Saguaro National Park

 

There are few places in the world that seem to live out the Old West frequently seen only when accompanied by John Wayne or Clint Eastwood. However, search long enough, and you will find such places within the Sonoran Desert of the southwestern United States. In these spots, time has not brought change to the world. Rocks may be decorated with paintings from an ancient tribe. Overhead, the echo of hawks really does resound throughout hidden valleys.

Thankfully, not all such places require an ox-driven wagon to get to. Just outside of Tucson, Arizona lies one of the most unique expanses of desert in the world: Saguaro National Park. One of the newer National Parks, having been designated in 1994, the Saguaro and its namesake encompass two different areas on each side of the city of Tucson. Each half covers a varied landscape featuring everything from dry desert basin to rugged mountainside dotted with Douglas fir and pine. If unable to make a trip the park, don't worry! The Sonoran Desert the saguaro calls home sprawls across southern Arizona, California, and even parts of northern Mexico. While the density of the giant cacti is distinctive of the park, any trip across the southern US can see them dotting the I-10 freeway.

My trip was reserved for the western area of the park. This half is known mostly for it's arid climate and sweeping basins. Aside from the saguaro, few plants grew taller than my chest. Pockmarking the landscape were huge boulders to offer some shelter from the wind. Several trails can be found throughout this expanse, and for families on a day-trip, the 5-to-6-mile Bajada Loop can be driven through an unpaved portion of the park. I also highly recommend a stop at the Red Hills Visitor Center not only to pay the $10 car fee for the park, but for some great information on the trails and paths throughout the park. The shop offered plenty of resources on wildlife in the area for those photographers that may be inclined (I will gladly admit to playing with some coyote and roadrunner dolls in the store). The 15-minute slide show is also a must-see with its nice "surprise" ending.

My trip was relatively short, having been in the area for only one day. The weather was cool with storms beginning to rip through the area. While this would deter many visitors, I found it to be extremely thrilling as there are only a few times of the year that this great desert would receive any rain. The family and I definitely got a little wet, but nothing near the levels of the monsoon season in early Summer that can cause flash floods through the park. Besides, the sheer scale of the saguaro in the area were enough to capture my attention despite any weather.

The saguaro are protected in the state of Arizona with permits needed to move or destroy one of the cacti for construction purposes. Because of this, most residents and visitors have no doubt seen these behemoths throughout the landscape. However, driving through the entrance to the park seemed as if a line had been drawn in the sand, inside of which the saguaro become a forest of needles and arms. According to the 2010 census, the park has an estimated 1,896,030 saguaros! This was in addition to the dozens of other desert plants found at the feet of the symbolic cacti. In addition to the sheer numbers, were the size of many of the plants, the largest of which can grow 50 feet tall. Many of them were armless, meaning they were relatively young in Saguaro Time. Usually, a saguaro will begin to grow arms between 50-70 years old. As I walked along the Hugh Norris Trail, time was essentially lost as realization set in that many of this expanse had looked the same when those classic Western films were just beginning to be released. Yes, looking into the distance a traveler can see telephone wires and paved streets. But, in the mountains themselves, one of the larger saguaros had probably remained as a silent sentinel since the days of the earliest settlers of old.

All-in-all, the Saguaro National Park was a wonderful day trip, and I would love to go back and explore it in greater detail (possibly without the rain, despite the wonderful photo opportunities it gave). While not as famous or large as perhaps Yosemite or the Grand Canyon farther north, the park is definitely deserving of its national status. Walking among gigantic, five-armed forests, it's easy to see why. Listen closely, and you may even hear the sounds of galloping horses and John Wayne's Winchester rifle in the distance.

 

Saguaro National Park Website 

Beauty/Culture

In it's final weekend at the Annenberg Space for Photography, the Beauty/Culture exhibit was enjoying a bustling crowd over the Thanksgiving weekend. Always a fan of the Space, I decided to go back and check it out for a second time, as details had faded slightly since my first visit in the opening weekend a few months ago. The overall idea of the current presentation was to reflect and compare images of beauty in culture through the history of photography. It was highly slanted towards a more fashion-photographer-oriented approach than the more environmental or cultural galleries of the past. I found the change of pace to be nice, though I am not sure if the impact was nearly on the same level as those from National Geographic. It was not my favorite exhibit the Annenberg has had for a few different reasons.

