Misc Misc for June 30th

I realized I missed writing a post last week!  I wish I had a really good excuse but actually I just forgot....

Fireflies: When I was a kid, we called them lightening bugs. I can remember catching them on summer nights, putting them in a jar that we had punched holes in the list for air and watching them light up.  Anyway, a couple of night ago I went for a walk about sundown so it was getting a little dark along the trail. I couldn't believe how many fireflies there were on the trail! I see one or two in my yard but nothing like there was along the trail - maybe due to the trees, creek, etc. Memories.....

My new toy:  I kept hearing so much about people wearing their FitBit at Weight Watchers and how great they are for tracking activity so I decided to try one after the latest lecture from my cardiologist. Here is what it looks like.

It syncs with my cell phone so I can look on my phone and see how many steps I have taken in a day, how many miles, how many minutes of activity, how many calories I used and how restless I was during the night!  The first day I wore it, the little guy inside informed me that I had walked 769 steps. I knew that would REALLY make my doctor unhappy.... The medical profession says you should walk 10,000 steps a day for good health - about 5 miles. It counts every step during the day - whether just in the house, in a mall or on a trail.  I knew I wasn't going to go from 769 steps to 10,000 very quickly so set my goal for 5,000 and the 3rd day I hit it. It is a reminder to me that if I want to do the things I want to do then I gotta move it.   I am walking more with the little guy reminding me that I can hit 5,000 with just another trip around the block......  An interesting thing is to look at the sleep chart that shows when I am restless in my sleep, when I get up, etc. And yes, my backs hurts more but I'm trying to keep it up - my knees do feel better though.

 

New Store in Town: I have watched a really big, tall building being build in the shopping center near me for the last year. On Saturday the Scheels Sporting Goods Store (employee owned) opened in the space. I held off going until yesterday - the 2nd day and oh my....  The store is 220,000 sq ft, has everything for sports that you can possible imagine plus has a 16,000 gallon aquarium, a 65-foot tall Ferris Wheel and two fully animated, talking presidents. There is a deli/fudge shop with 24 flavors of homemade fudge and 18 flavors of gelato. It is totally overwhelming!!!!!  The thing that I didn't expect was a department of women's clothing, purses and jewelry that was not sports related - some really cute stuff. I didn't even find the shoe dept - too many people. Yes, the store and parking lot was packed yesterday but I can't wait to go back when it isn't so packed just to really look around. I overhead one person saying "this will be the new tourist attraction for KC" and I agree - it isn't just a store, it is an experience.

 

 

Mon Misc for June 15th

And here it is - another rainy Monday and weekend....  Yesterday, around 6 p.m., it rained so hard for about 30 minutes that I could barely see across the street plus the wind was like crazy and blowing the rain sideways. Then it just quits!  This afternoon we got another good shower...  I just have this nightmare that one of these days it is going to quit raining and it will be a dry spell of months.... Hope not! Too bad that all my plants are under the porch and don't get watered by the rain so I still have to water them.

Castor Reunion: Vida, my sister-in-law,  and her 1 brother and 2 sisters were the stars of the Castor

reunion (her maiden name) on Saturday in Avilla, MO which down in the southwest part of the state. There was 75+ people there that were descended from their parents. One son has already passed away.  The planning for this event started around the first of the year.  Since then, her brother was diagnosed with late stage cancer and is undergoing treatment but he made it to the reunion.

 

Of course I knew very few of the people there but I'm getting used to these events where I know maybe 20% of the people in attendance.  I felt better when I hear others say the same thing....

 



Appointment with Heart Doctor:  I had an annual checkup with my heart doctor today.  As he said, "Yes, I have a high risk but we know that, we treat it with meds, I eat right (well part of the time) but I need to exercise more." My cholesterol and triglycerides are still in the 150-175 range and they would like them lower. They used to be in the 120's when I was taking Trilipix but I can't take that anymore due to the liver issues. Instead of increasing the Crestor dosage, they are going to add Zetia to my mix. Crestor prevents the liver from making as much cholesterol and the Zetia prevents the body from absorbing as much of what it does make.  We shall see... I love it when the docs take the time to explain stuff!  He drew me little pictures of plaque in the arteries and what happens when it "erupts" (his term) and blocks the artery causing a heart attack. My blockage is under 70%. He said that many people have much higher blockage and never have a problem where they see people all the time with only 30% or less having a heart attack. Besides my primary cardiologist, who is one of the top cardiologist in the KU heart department, I also saw a doc who is a cardiologist but also has a Phd in cardiovascular disease.  They also looked at my chart before coming in to the exam room and wanted to know if I had gotten all settled in after moving from Tucson, had I been back for a visit yet, is it as brown as it looks from the air, etc. That kind of stuff just blows me away with the KU Med system! You are truly a person - not just a number.

