Blues & BBQ

Saturday, August 19…

Started our day with the Trolley Tour – it’s always a good way to get basic information about lots of different areas/aspects of a city. Guide wasn’t the best, but the info was still good. I loved the founding story. In 1764, Frenchman Pierre Laclede received a land grant from the King of France. Within that area, Laclede and his 13-year-old scout, Auguste Chouteau, established a fur trading post that would evolve into St. Louis. (Chouteau apparently did most of the actual  site design.) Some of the original 18th century brick paving has been preserved, but just a block away is the very 21st century Lumière Casino.

The trolley departed from the Casino and wound through several neighborhoods. A few highlights are below.

These first 3 were all taken in or adjacent to St. Louis's 1400-acre Forest Park. Some explanation is needed. Art Hill is misleading b/c I cut out the left third (that showed the Museum of Art at the top of the hill, which is steeper than it looks). Artists tend to gather by the reflecting pool below, but as we drove by we mostly saw just sunbathers (prostrate at the bottom). "Placebo" is actually the name of this sculpture, which is a steel tree. (Our guide told us it was the "Tree of Life," which led to great frustration on my part when I tried to GOOGLE it.) Whatever the name, it's very cool!  Pricey Real Estate is just one of many homes built adjacent to the park just before the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition (World's Fair) in St. Louis. Our guide ooh'd & ah'd over the mansions as if no other major city had a similar neighborhood. What was interesting, though, was that many of these homes were commissioned by wealthy foreigners who wanted a place to live during the entire duration (7 months) of the Exposition. These folks sent their own plans, so the area is very diverse architecturally.

Art Hill

"Placebo"

Pricey Real Estate

Basilica & Cathedral of
St. Louis...

The rest of these are just random places we passed.

First brewery (1852) of 13, all in the U.S.

City Museum - a thrill for all ages!
(Seriously, check this place out online.)

...the mosaic tile work is amazing.

(more on this below)

Right after the tour we drove back to the Blues Museum. I really don't know much about this genre, so I was happy to learn. I actually recognized a lot more names than I expected. The displays and presentations were really well done. Especially cool was the player piano demo/explanation. I also loved the fact that ordinary kids can come down here and record. We watched/listened to 5 teens (sax, 3 guitars, and percussion - the sax guy a 7th grader!) today as they practiced, with feedback from a museum "producer." What an opportunity. (And the kids were good.)

Lunchtime! I want to hit Bogart's (one of the more “famous” spots), which means standing in a half-block long line in midday Missouri sun (and humidity). Greg agrees, reluctantly. (He’s definitely not a fan of blistering heat.) Once inside and served, though, he agreed it was worth the wait & heat. He had burnt ends (sauced); I went with the pulled pork – choice of 4 sauces on the table. Both came w/ baked beans, which were exceptional. Full and happy (enough leftovers for another meal), we head back to the MH.

BlogThoughts... Interesting coincidence this morning. I’m chatting w/ some other folks waiting for the trolley and find out they’re from Cleveland. Only people in that part of Ohio have heard of my little alma mater, so I mention that I graduated from Baldwin-Wallace College. So did the younger of the 2 women… and the older one (her mom, I think) had been an adjunct professor there for a couple years. What are the odds??

On a sadder note, Dick Gregory passed away today. I remember him a bit for his comedy, but more for excerpts of his writing that I used in teaching. Turns out he was a St Louis native, very active in the city for much of his life. 

Photo op at the Blues Museum 😃