The Space was divided into a few main sections to represent a certain thematic element. One, for example, focused on the effects Hollywood has had on modern-day fashion photography whereas another focused on how various minorities have managed to break into the fashion and beauty realm over the past few decades. What I considered the main category was a giant wall of supermodels both past and modern. These different categories were very clear and divided, which I actually felt was a bit of a negative. Past exhibits have been very broad or limited in their photographer pool, allowing visitors to see changes gradually. There had always been a connecting theme between all of these sections. However, in Beauty/Culture, there were so many categories and elements that the display seemed to lack focus. Did it want viewers to see how the fashion industry affected realistic people? Or was it a celebration of the world of fashion photography? There did not seem to be a clear theme throughout the exhibit other than displaying tons of professional photos of female models. In the section regarding model sizes, for example, photos from David LaChapelle and his peers were displayed, losing some of the "realism" that would have made a better impact on viewers. The best photos to showcase the comparison, such as the child pageants or 70-year-old contestants, were minimalized and almost thrown under the rug compared to the photos of Gisele Bündchen and Tyra Banks. Which would have been fine if the exhibit was marketed solely as a place to view photographs from Vogue or Elle over the years, but the marketing seemed very disjointed on what exactly was meant to be shown. For a name like "Beauty/Culture," it seemed to lack a great deal of the latter.

As for the photographs themselves, the Annenberg again chose top-quality prints. Thematic elements aside, most of the photos were absolutely stunning up close and in print. Many of the models and photos are recognizable from countless internet articles and magazines, but to see them in person added a whole new level of impressiveness. However, there were a few that seemed odd to have made the cut, most glaring being a photo of Kate Hudson that was clearly nothing more than a red carpet snapshot. Also, for all the quality of the photos, the layout of the exhibit actually detracted somewhat. I greatly enjoyed the wall of supermodels, but noticed several times that the top row was difficult to see due to the placement of the facility's lights, and I found myself staring more at light glares and reflections than photographs.

However, for all the flaws that the gallery had this time around, many of them were made up for by the wonderful documentary video showcased within the main theater. This was definitely one of the better accompanying videos I had seen so far. It was lengthy, which I found nice since it justifies a trip down from Burbank, and certainly went more in-depth on the themes the gallery was meant to express. People who make fun of "Toddlers in Tiaras" will have a field day with it. I also enjoyed the interviews with the many photographers themselves and felt it was a good peek into the world of fashion photography that many might not be able to see. I've always wanted to get into that field, and the interviews offered some great insights. The secondary video/break room was also well done. Two hands-on displays allow visitors to take their own photos and mess with them in a type of simple post-processing program. Both cases were very busy and seemed to be a good attraction as well as a great way to tie in with the rest of the Space.

Overall, it was worth a trip, but it certainly was not the best the Annenberg has had. I did enjoy seeing some amazing fashion photography, but as a whole exhibit it felt a little out-of-place and confused, especially coming off of the outstanding Extreme Exposure. I would like to see more galleries done with a fashion- and beauty-industry mindset but perhaps something a little more narrowed down so the display doesn't feel the need to cover all the industries' bases at once. That said, I am looking forward to the Digital Darkroom coming up mid-Decemeber. The preview looks great!

500px - Photography Meets the 'Like' Button

It's not often I plug websites around here. As my blog does gear towards not just travel but also photography, I'm sure most of my readers have a plethora of photo galleries on the web. Between Flickr, Facebook, personal websites, deviantArt, etc. it's pretty easy to get lost in the shuffle.

I came across one site recently that does intrigue me, though: 500px. It's certainly a newer website that doesn't have a gigantic user base yet. Which, frankly, is pretty nice. What caught my attention though is not just the layout and design, but the social aspect of it. The site encourages quality over quantity pretty clearly. To do so, it not only limits the number of photos you can post per week but also implements a rating system for each photo. I'm not entirely sure how it works, but by using a very simple "Like" or "Dislike" button, you can vote for a picture. Each picture is then assigned a percentage based on some formula of Views vs. Likes vs Dislikes. You also can't just go through and Dislike a hundred photos, either, as it will eventually require the user to enter a 140-character critique of why they disliked a photo (Likes do not have a set limit). Combine with a simple StumpleUpon toolbar, and you find yourself sifting through galleries pretty fast. You also get an "Affection" rating as a photographer based on the number of Likes/Dislikes between all your photos.

