The Cake Odyssey is Winding Down

My STL250 cake quest is nearing an end. I still haven't reached all of the cakes, but I've decided not to worry about it. My adventures throughout the region, however, won't stop just because the anniversary celebration ends. I've learned a lot about my hometown and wish to explore further.

My most recent adventure to me to Grafton, Illinois to visit a winery which was hosting one of the celebration cakes. Now, keep in mind, the scenic Great River Road is a wonderful experience all by itself, especially in the fall where the bluffs are alive with fall color. Even though the peak fall color had already passed when I drove through, the afternoon sun was turning the trees to a vibrant bronze and I wish I could have pulled over to the side of the road (no place to do that) to take pictures. I could have taken a gamble and just stopped. There was no traffic on my side of the highway. But I'm not a speedy photographer and it would be just my luck that a huge truck would stumble on me as I pressed the shutter.

Once I arrived in Grafton, finding the street that leads to the winery wasn't too difficult. Highway 100, which runs along the river, is level and flat. Mulberry Road is, I'm not making this up, easily a 30 to 40 degree incline from the highway. The winery is roughly a quarter mile up this hill. Straight up. Narrow. Winding. Road. Did I mention the 30 to 40 degree incline? Hope heights don't bother you.  By the time you reach the top, you NEED that bottle of wine. Oh, by the way, this would not be a good time to discover your car's transmission and/or brakes need work.

The view from Aerie's Riverview Winery is breathtaking to say the least. Now here's a bit of nature education for you. Aerie isn't just a cool sounding name someone picked out of a hat. Our national bird, the bald eagle, is such a special bird that her nest just can't be called a nest. No. An eagle's nest is actually called an aerie. Furthermore, eagles build their aeries high up in the trees because, well, they can. Hence, the name for this hill top winery is appropriate. I didn't sample any of their wines, so I can't tell you if they are good (no money and I'm really not a drinker).

The winery is rustic and pleasant. I'm told the food is great (again, no money to try a sample) and the zip line ride looks like fun for the very brave. Hey, I took on that hill - don't push it. After getting my pictures, I descended the hill - riding my brakes the entire way to Highway 100.

Little Miss Rosie

I may have mentioned in previous posts that we adopted a stray kitten almost a year ago. I remember when we "found" her (I think she found us) because it was two weeks after my mother passed away. We like to think that Mom is watching over us in the form of this stray kitten.

In the year that she has been part of our family, she has been a constant source of entertainment. Most mornings, we wake up to finding a sock or two on the floor that wasn't there the night before. I've caught Rosie sneaking away with socks from the dirty laundry and bringing them upstairs, properly deposited on the kitchen floor or dining room floor. She announces her gifts with a plaintiff cry. These gifts only happen at night when everyone is asleep. If I get the laundry caught up, she gets creative in her gift-giving. Dirty underwear, towels, slippers, gardening gloves and a winter scarf will make an appearance. We don't get mad at her. When picking one's battles, I'll accept dirty underwear over a dead mouse. You don't have to ask me twice.

Last night, I took down Rosie's collection of socks (12 this time) with the plan of working on the laundry in the morning. This morning. the same 12 socks reappeared in the dining room. Oh Rosie. My 19-year-old daughter told me she had a dream that Rosie brought up all the dirty laundry and was sitting on top of the pile looking so proud of herself. I think she may be plotting to do this very thing.

This isn't the only thing Miss Rosie does. Mealtime can be challenging because Miss Rosie thinks that people food is for her too. Our other cat, Rocky, is never interested in table food (lucky for us). Last night's dinner consisted of pork chops, mashed potatoes and carrots. Well, Rosie perched herself on my son's lap and tried to sniff his plate. He would gently push her head aside, letting her know that she couldn't have any. Once he began to cut his pork chop, she slipped her head underneath his arm and actually tried to get to the pork chop. One smart kitty. Or one determined kitty. You pick.

Little Miss Rosie, if you are my mom in spirit, could you please remember your table manners? Or at least put away the clean socks? We just love you to pieces.

Oh, The Places I Go!

This year is the 250th anniversary of the founding of St. Louis. Part of the year-long celebration is the public invitation to find 250 birthday cakes that are sprinkled all over town. I believe I've photographed 58 cakes so far.

