Begin St. Louis
May. 5th, 2024 08:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ateolfJust got back from a trip with Mary Beth to St. Louis to see Slowdive. We left Friday morning and drove up. On the way we stopped at a Culver's for lunch. Then up to St. Louis. When we got in we went to this Vietnamese bakery and picked up a bunch of stuff (haven't even eaten most of it yet 'cuz we've had so much to go in our stomachs!). Then we went to the St. Louis Art Museum and that was pretty cool. They were having an exhibit on "Matisse and the sea" and then a bunch of their stuff in their regular collection is great (I got to see another Mondrian, and reading a quote he said about how adding more colors at the edges gave it "more boogie woogie"). Then we had the first of many colorful incidents this trip. While we're in the "decorative arts" section we notice this one "piece" in the room that's just a coke can duct taped to a smallish canvas. I'm thinking oh I guess it's a reaction to that duct-taped banana thing and then I notice that it doesn't have an information sign like every other piece in the museum. Hm. Is this even supposed to be here? Is it a prank? We walk around the nearby areas for a little bit and then we're in the adjoining room and Mary Beth overhears one of the guards or whatever you call them on the walkie talkie apparently talking about it. Then someone else comes over and they're complaining about it while taking it down. So it's kinda funny. Then we're a few rooms away and he walks over carrying it and holds it up to show another museum worker (who was behind me and I didn't see and I just thought he was holding it up and talking in general) so given the funny happenstance of the situation I try to take a picture of him holding it up (I'd thought of taking a picture before but dismissed it and didn't) but I just missed him and he'd moved his hand down by the time it took so it was behind him. Then he asks me if I want to take a picture and I'm like, uh is that okay? And he's like "no!" Well, we go away as he's complaining about it. We later overhear him complaining about it again to other workers while we were upstairs two stories from where that took place. Mary Beth says she heard him say something about us having been there, maybe suspecting us since I'd taken a picture or something? Whatever. Nothing came of it. Of course if a bystander sees something unusual they might want to take a picture! I mean, the prank itself was kinda dumb, but the situation of being there for it was kinda funny. Well, we saw a lot of good art and had a good time anyway! Next we went to this place called the City Foundry. It's an old industrial foundry that's been repurposed into something kind of like a mall, mostly the food court. It has an outdoors walk with some shops and restaurants but then most of it's indoors in like a big food court kinda thing, like a mall food court crossed with, I dunno, hipper small-scale restaurant booths. They ranged from kinda cheesy seeming to awesome seeming. We got a bunch of stuff from a bunch of different places: empanadas, dosas, asian tamales, mushroom pizza...lots of good stuff (Mary Beth did the research beforehand to find the best). Okay, then to our hotel and stuff. Yep, that was Friday.
Then Saturday we get up and go to the bakery that made Mary Beth flip out so much last time we were there: Nathaniel Reid Bakery (the thing she had that she flipped out over so much, now is upgraded to maybe the best thing she's ever eaten...I can't eat it though because of the chocolate, alas, but I did get some delicious stuff I can eat, of course). Then we went back to Forest Park (where the art museum is, giant park in the city) and first checked out the Jewel Box, a giant art deco greenhouse. The building's really cool and we hung out in there for a little bit and walked around. Then we tried to go to the zoo (also in the park). Well, it's very popular as might not be surprising (also, all this stuff in the park had been free) and inside the park we had a thirty minute drive to go half a mile. There's the zoo's own parking lot which we were expecting to go to, it's paid parking but hard to find free parking closer so that's fine whatever, but we get there and the lot's full and we can't park there. So we drive around a little while and can't find anything so we've given up and think we're not even going to go to the zoo and we're heading out when just outside the park on the street, I see a parking spot! It's right across from the zoo so about as close you can get without being in the zoo's own lot. So we almost didn't go...but then we did!
