Category Archives: Travel

If it’s nearly holy week I might be getting sick

April 10, 2019 hannahviolin

Louie had a cold last week and over the weekend, and I woke up with a bit of a sore throat. I’m hopeful it’s not happening though, and I’m drinking lots of water. I tend to get sick around Easter for unknown reasons (seriously, my timehop app can prove it) but this time I’m determined not to. (It is completely out of my control.)

Well, after that literary start, welcome to today’s post. I thought I’d blogged about the weekend already, but that must have just been instagram. My weekend was pretty busy—this month is full of gigs and makeup lessons, so I had some of that over the weekend. We also had a dinner party at a friend’s house, dinner with Louie’s family, and best of all, a recital by Gil Shaham as part of the Great Artists Series at Washington University. As nice as it is to go to the symphony, it’s really awesome to see solo performances by world class musicians—it’s a different artistic experience entirely. I wish there was a monthly concert by some great string player! I guess you have to live in New York for that sort of thing.

We also got to enjoy the amazing weather a bit. Louie and I took a hike in Broemmelsiek Park. This was in the book I use, but it turned out that the park had been changed quite a bit since the book was published. We still had a nice time hiking.

This reminded Louie of Horseshoe Bend in Colorado.

There are always lots of nice bridges in local parks.

It was a muddy path, but nice to wander through the prairie and woods.

I also decided to go for a run…it had been quite some time. Last spring I’d hurt my knee a bit, and then I just stopped running. In any case, I thought it might be a good day to get back at it, and as a sign, when I opened Runkeeper there was a new program to follow to get back into running. So I’ve done two of the days, and it’s been a challenge, but fun. I seem to recall there was a period of time I enjoyed running, and maybe that would be a thing I could do again. I’ve been doing Walk At Home videos by Leslie Sansone, and Blogilates Videos with Cassey Ho, and I’m ready to run too. I’ve made out a schedule, and especially towards summer I have more time.

I know people say you have to make time, but sometimes the time just isn’t there, or sometimes I just need to get some sleep more. I do occasionally work from early in the morning until late at night, and if there’s more than one or two days of that, I really start to value my sleep. Don’t we all? I know I’m hardly the busiest person in the world, but some days it does seem like it! Other days are like today, where I have the morning off to get caught up on work, practice, and work out AND I’m done teaching by 7:15, in time for an “early” dinner and an evening to relax a bit.

The students have their annual Music Club Festival this weekend. I’ve got 9 performing, and we’ve been working hard to get ready. I’m hopeful that they will be successful! I also have two doing Solo and Ensemble this weekend, but that’s through their schools so at least I don’t have to do anything more. Sometimes it seems like more trouble than it’s worth to do these events, but I do think the kids learn a lot and it’s a good goal to work towards. I don’t do group lessons and only a few of the students have orchestra at their schools (not many in the city have that opportunity), so it’s hard to keep them motivated.

Between that, various church services, two concerts Friday (noon and evening), teaching, and a band gig at the Schlafly Tap Room Saturday night, I’m definitely hoping I’m not getting sick, as this is a busy two weeks with excellent health. But I’ll manage either way: I always do! The weather is gorgeous, spring is definitely here, and there is less than a month left until college classes are done! (To me, that means summer is here Smile )

Missouri, Travel

Spring Break in Branson

March 17, 2019 hannahviolin 1 Comment

As regular readers know, Louie and I planned to take a short trip to Branson over our spring break.

Well, his spring break. I don’t technically have a spring break, but I took a few days off, and we made plans to go, and boom, break it is!

We left Wednesday morning for Branson. Branson is approximately 4 hours drive from St Louis, and neither of us had ever been. The funny thing is that we couldn’t remember the genesis of this trip, but we think it must have been seeing some sort of ad for Branson and saying, huh, we’ve never been, maybe we should check it out. Things came together fast and about two months ago I booked a highly rated cheap hotel, the Seven Gables Inn. As I was researching things we’d like to do, I also found a few things to do along the way.

It was a rainy day when we started out, so I revised our trip order and made our first stop Mansfield, Missouri, where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived most of her adult life. I only realized that she moved to Missouri recently! I loved the Little House books as a kid, and about a year or two ago I read a new book about her, Prairie Fires, and really enjoyed learning about the background and more of her life. Before this trip I also reread all the Little House books in order to have more of a sense.

