Tara's Birthday - St Louis Style

Birthdays should be celebrated with an adventure.  And just so, for her birthday, Tara and I jetted over to St Louis for the day to see what we might see.  And a lovely day it was - leaving behind the hot, sunny 90s for clear, blue 80s was a treat.

An 8:40am flight was perfect - not too early, but not too late to squeeze in a good day of adventuring.

Adventuring with Tara is a bit different from adventuring with my Boo.  Tara is game for the slow wander in a gift shop or reading details at a museum.  It's a stroll through a garden catching up on all the things.  And today was a good day for a leisurely exploration of a town new to both Tara and I. 

Plus, at this point, we've decided that experiences are great gifts -- better than more stuff.  So, it was a day of celebrating one of my favorite people.  Happy (belated, at this point) birthday, Tara!  You're a blessing indeed!

We were in town by 10:30am-ish.  Enough time to decide we needed a car for the day and to scope out lunch. 

Checking out well rated vegan restaurants is a thing now, and Tara was game for a food adventure at Lulu's Local Eatery.  In the land of southern cookin' and BBQ, vegan is a bit hard to come by.  Lulu's perseveres.  The sweet potato tots with spicy sauce - big win.

Next on the agenda, the Missouri Botanical Gardens for an afternoon stroll. 

Despite being late in the season, the gardens were lovely with late blooming flowers.

The people watching was rich, what with ladies hobbling in heels and men pulling at neckties as they ambled towards one of the several weddings hosted that afternoon.  Ladies, burgundy and navy are in for late summer weddings.










A fun thing about the day's trip was that we created the itinerary as we went, and Tara, being the birthday girl, called the shots.  So next up - the Anheuser-Busch flagship brewery.  Walking about in the afternoon sunshine made beer sound good!

Tours were full, but we decided a beer in the Biergarten would hit the spot.  I tried an original Budweiser - the beer brewed to appeal to all tastes, as we learned in the brewery.  And pretzels... of course, pretzels. 



And finally, the arch.

We'd been a talking about seeing the arch for a while, so we made sure there was time for a visit.  It was our final stop, and pretty neat.  It commemorates the "gateway to the West" and is dedicated to the American people.  I don't know about you, but I'm a better American person on account of the arch. /shrug

Sure, the arch is neat, but I'm not quite sure I grasp the point.  In reading up on the history, I learned that the design of the arch was determined in a competition, which a Finnish-American architect, Eero Saarinen, won in 1947.  It was finished in 1965.  It is meant to symbolize the pioneering spirit of the men and women who won the west.  I'm not sure all parties involved would celebrate the "winning" of the west.  To be technical, St Louis was founded near the intersection of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers where Lewis & Clark began their western expedition.

The Museum of Westward Expansion, under the arch, is a good one, and worth the time.  I enjoyed learning about the rich history of St Louis, founded by French traders, Pierre Laclede and his stepson Auguste Chouteau, via their monopoly on fur trading with the local American Indian Osage tribe.  The St Louis settlement was rich in diversity and seemed to be open in thought for the times.  I'm intrigued to learn more. 

We were back at the airport in time for a 7:00pm-ish flight.  Adventure complete.  The only thing we missed throughout the day was a celebratory cupcake.  All in all, a great day with my great Friend.

NZ Adventures #12: When a Sound is Really a Fjord, Who Cares?

Earth Date:  Sunday, November 25, 2018

Driving through cascade-tastic valleys?
Yeah. Whatever.

It's Milford Sound Day!  It really should become an official holiday.  Not sure how Hallmark would work with that one, and while I want everyone to marvel in the majesty of Milford, I don't want them to on the same day.  It's a pickle.

Anyways, it's one of the places I've been jonesing to see, but it's also a really long day of driving, and we know how Jayme's felt about driving.  Not that I blame him.  Plus, he's a tough customer and is just so-so intrigued.  I'm hoping the Sound will wow him.

We have a tour booked at 12:45pm, so we head out early for an almost four hour drive to Piopiotahi, aka Milford Sound.

