St. Louis Wedding Bells

I stayed at the Clayton Plaza Hotel. There was a digital control for the shower.

It was pretty impressive. I've never seen anything like it. Even in Japan, and they love bathroom gadgets!

Kyle and Lana's wedding and reception were both held at the Thaxton. I was excited about this choice because I think it's only a venue and so it's rare for me to gain access to this amazing building. I used to live blocks from this place and walked by it frequently, biding my time until I could party here once more.

These two are cat weirdos. Sad,

Lana's parents did a fun video from Russia. With love.

There were lots of classy international foods. Much like the couple.

Speaking of classy they had a girl painting portraits by hand.

Hilariously she seemed to perceive me as a large bald Mongolian lawyer.

I don't really look like that, do I? DO I?

It was fun to reconnect with a lot of old friends that I have been missing.

We went to Jack Patrick's for the afterparty.

I objectively proved that I am their best friend of all by staying until the last minute and driving them to their hotel afterward. It was a fun night.

Clownvis Still Has Talent

I took the opportunity being in St. Louis to hit my favorite restaurants. Sugarfire is pretty darn good barbecue.

The sauces... the sauces.

I checked out the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park.

I love an opportunity to immerse myself in the 1904 World's Fair.

This was a weird thing that I don't remember learning about before. They have some jars of preserved fruit from an agricultural exhibit. If I was a supervillain I think I might break in the museum in the dead of night and feast upon 120 year old pears.

Our annual pumpkin beer tasting was coming up so I was excited to stock up on delicious St. Louis beer.

I got a little carried away though... I couldn't make it all fit in my suitcase. Sacrifices were made.

I was super excited about this event. Silver Ballroom is maybe my favorite bar in town, and Clownvis is a very fun and unique local act... plus free pinball? I'm there.

I suited up for the occasion.

It turns out that the event was promoting a new Clownvis beer from 4 Hands Brewing Co.

Seago and Nora joined in the fun. It was fun talking to Clownvis a bit about the olden days. He recognized my shirt as being a relic from an earlier time. I discovered Clownvis very early in my St. Louis life so there was a fair bit of nostalgia involved as well. Good times.

Andre was there too.

Clownvis even gave me some swag. What a good night.

Back in the Saddle

It had been several days now since I'd been on a plane so without saying a word I packed up my things, knowing that another flight must be imminent.

This time I would sadly be leaving Ern and Lydia behind in Kirkland while I went to a friend's wedding in Missouri. Ernie gathered some stuffed animals that I might need for my journey.

There was some technical issue at the airport, which is always a great omen. The screens that show the flight times were inoperable throughout.

Free pinball with Clownvis canceled out the bad luck from the airport though. Maybe everything was going to be ok after all.

The good news was that I landed in St. Louis safely. The bad news was that now I was in St. Louis.