Monday Misc for June 8th

It's good to be home after the trip...seems like it is so much fun to travel but equally fun to be back home until the bug hits again...  I don't have any more long trips planned until September but will probably have1-2 overnight things before then. I think I am going to Columbia in early August for the Annual Missouri State Genealogy Conference. I have a lot of empty days on my calendar this month and am trying to keep them that way so I can get a lot of my genealogy research done.  My list of Genealogy To Do just keeps getting longer and longer.

Royal's Game: The apartment complex I live in sponsored a Royal's event yesterday. For $20 I got a tailgate lunch before we left, bus ride to the game and ticket for the game. Since going to a Royals game was on my Bucket List, I couldn't pass it up - especially since I didn't have to drive. I took a niece along with me since we could being one guest. On the way home on the bus, they asked how many would be interested in doing the same thing for a Chief's game and everyone was interested even though the ticket would be more.  If they do, I hope to go so I can check another item off my bucket list. 8-)

It was the hottest day of the year (90 degrees) so I was really concerned about the sun but our seats were underneath an overhang so we were in the shade.  However, we also didn't have the breeze that was blowing and it was still hot. Yes, we were up high but sure could see everything and the price was certainly right. At the end of the 5th, Carol and I went out in the concourse where there was wind - like in a wind tunnel and cooled off. We ended up sitting on the floor out there, in the breeze, watched the rest of the game on a TV and listened to the stadium announcer.

I was trying out a new, small camera that I can just stick in a small purse. I got it in Tucson in January but haven't really used it that much. It certainly passed the test yesterday! In the top picture, you can see how high up we were. In the bottom picture, I zoomed it all the way in and you can read the batter's name on the back of his jersey.

Downtown St Louis

Today it was back to the Metro going down town, walking, walking, walking, the trolley back to the Metro station and then back to the hotel.  My feet are tired but not as bad as yesterday... Yesterday I took 254 pictures and today it was only 173.... I'm still going to have a lot of editing to do before doing the book from this trip.

One of the things that I was surprised at was the abundance of greenery downtown among the tall buildings. Above is a picture in the City Garden which is a 2 block long by 1 block wide space surrounded by tall building. There are a lot of sculptures around in the park, benches, etc.  There are trees along the curbs of all the city streets downtown. The only other place I have seen this is in Little Rock and some in Oklahoma City. Very refreshing!

One of the many fountains in the City Garden area.

And of course, the Gateway Arch.... They are doing major remodel of the area around the arch including the visitor center. This was taken from the Old Courthouse.

This was part of the lazer light show in the Grand Hall of the hotel tonight. It was 4 seasons and really neat. I have not idea how they do it!

I catch Amtak at 9:15 in the morning for the boring 6 hours back home. I have had a great time and am impressed with St Louis...

Forest Park, Zoo, Jewel Box, Art Museum PLUS Light-rail

My feet may never be the same again.  I swear they are numb from doing so much walking today!
I caught the MetroLink behind the hotel and took it to near Forest Park.  Then I got on the Park trolley that runs around the park with stops at all the tourist places so you can get off, do what you want to do, get back on the trolley and go on to the next stop. It was all very efficient.  However, the hard thing for me was when I was done with something I want to go, not have to wait 10-15 minutes on the trolley.

Zoo:   The zoo here is really great - I'm not saying it is better than the one in Kansas City but the one in St Louis is bigger and has more animals. It is definitely far better than the San Diego Zoo in my opinion but then so is the KC Zoo.  I saw some animals here today that I have never seen anyplace in a zoo.  The exhibits are really well done - open and not a lot of bars.

Jamacian Iguana

 "I think I will just stay in bed today....."

One of the ugliest animals I have ever seen... It a 600 lb Takin - distant relative of an ox. 

