of time before we headed to our evening event, so we stopped in at Jack Patrick's. They also served Schlafly, and had a jukebox.
We had passed the speakeasy during daylight hours, just to make sure we had the correct alley before dark.
Super authentic. There were even people outside talking with the bouncer. They'd messaged Billy the password earlier in the day, and so we got a discount on our cover. = )
The upstairs looks like a museum or gallery of some sort, so the lounge is in the basement.
The environment was well done!
And the jazz music was a little more blues than swing, but the two man show was full of talent! It was definitely a highlight of the trip!
The next morning was the day of our Cardinal's game, but it didn't start until after 7, so we made use of their metro system. The nearest entrance was only 3 or so blocks from our hotel, and the days just kept getting warmer, so it was a pleasant walk.
We enjoyed lunch at Blue Ocean, a phenomenal Japanese eatery.
My salad dressing was a creamy ginger, which was delightful. The sushi was bite-sized and the rice was sticky. It was a good meal.
We walked all the way down to the melting pot, where we were going to enjoy a chocolate fondue dessert, and reminisce about the Houston location we loved. It turned out they are a dinner only place, and it was early afternoon. = (
We checked out a game store on our return trip, that had all types of fun nerdy things in store. Back at the station I saw some flowers that strongly resembled blue bonnets, but I don't know if blue bonnets actually grow that far north.
We headed back toward the stadium, though we had a while before it opened.
Catching Billy mid hand sign, just proves that he is a red raider, but he was trying to let people know that he was the number 1 fan, at least for the day.
We lined up, with tons of others, 2 hours before the game, 15 minutes before the gates opened.
Once we navigated to the lounge, we were able to enjoy a diverse buffet.
We sat right up against the glass, and never even went to our seats, since the setting sun had left the air uncomfortably chilly.
It was a good game, made better by the fact that we won! Since our metro tickets were good all day, we took the metro back, the single stop, to our hotel exit. = )
The next morning, our train left at a reasonable 7:55, but we thought it best to take the metro to the station. I second guessed myself, so we overshot our stop and ended up walking back to the train station. It made the morning feel rushed, but we arrived with 15 minutes to spare.
Luckily, our room was on the opposite side of the train for the return trip, so we got new views.
Leaving St. Louis:
We were on early enough to enjoy breakfast and lunch before arriving in Chicago.
This time, we knew where we were going, so we had more time to relax before boarding our final train to Lansing.
We didn't get in until after 8pm, but East Lansing is a small station, so it was easy to get out and home. It was nice to come home on a Saturday, so that we had a lazy Sunday to unpack and catch up on all the things we'd missed.
It was a great trip, and a wonderful way to start our 12th year! I would heartily recommend St. Louis to anyone looking for a pedestrian friendly vacation.
You can see some of the art we encountered here.
later days
A review of our previous celebrations:
10th Anniversary - Fish Grille, Waxahachie
9th Anniversary - Ft. Worth
8th Anniversary - Arby's
7th Anniversary - Hookah bar
6th Anniversary - Thai Chili
5th Anniversary - Carino's - Waxahachie
4th Anniversary - Flemming's Steakhouse @ City Centre
3rd Anniversary - Dinner Movie Theater
2nd Anniversary - Le Mistral
1st Anniversary - Paris
Recap of 1st-5th
There is no baggage check since this is a "commuter" type train. We did pick business class seats, which was a little bit of an upgrade from coach, so we got free coffee. = )
On our way, we saw lots of wooded areas, and a few cool places that we might want to check out later.
As we skirted lake Michigan, it was lots and lots of industry out the window.
Union station was under construction, so it took us a trip around the perimeter to find the waiting lounge. We also bought William's souvenir (a toy train) and a postcard (that actually arrived back before we did!)
This view was the only side of the great hall not under construction:
On the platform:
Our little room!
Make a face, we're on a train!
This was what almost all of Illinois looked like outside of Chicago:
We arrived in St. Louis at dusk, but by the time we started walking it was dark. We passed by the theater where Willie Nelson was playing, and I had the opportunity to be in the same building as Willie Nelson! Although we did not get to see him perform.
It was cold and windy out, and my ears were numb by the time we made it to our hotel, so we called it an early night.
The next morning, we set out to do all the things in St. Louis we hadn't had time for the last time. Though not nearby, you could see the arch from our window! Also, the water pressure in our hotel was phenomenal, and the shower easy to use.
Breakfast was included, and ran for a good long time.
St. Louis has some new construction going on, and a variety of building styles.
Our first stop was the Old Courthouse, where we purchased our steamboat tour tickets.
Our next stop was a the casino. We thought we'd spend $50 each and call it a day, but after playing some slots and video poker for an hour or so (and enjoying complimentary sodas) we had dropped $9 and decided that we could check it off our list. = )
There were lots of little alleys and paths down by the river, and so we went exploring.
We found a brewery where we stopped to sample the beer and have lunch before our boat ride.
