Mynee's Musings

David Eckstein Bobblehead

We went to our last Cardinal game of the season yesterday.  It was David Eckstein Bobblehead day.  David Eckstein was the 2006 World Series MVP and even though he only played for the Cardinals for three seasons (2005-2007) and he's now retired, St. Louis still loves David Eckstein.  My mom wanted to add his bobblehead to her collection so we went to the game.  

As I've mentioned in pervious posts, during the games, you can text your name and city to the Cardinals and they post it on the video screen.  We're always from somewhere in Hawaii...hee hee hee.  This time, Greta joined us...

We all had a great time...LOL.  OK, actually we're not really from Hawaii and Greta wasn't really at the game but I'm sure you already knew this.  Anyway, The Cardinals beat the Pirates 4 to 3 and now the whole season comes down to today.  We're still in the Wildcard race but the Dodgers need to win and the Cardinals need to win in order to tie.  Ugh, the pressure.

Little did when know when we bought the tickets that this game would be Matt Holliday's last or second to last game as a Cardinal. It was announced on Thursday that the Cardinals would not be offering him a contract for 2017.  I am sooooo sad. He asked to be activate off the DL and then in his first game back on Friday night during what everyone thought may be his last game, he hit a pinch hit homerun.  Yesterday, he got an RBI.  I wonder if Mike will put him in the game today.

We were walking to our car after the game and my sister texted to say that they were nearby and were going to Four Hands Brewery which is just a few block from the stadium so we decided to meet them there.  We've tried most of their brews and we actualIy went to the brewery once but it was too crowded.  Well, come to find out, there is also seating upstairs.  Ha!  We enjoyed a brew and some tacos and then headed to McGurk's since Lisa and Randy had parked near there and walked over.  It's been years since we've been to McGurk's.  Since the weather was great, we sat outside on the patio and enjoyed another brew.  

Great day of baseball, food, family and brews.

Aida

Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the last show of the season last night because it was rained out.  The weatherman was predicting rain but we hoped he was wrong because, you know, he usually is. LOL.  It was sunny when we left the house but there were clouds to the west and by the time we got to the Muny, it was mostly cloudy and pretty breezy.  

We ate dinner at the Culver Pavillion.  They had chilled berry soup, salad, assorted cheese (I love cheese), pasta salad, fruit, hummus, seafood dip, breads and muffins, grilled veggies, chicken and waffles, giant Italian meatballs and pasta and boneless ribs with pecan pie for dessert.  The food was great and we were absolutely stuffed.  We enjoyed all three meals that we ate there this year.  

After dinner, we waited for about 15 minutes for the gates to open, watching the sky the whole time.  It didn't look too bad but we were actually on the east side of the Muny so once we entered and were able to see the western sky, we knew that there was no question that it was going to rain.

About 5 minutes after the above picture was taken, it poured.  

Keep in mind, this was about 7:45 pm and it looked like it was nighttime.  At about 8:30 pm, the stagehands started squeegeeing the stage.  It was still raining so it was sort of like trying to bale water out of boat with a hole in the bottom. At 8:40 pm, we decided to head home because the weather radar showed continuing showers.  Sure enough, they cancelled the performance at about 9:00 pm.

I'm so glad The Muny posted videos of each show this year because I was able to see what we missed...

 

This was perhaps the best season ever!  I loved every show and I'm so looking forward to next year.

Fiddler on the Roof

This week's Muny production was Fiddler on the Roof which is one of my favorites.  I just love the songs, the story, the characters, everything.  Here the video clip...

 

We ate dinner at Heavy Riff Brewing.  We are definitely going to visit them more often.  They have great beers and great food.  I especially love their smoke pork chili verde over the pineapple cornbread.  I just need to remember not to order a whole bowl (only a cup) after an appetizer of the spent grain beer bread.  It was very tasty but it was seriously like a whole loaf of bread.  LOL, can you say very full?  

Next week is the last show of the season; Aida.

Mamma Mia

This week's show was Mamma Mia.  It's not one of Bill's favorites (it's too girly...hee hee hee) so I went with my sister, Lisa.  We ate dinner at Pappo's Pizzeria & Pub (former home of Six Row) before the show.  Yummy hand tossed crust with pesto, mozzarella, artichokes, kalmatas and pine nuts.  Super yummy.  Lisa enjoyed their wheat beer (of course) and I had the IPA (of course). 

I love how The Muny is posting short videos of each show online this year...

 

 

The weatherman was predicting 100 degrees with high humidity.  Well, I'm not sure what happened but it cooled off and it was a pretty evening with temps in the low 80's.  The fans that were installed a few years ago do help tremendously too.  Good thing because Lisa hates the heat.   She told me to remind her about how well the fans work if she's ever hesitant to go to future shows.  :)

No show next week, Fiddler in two weeks.

Young Frankenstein

We saw Young Frankenstein at The Muny last night.  We saw it a few years ago at the Fox and it was great but I think this production was even better.  I've mentioned before that I'm not a Mel Brooks fan and I've never seen the movie but the musical is hilarious. Take a peek:  

 

We ate dinner at the Culver Pavilion again.  This week, it was crab cakes, cajun rubbed skirt steak, portobello mushroom ravioli, salads including a yummy pea and bacon salad, sides, cheeses, breads, etc and carrot cake for dessert.  Yummy!