Regional Arts Center, St. Louis, MO

I try to incorporate some of the cake odyssey in with the usual errands that may take me near their locations. Sometimes, it takes a special road trip. For instance, my daughter drove me out to Eureka/Pacific area to capture the cakes at Lone Elk Park and World Bird Sanctuary. None of my errands take me out there.

Most of the time, I'm in a rush to capture these pictures. Illegal parking is becoming the norm and occasionally I will deliberately drive the wrong way down a one-way street if it means getting me back to where I want to be. (shshshshsh - don't tell the cops!) Taking pictures of the cake at the Soldier's Memorial on Market Street meant being under the watchful stare of not one, but two, security guards. They weren't worried about me doing anything in the Memorial. They were guarding the set up for the upcoming filming of American Ninja Warrior and didn't want me to mess with anything. No prob guys. Once I started to leave the Memorial, one of the guards chatted with me a bit about the show. I told her that we could honestly say we were on the set and that we are sooo ninja that we were there and the audience couldn't see us. Works for me.

Better than a dozen of the cakes are located in Illinois. Since I have family in Illinois, this really isn't a big deal. Just make a run to visit a relative and then go cake hunting. My elderly aunt was recently relocated to a nursing home in the same town she's lived in most of her life. Since she's almost my only living relative on my side of the family, I try to make a point of going to see her. She has no children, so I'm the closest thing to a daughter she has. Last month, I met with a friend who grew up next door to my aunt and we visited Aunt Dolores. The day was fun and Susan took me to see the Giant Catsup Bottle in Collinsville. No one in my family ever mentioned the Catsup Bottle and Susan couldn't believe I never saw it before. Well, knock this one off my bucket list - the cake was located underneath the Catsup Bottle and I have both on record.

Today I went back to visit Aunt Dolores to deliver some plaques I made for her. While driving into Collinsville, I began to cry. Fond old memories rushed over me. As a child, I always saw Collinsville as a haven of peace and the place where my beloved grandparents and aunt and uncle lived. I made it to the nursing home, and had a wonderful visit with my aunt. She loved the plaques I made for her and I arranged for the maintenance people to hang them up. After the visit, I headed south towards Belleville for the beginning of my cake adventure. I mapped out everything before leaving home, so I was pretty sure I would be just fine. The big plan was to get one in Belleville and the two in Cahokia. I had never been to Cahokia. Aunt Dolores thinks I'm pretty gutsy. If she only knew.

The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows was lovely and so different from the last time I saw it (some 25 years ago). I spent some time in the Lourdes Grotto where I let loose the tears of grief. I would have stayed a little longer, but my nose was getting sloppy and the tissues were in the car. Once I regained myself, I headed towards new territory - Cahokia, Illinois.

Cahokia is one of the oldest towns in the area - predating St. Louis by about 50 years. It was a trading post and a military outpost for the colonists living nearby. Looking at the map, I knew Cahokia's proximity to East St. Louis was a little closer than I cared for, but I forged ahead anyway. If the neighborhood didn't look safe to me, I would just turn around and go home. HA! I'm not giving up that easily! Gas prices are $3.42/gallon. I'm getting those pictures!

Holy Family Catholic Church - Cahokia, IL

There isn't much to Cahokia because the town keeps getting flooded. A lot. Stretches of run-down buildings next to new shopping centers with a respectable amount of customers in the parking lots kind of told me that Cahokia is trying to survive and thrive. The map I printed turned out to be useless and I found myself on the street I was looking for. Fortunately, the brown road signs pointing to historic landmarks were my salvation. I found the Old Cahokia Courthouse and the Holy Family Catholic Church. Both buildings were built before Mr. Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence. I felt like I was walking on hallowed ground.

The caretaker for the Old Courthouse talked to me for awhile and even gave me a personal tour of the courthouse. The courthouse wasn't completely original because it had fallen to ruin, been put back together, moved to the 1904 World's Fair and then to Chicago. In the 1940's, it was finally returned to Cahokia and rebuilt to resemble what it may have looked like when Lewis and Clark were gearing up for their trip west. It was all so incredible and overwhelming. I think I could have spent hours there, but I wasn't comfortable taking up too much of the man's time. While he was friendly enough and very informative, I didn't like being alone with a man in a building where I wasn't sure I could get help if I needed it. I'm sure this gentleman had no intention of any harm at all. Just a security issue for me.