To the Sound that's really a fjord.  But really, it's so beautiful, who cares.  Well, maybe the marine biologist people, but the regular ol' tourist persons like us don't really care.  We just want to ooo and ahh, and gaze up in awe at the majestic heights and spritely waterfalls.

Milford Sound is a fjord in Fiordland National Park.

- A sound is a large ocean inlet.
- A fjord is a narrow ocean channel forged by the formation and recession of glaciers characterized by steep, vertical walls and a flat ocean floor.

We didn't get a close look at the ocean floor, but we can validate that the valley walls were pretty steep and vertical.  Steep, vertical and majestic.  Really, majestic is the best word for a place like Milford Sound.

The Drive

But first, the journey is it's own kind of majestic...

To get to Milford Sound, we drove through lovely pastures, foot hills, beech forest and finally up into cascade-tastic valleys of waterfalls to Homer tunnel and out the other side to more beautiful scenery.

Homer Tunnel is a 1.2km pass through the Darran mountain range.  It was started in 1935 and completed in 1954.  Thank you to the hard working folk who blasted through the range to open up the road to Milford.

It's one-lane, so we lined up with all the other rides to wait our turn.  Which really just offered a nice stretch-your-legs break and opportunity to capture the falls vaulting down the valley walls.

The drive to the Sound is a funny area.  You're driving through craggy wilderness with a line of cars, then all the sudden parking!  NZ has carved out a few cramped parking spaces and a commercial boat dock for the five or so tourist companies offering tours of the Sound.  And that's pretty much it.  Beauty + tourist trap boat docks.

Milford Sound

But it's really all about this...

The cruise was awesome, awe-inspiring and wonderful.  They take you right under some of the wispy falls.  They also offer factoids about the sights.  But you know how pilots often sound during their flight announcements -- like Charlie Brown's teacher?  That's about what the Captain sounded like.  But I'm sure the info was helpful and fascinating.
















Seal Rock is a fave basking zone for fur seals, and this day they were out in full force enjoying the sunshine.

Lady Bowen Falls

The two permanent falls are Lady Bowen Falls and Stirling Falls.

Lady Bowen Falls is fed by Bowen River which flows through the northern Fiordlands and drops 531 feet into the Sound.  A cool factoid:  the Falls provides hydroelectric power for the tiny Milford Sound settlement.

Stirling Falls leaps off a valley between the Lion and Elephant Mountains.

The other falls find their ways down the cliffs shifting into new patterns as they make new paths.

Stirling Falls

Those wispy falls over the lovely striations in the cliff face... /sigh

The cruise was an hour and 45 minutes; the drive was four hours.  It was worth it:

I hope Grumpy, I mean Jayme, also agrees.

Pictures don't do Milford Sound one bit of justice.  God did a really good thing when he forged this place. 

Goodbye Milford Sound/Fjord.  You are lovely.














Any sights along the way?  Sure, but we are not stopping.  Nope.  We were on a mission to and from Milford Sound.  I complained, "but you said we could stop on the way back." "What I said was 'that the sights would be there on the way back.'"  Devious semanticist.

Whatever.  I will take pictures.

Lovely views along Hwy 94/Te Anau Milford Hwy

Tomorrow, we are headed to Christchurch to see Jeremy and Matt, leaving one final episode.

Unexpected Discoveries in Omaha

I took a work trip with a few colleagues to Omaha last month.  It was a quick one-night stay in the downtown area.  I'd not had the privilege of visiting Omaha before this trip, so I was eager to fit in whatever bit of adventure Monday evenings offer in Omaha.  Plus, summer days in the 80°s was a treat compared to the Easy Bake Oven of the Texas summer.  You know what else?  To traverse Omaha from the airport, you visit both Nebraska and Iowa.  Bam.  Two states, one trip.

Separate from the effective meeting with our business partners, we did find time for some adventuring.  Shall we?

You know that Instagram -- you see something fun and immediately post your friends.  Well, newly into Instagram this year (#don'tjudge), I love some of the suggestions from the vegan folks I follow.  A restaurant called Modern Love was recommended on an Instagram post, so I text my colleague in charge of this adventure, with a joking "let's check out this place while we're in OMA."  Vegan comfort food.  Yes, we must have that in Omaha, land of beef & potatoes. 

