Cheering on Fire & Ice in 2022 WPSL Action

This afternoon, I drove to Althoff Catholic High School in Belleville, Illinois. Fire & Ice WPSL, a team in the Women's Premier Soccer League, was hosting Central Illinois United in Fire & Ice's second match of the season. (Last night, Fire & Ice defeated Iowa Raptors FC 4-1 at home.) I came by myself, wearing a St. Louligans shirt and carrying a Fire & Ice scarf commemorating their 2017 WPSL Championship.

I found a seat in the grandstand about 15 minutes before kickoff. From the get-go, Fire & Ice had the run of play, constantly attacking Central Illinois United. These efforts paid off with two first half goals and the home side led 2-0 at the interval.

The second half saw more of the same, with Fire & Ice scoring again six minutes into the half. A fourth goal later on iced the 4-0 win, and Fire & Ice was 2-0 on the season.

Just after the game ended, I stayed for a few minutes showing my support for them by raising my Fire & Ice scarf in salute as the players walked off the field.

Fire & Ice is on the road next weekend for two games, then play their two remaining home games on the 18th and 19th of June. They are worth your support.

Later.

Links to Entities Mentioned in this Post:

Althoff Catholic High School: Althoff Catholic | Belleville, IL

Fire & Ice Soccer Academy: Fire & Ice Soccer Academy (fireandicesoccer.com)

Women's Premier Soccer League: Home | Women's Premier Soccer League (wpslsoccer.com)

Central Illinois United: Central Illinois United

St. Louligans: Saint Louligans – Supporting Soccer in the St. Louis Area – St. Louligans – Supporting St. Louis Soccer (stlouligans.com)

 

Memorial Day Weekend 2022

After a busy Friday (27 May) at work, I came home for dinner with my mother and relaxed at home. The next morning, I cut the front and back lawns, then relaxed at home until late afternoon, when I left for Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in Town and Country. They were hosting the annual St. Louis County Greek Fest this weekend. This year, it was only a drive through food ordering and pickup, so I placed my order and came back a while later to pick up my dinner: Pastitsio and Karithopita. They were tasty.

I ate that while driving to the Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood for Art Outside, a festival it was hosting this past weekend. I bought a can of Schlafly's Dortmunder, a lager beer, and browsed among booths staffed by various area artists offering paintings, sculptures, jewelry, housewares, and leather goods for sale. A cover band was performing rhythm & blues classics for the crowd. It was a nice event to attend.

 

Home on Sunday morning (29 May), I watched the Grand Prix of Monaco on TV, then the pre-race coverage of the Indianapolis 500. I could not watch the race itself, as I had to be at World Wide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton. The final day of the Gateway Memorial Classic, a youth soccer tournament jointly hosted by St. Louis Scott Gallagher and Lou Fusz Athletic clubs was yesterday. I was assigned to officiate two finals in the under-11 age group. In my first match, I was in the middle for a girls group final, which went well. After a nice break, my crew did a boy's match with me on a line. That also worked out well. The only thing bad about that match was the heat--it got up to 85 degrees F (29 degrees C) but felt about 10 degrees warmer on the artificial turf field.

After that match, I got home and quickly took a shower and changed clothes before driving to Bartolino's South Italian Restaurant in Greek Park. Our neighbor, Ed Reinhardt, was moving to a senior residence in Texas, and his daughter Jill threw a dinner in his honor. My mom was already there, along with Reinhardt's son Ed and his wife, Ralph and Charleen Sartori, and a few other friends of Reinhardt. It was a very tasty dinner with some enjoyable conversation.

Today, I chilled out at home, except for taking mom out to Walmart to buy some groceries. We stopped at Steak n Shake to get lunch before coming home. I spent time after lunch restoring the headlights on my Toyota Corolla, which had yellowed over time. After about 45 minutes of work using a restoration kit from 3M, my headlights are much better looking. More importantly, the headlights will be more effective with a clear lens.

