Went on the Disney Cruise

Here are some pictures of Patti and I on the Disney Wonder. We had a great time... The weather was a little more harsh than last time, but we had a great time none the less. The ship rocked a bit, and after we got off Patti and I were both still swaying to the waves. Weird...

On deck 5 getting ready to cruise.


Patti on deck 10 beside the forward funnel.

Women and children first??? Yeah right...

On our way out of Cape Canaveral. In style.

Posing in Nassau on Deck 10.

Patti and I at the Prince George Wharf in front of the Disney Wonder.

We are about 50 yards in front.

Our Ship from the glass bottom boat.

The glass bottom.

Getting ready to snorkle.

Patti and I at Castaway Cay

Pirates in the Caribbean

The guest have a choice of cruise casual dress or pirate.

Guess which we chose.

Wana folded a Chimp for us during our turn down service.

And a rabbit.

and an elephant. She was awesome.

Oana is from Romania.

What Can Brown Do TO You ~or~ UPS SUCKS!

Last week I sent a package to myself. Since Patti and I were going to Florida, I decided to send a few articles of clothing ahead using UPS so that I could avoid extra baggage charges with the airline. Major mistake!
I spent $8 on the box and $38 on the shipping, and the airline would have charged me $30 for the extra bag.
When I got to Florida I got a look at the new box I bought at the UPS Store in Silver City. HOLY COW!!! It looked as if they ran over the box a few times with their big brown truck. Honestly, I think it would take running it over with a truck to do as much damage to the box as was done. It was re taped by someone, but not sealed. The end was open, so that I could look into the box and pull things out.
When I opened the box most of it was there, but there were things missing. A pair of crocs and a part of a costume that I was going to wear to a party on the ship.

I think I will use the airline to send it all home, because UPS sucks!

Transferring packages
Delivery

I've learned my lesson... Maybe you can benefit from my mistake.

Touring St. Louis... and then some.

I had a great time in St. Louis. The PLC conference was great, and we did get in some time to go see a few of the sights. On the 13th we went into downtown St. Louis using the MetroLink train, and were going to catch buses to get around from there... wrong. The buses were not running downtown until August, and we didn't have the time to wait. So after walking a few blocks and realizing our time constraints, we hailed a cab. It took us to the Anheuser-Busch company where Budweiser was born. That was cool, kinda like getting a golden ticket and seeing Willie Wonka's factory, except there was an odd beer smell in the air instead of chocolate. We took the history tour, and saw how Bud was made. We saw the Clydesdales, and their posh surroundings, and they are oh so pampered.
After we left Anheuser-Busch we went to the Gateway Arch. That was awesome! When you come out of the wooded park and find yourself standing underneath the arch it it breathtaking, and you can't go to St. Louis without going into the arch. We went up right around sunset and the view was spectacular.
After the arch we went to the MetroLink to go back to our motel, but got an idea to take the train a little into Illinois. I'm not so sure we didn't end up in Ohio. Not really, but we rode it to the "end of the line" at Fort Scott, IL. We then rode it back to St. Louis to the airport where we could catch a cab back to our motel (12:30 pm). It was fun, but we were so tired.
I am now thankfully back home with my family, but I was nice to get out and see things I have only heard about or seen in pictures.

In downtown St. Louis with the Gateway Arch in the background.
On The MetroLink
The Eads Bridge over The Mississippi River to Illinois. Built in 1874. 6,442 feet long.

The Eads Bridge caissons, still among the deepest ever sunk, were responsible for one of the first major outbreaks of "caisson disease" (also known as "the bends"). Fifteen workers died, two other workers were permanently disabled, and 77 were severely afflicted.

Another view of the arch

Don't know what this is but it looked cool... I'll look it up later.

This Federal style courthouse was completed in 1828.

In 1839 ground was broken on a courthouse designed by Henry Singleton with four wings including an east wing that comprised the original courthouse and a three-story cupola dome at the center.
In 1851 Robert S. Mitchell began a redesign in which the original courthouse portion on the east wing was torn down and replaced by a new east wing.
From 1855 to 1858 the west wing was remodeled with the Dred Scott hearings taking place in the west wing before the remodeling.
In 1861 William Rumbold replaced a cupola with an Italian Renaissance cast iron Dome modeled on St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. The United States Capitol dome which was built at the same time during the American Civil War is also modeled on the basilica. The St. Louis dome was completed in 1864.

A beer delivery wagon from AB

Beer making on a large scale.

Very ornate surroundings for a factory.

