Cabin Fever in a Good Way

Late yesterday morning (19 January), I drove to the Schlafly Bottleworks (http://www.schlafly.com/bottleworks-brewpub/) in Maplewood for the company's Cabin Fever festival. This event was scheduled for the previous Saturday, but postponed due to the snow that came the night before. There was a possibility of more snow coming down yesterday, but fortunately this did not happen.

When I arrived, I received a small sampler glass and headed for the beer tent. The day was cloudy and bitterly cold. Temperature at midday was about 31 degrees F (-1 degrees C), but the winds made it feel more like 11 degrees F (-12 degrees C). Fortunately, I had my long underwear on and that helped.

I was joined by three others from the St. Louis Food Lovers Meetup group (https://www.meetup.com/St-Louis-Food-Lovers/) and we chatted, comparing the different Schlafly beers available for sampling. I had 12 of the 40 beers available that day, a mix of ales, lagers, and stouts. Very nice variety to choose from.

After about an hour, I went to the food tent to get an order of Goulash with dumplings, which really hit the spot. About an hour later, all four of us went inside the Bottleworks for a more substantial lunch. I had the Bottleworks Burger with French Fries, washed down with Schlafly Northeast IPA beer. We all shared in dessert, Sticky Toffee Pudding.

After a while back in the beer tent, the three others decided to leave the festival. I stayed around for about one more hour, leaving the Bottleworks lot minutes before Cabin Fever ended. On the way back to my car, I stopped by Foundation Grounds Coffeehouse (https://www.foundationgrounds.com/), where I enjoyed a cup of latte and got warmed up (inside and out).

Later.

Where the (Model Kit) Auction Is

After work on Tuesday night (15 January), I went straight away to Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) for this month's IPMS/Gateway (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) meeting. This was our annual Swap & Sell and Kit Auction.

A few members brought kits, decals, and publications to sell or trade with the fellow club members. I bought an aircraft kit and a decal sheet from one member. There were a few items I was interested in buying, but held off so I could have enough money to bid on kits at the Kit Auction.

The meeting was called to order and some business was discussed. Last year's Modeler of the Year and Bob Stroup (Member of the Year) Awards were presented. Then, we had the Kit Auction, with items donated by club members. I successfully bid on two kits--one of a stock car, the other of a military vehicle--and on two books. One of the books was about the South African Air Force and its aircraft in 1980, the other was a detailed history of two iconic World War II fighters, the Supermarine Spitfire and the Messerschmitt Bf 109. The auction raised over $400 for club activities.

This meeting also gave me a good opportunity to use my new Canon (https://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog) camera in a meeting setting. I think this will work out very well for the club's newsletter in particular.

Later.