Grand Day in South St. Louis

This morning, I drove to Rooster, a breakfast restaurant on South Grand in South St. Louis. I had breakfast there with Julie Rodriguez, who I first met a month ago. Yes, she and I are in a relationship now. Anyway, we had a nice breakfast--Julie had crepes, I had a pork sausage slinger. Most satisfying.

After breakfast, Julie and I walked up and down South Grand before walking to nearby Tower Grove Park. We went to the site of the Festival of Nations, the annual multicultural festival presented by the International Institute of St. Louis. Today was the second and last day of the Festival's 2022 run.

Julie and I walked among the attractions, including stopping by the Viva Brasil STL booth to talk with the organization's Carolina Holtmeyer. The two of us then walked back to Julie's car, where we said our goodbyes. I then drove to a side street south of Tower Grove Park to park my car before walking to Amsterdam Tavern. I had a draft beer--Civil Life's Vienna Lager--and watched some soccer on TV before walking back to Tower Grove Park to check in on my volunteer shift.

After checking in at the Volunteer Pavilion, I walked to a Drink Booth on the northwest area of the festival grounds. My shift ran from 12:15 pm to 3:45 pm, and it was a busy one for my boothmates and myself. I helped get drinks--water, soda, beer, seltzers, and wine--from icewater-filled tubs to the customers waiting before the cash wrap people. It got hectic at times, trying to find certain items in the tubs to fulfil customer requests. Thanks to the sunny and hot day today--the high just topped 90 degrees F (32 degrees C)--we had many customers at our booth. I'm sure the other drink booths on the grounds had a great deal of business today.

I was one tired volunteer when my shift ended, but it was satisfying to do my part to help the International Institute's mission of assisting immigrants to St. Louis. After checking out at the Volunteer Pavilion, I ordered a bit of Brazilian food from a booth run by Brasilia Restaurant. I got an order of coxinha, fried chicken dough stuffed with chicken filling. It was delicious and really hit the spot for me.

After briefly walking the festival grounds, I began to walk to my car. I then pulled out and drove home. The sky was cloudy when I left Tower Grove Park, but got stormy when I was on I-55 about to get onto eastbound I-255 on the way home. Glad I left the park when I did.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in This Post:

Rooster: Rooster (roosterstl.com)

Tower Grove Park: Tower Grove Park

International Institute of St. Louis:  International Institute of St. Louis – Immigrant Services & Community Engagement Hub since 1919 (iistl.org)

Festival of Nations: Festival of Nations (festivalofnationsstl.org)

Amsterdam Tavern: Home of Amsterdam Tavern St. Louis Best Soccer Sports Bar - Amsterdam Tavern

Civil Life Brewing Co.:Home | Civil Life Brewing Company Online Store (square. Site)

Viva Brasil STL:  Viva Brasil STL

Brasilia Restaurant: Brasilia Bar & Restaurant (brasiliastl.com)