Thursday, July 10, 2014

St. Louis...VP Fair & More!



After breakfast with the family, we were off and running. Went over to St. Louis with Nikki, Daniel & Luke.

We finally found the general location of the VP Fair (after much debate and discussion about Skinker). I feel like we circled the fair several times before finally honing in on it. This year, for reasons only the St. Louis officials are privy to, the fair was in Forest Park. Now let me begin by saying, Forest Park is a beautiful park. Lovely. Green. Lush. And large. Very, very large. I also might add we, the fair goers, were not allowed to park in Forest Park. I somehow hold the St. Louis officials responsible for this. You're probably thinking..."what is the big deal? Grab a shuttle!" Wrong. A slight oversight by the St. Louis officials. No shuttles. Parking was far away and expensive. To the tune of $30 and up.

Officials announced the location for the next Fair St. Louis, which won’t be on the grounds of the Gateway Arch in 2014 because a $380 million renovation of the area.

I feel like St. Louis really dropped the ball on this one. The VP Fair was fun downtown. But in the park it was, well, bland. And very awkward to get to. But I digress.

We did eventually obtain a parking spot. Somewhere on the other side of I-64, and walked through the zoo, up and down some hills to finally get to the fair in the middle of the park. In hindsight, I wish we had just spent the day at the zoo. The only saving grace was the Art Museum. So trip not a complete fizz. Anyway. We overcame and still had a great time.

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Going into the Zoo (which, BTW, is the best Zoo in the world...AND it's FREE!!) this girl was sitting in a rocky area with this sweet little pup in her lap.

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I did see this free roaming peacock!

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Then we exited the Zoo and made our way into Forest Park.

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And that lead us to a most magical place...The St. Louis Art Museum!! Currently on view is Impressionist France.

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In the entry hall was this exhibit. My most favorite.

Louise Bourgeois
American (born France), 1911–2010
Cell (Three White Marble Spheres) offers an ambiguous environment of protection and imprisonment, freedom and surveillance. Here three marble spheres are enclosed in a box-like structure of rusted steel, mesh, and panes of glass, some broken. Two larger spheres both shelter and overshadow the smaller sphere between them.

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My people. Soaking the culture.

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This was my most favorite picture of the day. Timing. All in the timing.

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And we began winding back through the zoo across the interstate to our car. (Bitter? No! Not at all!!)

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As we made our way through the park, I asked Nikki to strike a pose. I wanted to try a new photography method I have been reading about. The Brenizer Method. If you're interested, this picture is a composite of 30 separate images.

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I saw a dandelion. YUP. Something we don't see in Florida. So I had to take a picture.

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The next day we were on our way home. We crossed a bridge that was new to us...The Stan Musial Bridge. Really a pretty bridge!

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Just some skyline shots of St. Louis from the interstate.

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A little girl on the shuttle (from car rental to airport...see even they can get it right! Shuttles people. Shuttles!) She had the biggest eyes. Mesmerizing.

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Then someone else wanted his picture taken! Nothing like a bumpy ride to try to take pictures.

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Last stop in St. Louis...Lambert Airport.

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