South Grand Ted Drewes

It's "other Ted Drewes" season! I used to live down the street from this location (4224 South Grand) years ago, and it's still the closest one to my house, so I think of it as "my" Ted Drewes. We stopped here last night for a chip cherry concrete (me) and an Oreo concrete (Francis). My first trip of the year had to be an old standby, but next time I'm trying the new Lemon Crumb (also new this year: Smores)!

Don't forget, Saturday is our City Museum meet up! We will be up on the roof at 7pm. I haven't come up with a button or tshirt or sign yet, so just look for us. We look like this. Maybe we should wear our ears!

Clarksville Sky Ride

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday weekend! Francis and I drove up to Clarksville on Sunday because he wanted to poke around an antique mall and I wanted to see the status of the Sky Ride for myself. You may remember from my 200th post that I have been waiting for the Sky Ride to open for years. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that is ever going to be finished.

This didn't look anything like what I expected after years of hearing that they were ready to open as soon as land for a parking lot was agreed upon, and now the website has been taken down. Bummer! If anyone knows any details about what happened/is happening, I'd love to hear about it.

Still, plenty of reasons to drive up highway 79! There is a 40,000 sf antique mall, Overlook Farms has a fantastic restaurant, and you can watch eagles in the winter near the lock & dam. Past Clarksville is Louisiana, which I have not been to yet myself, but I've encountered their artists and artisans at various festivals around Missouri and I know they have lots and lots of shops. If you want to keep going, you can get to Hannibal via 79, as well, and it is much more scenic than 61.

Check the flood news before traveling the river roads this year!

Don't forget: this Saturday, we're having a meetup at the City Museum! Help blog the most obvious weird attraction in St Louis! Details are on the Facebook event invite.

Disney Wanyama Safari Review

Thanks to Disney's Armed Forces Salute, Francis and I were able to spend a full week at Animal Kingdom Lodge, a deluxe resort with an African theme. There are two buildings, Kidani Village and Jambo House, surrounded by savanna. We stayed at Jambo House, and thanks to a very nice cast member, we were upgraded to a savanna view room. It is super cool that the animals of the savanna have pretty set routines, and we saw giraffes outside our balcony around 4pm every day.

Peter Pan in the UK

One last bonus topiary! UK is one of my favorite EPCOT "countries". We didn't get a chance to eat at Rose & Crown but we did have a pint there and watched the cover band British Revolution at their garden stage nearby. And, of course, The Cottage's snacks were my favorite of the F&G Festival. For you anglophiles, the gift shops in UK are laden with Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Dr Who merchandise, as well as the Great British Teddy Bear Company bears.

If you want to see the trip report, pop on over to our "house blog", Franceth Manor. Part two should be up soon.

Epcot Flower and Garden (and Food!) Festival

EPCOT is my favorite Disney park, and I think Francis and I must have circled the World Showcase 4-5 times last week. While I'm still working on sorting the hundreds of photos, here are some of topiaries and other features from the Flower & Garden Festival.

Haunted Mansion

I'm on vacation, so here's a quick "graves" treat for you. Be back next week with some behind the scenes tours and other highlights of the trip!

  

Ready For Another RunDisney Event!

An oldie but a goody from Phoenix Wearing Hats.