The effective executor that she is (#shemakesitlookeasy), she let the business partners who we were visiting know that we'd be dining there for the evening.  Who knew I had such clout, to subject an entire party of like 10 people to vegan dining.  (I'll have to explore the extent of this tormentation...uh, clout, further.)  Upon apologizing sheepishly, I heard more than once, "they serve drinks, it'll be great."  Indeed.  Well, Modern Love was fab, and unless they are good liars, everyone in the party enjoyed their meals and the cashew cheese.  I especially enjoyed the cashew cheese and would consume mass quantities of said cashew cheese if I had the opportunity to dine there regularly (#friedmozzerellaFTW).  So, friendly business partners, should you read this post -- Thank you!  For hosting a great discussion and for a lively and tasty dinner!

While at dinner, a party member who is a local, suggested we check out a speakeasy down the way.  Of course we have to check out a speakeasy down the way!  Business, shmusiness - every day is an adventure.  We are told to say that "we're looking for the wicked rabbit" to the purveyor of fine cigars and spirits at the Looking Glass.

Our friendly hotel shuttle driver informs us with a pseudo-chuckle that it's still light outside and it might be shameful to get a drink before dark.  So of course, we invite him along.  But he doesn't drink.  Still, he is full of opinions.  We are not dismayed.  While it's only 8:30pm and still light outside, we clump into the tiny, fancy Looking Glass.  With a smirk, the clerk tells us to find the White Rabbit.  I'm overwhelmed with the number of sparkling bottles on the polished wooden shelves, so thank goodness an eagle eye in our party finds the pesky rabbit -- a bottle of vodka that's like a handle to a door in the wall.

Hello, retro 20s in the Wicked Rabbit!  We enter to cheers from those lined up at the bar, and make our way to a cozy corner of the sumptuous little place, and order a slew of fun drinks.  The long, elegant space is all gold leaf, dark leather and heavy velvet drapery with low flickering candles.

Vespa, Hanky Panky, Old Fashioned, Vodka OJ & a Martini

Drinks arrived with quirky orange peel adornments fastened with hat pins.  Such fun!

This was my first time at a speak easy, so of course I need to research.  "Speak easy" comes  loosely from "speak softly shop" during prohibition times across the 1800s in western countries.  They've recently come into vogue after a 2007 discovery of underground rooms in Binghamton, NY, which were thought to have been speakeasies back in the day. 

One drink, and we're happy to slip out the side door to stroll the block or two back to our hotel for an early evening, what with it being a school night and all.

Here's to fun work trips with great colleagues + a few adventures on the side.

Omaha, I'm intrigued and will be back to explore further.

NZ Adventures #11: Quietly Queenstown

Earth Date:  Saturday, November 24, 2018

When the day begins with a big ol' whoops, you just know it's gotta be a quiet one.

In spite of the meticulous planning I'd done to prepare for each NZ adventure (really, likely because of the meticulous logistics planning), I botched up the date of our cruise through Milford Sound and we were supposed to be cruising today.  Yikes.  I was very much looking forward to seeing Milford Sound, so I was super bummed.  But you know what?  The folks in NZ are a pretty darn hospitable lot on the whole.

We were dreading a reallllllyyyy llllooooonnnnggg day of driving to get to Queenstown then on to Milford Sound, and seriously considering writing off that experience.  But the awesome lady at Cruise Milford just booked us up for Sunday, no worries.  #gratitude

Now, the day is a short jaunt from Wanaka to Queenstown.  Plenty of time to enjoy the sites and explore Queenstown.

#thatwanakatree

But first...before we bid adieu to Wanaka, we must visit the most photographed tree in NZ:  the "lone tree of Lake Wanaka."  We were up pretty early for a lazy Saturday morning in Wanaka, and yep, lots of tourists taking the obligatory photo of #thatwanakatree.  I too was a tourist taking an obligatory photo or two:

This famed tree of Lake Wanaka is a crack willow, aka salix fragilis.  Literally means that it's fragile - made of wood that is brittle and cracks easily.  So, stay off of it people.  Apparently that's been happening and branches are cracking off.  Silly people.