In any case, it took us about 3 hours to get to the Museum. We paid our $14 and we told the next house tour was in about 50 minutes which would give us time to tour the museum. We watched a short video, looked at a bunch of exhibits in the museum (no pictures allowed) and I really enjoyed seeing various artifacts, including Pa’s actual fiddle that features so prominently in all the books. If the weather had been nicer I believe one could walk from the museum to all the sites, but it was pouring rain and very muddy, so we drove to the farmhouse for the tour. This was the “offseason” and there were only two other people on our tour of the house. Evidently the house was kept the way it was when Laura died in 1957 with just some upkeep and a few places where things were redone in the same style. It was really neat to see where Laura had actually lived and brought the books and our country’s pioneer history to life! 1957 doesn’t seem that long ago, and therefore it wasn’t that long ago that Laura and her family were heading west for a better life (and not that long ago that our country systematically slaughtered Native Americans and stole their land, but…I hope I can appreciate the pioneer spirit as well as feeling sad about how Europeans and Americans destroyed native peoples and their cultures everywhere they went…and continue to! But I feel like I’m digressing, so…)

The farmhouse that Almanzo built by hand!

Below—the “rock house” that their daughter, Rose, had built for them. They lived there for a few years, but always felt more comfortable at the farm house. We visited the Rock House after the farmhouse and I can see why—the Rock House was beautiful on the outside, and very nice on the inside, especially the bathroom, but the farmhouse seemed more home-like and comfortable.

Everybody we dealt with at the Museum and the homes were very nice and knowledgeable. It was a great stop on our trip!

We drove another 1 to 1 1/2 hours to Branson then. The last 30 miles of our trip was a road with a constant bombardment of billboards advertising shows and other activities in Branson. The roads were quite hilly/mountainous, and the terrain quite beautiful. We chose to ignore some of the overtly political and religious things (a giant cross with tears on it that I simply refuse to google) that we saw and just focus on our own experiences.

We checked into our hotel which was exactly as I’d pictured. I would definitely recommend the hotel for a budget stay as the location was fantastic, it was clean, and the owners and employees were incredibly friendly.

We had splurged for an in-room jacuzzi and a king sized bed.

After getting settled, we decided to head towards the river to the Branson Landing and the historic downtown area. We drove down the strip along the way, and like Pigeon Forge or Vegas, there is plenty of craziness and neon. Branson, as Louie loved to say, is completely “off the chain.”

In addition to a giant replica titanic, you’ll see a ferris wheel, King kong climbing a building, various airplanes, a giant meatball and fork, and more!

We parked near downtown and wandered around a bit. There’s an area right by the river called the Landing, which is an outdoor mall. It’s just like any indoor mall except it’s outside and you are in Branson! We did a moonshine tasting (free!), some poking around various shops including what we thought was a giant Bass Pro Shops, but my understanding is that it was actually quite small for that store. We walked along the river a teeny bit, but it wasn’t the relaxing walk we’d hoped as there was music coming out of every lamp post, including quite a lot of static and some issues with the music. Then we saw a few fountain and “firework” shows which were like you might see in Vegas but not nearly as good, but still quite fun.

The fountains created a rainbow, which was fun. After all that, we went to Cantina Laredo for Mexican food. The margaritas were actually quite bad, but the food was really good, so we’d recommend it, but don’t order the regular marg.

Basically, so far Branson was exactly how we’d expected and we were having a great time!

We didn’t stay up too late, and the next day we managed to make it for the hotel breakfast. The reviews on Trip Advisor tended to rave about the breakfast, but for non meat eaters it wasn’t quite as good. They did have actual Krispy Kreme doughnuts (Boston Crème is my absolute favorite donut) and make your own waffles.

We wanted to do some hiking while we were in Branson and I’d found a map of trails around Table Rock Lake in the State Park. It was sunny enough, but VERY windy, so we bundled up a bit and headed out.