I definitely like it and will probably be using it as a filter of my better work as opposed to my Flickr account. There are also a ton of great photos on there, since there is a level of quality control I haven't seen on other sites. It's not perfect, though. The user base so far seems largely Eastern European, which in itself isn't bad but can present a language barrier on comments/descriptions until it gains more users. Also, the majority of photos seem to be largely placed in three realms: landscapes, birds, and nudes (which you can filter off). Seriously, there are lots and lots of owls and eagles on this site. More than are necessary even.

That said, give it a look. It's a nice change of pace and it's good to see an online gallery that isn't filled with self-shooters and HDR every other shot.

Wildwood Canyon

Despite its infatuation with cars, Los Angeles can still be an interesting place for nature-lovers to visit. It is, after all, a giant basin surrounded by impressive mountains in nearly every direction. The city is surprisingly park-friendly with little pockets of greenery throughout the city and a few major areas like Griffith Park and the Angeles National Forest to the Northeast. Hikers and picnickers alike can find plenty to offer if they are willing to search a little.

A personal favorite of mine lately has been Wildwood Canyon, nestled in the Verdugo Mountains that dominate the Burbank skyline. I managed to go early enough one morning that it was extremely quiet with little traffic and found it to be a fairly difficult but satisfying hike. Parking was free, and you will find gorgeous views of the mountains, downtown Burbank, and even a little training fire range for BPD as shown above. As you ascend the trail, you begin to feel like you are in the heart of a massive range rather than in the middle of a city, and there are points where the San Fernando Valley almost completely disappears from views. For those less exercise-inclined, the benches along the main road through the park offer a nice place to escape and read for a few with peace and quiet.

There is very little shade on the hiking trails, so try to go during cooler temperatures if possible. My personal favorite is during the transitional seasons where mornings are cool enough to create beautiful clouds and fog among the mountain peaks while leaving the ground visible and clear. Just be ready for a fairly winding hike once you get started, especially if you are new to hiking. But, get to the top near the radio tower and you'll certainly feel a sense of accomplishment.

You can find more information at The LA Mountains Website

Comic Con Adventures

I'm a nerd. That is not a title I wear with either shame or pride. The title is simply the truth and not something that will likely change. Thankfully, being a bit of a nerd is now an "in" thing of a grand scale, and it's not uncommon to see otherwise perfectly normal adults in their 20's and 30's wearing Zelda shirts or talking about the upcoming Batman film. It's a culture, no different than the many other types of interests across the spectrum.

Of course, one of the things about liking video games or comics is that it's a little awkward to be the only one talking about them in a crowd. For all the stereotypes of grown men living in their parents' basements, geeks and nerds are relatively social creatures who enjoy talking about their interests with others. This is a very broad statement, of course, and the culture has grown so large that you could break them down into various groups and subgroups. And, of course, there really are the grown men with Anime plastering the walls of their parents' basements. However, I think the statement still holds, and we are at an age where many people do not find it hard to seek others that share their unique interests. Which is where Comic Con comes in and creates a venue for all of those people to meet in one giant madhouse.

Trying to describe Comic Con to someone who has never heard of it is a difficult task simply because so many have heard of it. At its basic level, San Diego Comic Con (usually abbreviated to SDCC) is a convention held every year at the San Diego Convention Center and showcases various brands of pop culture, entertainment, and personal creativity. It was started as a relatively small collection of exhibitors in 1970 as a way for people to gather, trade, and discuss comics and display their own work. It pulled roughly 300 people and lasted 3 days at the U.S. Grant Hotel. Through planning and plenty of interest, the convention grew, expanded, and eventually included entertainment of all types from films, Anime, books, television, comics, and more.

So, in order to describe what Comic Con is to someone who has never heard of it, you must describe just how much it grew since its humble origins in 1970. It is now the largest convention in the Americas and 4th in the world. In 2010, the estimated crowd was 130,000. Exhibitors include the largest companies in entertainment in the world, including the major motion picture studios, DC and Marvel Comics, countless independent artists, Mattel, Hasbro, LucasArts, and more. The ballrooms are now used to host massive panels in which fans can see their favorite film and television artists discuss, display, and announce titles as well as ask questions directly to the panel boards. The largest ballrooms, Ballroom 20 and Hall H, seat 4250 and 6700 respectively. The major studios use SDCC as a launching pad to announce or showcase titles often for the very first time. Some are even using it as a place to hold their world premieres. The event attracts people of all types, from those who just want to hop in and check out their favorite show to those who have turned it into a yearly ritual with its own traditions.