The trip back was much shorter, and more protected from the wind, since we went under the train tracks.
There are some record flood markers along the river, showing just how much water the Mississippi clears out from it's northern tributaries!
We headed to our boat for a 1:30 departure. We were joined by a few other couples/families and two large field trip groups.
We sat on deck through most of the cruise, but it was a bit chilly to be in the wind on the river.
During our cruise, we learned that the casino we had visited earlier in the day was actually a raft floating in a custom built water basin to adhere to the casino laws of Missouri.
Our boat was just a replica, and the paddle wheel was non-operational. = (
After our boat ride, we both went on our first carriage ride! It was a lot like a hay ride, with less hay and more paved road. = )
Luke was the muscle behind (or rather in front) of our ride.
There were people hanging out in the lawn under the arch, and it always looks so appealing. Since I was covered in pants, sweaters and jackets, Billy took a picture of me in the impossibly green grass.
We had walked all the way around the arch by the time the day was over, but did not repeat our journey to the top.
We had to bide our time until the tower restaurant we had missed out on during our last trip opened. We found ourselves in the cardinal's nation center, where the postponed game vs. Chicago from the previous day was now live on the big screen.
Once 4 o'clock came, we took the elevator to the top of the Hilton (where we had stayed before) where we enjoyed impressive rooftop views of St. Louis.
Schlafly was a good choice, and is made right there in St. Louis! We later saw a truck, and their slogan is "drink MO beer." #totalwin
We headed back to the hotel to freshen up for our evening at the speakeasy. We had lots of time before we headed to our evening event, so we stopped in at Jack Patrick's. They also served Schlafly, and had a jukebox.
We had passed the speakeasy during daylight hours, just to make sure we had the correct alley before dark.
Super authentic. There were even people outside talking with the bouncer. They'd messaged Billy the password earlier in the day, and so we got a discount on our cover. = )
The upstairs looks like a museum or gallery of some sort, so the lounge is in the basement.
The environment was well done!
And the jazz music was a little more blues than swing, but the two man show was full of talent! It was definitely a highlight of the trip!
The next morning was the day of our Cardinal's game, but it didn't start until after 7, so we made use of their metro system. The nearest entrance was only 3 or so blocks from our hotel, and the days just kept getting warmer, so it was a pleasant walk.
Our destination was the loop at Delmar. There were all sorts of eclectic businesses and international cuisine.
We enjoyed lunch at Blue Ocean, a phenomenal Japanese eatery.
My salad dressing was a creamy ginger, which was delightful. The sushi was bite-sized and the rice was sticky. It was a good meal.
We walked all the way down to the melting pot, where we were going to enjoy a chocolate fondue dessert, and reminisce about the Houston location we loved. It turned out they are a dinner only place, and it was early afternoon. = (
We checked out a game store on our return trip, that had all types of fun nerdy things in store. Back at the station I saw some flowers that strongly resembled blue bonnets, but I don't know if blue bonnets actually grow that far north.
We headed back toward the stadium, though we had a while before it opened.
Catching Billy mid hand sign, just proves that he is a red raider, but he was trying to let people know that he was the number 1 fan, at least for the day.
We lined up, with tons of others, 2 hours before the game, 15 minutes before the gates opened.
Once we navigated to the lounge, we were able to enjoy a diverse buffet.
We sat right up against the glass, and never even went to our seats, since the setting sun had left the air uncomfortably chilly.
It was a good game, made better by the fact that we won! Since our metro tickets were good all day, we took the metro back, the single stop, to our hotel exit. = )
The next morning, our train left at a reasonable 7:55, but we thought it best to take the metro to the station. I second guessed myself, so we overshot our stop and ended up walking back to the train station. It made the morning feel rushed, but we arrived with 15 minutes to spare.
Luckily, our room was on the opposite side of the train for the return trip, so we got new views.
Leaving St. Louis:
We were on early enough to enjoy breakfast and lunch before arriving in Chicago.
This time, we knew where we were going, so we had more time to relax before boarding our final train to Lansing.
We didn't get in until after 8pm, but East Lansing is a small station, so it was easy to get out and home. It was nice to come home on a Saturday, so that we had a lazy Sunday to unpack and catch up on all the things we'd missed.
It was a great trip, and a wonderful way to start our 12th year! I would heartily recommend St. Louis to anyone looking for a pedestrian friendly vacation.
You can see some of the art we encountered here.
later days
A review of our previous celebrations:
10th Anniversary - Fish Grille, Waxahachie
9th Anniversary - Ft. Worth
8th Anniversary - Arby's
7th Anniversary - Hookah bar
6th Anniversary - Thai Chili
5th Anniversary - Carino's - Waxahachie
4th Anniversary - Flemming's Steakhouse @ City Centre
3rd Anniversary - Dinner Movie Theater
2nd Anniversary - Le Mistral
1st Anniversary - Paris
Recap of 1st-5th
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