Oh, and see the lovely Mount Aspiring National Park in the background.

Check.  And we're off to Queenstown, which is a short one-hour drive along Cardrona Valley Drive, which suspiciously after the passing the town of Cardrona--more of a map blip with a chalet, general store and resort--becomes Crown Range Road.  It's the same road?!  Oh wait, the Crown Ridge road elevates through the Crown Range passing just by Crown Range Summit.  It descends through farming land, then in a series of tight switchbacks, which was nauseatingly "fun," sweeps through Arrow Junction and on by Lake Hayes.

Queenstown

Queenstown is the adventure capital of the world.  We experienced it as more of the sit around and enjoy the lake views capital of the world.

Our hotel was actually in Frankton, an arm of Lake Wakatipu.  After scoping out the location of our place for the next couple of nights, we headed into Queenstown.

Parking is a pricey adventure in Queenstown.  We found a lucky parking spot by St. Peter's Anglican Church on Camp Street.  Which is a super cute affair built in 1932.  And they happened to be having their Market Days, which was a big garage and craft sale.  On our way back to the car, we wandered through.  Elderly folk + junk, but it was fun to explore, and see that garage sales are just the same as in our neck of the woods.

And check out the band, playing church and ol' timey faves.

We walked through downtown to see what was what, using up the two hours we booked on the parking meter.  Then it was off to find another exploration hub.  We decided to check out the Queenstown Gardens, cuz free parking without a time limit!  And the Gardens did not disappoint.

We wandered for a bit, then headed along the Queenstown Trail back into the downtown area along the lake.  We decided a salad and burger at The Bathhouse would do for lunch.  And it was perfect.  A table on the shoreline allowed for a lovely view and fun people + waggly-dog watching.  We had fun watching the hydro attack shark vessels (yep, that's what they're called-ish) zip into the cove and the adventure boats doing one final big sweep and splash before they docked.

After lunch we wandered along the Trail to Earnslaw Park where a weekend market was in the works.  Of course, I'm loving the stroll through vendor stalls.  Jayme accommodates.   I found a vendor who sells delightful handmade jewelry featuring local flowers:  Milliefa.  You can find her on the Book of Face here.  So naturally, I bought a few Christmas gifts.

Then guess what we eyeballed: a Patagonia Chocolates.  Yes please!

Then it's back to our hotel room for a nap.  Jayme is tired today and understandably so.  We've been going, going, going!  After some rest, we headed back into town for more walking around and dinner.  It's a rainy evening, so we duck into shops to stay dry.

The bed, like a cloud.  So we get in it early, cuz it's gonna be one early morning, as we check out The Fjord.  Peace out.

NZ Adventures #10: "Resting" in Wanaka

Earth Date:  Friday, November 23, 2018

We are in Wanaka and it's a good day to rest... except for the wee stroll Mr. Endicott thought it would be nice to take.  This is pretty much how I felt about that plan:

When we checked into the condo the nice lady at the front desk gave us the suggestion that Mt. Iron would be a leisurely walk if we wanted light activity on Friday.  Oh yeah, sure.  Don't trust the thin and fit New Zealanders.

After sleeping in and wondering what to do this fine day (I advocated for a rest day on the couch gazing at the lovely view from our condo), at Jayme's urging and my #wemustseeallthethings neurotic completer/finisher disposition, we set out for Mt. Iron.  Mt. Iron was NOT a stroll.  It was an uphill battle, and I was tired and maybe I was cranky, too.  Ok, so honesty requires that I tell you that I was indeed cranky, and I wasn't quiet about my preference for couch time.  Jayme just smiled, and onward we trudged.

Though the path was 100% up, the views were gorgeous.