To say the least, Comic Con is massive. It is also very intimidating to a newcomer. I had always heard about SDCC, seen it displayed on the news, or heard about it from friends. However, it is a large undertaking and timing or costs had never worked out. This year, things changed and my friend Beth managed to go almost all Summer without having anyone buy her guest passes that came with her Trade Professional registration. It was do or die, and I plopped down the money without hesitation, knowing it was time for the pilgrimage that many nerds have turned the con into.

We managed to secure housing near the beach with family rather than stay at one of the nearby hotels. This was a mixed bag on the whole, and I learned quickly to weigh the positives and negatives of where you stay for the convention. First off, you need a crowd, which was certainly not a problem. Having more people in your room is almost a necessity of SDCC, and it's fairly easy to find people posting on forums looking for random people that know enough basic hygiene to share a room. However, while the beach house was amazing and we had great company, the distance was also a burden as we would not have access to a car while her family was using it. Also, not being able to drop stuff off or take a quick break became an issue very quickly. For this trip, it was worth it, but if planning to go, I would definitely save up enough for a hotel the next trip so long as it is reserved early to avoid the extraordinary $325/night charged as SDCC looms closer.

We drove down on Wednesday night, as her badge allowed access to Preview Night. This was probably the best thing about the trip, and securing that preview was extremely important. Preview Night is typically reserved for only a select amount of tickets and is used for people related to the industry to get a lay of the land or pick up items before the rest of the rush over the next four days. One of the most important parts of the convention are the SDCC Exclusives released by retailers. Oftentimes, these are comics, toys, gifts, etc. that can only be bought at the convention and sometimes in limited quantities. In our case, there was a Muppet Show silkscreen print from one of the retailers that was Exclusive and numbered only to 100. Without Preview Night, we would not have been able to pick up the print for our friend, as they sold out extremely quickly. Probably the favorite exclusive this year was a 22" Stay Puft action figure from Mattel, the largest action figure they have ever made.

So, after waiting in line for about 3 hours, we were let into the main exhibit hall. Even on PN, I could see just how large the scale was. The exhibit hall itself covers almost 526,000 sq.ft. Every bit was covered with booths from around the world. Even for the preview, there were plenty of people running around, trying to be first in line to certain retailers or displays. Many times the rest of the weekend, we would wish for the quietness of Preview Night, which already seems extremely busy to someone that has never been. Beth and I mostly made our way around trying to find a lay of the land and figure out where the main displays were. Most of the center areas were covered with the major exhibitors like Lionsgate, DC Comics, Summit Entertainment, etc. One of the largest was our Warner Bros. booth, which covered about 3,000 sq. ft. on two floors. Then, there was the section we called the Outer Rim, reserved for individual comic book stores or toy retailers to display their collections. This was much more similar to what most people think of when they think of a comic convention and was relatively calm for most of the week compared to the rest of the convention.

One of the best things about the convention are the free giveaways given to attendees. Because of the size of the con every year, all the major booths hand out free items in a massive marketing push to fans. Sometimes, they would be small items such as buttons. But, in other cases, they would be impressive items like unique USS Enterprise bottle openers or special in-game items from the video game companies. Probably the most anticipated very year are the gigantic Warner Bros. swag bags. The massive bags are handed out for free and display a few select WB franchises on them. They are also made of cloth/polyester and make a great way to carry the items people purchase at the con. We managed to get a couple of the highly coveted Justice League bags and would be subsequently asked at least five times while waiting in the opening line to trade for a different, lesser production bag. We made our way around finding the items we wanted to buy for friends or ourselves (usually related to the DC Comics Relaunch). After getting a lay of the land, we made our back to the beach house and began planning for another day.