Water lilies in the outdoor garden.

I saw a Water Lilies canvas by Monet in the Art Museum in Kansas City and here was another one... I read the sign by it and found out that Monet painted 3 of the prints - all just slightly different. One is in KC, one in St Louis and the 3rd one is in the Cleveland Museum of Art.  So I am going to compare this one with a picture I have of the one in Kansas City and see if I can see any differences. 

Tomorrow it is back to Light rail and heading east to the Gateway Arch area...

Greetings from St. Louis

Amtrak's Missouri River Runner: It takes almost 6 hours to get to St Louis from Kansas City with several stops along the way. The train was made up of the engine,  3 passenger cars and a club car. I was surprised at how many people were on the train although unless it was a couple, we mostly had the 2 seats to ourselves. Some had bikes, got off in Herman and were going to ride the Katy rail. Not me..... The seats were comfortable and there was plenty of leg room.  My problem was that after about 3 hours I got bored...  I had my Kindle but could only read for 15-20 minutes and then would have to stop for awhile - I get motion sick easily... I tried a magazine and that was even worse. For about 60% of the trip all there was to look at was trees since there were so many trees and brush in the fence rows along the tracks.

We started in along the river near Jefferson City which made it a little more interesting.  It seemed like the conductor blew the whistle most of the way since there were so many train crossings.  But in between, the top speed was around 65-70 MPH according to the conductor. We were moving right along....  I could check the map on my phone and see where we were or what a little town it was that we didn't stop in. Finally we got to the transportation station in St Louis that is the depot for Amtrak, Busses, light rail, etc. From there it was a 4 block walk to the hotel. 

Doubletree Station Hotel: This is an absolutely amazing place!  It was built in 1894 , the largest terminal in the United States at that time, and had 32 sets of tracks. The last train pulled out in 1978 after the new multi-use transportation center was opened. In 1985, after a $5.5 million renovation, it reopened as a hotel. Besides the hotel, there is a lake and mall. In 2014, the first 3D light show in St Louis opened in the Grand Hall and shows a light show on the 65 foot high ceiling in the Grand Hall.  

The show starts at 5 pm and happens on the hour until 11 p.m. with a different show each hour. In between shows, the color of the ceiling changes color every few minutes. Beautiful place!

Tomorrow I am off to Forest Park for the Zoo and 1904 World's Fair Pavillion via MetroLink which is the local light rail. So far so good not having a car...

Monday Misc for June 1st

Absolutely cannot believe it is June! I always heard that the older you get the faster time goes by and I am now a confirmed believer of that theory. Oh well, it is better than the alternative.

St Louis trip:  I leave Wed morning on Amtrak's Missouri River Runner for St Louis and return on Saturday. The fare was $25.50 each way but I will have to rely on public transportation while there since I won't have a car. It will be interesting to get around without a car which is something I have never done before.  I have carefully studied the MetroLink (light rail) route, which has a stop right behind the hotel I am staying at, to see where I can go without having to change trains, change to a bus, etc.  Thursday will be spent at Forest Park with the zoo, Worlds Fair Pavilion, etc and on Friday I plan to go the opposite direction to the area of the Gateway Arch. I'm staying at the Doubletree Union Station Hotel which is the original Union Station for trains back in the day. Stay tuned for my new experience....

Rose Garden at Loose Park: Yesterday was a "no rain" day so I finally made it to the Rose Garden which I have been wanting to do for several weeks. The rains have damaged the roses but still found some good ones.

 I do love the roses..... I don't think I have ever seen a arose with the edges like this. There was 2 plants like this in the garden - both the same color.

And then there was this little guy watching to see which way I was going. I loved the way he was holding his hands!

History Tidbit: I was in a different part of Loose Park yesterday and noticed a sign that the area was the "First Home of the Kansas City Country Club". Golf was introduced in 1894 to Kansas City and in 1896 a 9-hole course was build in the pasture that is now the park. Nine more holes was added in 1899.

Strawberries: I went to the Farmer's Market on Saturday to get another box of strawberries and they will be the last ones for another 12 months.... The guy said they will have them Wed and next Sat but I won't be here and then they are over for the year.  Boo Hoo......  I'll resort to getting some at the store but they won't come close to being as good.