Extreme makeover: Arch edition

Pictured at left: Skyler and I stand on the riverboat dock below the Arch about six years ago.

I just finished reading an article in the Post-Dispatch about a competition for making over the St. Louis riverfront and Arch grounds.
There are five different design companies vying for the redesign job. The idea is to make people want to go to the riverfront and Arch and stay a while.
Most of the design ideas were, to say the least, out of the box. One features glass-enclosed gondolas soaring over the river from the Missouri side to the Illinois side. At least two include outdoor live entertainment venues – one is floating. Another wants to remove a viewing area on the Illinois side and build something else. It’s a viewing area that just opened last year. And it had cost $5 million to build.
I think it’s wonderful that the city seems serious about changes. The Arch area definitely needs improvement. And if we’re pondering it, we might as well think really really big.
But I have to wonder if all their imaginative ideas are really necessary. Do we really need another outdoor entertainment venue? There’s no word of who would be entertaining at the proposed venues. I guess it would just be there in case someone wanted to entertain outside in a public venue. And glass gondolas soaring over the river? Really? Basically it’s the same concept as going up to the Arch, except you’re going to the other side of the river.
So here are my suggestions for improving the riverfront – for making it a place tourists will enjoy, and that locals will want to visit too.
First, the design companies all got one thing right. We gotta connect the Arch grounds with the rest of the city. It’s crazy that you can’t walk from the Arch to Kiener Plaza, the Old Courthouse, the hotels, etc.
So my proposal is pretty much the same as the designers: Put a cap over the highway, which would allow people to go from the Arch grounds, to all the stuff in the city.
In my plan, the cap would be pretty big. I envision something that would extend north to allow people to walk from the Dome after a football game to Laclede’s Landing for a drink.
An outdoor ice rink when weather permits would be fun too. At least one of the designs included that. Picturesque lakes with water-spouting sculptures and fountains would be nice also.
I would also like to see some outdoor vendors, selling food and souvenirs. What’s a tourist attraction if you can’t buy a hotdog and a cheap T-shirt from outdoor vendors? People who wanted to run vending businesses would have to apply, and meet stringent regulations.
Now, I’ll turn my attention to the museum under the Arch. It’s a total redo.
For starters, it needs light. Sure it’s underground, but does it have to look like you’re walking into a bomb shelter? My plan would add skylights to the museum, and people walking on the ground above would be able to walk on those skylights and see into the museum from above. Cool.
And take all the dead stuffed animals out of there. Ditto for the creepy talking animatronic historic people. Instead, put in interactive displays that show people what westward expansion was like.
Let people prepare for the expedition with Lewis and Clark. Show people what we did and didn't know about the land before Lewis and Clark journeyed west.
Bring in a couple of Conestoga wagons that people can get in and pretend to drive. Put up displays of what all people would need to take on their journey, and let them figure out how to get it all into the wagon. Show them how treacherous making the westward journey was by giving each person a card with the name of an actual settler on it. At the end of the display, the visitor finds out how their settler fared, and if the person even survived the journey.
Next, you gotta address food. Currently the museum has no restaurant. Get hungry while you’re visiting the Arch? You can leave the museum and hike to Laclede’s Landing, or you can go to the riverfront and eat stale cheese-covered nachos from a little snack bar. Ridiculous. The museum begs for a restaurant and/or a sandwich place.
I’m a fan of the riverboats, so I wouldn’t change much of that, except to make it more of a learning experience – include more history information during the ride.
Yes, compared with the grand ideas the design companies came up with, mine are simplistic. But very often, simple is best.

My top 10 favorites of this summer

The summer is winding down. Skyler goes back to school tomorrow and I’m pretty sure that the worst of the hot weather is behind us (I’m hoping anyway). It’s a good time to reflect on the best of this summer. So here it is. My top 10 list of favorites of this summer.

1. Instant tanning lotion. I discovered this stuff a few years ago and love it. I’ve never tanned well and it’s always bothered me to be so white white during the summer. Now I can have a tan, and it’s healthy (or at least it is until they find that some chemical in the lotion is bad for us).

2. Our big, shady backyard. I’m thankful for this all year, but never more so than during this hot summer. In the morning, a big oak and a maple tree block the sun’s rays. In the evening, trees on the other side of the yard provide shade. The trees also provided places for us to hide during evening games of hide-and-seek – Lindsay’s favorite outdoor game this year.

3. Skyler earned money this summer from other people. He mowed the lawn for two neighbors. He also took care of a neighbor’s two dogs and two cats for a week. That required him to go to their house three times a day to let the dogs out, and to make sure the pets had food and water. I am very proud of him for demonstrating the responsibility to work for others.

4. Coffee drinks that I could make at home with just the mix and some hot water (Hill’s Brothers white chocolate with caramel is my favorite). Also, McDonald’s caramel frappes, and Kool-Aid.

