Meet Me in St. Louis

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Amidst the chaos that is my life, I still manage to travel for work. This year the USDA held it's annual 'Agriculture in the Classroom' National Conference in St. Louis. I was actually fairly excited to go to St. Louis. I have been to the airport a number of times, but never into the city. I taught three workshops, one on blogging and two on using the National Teacher Resource Directory, of which, I am the project coordinator. I enjoy this conference because they dedicate one day to traveling workshops.

The weather in STL was incredibly warm (about 98 degrees and 60-80% humidity). This is definitely something I'm not accustomed too, but once you get over the general discomfort of constant wetness you kind of settle into it.

We visited Soulard Market. This man was our tour guide. I loved his hat and these signs. Check out the Spice Market. Oh, what I wouldn't give to have something like this around...oh, I wanted to take a little of everything home with me. They mix their own pickling spices! It was so incredible.

We boarded a transportation barge/tow boat. The tow boats are incredible machines. Did you know that river transportation is the most economical form of transportation for goods in the United States? The crew consists of 10 people. They work for 30 days (can't leave the boat) and then they are off for 30 days. Not a bad living for only working 6 months of the year. I was so fascinated by the Mississippi River. It moves fast. As in, really fast, sweep you away kind of scary. Some of you are aware of my fear of the water--it is a job I could never do--that's for sure.

We ate some Bandana's Barbeque. It was so good. Honestly, I can't think of when I've had better barbeque. I actually went back and just ate meat and sauce as a second helping! Just meat! I'm typing it and I can't believe it.

We had a private dinner at Grant's Farm (as in Ulysses S. Grant, now owned by the Budweiser family). Grant's Farm is interesting because it functions as a wildlife sanctuary for all kinds of 'verge of extinction' animals from all over the world. We saw albino elk, spotted donkeys, blah, blah, blah, stuff I've never heard of quite frankly, but it was neat to see it on our little train ride around the farm. I did get to pet the Budweiser horses and the extremely uninterested dalmation dog (charisma of a dead dog, rather than showbiz quality). My favorite thing from the farm, the fireflies. Oh, how I am fascinated by fireflies. I just ached for my children to be there to see that at dusk. We do not have them in the West. I find the cicadas to be incredibly noisy (an aquired taste), but how can you not be so mesmorized with the firefly?

We toured the Budweiser 'facility'. The place is as large as a full scale military compound. Pretty interesting. I think that they should give you a drink BEFORE you begin the tour (even if it is just a Diet Pepsi). It's an hour of your life you are never getting back.

The STL Arch is massive. It's as cool as seeing the other wonders of the world. I think that they should have made it light up at night. I really wanted to get a picture of it from Cardinal Stadium, but I waited too long and then it was too dark to see it. I went to a baseball game. Folks in the Midwest LOVE baseball--I'm astonished at how loyal they are. It was like a gabillion degrees and they were just roasting out in the sun cheering on the team. I cheered for both teams and just about anyone who could get on a base. Oh, and I ate some incredible nachos. I almost had my friend, Grace, take a picture, but I looked like a hot mess with a bunch of cheez whiz on chips (you can picture it accurately in your head).