It was like 0 to 545 meters up in four switchbacks.  For a weakling like myself, that's tough.  We were passed by everyone - soccer moms in their athletic wear, hiker girl with a huge pack, dudes walking their dogs, runners.  All the peoples passed us as I moaned and groaned each step of the way up Mt. Iron.

But, as we "strolled" I couldn't deny that Wanaka is a pretty cute little city.  It's like the upscale suburbia of the South Island.

Here you can see both Lake Wanaka (right) and Lake Hawea (left) off in the distance.

 And finally the summit for even lovelier views.

Our friends shared that many folks move to Wanaka for retirement.  I can see why.

After "the stroll," we ventured into the city proper to explore and find lunch.  What's perfect after burgers at Speight's Alehouse?  Right!  Gelato at Patagonia Chocolates.   We nabbed a delish scoop each (I recommend a dark chocolate and berry sorbet combo), then wandered down to the lake front.  It was a beautiful day, and folks were out and about.

Finally, it's time to rest, sit on the couch and stare at the lovely mountain views afforded from said couch.  And there may have been a delightful nap involved.

That evening we caught a movie at Cinema Paradiso, which is hilarious.  It's a series of ramshackle buildings strung together to create a theater.  Seating is a mish mash of couches, theater seats, chairs, etc.  The screen is like a home theater version over a black sheet, and they put an intermission in every movie so that you can pick up the warm cookies you ordered before the show began.  Clever, Paradiso, clever.  We watched The Girl in the Spider's Web.  It was a fun way to relax.

Tomorrow we are heading to the adventure capital of the world.  Adventure + The Endicotts = ?

NZ Adventures #9: Waterfalls in Haast Pass

Earth Date:  Thursday, November 22, 2018

Agenda:  Frans Josef ➜ Haast Pass ➜ Wanaka

Warning:  This post contains explicit videos of stunning scenery and bewitching waterfalls.  May not be suitable for curmudgeons.  Oh wait...

We are on day nine.  We are tired and it's starting to show.  We take our time heading out.  We have a lovely, but long drive (3.5 hours is a long drive on an island) through Mount Aspiring National Park to Wanaka (we say Wan-a-ka, because we 'mericans down here in the south pro-nou-nce things pho-net-ic-al-ly + a few add-i-tion-al syl-la-bles).  But, our friends laughed at us.  It's Wah-na-ka.  Yes, you see our difficulty.

Anyways, today is waterfall day.  Because, like unicorns, you just can't have too many waterfalls.  It's physically impossible.

We pass Fox Glacier and tip our proverbial hats, then pass on by.  

But, as weary as we are, I'm in the zone of #wemustseeallthethings... every possible thing in NZ.  So we turn off Highway 6 at Fox Glacier heading towards the coast to Lake Matheson, which supposedly on very magical days offers a stunning view of Mount Cook reflected in the perfect lake.  It's partly cloudy.  I'm an idealist.  Plus I read there's a great gift shop.  All those folks from Frans-Josef, they have the exact same idealism, and finding parking was an adventure of it's own.  Which just makes us more tired.  We get as far as the cafe and gift shop, note all the tourists also looking for the awesome pic, and decide we should just be on our way.  I resolve to rein in my #wemustseeallthethings neurotic completer/finisher disposition.

Haast Pass

It's back to Highway 6 to make our way south, passing through inland forest at the base of the Southern Alps then drifting back towards the coast, for lovely views.  At some point Hwy 6 has become Haast Highway.  I mean it's still Highway 6, but it's also Haast Highway, which is code for "there will be many waterfalls you'll want to see along this road."  I like Haast better, it's brief.  Thank you, NZ.

First stop is King's Point Lookout, just as the "highway" turns along the coast.

Hello, gorgeous.  It's also relevant to note that Knight's Point was named after the fur-friend (that's what Jayme calls them) of the surveyor who worked on the Haast Highway construction team back in the 50s.  Huzzah.  In addition to the views of azure waters and lush foliage available at Knight's Point, tourists stop especially to visit the monument erected to celebrate the completion of the "highway" connecting Westland and Otaga.   It's an obelisk (that means it's a phallic shape).  We neglected to get a picture of it, because, I don't know -- azure waters next to azure sky framed by lush, green foliage vs recently-erected obelisk.