We did a 3 mile loop in the White River Valley Trail System. The hike was good and bad: the good was the trees, the rocks, the moss, the natural beauty. The bad was the variety of power lines we kept crossing around—it was located very near the Table Rock Dam, and therefore there were many power lines coming from the dam heading out, and the hike kept passing through the open areas. There was a decent amount of mud, but that was unsurprising.

We did our first hike and then went to the visitor’s center at the dam. It had some really nice displays to learn about the dam and the animals and nature in the area. There was a walk along Table Rock Lake that we might have enjoyed, but the wind was so strong that we only walked a tiny bit to see the lake a tiny bit.

We found a nearby diner for lunch called the Hungry Hunter, and had a very nice lunch. After lunch we did another short hike and then headed back to the motel to clean up. Louie had some work he needed to do and I just relaxed.

There was a winery right by the motel called the St James Winery, so later in the afternoon we headed over there for wine tasting. Naturally we ended up buying a few bottles, including a peach wine that I’m looking forward to having again.

Our big evening plan was the Dolly Parton Stampede! This was something several friends recommended that would give us the most Branson of Branson experiences. The show included dinner, so no need to eat beforehand. We got there in time for the preshow which was a trio of bass, banjo, and guitar, all brothers, who also sang. They did a variety of styles of music to please the crowds, and we enjoyed drinking coffee out of a boot.

Then it was time to take our seats for the show. There was horseback riding, tricks, dogs, bison, longhorn steers, audience participation, odd displays of possibly misplaced patriotism, and lots of fun. It was a very strange experience for Louie and I, but we enjoyed it. The dinner wasn’t anything to write home about (especially the vegetarian option of pasta with red sauce and some veggies), but it was fun and definitely unique. The performers really were top-notch.

The next morning we slept a little longer and missed the hotel breakfast. We found a coffee shop called the Kaffee Haus and had some tasty muffins and french press coffee there before heading a little further south to a place called “Top of the Rock.” We’d seen an advertisement for it that included a trail you could drive on a golf cart, and we thought that sounded pretty neat. It cost $10 to enter the property, but you get a $5 coupon to spend there. It wasn’t very busy, but I could see the place getting really hectic and overcrowded during some seasons. We found parking easily and filled out the paperwork to rent the golf cart, and off we went! It was just the two of us in the cart and Louie was the driver. They had a plastic over over the cart since it was still quite cold and windy.

Top of the Rock is sort of like Disney World in that you aren’t sure if any of the nature is real or if it’s all man-made, or what, but it’s quite a lot of fun, a little overpriced, and you just find yourself handing over your money. We absolutely LOVED the tour, even though it was ridiculous. You follow a paved road for the carts, and there are various places to stop, park, get out, whatever you want. There’s even a place where you go through a cave and there’s a bar if you want to order a drink (non-alcoholic or alcoholic).

You can see a little row of golf carts parked there.

We drove over that bridge.

Some of the pictures out of the golf cart window weren’t as great, but you can maybe get a sense of it that way.

Anyway, we were a little sad to be done, but gave the cart back. Then we took the shuttle to the other part of the park, and had a very nice lunch at a restaurant called Arnie’s Barn. The restaurant overlooked the golf course, which we did not partake in.

As part of a package deal with the cart tour (the Lost Canyon Cave Tour I believe it was called) we got tickets for the Museum of the Ancient Ozarks. The whole place is owned by the owner of Bass Pro Shops, just fyi, and we aren’t sure if all the museum facts were correct and some things were definitely worded strangely, but overall it was a very nice museum and we learned quite a few things that we hope are correct, especially stuff about animals that used to live in this area of the world and are now extinct. The museum took us around 2 hours to go through.

After that, we headed back to our car and then back towards the motel. We decided to stop by another winery first, and got to the Curling Vine Winery right before it closed. We tried a few tasty wines and bought a couple more bottles to make it an even six for the trip. People knock on Missouri Wines (well, they knock on Missouri generally I suppose) but we enjoyed quite a few of the ones we tried. The prices are super reasonable too!

For dinner we decided to go to the Center Stage Bar and Grill which is connected to the Kaffee Haus that we’d eaten at breakfast. I ordered a trout dish that was a little too sweet for my taste, but the fried okra and mashed potatoes with the meal were good. After dinner we relaxed in the jacuzzi and reflected on a fun trip.

