The weather is cooling down here as I'm sure it is there as well. We're in Kansas City now, which has proven to be super nice so far. We still haven't settled in to a permanent home (we hope to do that today) but we really like the areas we've been to so far, which have included Country Club Plaza, Westport, and Mission Hills. We're hoping to live in Westport, which is a historical part of town that has turned into the city's main entertainment district.
Until now, we'd been enjoying our last 2 weeks in St. Louis. So far, St. Louis has been my favorite city - Emily's too. We just loved that we were able to get around the majority of the time on our bicycles. We also took a long ride on the Mississippi Riverfront Trail, which was interesting. On one side of the trail is the river and on the other side is heavy industry like car compounds. Lots of weird smells there, but a very nice trail. Our innkeeper, Karen, is huge in the bicycle world in St. Louis, so it was nice to have her around as well. We were able to have her and her husband over for dinner one night - we made tofu and brown rice stuffed peppers and they were delicious. They are just great people and if anyone is ever planning a trip to St. Louis, let me know because their carriage house is great. Oh, and we carved some pretty sweet pumpkins for Halloween.
Halloween weekend was nice. As I'm sure most of you know, I dressed up as a ladybug and Emily was a honey bee (in honor of Sudden Bee Death Syndrome - if you don't know what it is, find out because it's important to be informed!). So, we were 2 bugs in a bug. We volunteered at a Halloween party for autistic children Friday night, which was a lot of fun. I watched over the bouncy house and Emily walked around and filled up candy and mingled with the kids. It was great that we were able to do that. We then went downtown to the Scottrade Center for a show - SYTYCD. We really can't believe we went to that, but it was a lot of fun and the people are really talented! Afterwards, we went down to Laclede's Landing for some dancing ourselves. The next day, we celebrated Halloween in the Central West End (where we live). They have a huge block party and everyone is in costume. It was pretty fun and there were a lot of interesting costumes, but they served Miller Beer, so we weren't too happy about that being in a Budweiser town.
That Sunday, the Browns were in town playing the Rams. I met some Clevelanders the night before and they offered me a ticket for $15, so I took it. I then found out some other friends were in town for the game, so I got to meet up with them as well. We won (after a scary first quarter) and left the Rams at 0-8. Quite a few beers later, I took the Metrolink back home where I met up with Emily and Jacqui and Maureen from Team 2! They were on their way from Boston to Las Vegas and stopped in St. Louis for two nights. We went out to dinner on The Hill one night and met up with some of Maureen's friends the next night. It was great to see them again and nice to know we'll be able to see them again soon in Portland for the All-Team meeting.
On one of our last days in St. Louis, we hit up the City Museum. It is one of the coolest places I have ever been. The founder and designer wanted to make a museum in which people were able to interact with the various elements he used to create an architectural marvel. I really can't even explain it. There are just tons of things to climb on and slides to slide on and caves to explore. It is crazy. There's also a huge outdoor section. We learned that the museum was only opened to adults for the first year and then welcomed kids after that. They celebrated their 10-year anniversary this year. Every Friday and Saturday, they're open until 1am, so it also caters to the late-night bar crowd. It was really hard to capture the size of some of the elements in the museum, but I tried. That night, we went out in Soulard to an Irish bar, McGurk's. I still have to say, if there's anywhere in St. Louis to go meet drunk people (some very obnoxious), it's Soulard.
Our last day in St. Louis was sad. We had to pack and we also went and to check out the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. It is located in our neighborhood and contains the largest collection of mosaics in the world. The cathedral is huge and just so beautiful. I don't have much to compare it to (because I have to admit, I haven't been in many churches), but I can't imagine many places that are as grand. We then stopped for one more bubble tea before heading home. We went to Delmar Loop that night to the Pageant to see Old Crow Medicine Show, a new favorite band of mine. The Pageant is a great venue with lots of places to go. There is an open floor, lower level tiers with tables and bar stools, open space in the back by the long bar, an upstairs balcony with seats and then another open space by the bar there. The show was great too and we're hoping to see them again in Lawrence, Kansas for Emily's birthday weekend!
Alright, sorry these are so long, but by the time I get around to writing, I'm 2 weeks deep with lots of information. Hope you don't mind. I'll let you know how Kansas City pans out soon. Then, I'll be home for a few days for Thanksgiving. Until then, stay warm!
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