The rest of the con was much more typical of what to expect: crowds, exhaustion, tons of free stuff, random celebrities, and some of the best costumes you'll ever see. Probably one of the cooler aspect of the convention is what is called "cosplay," short for Costume Play. It's basically a great excuse to act like Halloween has arrived and probably the main reason I went down. Attendees of the nerdiest caliber will sometimes work months on a costume to wear based off their favorite show, video game, movie, whatever. While there are certain plenty of people who should not be wearing the costumes they do, there are others who are extremely impressive. As a photographer, that was the biggest draw for me and taking pictures of the costumes was such an overwhelming task I ended up not taking as many as I wanted in hindsight. We also did a little cosplay of our own, with Beth dressing as the new Lara Croft (so new, the Square-Enix booth didn't even have a poster for her yet) and myself as Cobb from Inception. We both dressed as Nerd Herders for the Chuck panel on Saturday.

We also grabbed a ton of great items over the course of SDCC. There were plenty of buttons, of course, but the giveaways were sometimes very creative. Lionsgate handed out the mockingbird pins from Hunger Games in honor of the new movie. DC Comics handed out Wayne Casino poker chips that were weight-accurate and in different denominations every night. Probably the best giveaway, though, was from the ABC Pan Am booth. In honor of the new show, we were given a "Pan Am boarding pass" for a specific time later in the day. Upon arrival, we were shuttled into a 6-seat airplane fuselage that was actually a tiny motion simulator. The stewardesses gave their speeches just like an actual airline stewardess before we watched a short trailer for the upcoming show. After "landing" we were each given an official, free Pan Am dufflebag! Beth was planning on using it as a new gym bag before we even left the airplane.

Most of our panels were done on the Saturday block in Ballroom 20. We woke up bright an early for our beloved "Chuck." After working on the WB lot and experiencing the cast and crew firsthand, we had to show our support for their final Comic Con panel. It was highly emotional near the end, but we had a great time seeing the entire cast lined up and chatting away like old friends. We decided to stay and eventually sat through the premiere of Terra Nova (which was good and I really hope lasts), Futurama/Simpsons, and Family Guy (which was hilarious). We also managed to watch the premiere of Batman: Year One on one evening and were highly impressed. As always, DC Animation is a notch above the rest on telling their superhero stories. Time to get the movies up to speed now!

On the whole, I had a wonderful time and could not have asked for a better experience. Beth was excellent company and we accomplished most of what we had planned to do. As mentioned earlier, I would probably stay at a hotel for the experience next time, though. Also, we could have used the bag check a lot more than we actually did. Thankfully, we used it well when we realized it was there and kept most of our food in my camera bag for pickup whenever we were hungry. The convention as whole is truly something that is hard describe and must really be experienced. I highly look forward to next year and hope to have a much more impressive costume by the time it rolls around.

Here's my Google+ album of photos for those interested!

Gateway Home

One of the more interesting parts about my move to Los Angeles was my complete lack of homesickness. I'm generally not someone who hangs on to territorial sentiments, and moving to LA was mostly an escape and all together a Good Move. I love it out here, and I do not see that changing any time soon.

I'm originally from a very small town called Jackson, Missouri. Home to about 12,000 souls, most people know of the area only because of the neighboring big-sister town of Cape Girardeau. There's not much to it aside from the Mississippi River and the fact that pundit Rush Limbaugh grew up there. The towns are quaint, the farmland big, and while I'm sure it's a perfectly reasonable town to raise a family, it's entirely too droll for young creatives. I've always held the belief that the prettier an area, the more boring it is, and Cape Girardeau is certainly no exception.

However, after having been in a committed relationship for two years, my girlfriend had never been back to where I grew up. Our previous vacation to New York and Washington DC was my chance to see her hometown. This time, we resolved to take a vacation back to mine. Now, while this certainly would have been a rather uneventful trip, there is one good part of the area that I certainly began to miss upon moving out here: its proximity to St. Louis.

As boring and slow as my hometown tended to be, I loved the city of St. Louis. While only an hour and a half away from Cape (that's how long it takes me just to get to the beach on the freeways from here in Burbank), it was always a magical spot growing up that my family and I would visit as a miniature vacation when we couldn't afford to go on long-distance excursions. Looking back, I mostly took these trips for granted. By going with someone who had never been, however, I found myself scrambling to show her every one of the "cool" spots to see within the city. Before long, I had racked up a list longer than the one we have for our current LA. I couldn't wait and resolved to have every detail accounted for. Unfortunately, living in LA tends to make you forget about the seasons the rest of the country has. When I was young, I was fascinated by the country storms that would roll in through the Summer. I missed them greatly, and apparently, I missed them a little too much. We had bought our plane tickets months in advance for the Saturday of Easter weekend. For those who have kept track of the news this year, you may remember where this was going.