 

Back at work tomorrow morning. It will be a busy morning for sure.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in This Post:

St. Louis County Greek Fest: St Louis County Greekfest (stlouisgreekfest.com)

Schlafly Bottleworks: Bottleworks Brewpub - Schlafly Beer

St. Louis Scott Gallagher Tournaments--Gateway Memorial Classic: St. Louis Scott Gallagher — Club Soccer in Saint Louis (slsgsoccer.com)

Bartolino's South: Bartolinos South – Fine Italian Dining in South County (bartolinosrestaurants.com)

Walmart: Walmart.com | Save Money. Live Better

Steak n Shake: Steak n Shake | Steakburger & Homemade Milkshakes

3M Headlight Restoration Kit: 3M™ Headlight Restoration Kit, 39194, 4 per case | 3M United States

Fleacon 2022--Road Trip to Monticello

Just after 4:00 am yesterday (23 April), I left home for the long drive to Monticello, Iowa. I was attending Fleacon 18, the annual model contest and vendor swap meet held by the Alexander Lippisch Chapter of the International Plastic Modelers' Society (IPMS). After brief stops for fuel and refreshments, I arrived at the show site, the Monticello Berndes Center, just after 9:30 am.

After paying my registration fee, I waited for my name to be called to the judging area. This show's contest used teams of two judges who evaluated each entry against a set of standards for construction and finish. After the models were judged, their builders would place them on the contest tables for their respective categories. After about one hour, my name was called, and my three models were judged. I entered a 1:720 scale USS Alabama battleship in Ships and two 1:72 scale aircraft: an I-16 Type 18 and a J-10.

I milled about the Berndes Center, admiring the models on the contest tables and browsing among the vendors. There were 26 tables full of vendors to shop from, and I did buy two aircraft kits that were inexpensive. I also chatted with several vendors, and with the IPMS/Blackhawk Model Builders Society, who were at their first Fleacon as an IPMS/USA chapter.

For lunch, I bought a chicken dressing sandwich and a can of Pepsi from the Center's kitchen. It was satisfying. I had also bought some raffle tickets but did not get lucky with that.

 

The contest drew 211 entries from 60 entrants (including six juniors). The regular awards were placed by the models prior to the major awards being announced. My I-16 earned a Silver award, while the J-10 and USS Alabama each earned a Bronze. I was happy with how this turned out.

After giving my thanks to the hosts and packing up my gear, I got in my car and started driving home. After a brief stop in downtown Monticello to admire the scenery, and stops for dinner and fuel, I came home around 10:15 pm last night. My journey to Monticello and back covered 653.3 miles (1051.4 km).

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

IPMS/Alexander Lippisch: Home | Alexander Lippisch Model Club

IPMS/USA: IPMS/USA Home Page | By Modelers... For Modelers (ipmsusa.org)

Monticello Berndes Center: Parks and Recreation (monticello.ia.us)

Blackhawk Model Builders Society: (1) Blackhawk Model Builders Society | Facebook

2022 Surgicon in Des Moines

After work Friday night (1 April), I got on the road to Hannibal, Missouri. After driving for nearly two hours, I checked into the Motel 6 there for a night stop. (Reservations were made earlier that week on Hotels.com.) Check in at Motel 6 was smooth and I settled in my room for a good night's sleep.

Early the next morning, I checked out and got on the road to Des Moines, Iowa. After a few brief stops for breakfast, fuel, and to stretch my legs, I arrived nearly four hours later at the Euclid Room of Hy-Vee on East Euclid Avenue in Des Moines. This room was the venue for Surgicon 26, the model contest and swap meet hosted by IPMS/Plastic Surgeons. I checked in my two contest models at registration, placed them in their respective contest categories, and began walking around the venue.

I admired the other models entered in the contest, purchased some raffle tickets, shopped among the vendors, and talked with fellow scale modelers I knew (at least via email). Besides representing IPMS/Gateway, I also went in my capacity as IPMS/USA Region 14 Coordinator. Touching base with several chapter contacts from this region and meeting people from these chapters really made this trip worthwhile.

This was my first time in Des Moines and at this show, which had not been held since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It looked like everyone there was having a good time.

For lunch, I walked over to the buffet section of the Hy-Vee supermarket and got a Chinese meal to go. I ate it in the Euclid Room as the contest judging began. It took over three hours for the judging to be completed, including for the special awards. I did win a few raffle prizes and bought three kits and a cockpit detail set from the vendors.

Additionally, I brought flyers for IPMS/Gateway's Invitational on 10 September and picked up flyers for upcoming shows in the region. Prior to the contest results being announced, I and others were invited to promote upcoming shows like that of IPMS/Gateway and the IPMS/USA National Convention in Omaha this July.

