As you may have noticed, I hibernate in the winter. I hate cold and I look for any excuse to stay home. However! I will be blogging live from (hopefully) sunny Florida in a couple weeks, where I will be participating in the Walt Disney World Half Marathon! In the meantime, here's an article from the St Louis Post-Dispatch about the locations used for the new movie Up in the Air, which filmed here last year. I could do this myself, but why leave my warm house when Joe Williams already did it for me?
Clooney Was Here
So has anyone seen the movie yet? What did you think?
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Holiday Lights!
No longer a contest! RØB (look at that, I learn new html every day) was the only one to submit pictures, so RØB wins by default! Yay RØB! You win the prize I have yet to determine! Here are a couple of his blinding finds:
Luckily I have had camera in hand on all my dog walks lately, AND I learned some new settings on my camera that improved my night time pictures. This first one is from my neighborhood, on a street called Marwinette. The whole street is big on Christmas lights, but this one took the cake since it also had music blaring.
The rest are from Candy Cane Lane, aka the 6500 block of Murdoch. This street takes Christmas seriously. I wonder if this is a "seller disclosure" if someone sells their house in July.
One block over from Candy Cane Lane:
All this time I was looking for the garish, tacky, overdone, blinding displays (which don't get me wrong, I love more than anything else about December,) and yet this is the one that stopped me in my tracks. This simple snowman is the one that truly captures the spirit of the eight pound, six ounce, newborn Baby Jesus (don’t even know a word yet, just a little infant, so cuddly, but still omnipotent.)
Luckily I have had camera in hand on all my dog walks lately, AND I learned some new settings on my camera that improved my night time pictures. This first one is from my neighborhood, on a street called Marwinette. The whole street is big on Christmas lights, but this one took the cake since it also had music blaring.
The rest are from Candy Cane Lane, aka the 6500 block of Murdoch. This street takes Christmas seriously. I wonder if this is a "seller disclosure" if someone sells their house in July.
One block over from Candy Cane Lane:
All this time I was looking for the garish, tacky, overdone, blinding displays (which don't get me wrong, I love more than anything else about December,) and yet this is the one that stopped me in my tracks. This simple snowman is the one that truly captures the spirit of the eight pound, six ounce, newborn Baby Jesus (don’t even know a word yet, just a little infant, so cuddly, but still omnipotent.)
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Anheuser Busch Brewery
I will say this just once in this post: Inbev. OK, now that we have that out of the way, can you believe I have lived in St Louis all my life and have been drinking Anheuser Busch products for nearly a decade and this past weekend was the first time I went on the brewery tour? The FREE brewery tour with the free beer? I know!
Usually I get my free beer with goats (at Grant's Farm, of course) but this year, the brewery is staying open late for just two Fridays in December so that you can check out their holiday light display while taking a walking tour of the plant. After hours just feels more special, even with 50 other people and tours departing on the half hour.
I was running late, so I didn't spend a whole lot of time on the exhibits in the tour center or in the gift shop, but I can tell you that both are expansive. I can also point out that custom AB carpet tile with the distinctive Budweiser "bowtie," because that's what I do. I can even tell you who makes it (Milliken.)
Onward to the stables! Some of the Clydesdales live here on the brewery property, in this fancypants stable that was built in 1885 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Sorry about the orbs in these photos. Stables are dusty (or are they HAUNTED?)
There are 6 "hitches" of Budweiser Clydesdales; 5 that travel around the country and one that resides at the brewery. There are two Clydesdale breeding farms, one at Grants Farm in St Louis and one in California.
Next up on the tour, the Mashing Room. This building is absolutely incredible. I think the thing I like the most about the AB headquarters is that they still make use of so many of the original buildings.
These hop vine chandeliers are from the 1904 World's Fair. If I remember right, they are 4 stories tall.
The copper grant is used by the brewmaster to check the wort for consistency and clarity as it comes out of the straining tank.
I love this tile mosaic that is on the first floor. They don't say anything about it on the tour, but I know there are also some original tile mosaics at Bevo Mill that they talk about if you can get a tour from the manager. All I remember is that they cost a fortune.
The next stop on the tour is the bottling plant. The next few pictures are from the lobby of the building.
You take several flights of escalators up, which feels like being in a department store, to the observation room above the plant.
The last stop on the tour is the hospitality room, where you get some pretzels and two free samples (about 6oz) of beer, or sodies for the kids. I highly recommend the Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale. This Friday, December 19th, from 6-9pm is your last chance to do the nighttime tour. You can find the regular hours for the brewery tour on the Budweiser Tours website.
Usually I get my free beer with goats (at Grant's Farm, of course) but this year, the brewery is staying open late for just two Fridays in December so that you can check out their holiday light display while taking a walking tour of the plant. After hours just feels more special, even with 50 other people and tours departing on the half hour.
I was running late, so I didn't spend a whole lot of time on the exhibits in the tour center or in the gift shop, but I can tell you that both are expansive. I can also point out that custom AB carpet tile with the distinctive Budweiser "bowtie," because that's what I do. I can even tell you who makes it (Milliken.)