5. In June, Lindsay made me proud in her dance recital debut. She worried me during rehearsals, becoming teary for the photo and barely participating in the dance rehearsal. But she pulled it together for the actual show, doing all the dance moves like a pro – or at least like a 4-year-old dancing on stage for the first time. I was very proud of her.

6. Skyler made me proud in his band concert debut, playing the trombone. Although technically this didn’t happen in the summer (it was at the end of the school year in May), I feel compelled to include it anyway. He’ll continue to play band this school year. I was fortunate to find an inexpensive second trombone for him so he won’t have to carry the trombone on the bus everyday.

7. Facebook. Don got a job offer as a result of reconnecting with an old friend on this social network site. And I have had the fun of reconnecting with old friends (and I’m still hoping it will pay off for me with a job too!).

8. My mother’s birthday party. My sisters and their families, and me and my family surprised my mother at the Olive Garden for her 65th birthday. My mom thought she was going out to eat with her husband. It was fun to see the happy look on her face when she saw all of us sitting in the restaurant waiting for them. Plus I really enjoyed seeing everyone.

9. I earned a little money by working at a temp job. The schedule offered one of the few perks of the job. I could miss traffic by going in and leaving very early. I also got to listen to the radio streaming online. Plus, as long as I left a list of things for him to do, Don and the kids did the housework.

10. Apples. They come in so many different varieties and are so tasty. They’re good for me, and they taste good too. Something I can partake of without guilt. Now that’s what summer’s all about.

Summer of cicadas

Walk into our backyard at anytime of day or night, and you'll hear their sound. It sounds somewhat like a dozen rattlesnakes all shaking their rattles at the same time, and seems to come from everywhere.
It's the sound of cicadas -- those scary-looking bugs that look like giant-sized flies.
I love to hear their sound. It's the sound of summer.
And this year they've provided me with some entertaining moments.
There was the cicada I saw while on a walk with the dogs a week or so ago. It was on its back, seemingly dead. I gave it a little nudge with my foot, and it suddenly burst to life, making its rattly sound. Both me and my younger dog jumped at the same time.
A few days ago I was outside in the backyard with both kids and a resting cicada came to life -- surprising 12-year-old Skyler. Before I knew what was happening, he was yelling "Aaaahhh!" and nearly knocked me down trying to get away from the giant rattling bug. Hehehe.
And last night, Lindsay had an encounter with one of the bugs. We were in the part of the backyard she calls the "deep dark woods," which is actually just under the canopy of a big oak tree. I was looking into the distance, contemplating life, when Lindsay let out an ear-piercing scream. My first thought was to save her from whatever had scared her. That's when I heard and saw the cicada. Once again it had apparently been waiting for one of the members of my family to come along before making its noise for maximum scare effect.
I grabbed Lindsay as she screamed and removed her from the deep dark woods. As her screams changed to crying, I explained to her it was just a cicada. She calmed down and we had a good laugh. We even went back to look at it.
If we'd seen it, I'm sure we both would have screamed. Again.

A wonderful visit to Grant's Farm

While speculation looms about whether or not the Busch family will sell Grant's Farm I thought it a good idea for Lindsay and I to visit the attraction while it's still open.

We went yesterday and had a wonderful time. Rainclouds built up in the sky as we drove, but it didn't rain while we were there. Instead, we had an overcast sky that kept the temperature in the upper 80s -- not bad for a St. Louis summer day.

Lindsay loved the tram ride. She was excited to see deer, cows and horses and all the other animals.

Feeding the goats was frustrating as usual. We'd pick out a small skinny-looking goat that we wanted to feed, and within seconds of it grabbing the bottle, a big bully goat would start pushing and butting the smaller one away. They are so mean to each other!

We rode the carousel twice. Lindsay loves carousels. The first time, she rode on a seahorse. The second time, she wanted to ride in the chair with me next to her.

We walked around and looked at the other animals. Lindsay liked the capybaras. She thought they looked like squirrels, which they do somewhat. I can just imagine Clover chasing one of those capybaras in our backyard though. The capybaras were at least a third bigger than she is.

We enjoyed the animal show. After the show, I bought Lindsay cotton candy. She'd asked for it before we even got to the farm. We sat and ate that for a while, then got snowcones. We ate those while watching the elephant show.

Lindsay was getting tired and hungry, so we went through the horse and carriage stables quickly and rode the tram back to the entrance.

We ate a picnic lunch in the car. She loves eating in the car, perhaps because I let her sit in the front passenger seat.

We headed to the Clydesdale stable. We saw several Clydesdales in their stables, and she petted a couple of colts standing next to the fence in the pasture.

It was a great visit. I hope it's not our last.