St. Patrick's Weekend 2019

Last Saturday morning (16 March), I drove to downtown St. Louis to attend the 50th St. Patrick's Day Parade (https://irishparade.org/). This parade is held on the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day. After parking in a lot just north of Washington Avenue, I walked down 13th Street and reached the parade route on Market Street, just south of Soldiers Memorial. The day was sunny and cool, and there was a great crowd as the parade marched east from near Union Station to Kiener Plaza.

I stood among the great crowds of people along the route for about two hours as the parade units passed. They had floats, marching bands, Irish dancers, historic motor vehicles, dignitaries, balloons, and costumed characters. I had never been to one of these parades in many years, and this was fun.

After the parade, I made my way through crowded streets for home. Then, after a bit of rest and dinner at home, I drove to Llywelyn's Pub in Webster Groves (https://llywelynspub.com/webster-groves). There, I joined fellow St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) for a watch party for Saint Louis FC's (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) away match with Nashville SC. (A few St. Louligans did make the trip to Nashville for the match.) We gathered by the stage, where a screen was lowered to show the match, which was streamed on ESPN+ (http://www.espn.com/watch/espnplus). The video streamed cut out at times, much to our dismay, but fortunately we did not miss the important parts of action. That included Saint Louis' goal in the 84th minute that won it, 1-0. We were one happy bunch that night. Saint Louis FC--winners of their first two matches this season--host Tampa Bay Rowdies at 1:00 pm this Saturday afternoon at Toyota Stadium.

Sunday, I went to Creve Coeur Airport (http://crevecoeurairport.com/) for lunch, followed by the Missouri Aviation Historical Society (https://moavhist.org/). Ralph Goldstricker, Jr., a bombardier with the 8th Air Force during World War II, spoke of his experiences. It was quite a fascinating talk, accompanied by photos and videos projected on the screen and some artifacts he brought to show. Wonderful meeting.

Later.