Onward to the stables! Some of the Clydesdales live here on the brewery property, in this fancypants stable that was built in 1885 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Sorry about the orbs in these photos. Stables are dusty (or are they HAUNTED?)
There are 6 "hitches" of Budweiser Clydesdales; 5 that travel around the country and one that resides at the brewery. There are two Clydesdale breeding farms, one at Grants Farm in St Louis and one in California.
Next up on the tour, the Mashing Room. This building is absolutely incredible. I think the thing I like the most about the AB headquarters is that they still make use of so many of the original buildings.
These hop vine chandeliers are from the 1904 World's Fair. If I remember right, they are 4 stories tall.
The copper grant is used by the brewmaster to check the wort for consistency and clarity as it comes out of the straining tank.
I love this tile mosaic that is on the first floor. They don't say anything about it on the tour, but I know there are also some original tile mosaics at Bevo Mill that they talk about if you can get a tour from the manager. All I remember is that they cost a fortune.
The next stop on the tour is the bottling plant. The next few pictures are from the lobby of the building.
You take several flights of escalators up, which feels like being in a department store, to the observation room above the plant.
The last stop on the tour is the hospitality room, where you get some pretzels and two free samples (about 6oz) of beer, or sodies for the kids. I highly recommend the Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale. This Friday, December 19th, from 6-9pm is your last chance to do the nighttime tour. You can find the regular hours for the brewery tour on the Budweiser Tours website.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Holiday Lights!
I'm still going through the pictures for this weekend's adventure, but I want to remind everyone that the deadline for holiday light submissions is December 19! I don't have a single picture yet except for this one that I took near my house! Send your pictures to beth@cravescavesandgraves.com.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Highway 40 is open!
If you live in St Louis, you know we will use any excuse for a party, and that is why we had a party yesterday to celebrate the east end of 40 reopening, and we had a party last year to celebrate the west half. Out-of-towners are baffled at our wild celebration of an interstate, so I can't let this historic event pass without mention.
It seems like just last week hundreds of us were camped out with blankets and beers on the side of Highway 40, waiting for them to blow up the Tamm Ave overpass. Here's the video my friend Tim took.
Listen to the size of the crowd! That is how hundreds of people chose to spend a Friday night, and we waited at least two hours. I love this town.
So that was about 18 months ago. All told, Highway 40/Interstate 64 was closed to thru traffic in St Louis for about 23 months. They started reopening the ramps last night at 9pm. DEAR KSDK.COM: I HAD TO REMOVE ALL OF YOUR VIDEOS FROM THIS PAGE BECAUSE YOU HOLD ONTO THE ANTIQUATED NOTION THAT AUTOPLAY ANYTHING IS ACCEPTABLE ON THE INTERNET. PLEASE JOIN THIS DECADE AND STOP ASSAULTING PEOPLE WITH AUTOPLAY. I heard one report on the 5 o'clock news last night while I was decorating the Christmas tree, and my favorite part was when one lady said that she told her kid that some day he could tell people that he walked on the highway before it was open. For a minute I thought I was listing to The News From Lake Wobegon. That is why we say St Louis is a really big small town.
Don't forget to send in your pictures of holiday light displays! I don't have a single entry yet! Send them to beth@cravescavesandgraves.com.
It seems like just last week hundreds of us were camped out with blankets and beers on the side of Highway 40, waiting for them to blow up the Tamm Ave overpass. Here's the video my friend Tim took.
Listen to the size of the crowd! That is how hundreds of people chose to spend a Friday night, and we waited at least two hours. I love this town.
So that was about 18 months ago. All told, Highway 40/Interstate 64 was closed to thru traffic in St Louis for about 23 months. They started reopening the ramps last night at 9pm. DEAR KSDK.COM: I HAD TO REMOVE ALL OF YOUR VIDEOS FROM THIS PAGE BECAUSE YOU HOLD ONTO THE ANTIQUATED NOTION THAT AUTOPLAY ANYTHING IS ACCEPTABLE ON THE INTERNET. PLEASE JOIN THIS DECADE AND STOP ASSAULTING PEOPLE WITH AUTOPLAY. I heard one report on the 5 o'clock news last night while I was decorating the Christmas tree, and my favorite part was when one lady said that she told her kid that some day he could tell people that he walked on the highway before it was open. For a minute I thought I was listing to The News From Lake Wobegon. That is why we say St Louis is a really big small town.
Don't forget to send in your pictures of holiday light displays! I don't have a single entry yet! Send them to beth@cravescavesandgraves.com.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Have Yourself a Very Griswold Christmas
Do you have a house like this in your neighborhood? I want to see it! Send me the best light displays you come across this month! Deadline for submissions is December 19th. On December 20th I will post them here for people to vote for the best one, winner to be announced on Christmas. It doesn't have to be your house, and it doesn't even have to be in the St Louis area. I haven't figured out a prize yet, but if you have a blog or website, I will link to it. Send your submissions to beth@cravescavesandgraves.com.
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