Next week, Mama Mia with my sister. 

The Music Man

We saw Music Man at the Muny on Friday.  I always remember that I like it but then I see it and remember that I love it, just like Sound of Music.  Hee hee hee. So many good songs; Goodnight My Someone, 76 Trombones, Pick-A-Little, Wells Fargo Wagon, Shipoopi.  Here's a clip from the show...  

 

We ate dinner at the Culver Pavillion; fried shrimp, chicken fajitas, pepper encrusted strip loin, salads, cheeses, breads,sides, cold peach soup which was actually very good and kind of tasted like melted orange sherbet, YUM, and caramel cheesecake for dessert .

Next week, Young Frankenstein.

42nd Street

TAP DANCING!!! YES!!! Oh how I love tap dancing.  Eeeeeee, did I ever tell you how much I love tap dancing?  I want to take tap lessons.  OK so, last night at the Muny, 42nd Street, tap dancing and sparkle, oh yes that's why I love it so.  I vote for it every time it's on the ballot.  Every. Single. Time.  This is the third time we've seen it.  The first was in 1996 and the last time was 2009.  Check it out...

 

We decided to eat dinner at Bottleworks.  We were going to have a picnic in the park but the weatherman was predicting rain during the afternoon so we decided we didn’t want to sit in wet grass.  LOL.  It didn’t rain but that’s OK because Bottleworks is always a good dinner choice.  

Next show in two weeks; Music Man

 

Wizard of Oz

The 98th Muny season opened this week with Wizard of Oz, one of my all-time favorites.  I'd be happy if they staged Wizard and Hello Dolly every year.  LOL.  We have our usual Friday night tickets and have the same seats we've had for about 6 or 7 years now.  Anyway, Stephen Wallem, Thor from Nurse Jackie, played the Lion.  This was his 3rd appearance at the Muny; the first was 2013 in Shrek and the second was 2014 in Seussical.  He and the rest of the cast did an awesome job.  

Here is a video clip of the show...

 

We ate dinner at Heavy Riff Brewing which is right across the highway from Forest Park. We've visited several times.  The first time, they only had their flagship brew, Velvet Underbrown, on tap and they didn't serve food.  We visited them again about a year ago and tried a few more of their brews.  This time, we had food and brews.  Bill ordered the blue cheese brisket salad and I had the smoked pork chili verde which is served over pineapple cornbread.  Oh my goodness, it was good!  I started with the red ale and Bill had the Mamas and the Papayas which is a APA with papayas.  Bill then had the Rye Lager and I had the Left Coast Envy IPA randalized which is their IPA with orange peel.  Wow, it smelled like oranges and I could definitely taste the orange.  Yum!

What a great start to the season!  Next up, 42nd Street. 

 

Sound of Music

We saw our last show of the Broadway Series season Saturday at The Fox.  I've lost track of how many times I've seen it but it's definitely one of my favorites.  Each time I see it, I remember how much I love it and this time was no exception.  Maria, Sound of Music, My Favorite Things, Do-Re-Mi, Edelweiss, So Long Farewell, Sixteen Going on Seventeen, Climb Every Mountain...I love them all.  Bill calls Sound of Music "The King and I with Alp and Nazis."  LOL

When we went into The Fox, the weather was perfect; sunny and about 75 degrees.  After the show, we were walking toward the exit and heard someone say something about 70 mile per hour winds.  Sure enough, when we walked outside, it was dark and the wind was blowing.  It looked like it could pour any minute.  We started walking quickly to our car and got there just before it started raining.  We drove a few blocks to Pappo's (fka Six Row) and sat in the car for a few minutes before the rain let up a bit and we went inside.  Yummy pizza and brews, although I still miss Six Row.

That wraps up the Fox Broadway Series season until October. Next up, The Muny! 

Bridge of Madison County

We saw Bridges of Madison County at The Fox yesterday.  We’ve never seen the movie so I didn’t really know the story line other than some guy comes to town and some married woman falls in love with him.  Ha, yeah there’s a lot more to the story.  Before the show started, we were sitting in our seats and I decided to Google the story line.  I started reading it to Bill and it went on and on and on and that was only Act One!  Oh my, we weren't really sure what to expect.  As it turns out, it was much better than we expected.  I might even have to watch the movie sometime.

After the show, we were going to eat at Four Hands Brewing since we had never eaten there before.  We’ve had their beers numerous times and we really enjoy them.  The brewery is only a few blocks from Busch Stadium so it’s usually very crowded before and after the game.  Since the Cardinals weren't in town and since we knew that we’d be at the brewery by 5:15 or so, we figured it wouldn’t be crowded.  Wrong!  It was packed.  Oh yeah, the Blues were in town.  Change of plans; we ate at Morgan Street.  As always, great food and brews.  

Next up, last show of the season, The Sound of Music.