We made a beeline for the big cats area. First thing we see is the tigers, we just see a group of three cubs kinda playing around and stuff, the mom wasn't out or anything. But first thing we see is one of the cubs is playing in a little pool and then goes over to the edge and takes a dump in the little bit of water. Oh, that's a little gross, we're thinking but whatever...but what's this? Now he's (complete assumption) playing with the feces he just crapped out, mostly batting it around in the water but occasionally using his mouth. Pretty gross! The colorful incidents continue! We walk around and see a bunch of cool animals, including cool birds and monkeys and giraffes. In the ape house, though there are all these signs about the gorillas and each gorilla has a name and they're plastered everywhere like it's a big deal, but uh, no sign of any of them either inside or outside. We did see the orangutans and they were awesome and there were two older (probably women) playing with a baby and it was so cute and then the big ol' dude orangutan comes over and kinda pokes the probably-mother (she's holding the baby and they're down in this little ditch) and she turns around real annoyed and makes this very human gesture of annoyance at him with her hand. Anyway, they were all pretty awesome. We also saw these bears where the smaller one was in the water by the glass jumping up at these kids on the other side of the glass and the bigger bear was up out of the water seeming very tired-of-it-all. I joked that the younger one thought he'd be able to eat the kids but the older bear was jaded after years of trying and never being able to eat anyone. The elephants were cool. This one kept mugging and hamming it up for everyone. Then we get to the hippos... Ooh, I'm about due for a change-over to start a new post. I'll leave you in a little bit of suspense because this one is something! The MOST colorful of our colorful incidents. WHAT could have happened with the hippos...just wait!
Then Saturday we get up and go to the bakery that made Mary Beth flip out so much last time we were there: Nathaniel Reid Bakery (the thing she had that she flipped out over so much, now is upgraded to maybe the best thing she's ever eaten...I can't eat it though because of the chocolate, alas, but I did get some delicious stuff I can eat, of course). Then we went back to Forest Park (where the art museum is, giant park in the city) and first checked out the Jewel Box, a giant art deco greenhouse. The building's really cool and we hung out in there for a little bit and walked around. Then we tried to go to the zoo (also in the park). Well, it's very popular as might not be surprising (also, all this stuff in the park had been free) and inside the park we had a thirty minute drive to go half a mile. There's the zoo's own parking lot which we were expecting to go to, it's paid parking but hard to find free parking closer so that's fine whatever, but we get there and the lot's full and we can't park there. So we drive around a little while and can't find anything so we've given up and think we're not even going to go to the zoo and we're heading out when just outside the park on the street, I see a parking spot! It's right across from the zoo so about as close you can get without being in the zoo's own lot. So we almost didn't go...but then we did!
We made a beeline for the big cats area. First thing we see is the tigers, we just see a group of three cubs kinda playing around and stuff, the mom wasn't out or anything. But first thing we see is one of the cubs is playing in a little pool and then goes over to the edge and takes a dump in the little bit of water. Oh, that's a little gross, we're thinking but whatever...but what's this? Now he's (complete assumption) playing with the feces he just crapped out, mostly batting it around in the water but occasionally using his mouth. Pretty gross! The colorful incidents continue! We walk around and see a bunch of cool animals, including cool birds and monkeys and giraffes. In the ape house, though there are all these signs about the gorillas and each gorilla has a name and they're plastered everywhere like it's a big deal, but uh, no sign of any of them either inside or outside. We did see the orangutans and they were awesome and there were two older (probably women) playing with a baby and it was so cute and then the big ol' dude orangutan comes over and kinda pokes the probably-mother (she's holding the baby and they're down in this little ditch) and she turns around real annoyed and makes this very human gesture of annoyance at him with her hand. Anyway, they were all pretty awesome. We also saw these bears where the smaller one was in the water by the glass jumping up at these kids on the other side of the glass and the bigger bear was up out of the water seeming very tired-of-it-all. I joked that the younger one thought he'd be able to eat the kids but the older bear was jaded after years of trying and never being able to eat anyone. The elephants were cool. This one kept mugging and hamming it up for everyone. Then we get to the hippos... Ooh, I'm about due for a change-over to start a new post. I'll leave you in a little bit of suspense because this one is something! The MOST colorful of our colorful incidents. WHAT could have happened with the hippos...just wait!