Once I completed my quest, I headed back out on the road to go home. My plan was to pick up the highway that would take me back to Collinsville and safely to St. Louis. It would have been a rather round-about route, but I would be skirting East St. Louis and the extra travel and gas would have been worth it to me. Nope. I passed the exit for 157 and headed straight down Route 3 into East St. Louis and Sauget because I saw the signs indicating the highway I needed to get to St. Louis was straight ahead. Idiot!

For those who don't know, East St. Louis and Sauget are home to a wonderful collection of gangs, strippers, hookers, drug dealers, mob people and strip clubs. In fairness to the residents of these communities, not everyone there is bad. I'm just not interested in finding out who's a good guy and who isn't. Sadly, there are about four birthday cakes in East St. Louis as well and I've been trying to decide if I should risk it by finding them. Not alone, of course.

The drive through East St. Louis and Sauget was shorter than expected and blessedly uneventful. I reached the highway I needed and trudged my way through rush hour traffic to home. I think the rush hour traffic was probably more dangerous than the jaunt through Sauget!

Raising Awareness . . .

Aware (adj.) - 1. having knowledge or realization; conscious. 2. informed. awareness (n) *Random House Webster's Dictionary Fourth Edition

Almost everyday, I see something or hear something in the news or on Facebook about a group of people raising awareness for some worthy cause - Autism, Heart Disease, Child Abuse, Alzheimers, etc. We even have national awareness days for pancakes, chocolate chip cookies, ice cream, people with red hair, various ethnic groups, and so on. All of this is wonderful, fun, and eye-opening. Hence, the name, Awareness.

I would also like to raise awareness of a social problem that is sorely overlooked. The neglect and abandonment of shoes. Drive along any highway, side street or parking lot and you will find a lost shoe somewhere. Some are dress shoes, but most are athletic shoes. Some of these shoes are so beat up that they are almost unrecognizable.

Shoes protect your feet from the dangers of the outside world. They withstand the onslaughts of puddles, gravel, dirt, gum, glass, your sweaty feet, dog poo, other people's feet, puppy teeth, and extreme temperatures of heat and cold. They do this without complaint. They are loyal - always stay where you left them. They can make you look dazzling, help you cross the finish line or land that job. They are truly Man's best friend.

Yet, we treat them so shabbily. They are cast aside, like, well, a worn out shoe. The abuse must stop. Let's find a loving home for these poor cast-offs. Only we can stop the madness.

*Clip art by Graphxpro/Redbubble

Blizzard of 2014

Okay, my family and I are bundled down, warm and well-fed, on what is the coldest Arctic blast to hit St. Louis in two decades. We also got pummeled with around ten inches of snow. Now I can remember the blizzard of 1982 and this one, while still severe, doesn't compare to that one. Reminiscing, however, doesn't change what is today.

After watching the snow fall all day yesterday, I'm looking out my windows on a new sunny day and see what the storm left behind. The snow in all its glistening glory covering every surface possible. The high winds have blown the snow into drifts that make the landscape very deceptive. My backyard has been turned into an artist's canvas of lines and dimensions. In one part of the yard, the wind has blown the snow so that it looks like Saturn's rings extending about ten feet into the yard. Closer to the back deck looks like those rice beds in China along the side of a mountain or tiered gardens in Peru. My little tricycle planter on the deck is almost completely covered in snow; the handles peeking out on top.

I spent yesterday cooking and baking so today we can eat without a lot of preparation. Of course, this arrangement won't last long. Tomorrow I will cook some more. I find it both funny and a little comforting that sometimes, Nature (and God) force humanity to stop the hustle and bustle and rest for awhile. This blizzard has achieved that for me. While laundry and dishes are a daily chore that will never go away, cooking on a larger scale is a challenge that can be met when all other obligations are removed. Since I can't get out of my driveway, I make do with what I have in my refrigerator and pantry. I am, by no means, a creative cook, but I am a pretty good cook and with the help of the Internet, I can put together a tasty meal.

Our two cats have expressed their opinions of the snow - they are not amused. Sami took each one out and they wanted back in immediately. Rosie, the stray we adopted, is a small cat and when Sami put her in the snow, all you could see were her ears. Rocky, our older cat, hissed at the snow and wanted no part of it.

Today is going to be spent huddled under blankets, reading, watching movies or surfing the 'Net. Kind of a nice change, really. Maybe we'll face snow shoveling tomorrow. Today, we rest. And stay warm.