Friday Four
Friday, October 30, 2015
The Relocation Edition (The following are a few random good
things about St. Louis, which we will soon leave, and our
destination.)
1. My wife's relocation to the
Baltimore-Washington area will make it easier for me to enjoy Yuengling,
one of the few lagers I actually like. The first review (as of
writing) at Beer Advocate comes pretty close to my
evaluation:
Rich and caramel-malty, both smooth and easy to drink. This amber lager is infinitely better than all the American adjunct "junk" lagers... Maybe not a completely perfect brew, but one that certainly pleases for the price point.It was a pleasant surprise to find this on offer at our hotel as we house-hunted last week. That said, I'll miss Craft Beer Cellar.
2. Until I lived in Missouri, I had never been favorably impressed by the general courtesy of the drivers anywhere. Merges are a revelation here: People default to "zippering" when freeway lanes are closed. And on numerous occasions, I have found myself getting ready to ask another driver for help when changing lanes on a backed-up city street, only to find the other driver already signaling me to go ahead. On the other hand, I will probably be able to use rail to cut down on road time in our new area. In fact, I did this last week, since we combined house-hunting with a professional conference I wanted to attend.
3. I look forward to living in a much larger, more modern house, but I will miss the ten-minute walk to the Delmar Loop. I particularly enjoyed Cicero's, when I could go there. Our very young kids -- and Mrs. Van Horn's long hours -- greatly limited my ability to explore or socialize, so having lots of bang for the buck nearby was a boon. And Cicero's, being kid-friendly, turned out to be a good place to meet with family and friends.
4. I'll miss taking the kids to the Magic House, probably Pumpkin's favorite place on earth, so far. That said, they seemed to enjoy Port Discovery, and our immediate area seems to have lots of other good things for family trips.
-- CAV
4 comments:
Welcome to the BW area. If you're closer to Baltimore or are just looking for a good beer bar, I highly suggest Max's on Broadway (in Fell's Point). 70ish beers on tap and 200 bottles, menu changed monthly. Most of the bartenders have been there >15 years and can honestly advise you on the options.
Thanks for the recommendation.
The following comment I have published on behalf of Steve D, after accidentally rejecting it in the moderation queue:
I pretty much agree with everything you said about St. Louis but I can’t pass up the chance to comment on:
2) The drivers in the mid-west are the best and most courteous in the world. [Ask me sometime to explain my theory about political freedom and good driving.] It was an education driving in both Lincoln NE and St. Louis MO. Sometimes drivers could be too courteous like when two drivers are waving each other on, while the other drivers behind them grumble sweet nothings. One time I saw three drivers happily chatting away after an accident while the poor officer tried to figure out what had happened.
3) I had never been to Cicero’s before we went several times. I loved it and will definitely carry on the tradition and take visitors there, though the location, far from my home will preclude it from becoming regular.
4) The Magic House! The kid rated no. 1 fun place in the United States. We had my son’s twin cousins visit us on their way back from Disney World in Florida when they were about 8-9 years. Both said it was by far the best part of their trip. What is it about the place that kid’s love so much?
Steve,
It amuses me to read your stories of overly-courteous drivers. I could see that, and maybe have, as I recall on a couple of occasions thinking the person ahead of me had gone past politeness and into doormat territory by letting too many people in.
I am glad we got to meet over lunch as often as we did. That was one of the highlights of my time here. I often half-joked to myself that, with all that child care I was doing, you, my barber, and the Internet were my links to sanity.
Of course, the other half of that joke is that I was very lucky to get to be with my kids that much so early in their lives. Few fathers get to do that, and circumstance was smiling on me, even if it didn't always seem that way.
Gus
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