I love having visitors!

Recently my dear friend, who also just moved from Alaska came for a visit. It's nice to live "outside" where interstate travel is (usually) faster, cheaper, and more convenient than living in Alaska.

Our time together went way too fast, but it was great to hang out, talk, and show off a few of my favorite St. Louis sites. We learned that our dreams of traveling between states in a quick weekend may not always be as simple as we hoped, but are still realistic.

Looking forward to our next visit together!

The Glow

It’s tough to describe, let alone photograph. In Forest Park, there’s an annual balloon race. On the eve of the event, is "The Glow" where all the hot air balloons are set up in a field, inflated, and then, with the signal, light up simultaneously. It’s quite a display. The balloons are huge, (as is the crowd). Nearly all 70 of the gigantic upside-down teardrops were touching. The balloons vary in size and shape from the iconic Re-Max hot air balloon, to a Pepsi can, to an Energizer Bunny as tall as a 16-story building. For this year’s race, entitled, The Horses and the Hare, the "Hare" (aka: giant Energizer bunny) takes off, and the other balloons “chase” him to the finish line.

From the 2008 photo contest, FIRST PLACE -- Adult

Nathan Wambold, Mascoutah, IL

Preparing to inflate at twilight

Watching the Bass Pro Shops balloon inflate. Fascinating.

Getting darker...some are starting to glow

When it gets dark, an air-horn blows every 10-15 minutes, and all the balloon pilots turn their flames on for about 5 seconds. This went on for a couple of hours.

For more details, and better images, visit The Great Forest Park Balloon Race.

We opted out of Saturday's Ballon Race, because we went to the air show at Scott AFB in Illinois. Tim pointed out some emotive formation flights including, The Freedom Formation, The Missing Man Formation. There was an Aerobatic show, and some military static displays (vintage aircraft, to laypeople like Faith). So enamored with the displays, we didn't take any (good) photos of our own to share with you. We both left this show feeling patriotic and awe-struck.

Cheers to 3 Years!

We've been celebrating our anniversary for most of the month. It started with an anniversary photo shoot. It's nice to have some pictures of us that are NOT our signature, extended arm, self-portrait. The photog picked a lovely park, and we couldn't be more pleased with the photos. Check them out if you are interested: www.mamabirdphoto.com , then click on the tab that says "Client Login", and the password is: Faith.

Word of mouth led us to an opening special at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. We've had some excellent steaks (Dave Henry's in particular), but this place was THE BEST. Hands down. We left satisfied, ready to sing the praises of Ruth's Chris, and looking for an excuse to return within the next 10 years

Opting out of yet ANOTHER self-portrait

But, really, it's just awkward either way!