The next morning we got up, checked out of the hotel and headed for breakfast. We chose the Pancake and Waffle House, which in retrospect was a fairly poor choice. It was fine, but there was awkwardly long waits for everything for no apparent reason. We waited in a line to get seated, which would have been okay, except that we realized after awhile there were two entrances, one with barely any line and the other with a line out the door and the host just kept alternately sides. Then we waited to get coffee (for 10 to 15 minutes after being seated), we waited to order, and we waited for our check. I guess that’s a tourist restaurant for you—no need to be better as people are just stopping through anyway! The food was mediocre, but nonetheless, we ate and moved on.

Our last stop was along the way home. We decided to visit Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield which is about 1 hour from Branson. There was a $20 admission fee but I bought an annual NPS pass since we’ll need it this summer. The weather was absolutely gorgeous: sunny, warm, and the wind was finally gone. The visitor’s center has some good information about the battle (we skipped the movie, but I imagine that gives great info) and then there’s a five mile driving tour with plenty of stops. We did a lot of short hikes, probably hiking about 2 to 2 1/2 miles total. There’s more hiking one could do, but we spent about 3 hours total at the site and felt we got a really good sense of the place and a good overview.

I don’t know much about Missouri’s role in the Civil War. Growing up in SC we learned tons about the Civil War (and the information was not always correct, in terms of the role of slavery and how the north treated the south), but it was mostly SC’s role in the war. Louie and I were very glad we made this stop as NPS sites are almost always well done and worth visiting. The weather was also just amazing, and it was a great end to the trip.

We walked along Wilson’s Creek a bit. There were some gnats in places, which made me remember, oh yes, when the weather gets nice, the bugs come out…

Louie did a lot of sign reading.

The battle was actually just fought in somebody’s corn fields, and this was a recreation of their house.

The significance of the site is that it was the first battle of the Civil War in which a Union General was killed. And other stuff, that I totally knew yesterday but have already forgotten…isn’t that the way these things go!

So that’s our Spring Break trip to Branson. It was a nice getaway, and even though Branson isn’t what you might think of as Louie and my typical getaway destination, we had a great time. If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to ask!

Hiking, Performing

Winter Hiking

February 19, 2019 hannahviolin

Louie and I have been prioritizing doing some hiking when possible this winter. Sometimes we have too much going on to manage, but again we were able to last Saturday! We hit up Russell E. Emmenegger Nature Park (another 60 Hikes in 60 Miles hike) for a short hike first. It had snowed the night before, but much of the snow had melted off the paths already.

You start the loop by crossing that bridge. Then there are some paved paths at first, but an unpaved trail went off to the right, so we took that. It actually wasn’t exactly right, we don’t think, or we missed something, because we had to cut up ridge and then we found the trail again. This was a nice hike, with some elevation change too. The main downside was the highway noise—the park is located right near the intersections of Interstate 44 and 270 and the noise is LOUD. An advantage to the location is that it’s closer to get to, since it’s just off the highway Winking smile

I thought the winter landscape was really nice.

I have a friend that likes to hashtag some of her posts “nerdmarriage”. I think this picture of Louie doesn’t need a hashtag.

I think my eyes are shut, but my eyes were shut in more than one of these photos. I got a lightweight winter coat for hiking. It might make me look more like a potato than I would prefer, but it was comfortable, and it’s lightweight and squishes down quite a bit. Amazon basics, y’all.

One part of the trail took us up on a ridge over the Meramec River. It was pretty! There’s quite a lot of development around the park, but that doesn’t mean that the park isn’t pretty.

After our hike, we decided to head to Powder Valley Conservation Center which was also in the 60 Hikes book and which we had passed on our way to Emmenegger.

Powder Valley has a very nice visitor’s center with some lovely displays and taxidermy. I think especially kids like it, as it looks set up well for families and field trips. We poked around a bit after using the restrooms.

Not a real raccoon, but it is real.

I don’t think that is the bear that broke into our car.

While posing for this photo we got passed by a couple with two small children who likely thought I was strange. I enjoy posing with fake animals at zoos and whatnot.

We started to take another short hike, but the path was paved and ICY and I decided I didn’t want to risk falling, so we turned back. Evidently all the paths there are paved, which isn’t my favorite—I understand they are more accessible, but they are also harder on the knees and not quite as nature-y. We might head back someday to check it out further.