The contest drew 297 entries from 55 entrants. My two ship entries did not win any awards--the competition was too strong--but I wasn't worried about that. Being at the show was what mattered. After the announcements, I packed up my contest models and other gear, thanked the hosts, and got in my car for the drive home. I was tired, but happy to attend this show and see some terrific people.

Not counting stops for dinner and fuel, it was about 5 1/2 hours driving time between Des Moines and St. Louis. I was prepared to make a night stop along the way if I was too tired to drive, but it wasn't a problem and I got home safe and sound late last night. My trip to Surgicon and back covered 706.2 miles (1136.5 km). 

Aside from helping my mom buy groceries this morning, I have been relaxing at home today. Back to work tomorrow morning.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

Motel 6: Motel 6 - Find Discount Motels Nationwide & Book Motel Reservations

Hotels.com: Hotels.com - Deals & Discounts for Hotel Reservations from Luxury Hotels to Budget Accommodations

Hy-Vee: Grocery Store with Online Ordering | Pick-up and Delivery | Hy-Vee

IPMS/Plastic Surgeons: IPMS Plastic Surgeons (ipms-plasticsurgeons.com)

IPMS/Gateway: IPMS Gateway Chapter (google.com)

IPMS/USA: IPMS/USA Home Page | By Modelers... For Modelers (ipmsusa.org)

Fun in the Lou with Doug and Matteo

Last Thursday (24 March), my brother Doug and his son Matteo came to town. They flew in from Los Angeles to spend a few days here with my mom and I. It was great seeing Doug, and meeting Matteo for the first time. Matteo's twin brother Luca was home with his mother (Doug's wife) Helen. My Mom went with Doug and Matteo to visit parts of the St. Louis area while I was at work on Friday.

Saturday (26 March), after some work around the house, the four of us went to St. Louis Union Station. We began with a trip to The St. Louis Wheel, a 200-foot (61 m) tall ferris wheel. This was the first time for any of us at this attraction. We got into a gondola and went on four circuits. We really enjoyed the view from the large gondola windows.

From the St. Louis Wheel, we got views of the Enterprise Center, Stifel Theatre, Gateway Arch, and the under construction Centene Stadium.

After riding on the St. Louis Wheel, the four of us walked inside Union Station to tour the St. Louis Aquarium--another new place we were visiting. After waiting in line (it was rather crowded that day), we got inside the Aquarium. Many aquatic creatures were on display, ranging from fish and otters from the rivers in our region to sharks and rays of the seas. It was very interesting to see these animals in something approaching their natural habitat and there were also interpretive displays on these creatures, their habitat, and the need to preserve them for the planet's health.

Matteo wanted to try the Rope Course, but it was sold out for the day. Doug, Matteo, and I returned to Union Station the next morning (27 March) to try the Rope Course. We were each fitted with a harness, connected to a bungee cord mounted on a rail above our heads, and began to navigate the course. It included rope bridges, tightropes, and two zip lines. I felt confident doing the course, knowing that the bungee cord gave me a secure lifeline in case I slipped on the footpaths. 

The zip lines were a new experience for me. I stepped off the platform on the first line, a fairly short straight line, after assuring myself that I had this. Then, I traveled on a longer and curved zip line. It was a thrill to be sure and I felt more confident than ever going on the rest of the rope course.

Matteo also did the zip lines, but Doug didn't. (Doug told me I was a braver man than he.) We had about one hour of fun before calling it a day.

We then returned home for a light lunch, then Doug and Matteo packed up to fly back to Los Angeles. They got an Uber ride share to St. Louis Lambert International Airport.

Last night, I officiated two under-15 girls St. Louis Youth Soccer Association (SLYSA) matches at Sportport International in Maryland Heights. After running as assistant referee in the first match, I took charge of the second one. Both went very well.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

St. Louis Union Station: St. Louis Union Station | St. Louis, MO (stlouisunionstation.com)

The St. Louis Wheel: The Wheel at St. Louis Union Station | St. Louis Attractions (thestlouiswheel.com)

St. Louis Aquarium: St Louis Aquarium at Union Station | Missouri's New Family Destination

Rope Course: Rope Course | Union Station - St. Louis, MO (stlouisunionstation.com)

Uber: Explore the Uber Platform | Uber United States

St. Louis Youth Soccer Association: Home - St Louis Youth Soccer (slysa.org)