As my girlfriend and I were packing that Friday evening and getting settled for a short rest before our flight, word hit about an F3 tornado that slammed into and closed Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. That's right. After so much planning and anticipation, Mother Nature herself was forbidding me from returning home. While I have yet to see if that was a sign about leaving my beloved Los Angeles, I was determined at the time to make our way somehow. Our flight canceled, Abrah and I were scrambling to find some way to see what kind of situation the airline was in.

At this point, I really have to commend Southwest Airlines. Without hardly any trouble, they were happy to reroute us to any of the nearby cities without any additional costs. They even managed to fit us in early on the same day as our original departure. After being in close to tears, our vacation was saved. Sort of. We were flying into Kansas City now, and my parents managed to make the additional 4-hour drive across the state to drive us back to St. Louis. They were staying with us most of our vacation anyway, but we did lose a little time from my precious schedule. After a short stop where I briefly went to college at the University of Missouri in Columbia, we arrived safe an sound at our destination at around 11PM.

Driving through, we could definitely see the destruction, and had it not been night, I would have stopped to take some photos to share. There was no doubt about it; a tornado had clearly smacked the airport across the face. The beautiful Terminal 1 that was so famously displayed through George Clooney's "Up In The Air" had its windows busted out completely. Freeway markers and signs were bent every direction, and a bystander could clearly tell a path had been from across the nearby I-70 towards the tarmac. It reminded me of a similar tornado that had ripped through Jackson when I was still in high school.

But, most importantly, my vacation was still on. There was no way I would let a little wind ruin my vacation. So, that Easter Sunday, we woke up early and made our way to one of my favorite things about the city: The Saint Louis Zoo.

The wonderful butterfly house

A sassy friend we met in the penguin exhibit

The St. Louis Zoo is one of the must-sees of the city. Governed by three boards, the park is essentially a government entity and made free to the general public. Tracing its roots back to the original Flight Cage from the 1904 World's Fair (a bird cage still operating today), the zoo has become a staple to the surrounding Forest Park area, as well as an important and cherished piece of St. Louis history. The park is home to about 18,000 animals found in areas divided roughly by home terrain. While most of the animals have outdoor room to roam, some of the more... exotic animals are housed in what can only be described as giant indoor temples created to celebrate our living world (I highly recommend the Herpetarium if you are not afraid of slithering things). One of the more exciting animals is the critically endangered Amur Leopard, a big cat with only about 40 individuals left in the wild.

Our visit was short-lived, of course. Not long after we began our journey through the park did the rain begin to come down. We were already on a time limit as it was (more on this shortly), so we only got to briefly see the indoor exhibits. The trip was not in vain, of course, as my girlfriend loved the butterfly and penguin houses, which were really why we wanted to visit in the first place. Our only disappointment came from learning that the former polar bear displays had been replaced due to the unfortunate death of the already troubled animals. They were always a favorite to my family, and I shudder to think that we may be reaching a point where those always-happy polar bears will no longer exist.

After our zoo trip, we began the search for food. Being Easter Sunday, our original trip to The Hill had been unsuccessful (my parents, being parents, would not listen the my reasoning that a prominent Catholic neighborhood would not, in fact, be open for the holiday). So, just to show my girlfriend the sights, we drove down the Laclede's Landing area nestled right against the Mississippi riverbank. Lo-and-behold, the one restaurant we wanted to take her to the most was mystically open for the day, and at extended hours from what we expected to! The restaurant, of course, was The Old Spaghetti Factory! While certainly not native to St. Louis, the OSF has always been a favorite, and we had concluded that the StL branch was indeed better than their others. Plus, it was a time-honored tradition for us to eat at the Factory before our next stop. The food was delicious, as always, and we all managed to take our time savoring the spumoni ice cream included with the meals.