After that little jaunt, we went to the symphony that night and saw an all-Prokofiev concert. It was great, particularly one part in Alexander Nevsky where the choir was absolutely screaming at us in Russian (they put their hands up by their mouths and everything.) The concert was a little long though, and I was exhausted…am I the only one who things that concerts should be on average two hours long and max 2:15, and this one was over 2 1/2 hours. Or they should start earlier, or something. I know I sound old—I feel old and tired! A funny thing at the concert was at the beginning when an elderly woman sitting in front of us turned around to yell at either Louie or the woman on his other side for kicking her chair.

We booked a weekend trip to Eureka Springs, Arkansas with another couple in May, and I’m excited. Between Branson, Eureka Springs, and then the mega road trip this summer it will be a fun travel year! I find that I’m mostly enjoying reading and planning travel lately, as I’m a bit unmotivated and worn down by music and life generally. I don’t know if this is a midlife crisis (mid-career certainly—I realized I’m basically at the halfway point if I plan to retire around 62), or what, but like I’ve been blogging about, I’m tired. I probably need to seek out a few more new things to mix it up, but I’m okay just coasting right now.

And we are supposed to get more “winter weather” this evening. Hopefully this doesn’t keep people away from our quartet concert at the Sheldon. (Probably it will…ugh.)

Hiking

Bangert Island

February 9, 2019 hannahviolin

I had the day off today so Louie and I thought it would be fun to take a short hike somewhere. He’s pretty swamped with work, so we wanted something nearby, not too long, but still “a hike” rather than a walk. I found Bangert Island in Steve Henry’s 60 Hikes in 60 Miles, and off we went!

It’s a little easy to miss the last turn, so pay close attention. And take my advice, don’t attempt to drive on the Katy Trail. But do check out this hike if you want an easy hike that takes you out of your everyday life and into the woods. It’s in St Charles, and right along the Missouri River. It was cold but sunny, so we just bundled up a bit. The paths weren’t well marked, but we just mostly stayed to the right at every option, and pretty much hiked all the way around. It’s technically an island, I guess, but there’s just a little stream in between and a bridge you can go over easily. They say in high water this is not the place to be. Oh, and a note to readers: the map in my 60 hikes book is out of date, and in retrospect I should have printed out the map online which I now realize is a little different. (And then I went down the rabbit hole, which ended with finding out that there’s a new edition of the book coming out in November, so I’ll have to get that!)

This picture was taken from the little bridge to get across to Bangert Island from the trailhead.

I’d thought it wouldn’t be muddy since it was cold, but that turned out not to be true. It was muddy in a few spots but not enough that we regretted our choices. My boots will be fine after they dry.

I always enjoy seeing the Missouri River up close. I had to work hard to keep the casino across the river out of my shot though.

We took a selfie that I wanted to share here, but it only shows up upside down. This is an occasional issue that I have never been able to solve. You can look for it on Instagram!

All in all it was a nice 3 or so miles of “wandering around in the woods” and a nice diversion. It was pretty flat so not difficult or taxing, but it was nice to be in a wild area in winter—everything was DEAD and grey and brown, though we did see a fair amount of (live) birds, and a quick glimpse of a really beautiful woodpecker with a red plume! We only saw a few other people hiking, so it felt quiet and pretty deserted.

A downside is that you are really close to the highway and can hear it pretty well on the north side of the island, but it’s kind of fun to be in the woods hearing the cars and feeling a sort of odd separation.

In any case, it was a lovely way to spend part of the afternoon. I would recommend checking out Bangert Island if you want an easy hike to take your mind off life’s stresses.

Hiking

Pere Marquette State Park

October 24, 2018 hannahviolin

Louie and I had Sunday off, so we decided to drive up to Grafton, Illinois to hike at Pere Marquette State Park. I’d been there before to play a couple of weddings, but never to hike. I knew the drive would be beautiful as well-after you go through Alton you drive along the Mississippi River on the Great River Road.

The weather was sunny and a little bit cool, so perfect weather for hiking. We parked by the visitor’s center (which was closed even though the parking lot was practically full—make a note of that if you expect to pick up a trail map at the visitor’s center) and headed out.

