...splash landing...

If you've seen the way way back, you can imagine the water park that we went to today.

It's an older establishment, a bit outdated, but still tons of fun. There are slides, a lazy river, a wave pool, a kiddie area, and it's the only thing in that area. The owners are kind and the clientele are faithful, so it gets plenty of business. I wondered if any of their lives resembled those of the characters in the movie.

It was only in the high 70s and the water was cold, but you got used to it. The air was cool, but the sun was warm when it wasn't behind the clouds. Though we applied the 70 SPF sunscreen liberally and religiously, Andy and I both got more sun than we wanted.

I relaxed in the lazy river and the wave pool when I wasn't stretched out across a chair reading a book. Andy, on the other hand, went down all the available slides, including this one that plummeted down underground and then forcefully spit you out. I want to do some crazy things, but this is not my idea of an adventure.

All in all, a great way to spend the day! And we stayed all day despite the cold.

Andy trying frog legs at dinner. He's a trier. No, I didn't.

An evening sunset at a little park.

A roman candle. I took shot after shot just to get this one. It's my fav!

Then we went home, went out to dinner, and came home and played more cards. Though the girls won the first night, the guys won the second night, and both games were close!

We curled up together in the tent again, and quickly fell asleep from the long day. 

...today (Wednesday) in pictures...

Andy and I escaped to the country for a few days!  His parents have a small plot of land where they keep their camper, and we headed out there with our camping gear to spend some quality time with them.

Even more awesome than it sounds! ;) The people were extremely friendly
and we had a great time. We're thankful to his parents for letting us visit!

Within five minutes, the InstaTent was up. We're camping pros,
meaning we don't camp without an air mattress! ;)

The view. Even on this dreary day, it was so pretty...

The flora

Riding around in the golf cart, taking a tour of the campsite.

My adventure? I fed sheep and goats! I ran around and pulled up flowers
for them to snack on. They wouldn't let us pet them, though...too skittish!

Andy fed them, too, though that's no surprise considering how much
he adores all animals. Notice how his hand is inside the fence - not me!
Let them come and get it.

The fire ready for s'mores. Ahhh...s'mores!

We explored the area, played cards, shot off some fireworks, and relaxed around the fire. As we climbed into the tent, we found that the air was so cool, Andy and I had to cuddle to keep warm.

My definition of a perfect night!

This is only my second year camping. Are you a camper? Do you have any favorite sites that you've visited?

...US v BEL...

I had no clue...

Congratulations to the Belgium soccer team! Maybe next time USMNT...

Did you know that soccer is the world's most popular sport? I had no idea! We're a bit behind in the States when it comes to "futbal." This little clip gives a pretty clear picture of how most of us view soccer.

So, in an attempt to learn something new, I headed over to Llywelyn's Pub in Wildwood to cheer on team USMNT (I think that stands for United States Men's National (soccer) Team. I did a lot of Wikipedia reading this afternoon!)

There were just a handful of people in the bar. Still, even in a small numbers, there seems to be an instantaneous camaraderie when cheering on your team together. Though I ended up sitting all alone in the restaurant, I was near the bar, so I could hear the sudden outbursts of joy and frustration, which helped me know what was going on.

Sadly, team USMNT was eliminated in round 16 (round 16!!!) but I still had fun, and perhaps I'll learn more over the next few weeks. Next time I want to watch a game, I'll have to drag Andy along so that he can explain the rules to me.

Are you watching the World Cup? Who are you rooting for? Or maybe I should ask, who should I root for now?

...the friends that life makes for us...

Arun's in the tux. Don't know the others, but he wanted them
in the picture!

Friday

Arun Garg is an incredibly talented and hardworking pianist who studies at Peabody Conservatory. A former student of the music school where I teach, we've only recently become friends. He gave a recital at Steinway Piano Gallery tonight, and I figured that it might be one of the last times I could hear him play for free, and I didn't want to miss the chance to cheer him on. The theme was Water Music and my favorite piece of the evening was Debussy's La Cathedrale Engloutie, which he played so beautifully. Arun has a delightful personality, loves to be around people, and has wonderful thoughts about music, piano and teaching. Maybe he'll be a teacher one day...

One of the greatest!

Saturday

Steffani, wonderful, funny, kind Steffani, celebrated her 70th birthday this week. Steffani has an infectious joy that touches everyone she meets. Completely honest, both with herself and others, she always has a smile on her face, even as she faces many hardships. She's such a wonderful human being, and makes each week that much brighter. Steffani is loved by all that know her, and I have the privilege of being her piano teacher. She plays each piece with conviction and care, and has reintroduced me to many pieces that I had long forgotten, or introduced me to pieces that I had never heard.

That smile!

Sunday

Megan texted me on Friday asking if I could hang out with Noa during a few photo sessions at Creve Coeur Lake. Megan is an accomplished and hardworking photographer. (She and her husband, John, run Straw Productions.) I jumped at the chance to spend some time with Ms. Noa, and Megan insisted on paying me back with photography. So Andy and I got all decked out in our best smiles, and then Noa and I spent the morning eating breakfast, taking in a lacrosse game, walking around the lake, making up silly songs, and playing a rousing game of peek-a-boo! It was a great way to start the day!