And we're walking... back to the car to make a stop at Ship Creek.  Haast has promised the waterfalls, just wait.  Geez, greedy much?  Can't we enjoy the lovely blue waters and tropical forest first?

This is supposedly what the natural shoreline of New Zealand was like before the trusty Europeans altered the vegetation to suit their fancy and settled in.   It's an ancient kahikatea swamp forest.  Kahikatea is a coniferous tree native to New Zealand.

We climbed a rickety tower trading off use of the ladder to go up or down with the bus tourists that also stopped for a look-see.  Because it's a tower and we should climb it.  Plus, the views were beautiful.

It's at Ship Creek where we also make the acquaintance of sand flies, and we really didn't care for them.  They bite, and it's itchy.  As soon as we noticed our legs were covered in them, we decided it was time to haasta la bye (#seewhatIdidthere?)

And we're driving... heading inland towards the Southern Alps and Mount Aspiring National Park.  What a cool name for a park.  It's named after the landmark peak in the park, you guessed it, called Mount Aspiring.  Māori Peoples call it Tititea (glistening peak). Ancient  glaciers shaped it into a rough four-sided pyramid.

We won't see Mount Aspiring up close, as we skirt the northern end of the park towards Lake Wanaka and by lake Hawea.  But first, waterfalls.

Roaring Billy Falls

And now we're walking... towards Roaring Billy Falls.

Do you see it?  Yes, thanks, it's a cool hat.  But we're focused on the waterfall, Friend.

It's a cascade-type waterfall, falling 30 meters to the Haast River.  Amazing turquoise waters.  Yet there's more... let's go!

Thunder Creek Falls

Thunder Creek Falls is a 28 meter high horsetail-type waterfall that is the end-point of Thunder Creek as it falls majestically into the Haast River.

The Haast River canyon was formed as Haast Glacier melted about 20,000 years ago.  Melting ice gouged out the canyon, also smoothing it to create the river area, carrying rock and debris downstream.

Check.  Another gorgeous waterfall.  And now we enter the majestic Gates of Haast as we wind our way slowly toward Wanaka.  Prepare for wonder and amazement:

BAM!  The Gates of Haast.

And now another waterfall.

Fantail Falls

Fantail Falls is neat.  It's a 23 meter segmented-type waterfall fed by Fantail Creek.  While likely named after the creek, I can see a fantail shape there.  Or maybe the creek was named after the waterfall.  An interesting tidbit about this waterfall:  it was used for hydroelectric power as they were building  the Haast Pass road.  There was a waterwheel at the base of the falls at one time.  

But you know what's also cool about Fantail Falls?

The little cairns people create with the river stones when they visit.  We added our touches, too, and it kinda felt like you were adding to the peaceful, fascinating landscape.

The river here is clear, calm and lovely.  Peaceful.  Oh, I said that already.  Is it naptime?  zzzzzz

Sadly, the land of the waterfall has come to a close.  We're on to Blue Pools.

Blue Pools of Haast

A pretty green-blue pool is what you get when sunlight refracts on the icy-cold, snow-fed waters of the Blue River.  At the Blue Pools, the Blue River meets the Makarora River after flowing the entire length of Mount Aspiring National Park.

A swing bridge spanned the gorge with tremendous views into the Blue River Canyon.

Folks frolicked on the small beach, stacking rocks and wading into the lovely waters.  

We trekked around a bit, then headed back to the car, ready to head into Wanaka.  We have about an hour's drive ahead of us.

It's lovely views from every angle as we made our way through the eastern side of Mount Aspiring National Park on highway 6.

We come to Lake Wanaka, then shortly after, Lake Hawea, which is separated from Lake Wanaka by a thin strip of land called The Neck.  On through farmland to Wanaka, where we discover a neat condo, where we can wash clothes and rest up.  Plus, this view from the back windows...

My goal is to veg on the couch looking out at this lovely scene.  Peace out.

Tune in to see just how much vegging occurs on our rest day, here.