With our meal concluded, we checked our watches and decided that it was time to head downtown. My parents had the foresight to book rooms at the Drury Plaza in the heart of the city, so we would be able to park our car and walk to wherever we needed to go in the immediate area. This was especially essential because there's one stop that I had to go to if I returned to St. Louis. It was something I had reserved almost before I had even bought the flights to the city. An event so rich and grounded in St. Louis culture and history that missing it would essentially mean your trip to the city was incomplete...

 A St. Louis Cardinals baseball game at Busch Stadium. It's absolutely necessary. The stadium is practically a second home to many natives of the surrounding areas. Whereas cities like New York and Chicago have a slew of wonderful locations and sights, St. Louis grew in such a way that, while we have plenty of cool locations to visit, baseball would always remain at its heart. We do have other sports, yes, but you will not find the same kind of passion and pleasure that can be found at a packed game at Busch. And our home games are always packed.

Dating nearly 120 years old, the Cardinals made their official name change in 1900 and have remained rooted in downtown ever since. Names like Roger Maris, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, and Stan The Man ring throughout the stadium on any given day, usually announced by broadcasters like Jack Buck, Harry Caray, and Mike Shannon. Although the current incarnation of Busch Stadium was built in 2006, the site it rests on has been a local landmark since the original "arches" stadium in 1966. Even on away games, a baseball fan can walk around the stadium and enjoy the beautiful statues of players past that rest outside. The best viewing is certainly behind home plate, with the wonderful view of the downtown skyline and the Gateway Arch beyond center field. It also houses a unique take on another native St. Louis business: a Build-A-Bear (or, in this case, Build-A-Fredbird) Workshop. Needless to say, the stadium is hard to miss when visiting the city, and even from outside you can hear the stadium tornado siren and fireworks roar after every Cardinal home run.

I had to make the pilgrimage, and throughout our travels, I was worried that our game would be rained out. The forecasts were not looking good with more major rain expected to hit at roughly the same time as First Pitch. To make matters even crazier, this was no ordinary game, but an ESPN Game Of The Week event day against our current rivals, the Cincinnati Reds. It was a day full of Stan The Man Bobbleheads, the first to be made after the Cardinal legend. Not only did we have to fight the rain, but we had to fight the crowd.

Our worries were for nothing, though. Upon entering the stadium, bobbleheads in tow, we actually had a very pleasant game. We had splurged on seats just 10 rows behind home plate, a first even for Cards fanatics like ourselves. Although my girlfriend does not care for baseball, the rest of my family had a great time. The rain amazingly held off until a light drizzle started around the 6th inning, and I even got to hear my tornado siren! The family ended the night with a trip down to local bar Caleco's, myself feeling as though the vacation was successful just from the first day alone. Eventually, I was taken out overnight by my great friend (and hopefully future LA native) Sarah, and we had a great night catching up at a nice little karaoke bar called Novak's. I had never been before, and was pleasantly surprised. It reminded me a bit of the West Coast, and I was finally able to reconnect with people I had felt missing from my life for quite a while.

The next day in St. Louis was a little more rushed, as we had lost a day due to the tornado and were driving down to Cape Girardeau in the evening. So, we decided that my girlfriend could not visit St. Louis without going to its most famous landmark: The Gateway Arch

 Technically, the Arch's official name is the Jefferson Expansion National Memorial Park. When construction ended in 1965, its stainless steel frame stood at 630ft high. It currently remains as the tallest man-made monument in the world, able to shadow everything from the Statue of Liberty to the Washington monument to even the Great Pyramid of Giza underneath. Throughout our stay, the monument stood outside our hotel window, a welcome sight after nearly five years going without seeing it. My girlfriend commented several times on our vacation at the sheer size of it as it watches over the city.

We decided to actually go up into the Arch, which was a first even for me. Always happy to support our national parks, we bought a package that included the short documentary before escalating inside. I found it fascinating, even if the video was more than a little dated. The images of men suspended from the Arch evoked images similar to John C. Ebbet's famous Empire state Building construction photos. Even more inspiring, the video claimed that expected several (I believe the exact number was 14) men to lose their lives atop the steel pinnacle, yet not one did. After the video, my girlfriend and I ascended through the extremely small "capsule" elevators designed specifically for the monument. The view was wonderful from the top and surprisingly roomy. I was especially happy every time someone would point out Busch Stadium from the skyway (which most of the people seemed to do at least once). However, one thing to note is that the Arch is built to sway at least 18 inches to remain flexible in high winds, and we descended rather quickly after my girlfriend felt the motion while looking over the Mississippi River side.