I have some amazing people surrounding me. People that I might not have chosen as friends if there had been some random friend line up at the beginning of time. And I've been wondering: What if I had chosen any other path? Would I still have met these people? Were we destined to meet, no matter what choices we made?

I never could have guessed that any one of these people would be such a supreme joy in my life. They make my life more interesting, more fun, and so much more wonderful.

Who are the "surprise friends" in your life?

...today in pictures...

QuikTrip opened their 700th store in St. Louis today to much pomp and circumstance, and Andy and I were there to celebrate with them!

Budweiser Clydesdales: absolutely gorgeous creatures!
I kept asking to pet Curly because he was so sweet and soft.

I feel like this picture doesn't do the crowd justice, but it's the only one I took.
We didn't even wait in some lines.

Cute mascots!

Fredbird danced with me to Pharrell's Happy.
(Love the lower lip bite. I was super nervous!)
Fredbird is my favorite St. Louis Cardinal...

Andy's never shy...I think he and Fredbird might be besties now...

Then we headed downtown to get some stl250 cake pics.
The cobblestone streets of Laclede's Landing can take you back in time.
Andy has never been to this historic district, and I think we'll need to go
back to check out the nightlife sometime soon!

Not sure why the cake was in the air, but okay...

Then we walked over to the Gateway Arch...

Then we went on a mad hunt for the Eads Bridge cake.
This one was tricky to find, and we sort of got into an argument over it...

So we took a bite out of it in celebration...

I asked Andy to sit in this pretty spot and he wouldn't, so I did...

....and then he promptly insisted on having his own photo taken!
There were some girls that drove by giggling and gave him a thumbs up.

Some of my most memorable moments this year were made when I chose to go anyway. You know, the kind of adventure that doesn't really seem like an adventure and so you question whether you should even step out of the house or if you should just stay home and watch another episode of that show or read another chapter in that book?

One of the best lessons that I've learned this year is that some adventures will only happen once in my lifetime.

Hope you have big plans for your weekend!

"Adventure is out there!" -- Up

PS. I forgot - one more thing happened today - this popped into my inbox...

San Fran, here I come!

...cakeway to the west...

This year marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of St. Louis, so there are all kinds of fun things going on around my city.

One of those is a scavenger hunt to some of the oldest and dearest loved haunts around the greater St. Louis are, called the Cakeway to the West. Different artists have designed the 250 cakes and families have the opportunity to go to these well known establishments and "find" them and take a picture. There's even an app for it!

It's actually pretty fun, and it gives you a good idea as to what has made St. Louis "St. Louis" over the centuries. It would be a great guide to people who are new to the area, or tourists who are visiting the area, and are looking to explore the best of what we have to offer.

I've really enjoyed seeing cakes around, but it wasn't until recently that I challenged myself to take a picture with all of them. So, I'm making a few new pages of cakes seen and visited, which you can find by looking to your right under the About Me page.

This is a free fun activity in the St. Louis area, and you will not get to do it again. I would highly encourage you to take part in this silly community activity. You may make a few friends along the way...

If you don't live in the St. Louis area, consider coming to visit us during these celebrations. If you let me know you're in town, I'll treat you to some Ted Drewes! I promise, there is nothing better!

...when the weather makes other plans...

Only a smidgeon of it's beauty...

It was a gloriously steamy day in St. Louis, the kind of day that makes it difficult to breathe in. I headed to Forest Park in hopes of claiming a free seat the MUNY's production of Billy Elliott.

Forest Park is so beautiful, that I made a few stops to take some pictures, but still arrived with enough time to wait in line. People are a funny lot. I was standing between some very strange birds, and their entertaining conversations kept my mind off the summer heat.

Almost as soon as I found a seat, I noticed the sky growing darker. Sitting beside me was an extremely tall and handsome black man from New York. In the distance you could see the bright, white flashes reaching down from heaven to touch the ground. He flirted with me, chatting me up, telling me about his life, until I began to tell him about my husband. It was as if I had a new best friend that suddenly deserted me.

It just kept getting darker...and colder

I didn't mind. I set to reading my book, until the wind began to blow. I desperately tried to keep my skirt around my legs as it flung itself high and low, moving with the wind. Everyone laughed as the wind whipped our hair to and fro, but we didn't move for fear we'd lose our seats. And then the rain came. Big, fat, heavy droplets.

The prepared members of the audience, who had brought their umbrellas, stayed planted in their seats, but the rest of us ran for cover. We all pressed ourselves against the back wall, but we couldn't get away from the wind and rain. One girl even cried tornado, though I don't think there was any truth to it.

Only an hour before...

After waiting for 45 minutes, I decided to head home, not so much out of embarrassment for having flashed the crowd, or because I was soaking wet, but mostly because I was shivering so violently and I didn't see the rain ending any time soon.

I found out later that they ended up canceling the performance due to weather.

I don't regret going. In fact, the rough winds were a welcome change from the heat of the day, and I don't think I've laughed as hard in a while.

The more I venture outside of my comfort zone, the more comfortable I become with these scenarios, because they're much more common than I ever realized. In my mind, they have become their own mini adventures...