If you look at the trail map, we went up the Dogwood to the Ridge Trail, (to the highest point,McAdams Peak) to Hickory, to Hickory North, and then back around on Hickory South. We debated the Fern Trail, but decided to go head for lunch instead. We’d hoped to hike the Goat Cliff trail, but it was REALLY muddy/looked flooded at the beginning so we decided against it.

The fall colors are here, though not super strong, and it was just really pretty.

It’s worth pointing out that the river was pretty high all along the road, and on the river side of the park we saw a picnic shelter which was partially under water. After our hike we walked over to check out the Lodge, which was built by the CCC in the 1930’s. It’s worth checking out if you are in the area.

Next, we headed back towards Alton to visit the Old Bakery Beer Company. I’d heard good things about the brewery, and when I saw they had an Impossible Burger and a vegetarian Reuben on the menu I knew we had to try it. It was good! We split a flight of beers and had sandwiches.

All in all, it was a really nice day. Nothing too strenuous, but just fresh air, good food, and good company.

When we got home I of course had a headache from (probably) the beer. Afternoon drinking is never good for me, even though I enjoyed tasting the beers. I had thought to go to a concert at Wash U that evening, but I just didn’t have the energy and thought it would make my headache worse, so I just relaxed and lay down while Louie did some work.

We both have this Sunday off again too so we are planning another Sunday Funday! It’ll be the last one before Christmas, so hopefully the weather is good enough to get some outside activities in. My backup plan had been to go to IKEA, so that’s always an option Winking smile

Hiking

Shaw Nature Reserve and more

October 17, 2018 hannahviolin 1 Comment

Yesterday we got some of our concrete steps redone in the front of the house. It was a bit of a wait to finally get to this point, but today they look fantastic! We also had to deal with our furnace not working over the weekend—we bought a brand new furnace last winter, and since then we’ve had to replace the circuit board twice and something else once. It’s not promising for a long life for the furnace, but we will make sure that the company is the one with the problem. You think that if you throw money at an issue it means you won’t have to deal with problems, but that’s just not true. I guess if you throw enough money around you can pay somebody else to wait at your house for you or something?

Louie and I had off during the day on Monday due to various Fall Breaks so we decided to go out for breakfast and then for a hike (before having to be back at the house to meet the heating repairman). We went to Southwest Diner for breakfast—one of my favorite breakfast places, I think, and then decided to go to Shaw Nature Reserve. We hadn’t been for many years—they don’t allow dogs so we never went with Mackenzie. But seeing as how the weather is lovely for hiking and sadly Mackenzie is no longer with us, we thought it would be a great idea.

We did one longer hike and one shorter hike—we started with the Rus Goddard River Trail. Part of it was closed, but this one did take us down to a gravel bar along the Meramec River. It reminded us that we never got on a canoe trip last summer and that this summer we shall try harder for that.

The hike was relaxing, the air was brisk, and we only saw one other person while we were there!

We had enough time for another short hike after that one, so we went to the Wetland Trail.

This one wandered around a pond with lily pads and had two small buildings to observe wildlife from. There was also a stretch of boardwalk to walk along.

We only had a short period of time to explore, but we enjoyed our trip. Admission is $5 per person, but if you are a member of the Botanical Gardens it is free. We talked about joining, because we’d like to belong to things like that, but we really don’t have time to go very often. Maybe if we joined we’d make the time?

I do find that buying tickets to things makes you go. Does a membership do the same or is that not a specific enough purchase?

Over the weekend we went to two concerts—one at the Sheldon: Wynton Marsalis with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and then to the St Louis Symphony the next night (we subscribe so we go to 5 or 6 concerts a year). My weekend was busy but pretty good—I have been having a hard time with my work schedule and needing some downtime, but I made it through. Barely. I may have have a series of small breakdowns but I did make it through as I’m still here.

One of the cool things about seeing a concert at the Sheldon is there are art galleries to browse beforehand or at intermission. There was a display of musical instruments.

I liked that one and imagined it would be even more amazing if the little man carved on the scroll were playing an instrument with him carved into the scroll, and so on.

I played at the Artica Festival with part of my band. It was chilly but fun.