Anheuser-Busch

The Anheuser-Busch Brewery, in St. Louis, Missouri is a National Historic Landmark District. Anheuser-Busch world headquarters is located in St. Louis, Missouri. The brewery there, the largest of the Anheuser-Busch breweries, was opened in 1852 and includes three buildings that are known to be listed as National Historic Landmarks, but in fact a large area including many buildings was designated.

The Gateway Arch is known as the "Gateway to the West".

It was designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen and structural engineer Hannskarl Bandel in 1947 and built between 1963 and 1968. It is the only building in the world based on the catenary arch, making it the iconic image of the city. It stands 630 feet tall and 630 feet wide at its base. The legs are 54 feet wide at the base, narrowing to 17 feet at the arch. There is a unique tram system to carry passengers to the observation room at the top of the arch.

Below the arch

Illinois from the top of the arch

Inside the arch on the top. You have to ride in a capsule to get to the top it was erie but cool.

Under the arch looking up at sunset.

Under the arch looking up at night.

St. Charles Missouri... Old Town

Sightseeing in St. Charles, Missouri... Me in front of a wagon similar to what the settlers used to make the move "West."

A section of the old part of town
The oldest house on the Missouri River, 226 years old.

Some more old buildings

Rocio, Karyn, Kris, Dayna, and Me

after dinner.
The Missouri River

Railroad Depot
Blues Concert in the park by the Katy Trail.

Bonedaddy and the ***** (I could never see the name of the band).

Chilling in the grass listening to blues, and praying there are no chiggers.

Waiting for lightning bugs

Gaslights that light the streets of St. Charles

Historic Downtown St. Charles

Marker Commemorating the 1993 flood.

St. Charles is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri. It lies just to the northwest of St. Louis, Missouri, on the Missouri River, and played for a time a significant role in the United States' westward expansion. It is the second oldest city west of the Mississippi, founded in 1765 as Les Petites Côtes, "The Little Hills", by Louis Blanchette, a French Canadian fur trader, and was the last "civilized" stop for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The city served as the first Missouri capital, from 1821 to 1826. It is the site for the Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne shrine. It is also the home base for the St. Louis National Weather Service Forecast Office, serving central, east-central and northeastern Missouri as well as west-central and southwest Illinois.

Louis Blanchette
Louis Blanchette was a French Canadian who travelled to the Americas, it is said, for adventure. According to Hopewell's Legends of the Missouri and Mississippi:
In the year 1765, a French Canadian, called Blanchette Chasseur, animated by that love of adventure which characterizes all who have lived a roving and restless life, ascended the Missouri, with a few followers, for the purpose of forming a settlement in the then remote wilderness.
According to Hopewell's account, Blanchette met another French Canadian (Bernard Guillet) at the site of St. Charles in 1765. Blanchette, determined to settle at the site, asked if Guillet, who had become the chief of a Dakota tribe, had chosen a name for it.
"I called the place 'Les Petites Côtes' " replied Bernard, "from the sides of the hills that you see."
"By that name shall it be called," said Blanchette Chasseur, "for it is the echo of nature — beautiful from its simplicity."
Blanchette settled there in 1769 under the authority of the Spanish governor of Upper Louisiana, and served as its civil and military leader until his death in 1793. During this time perhaps only a couple dozen buildings were built. Although the settlement was under Spanish jurisdiction, the settlers themselves remained primarily French nationals.

San Carlos
The first church, built in 1791, was dedicated to San Carlos Borromeo, and the town became known as San Carlos del Misuri: "St. Charles of the Missouri". This church was destroyed by a tornado in 1916.

Daniel Boone
The first American-born Europeans to settle in the region were Daniel Boone and his family. The Spanish Lieutenant-Governor Carlos de Hault de Lassus appointed him commandant of the Femme Osage District, which he served until the United States government assumed control in 1804. The name of the town, San Carlos, was anglicized to become St. Charles.

Lewis and Clark
William Clark arrived in St. Charles on May 16, 1804. With him were 40 men and three boats; there they made final preparations, as they waited for Meriwether Lewis to arrive from St. Louis. They attended dances, dinners, and a church service during this time, and the excited town was very hospitable to the explorers.
Lewis arrived via St. Charles Rock Road on May 20, and the expedition launched the next day in a keel boat at 3:30 pm. St. Charles was the last established American town they would visit for more than two and a half years.

State Capital
When Missouri was granted statehood in 1821, a decision was made to build a "City of Jefferson" to serve as the state capital, in the center of the state, overlooking the Missouri River. Since this land was undeveloped at the time, a temporary capital was needed. St. Charles beat eight other cities in a competition to house the temporary capitol, offering free meeting space for the legislature in rooms located above a hardware store. This building is preserved as the First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site and may be toured. The Missouri government continued to meet there until Jefferson City was ready in 1826.