Kirk blAug

This past weekend was a whirlwind of activity, marked by a unique blend of community, running, and, yes, a bit of beer. As someone who cherishes both the quiet of solitude and the joy of social interaction, I often find myself walking a fine line between engaging with others and preserving my own space. This weekend was a testament to that delicate balance. Saturday: Brewery to Brewery Run The day kicked off with Happy's Running Club's Fall Brewery to Brewery run, an event that epitomizes two things people are incredibly passionate about: running and beer. The atmosphere was electric, filled with a sense of camaraderie and an unmistakable buzz of enthusiasm. The people I met were avid beer enthusiasts, their zeal for the frothy beverage somewhat eclipsing my own. Despite feeling a tad out of my league in the beer department, the warmth and friendliness of the group were infectious. I also learned more about their Tuesday weekly runs, which seem like a great opportunity for soci

Sometimes while traveling through life our imaginations can impede us. These impediments are really just bad ideas that can get in the way of our success. Today Jupiter came across one of those when he had an imaginary rock in his shoe. I am not sure how it got there, but I think I will start at the beginning and maybe we can figure it out. Today the boys and I took an unexpected trip to the St. Louis Science Center . The Science Center is an incredible museum of science. I think I have mentioned it here before and I am fairly certain that I will again in the future. Anyone interested in any and all science should really check it out sometime. There is much to be learned there. The only reason I brought up the Science Center today though is because of the parking situation. See the Science Center is free to get in to the main lobbies which honestly gets you quite a lot of fun, but parking is ten bucks. We are members of the Science Center and have vouchers for free parking that com

A couple of weekends ago, Chris, the boys, and I, met up with her cousin and his family at Six Flags . I had never met this cousin of Chris's before and it had been years since she last saw him, but both of our families had recently moved to Missouri. He had mentioned on Facebook that he and his family sometimes sought refuge from the small town they live in at Six Flags near St. Louis. I commented that perhaps I need to take Chris and my boys there sometime soon, to which he suggested we meet his family there. It turned out to be a great idea. We took turns with watching kids and going on rides that Tsunami and their littlest were too young to ride. Chris and I even took the chance to get one rollercoaster's worth of alone time while we rode the American Thunder and we returned the favor for them. It was a Sunday so the park was not too busy. Most lines were less than fifteen minutes to get on. By mid afternoon, however, a storm was starting to roll in so those of us in line

I am sure that most of my readers have at least heard something of Mardi Gras. Perhaps you might know of the celebration that takes place every year in the United States most popularly in New Orleans. But it is not exclusively celebrated in New Orleans. In fact, it was not even celebrated originally in New Orleans. In 1702, when French Catholic settlers founded the original capital of Louisiana which is now Mobile, Alabama , they began the first tradition of Mardi Gras in the United States a tradition that they brought over from Europe where it had been celebrated long before. Once the capital of Louisiana was moved to New Orleans in 1723, the major celebration was moved there and was then celebrated by most citizens of the city beyond the French Catholics. The celebration has been spread to many communities in the neighboring states of Alabama and Mississippi, as well as along the Mississippi river going as far as here in St. Louis. Soulard is historically a French neighborhood in St

Today Chris, the boys, and I went to The Loop on Delmar Boulevard to check out the Ice Carnival that was going on. When we got there it looked like the 5k and 10k which started at 10 AM was just ending and the stores were starting to setup some carnival games in front of their shops. Many of the shops had ice sculptures in front of them of something themed based on that shop. For example, Moonrise Hotel had a moon ice sculpture and a tattoo shop nearby had an eagle that was reminiscent of one someone might get tattooed on their body. Here are a few more of them we saw: Eventually we got hungry and ate at the Eclipse restaurant which resides in the lobby of the Moonrise. Following our meal, we made our way to the roof where a skate party was going on. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c5Zvz0GIZQ&w=490&h=279] Jupiter played a few of the carnival games on the sidewalk as we walked along too. He won a few stuffed animals. There was much more to do there, but the boys were

Today Jupiter, Tsunami, and I went to the Missouri Botanical Garden with the membership that we received from Antijen and Uncle Tom for the holiday. I asked Jupiter to choose between going back for another round at the Sculpture Park or the garden. When he choose the garden, I was skeptical that we would have any fun and tried to convince him to go to Sculpture Park again since it is January and I suspected nothing much would be in bloom, but I think he actually had the right idea. The Missouri Botanical Garden was actually much bigger than I had thought from looking at it from the outside. I had been there before to go in the Climatron, but there was still much to see outside even though flowers are not in bloom. Lots of interesting trees and other plants, plenty of peaceful walking paths, and flowing creeks were all over the place. Jupiter had to make sure to try out a bunch of rocks that were just off the path to see which ones were good for sitting and which ones were not. Tsunam

Since moving here, to the St. Louis area, I have probably had pizza for about 50% of the meals I have eaten. Not all of these times have been pizza in the St. Louis style, but many have. St. Louis style is super thin yeast free crust and the use of Provel cheese, then cut into squares instead of slices. Provel is a fusion of provolone, Swiss, and white Cheddar cheeses that was developed by a St. Louis firm called Costa Grocery in the 1950s. In my humble opinion, it is the best cheese anyone could put on a pizza. It is a little more stringy than mozzarella that is typically used on pizza. It is not widely available outside the St. Louis area. The thin crust is cracker like in consistency which reminds me of a lavash. I have enjoyed St. Louis pizza several sources. The frozen pizza option comes from Dogtown Pizza and tastes really great for a frozen pizza. For delivery, I have been enjoying Imo's Pizza . Several sit down restaurants I have visited have offered St. Louis style pizza.

I have been wanting to go up to the top of the Gateway Arch since the first few times I visited St. Louis a few years ago. Unfortunately for me, no one wanted to go with me. Something about a cramped pod experience that they did not care to relive. I would have gone alone once, but on that particular occasion it was a weekend and there were patrons lined up far outside the security gate and I was not going to imposition my wife and in-laws to wait for me to wait in line. I ended up having to wait until I lived here to go. I thought that a Monday morning would be my best chance to get to the top without waiting in too many lines, and I was right. This morning I asked Jupiter if he would go up with me since no one else wanted to. He said he would, perhaps not knowing what I was talking about but excited about going on a ride, and so we went. On our way up Jupiter and I were the only ones in the pod. It was far from cramped for just the two of us. It looked like something from the future