We also made a pit-stop at the St. Louis City Museum.

What can only be described as one massive playground, the museum is a wonderful place to explore and basically run around being crazy. It's not without its educational merits, however, as among the displays are and architecture and antique exhibit, as well as an aquarium. We were a little too old for most of the really fun stuff by the point, but I still had a blast climbing through what areas I still managed to squeeze through. the girlfriend was not as amused. We also managed to find (by complete luck, as most of our food had been this trip) the famous Ozzie's right around the corner. We had come during the slow period, not even expecting it to be open but we lucked out!

Happy with the first half of our trip, we made our way down to Cape Girardeau only to be hit with even more tornadoes on the drive down Interstate-55. This would become a common occurrence during the next couple of days. Thankfully, we were not blown away by any means and enjoyed a few relaxing days with not much to do.

This part of our trip was mostly melded into one. As I mentioned, Cape Girardeau and Jackson are not large by any means. We were mostly famous as a trading post during the early Louis And Clark Expedition, and we do have a history with Mark Twain. It is exactly what you would expect a lazy river town to be. There is a massive floodwall that protects Cape from imminent doom, though the other areas have not been so lucky (evidenced by the flood of 1993, which many people have seen photos of regarding my home area over the years). This part of the vacation was spent mostly driving around or hanging out with my long-lost friends in a few of the local bars. The one major stop was a must-do restaurant known as Lambert's Cafe. Dubbed the "Home of the Throwed Rolls," it was recently voted as the #1 Place to Pig Out by the Travel Channel and has been featured numerous times by the Food Network and beyond. The atmosphere is that of a good home-cooking kitchen with license plates and ragtime waiters. All of the items are All-You-Can-Eat (you generally don't need seconds anyway), and include famous "pass-around" or extras that travel around the room. Of course, the most famous aspect are the hot, moist rolls that are thrown at you from across the room. I had plenty of great memories of those rolls and sorghum, and I was finally able to add new ones with my girlfriend. we both had the chicken strips and still had more than enough left over to make a complete third meal when done.

To end-cap our trip, we had planned a late flight out of town, so we finished up shop doing a few more things around St. Louis. The final big attraction that is essential to any visitor is a free tour at The Anheuser-Busch Brewery.

The largest brewer in the world, Budweiser is no doubt a familiar name to most people at this point. And while the free beer at the end of the tour is definitely a major highlight, the tour itself is fascinating. Containing three registered landmarks, the Busch campus covers 100 acres, almost the same size as my employer at Warner Bros. It's one of the oldest maintained structures in the city and has been synonymous with our economy over the past century-and-a-half. Plus, it's a great opportunity to see the world-famous Clydesdales, some of which were more than happy to pose and play when they saw the tour groups approaching. As for the beer, the beechwood aging process is pretty fun to learn about, and seeing the giant steel aging vats certainly puts our world's love for alcohol into perspective. I certainly couldn't complain after having a freshly brewed berry-flavored draft at the end.

We also had to make one final stop, a restaurant called Bailey's Chocolate Bar in Lafayette Square. We had heard it recommended from several of our fellow St. Louis transplants, and decided to give it a look. The menu and theme is entirely based on, well, chocolate, though they do offer regular lunch specials and pizza as well. To say it was delicious would be an understatement. Mom tried their chocolate beer, while I went for the much-recommended chocolate martini (get it hot if you can). Everything was extravagant, and every table had a freshly place rose you could purchase for your significant other while on a romantic date. I was extremely impressed and would go there again in a heartbeat.

Nearly a month later, I'm typing this trying to remember everything that happened. I had been reluctant to write a blog on the city, feeling that my pictures and stories would not do it justice. Already, I would love to return for a second vacation. While definitely not a city I could probably live in for the rest of my life, it's certainly charming in its own right and well worth a visit. While New York and LA certainly get a lot of attention, and for good reason, St. Louis is a destination with many, many offerings that are easy to pass over among the bigger cities. I feel as though there's even more I can show, from the Fox Theater, to the Muny, to the Science Center. I may have moved, and I certainly don't miss Cape Girardeau, but St. Louis will always be the city I compare others to.