In the Footsteps of Ulysses S. Grant

I slept in late yesterday (7 August), the first day of my vacation this week. After getting up and getting dressed, I drove to my polling place to vote in that day's Missouri Primary Election. I was in and out rather quickly, and I was happy to have cast my ballot. I was mostly happy with the results when there were announced that night.

After waiting out some rain that came here this morning, after lunch I headed to Grant's Farm (https://www.grantsfarm.com/), which I had not been to for many years. After parking in the lot across the street from the entrance, I walked across the road and caught the tram at Grant Station. We rolled past the main gate--made famous in some Budweiser (https://www.budweiser.com/) commercials--a fence made with Civil War rifle barrels, and Hardscrabble, the cabin that Ulysses S. Grant and his family called home in the late 1850s.

The tram then took us through the Deer Park, where quite a few creatures--including deer, bison, and cattle--were living in a nature preserve. We then arrived at the Tiergarten, where myself and the other passengers got off.

In the Tiergarten, I saw children with their parents feeding goats with bottled milk. Also, there were tortoises, eagles, parakeets, kangaroos, elephants, zebras, and camels on display. There weren't too many people there, probably due to the rain earlier in the day, so I didn't feel crowded there.

After that, I entered the Bauernhof, where I enjoyed seeing the collection of horse-drawn vehicles, tack, and equestrian awards won by the Busch family's horses raised at Grant's Farm.

After that, I walked over to the Anheuser-Busch Hospitality room, where I received a complementary cup of Michelob Golden Light beer. I never had this beer before, but I liked it.

After all that, it was back on the tram to return to Grant Station. After that ride, I browsed through the General's Store, but didn't find anything I was in the mood to buy. I then walked across the road to the parking lot and got into my car. I drove by the nearby Budweiser Clydesdales (https://www.budweiser.com/en/clydesdales.html) facility, but did not linger as I had someplace to go to next.

I drove a short way east of the Grant's Farm parking lot to arrive at Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site (https://www.nps.gov/ulsg/index.htm), which I had never visited before. I arrived at the Visitor Center, where the Ranger mentioned about the attractions there. (Part of this center was being used as a polling place that day.) I browsed through the nearby Museum--housed in a former stable Grant had built on the property--which looked at the life of Grant--Civil War general and 18th President of the United States--and his wife, Julia Dent Grant. I then shopped in the gift shop, where I bought a Site bookmark. (Appropriate, since I have been reading the book Grant by Ron Chernow (https://ronchernow.com/) lately.)

Then, I joined in a group of visitors who followed a ranger to White Haven, the house owned by Grant's father in law, Colonel Dent, and acquired after the Civil War by Grant. We walked through the first floor of the two-store house, admiring the furnishings and other exhibits. We also looked into the Summer Kitchen, Ice House, and Chicken House near the main house. It was most fascinating to come here and walk in Grant's footsteps.

After the day out there, it was time to go home. Quite a fine day.

Later

Nachos and a Saint Louis FC Win

I drove to World Wide Technology Soccer Park (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/soccerpark) in Fenton late Saturday afternoon (4 August) for the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) tailgate. This was prior to Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) taking on Seattle Sounders FC 2. This night's tailgate featured a nachos buffet, with both nacho chips and pork rinds. I took some of both and topped them with ground beef, pulled pork, and chorizo, plus beans, melted cheese and sour cream. This filled my plate and then my stomach. I washed it down with beer from the St. Louligans' tap.

After the food and socializing, we marched into Toyota Stadium for the match. Some flags were included in our group, including one very large one that made a great impression.

Saint Louis FC jumped out 1-0 with a 3rd minute goal by Kyle Grieg, and added to the scoreline on Austin Ledbetter's 34th minute tally. Those goals plus a penalty kick save by Jake Fenlason in the 88th minute allowed the home side to run out 2-0 winners. This was Saint Louis FC's second win in a row, a streak they hope to continue at home this Saturday against Las Vegas Lights FC. We in the St. Louligans were sure happy to celebrate a win, especially with the players celebrating with us.

After a calm Sunday at home, it was back to work yesterday. A busy day made tougher by heat indices topping 100 degrees F (38 degrees C) by late afternoon.

I am off the rest this week on vacation. It will be a staycation, mostly in the St. Louis area. I will let you know what I do here.

Later.

Party Times and a Job Interview

I joined with four others from the Single in the City Meetup group (https://www.meetup.com/STLSingleInTheCity/) at Craft Beer Cellar in Clayton (https://craftbeercellar.com/) for the Beer Geek Fest last Sunday (29 July). This event was part of St. Louis Craft Beer Week (https://stlbeerweek.com/). I arrived early for this event, so I got lunch at The Posh Nosh (http://www.poshnoshdeli.com/) next door. The Claytonian sandwich I had--corned beef, pastrami, swiss cheese, creamy slaw, and homemade Russian dressing, all served warm on rye bread--was most satisfying.

At the Beer Geek Fest, approximately 30 breweries from around the Midwest were present with samples of their beers in and just in front of the store. I took full advantage of it, sampling 28 beers in about three hours. Yes, I felt a bit woozy from that, but I was otherwise fine. I kept track of the beers I sampled using the Untappd (https://untappd.com/) app on my phone.

Then, I walked west to the Barnes & Noble (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/) in Ladue to browse, and to enjoy a pastry and iced coffee drink in the Cafe. Recovered after that stop, I walked back east to the garage where I parked my car, about one block from Craft Beer Cellar, and drove home after a wonderful afternoon.

It was a rather busy, but good week at work this past week. This included my last week working with our intern, Lucas, who leaves us next week to head back to college. I will be gone on vacation most of next week, so I said my goodbye to him yesterday. Despite the return of high heat late this past week, we did our part to exceed customer expectations.

After work Tuesday night (31 August), I changed into a suit and drove to The Caramel Room at Bissinger's (https://www.caramelroom.com/) just north of downtown St. Louis. Group 01 of Enterprise (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html), which includes the St. Louis Metropolitan area, held a fiscal New Year's Eve party there. It was an occasion to celebrate our group's success in the past fiscal year, and to aim for more success in the fiscal year that began on 1 August. I saw a few colleagues there, enjoyed a couple of beers, and walked around the complex. There was a countdown to 9:00 pm, complete with champagne toasts. A very nice time at this venue, which is connected to Bissinger's chocolate factory.

Off work Wednesday, I helped my mom and the handyman who was working to have our washer and dryer set up next to her bedroom. I helped to move the appliances up from the basement, where they have always been.

That night, I was at the Kathryn Linnemann Branch of the St. Charles City-County Library (http://www.youranswerplace.org/home) for this month's Mark Twain Model Club meeting. It was my first time at this venue; the club previously met at Mark Twain Hobby Center (https://www.hobby1.com/), but had outgrown the meeting room there. I brought in a ship model I was working on, and had flyers for next month's IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) Invitational contest and swap meet on 8 September. A demo on adding carpeting to model car interiors was delivered, and was quite interesting.

Back at work Thursday, I checked my company email during a break and found out that Enterprise Holdings, Inc. (https://www.enterpriseholdings.com/en/index.html) received my application for its Channel Marketing Specialist opening and wished to interview me for it. I contacted the Talent Acquisition (TA) person and we had a brief phone conversation before setting up a phone interview for the next day. She called me yesterday--I had arranged with my supervisors to have 20 minutes free for it--and we had a pleasant interview. I was asked some general questions to help the TA person sense what I could bring to this job. She told me that I had a great resume and great enthusiasm for the organization, but felt I was not a good match for this specific position. However, she told me I should have a place in the organization in some capacity and to persist with following the in-house job boards. I thanked her for her time and her candor, which I told her was nothing I had received from any other organization I had applied to in the past. I had let some of my colleagues know about this, and they said that although disappointed I would not get this job, they felt I would do better in future interviews from the experience.

Later.

Soccer to Watch, Work to Do, and New Glasses

Last Saturday night (21 July) found me at World Wide Technology Soccer Park Fenton for the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) tailgate prior to the Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) match against Orange County SC. We enjoyed bratwurst and beer before marching into Toyota Stadium for the match.

The match itself ended in a 2-2 draw. Orange County would score first, then Saint Louis equalized, then Orange County retook the lead before Saint Louis leveled it. Saint Louis FC is some points off from a playoff spot, and it won't be easy getting more soon: They are away to Reno 1868 FC tonight.

Work at the rental branch this week went well. A bit slow this week, due to lower inventory and demand. Still, we work hard to earn our customers' loyalty every day.

After work Tuesday night (24 July), I drove to Marion Morris' house in Maplewood for this month's IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) (https://www.facebook.com/IPMSGateway/) (https://plus.google.com/109625362829756697296) business meeting. (I originally came to Bill Wagner's house, until I realized that he was hosting next months' business meeting.) We discussed our upcoming Invitational model contest on 8 September, and some other club business. I posted notices on our contest on several area online events calendars this past week.

This morning, I drove to Crown Vision Center (https://crownvisioncenter.com/) in Concord Village to pick up my new glasses. This was made to the prescription written after my eye exam there on 18 July. They look and feel great, and are quite an improvement over the interim glasses I've worn the past few months. I celebrated these new glasses by walking to the nearby Saint Louis Bread Co. (https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/home.html) and treating myself to a caramel latte.

Relaxing at home now.

Later.