Tag Archives: events

Bowood Farms and Cafe Osage

Last night we headed to Bowood Farms/Cafe Osage in the CWE for Green Drinks!  We drove our bicycles, despite the heat — keeping it green and all.  I enjoyed touring Bowood’s garden and learning about their history, and I chatted with some lovely people.  We toured their organic garden, where they grow some of the produce served at Cafe Osage (sadly, the lack of a dinner menu thwarted our eating plans — we’ll have to go back for lunch sometime).

Drinks in the garden at Bowood

We often skip the “drinks” aspect of Green Drinks altogether, one part frugality, one part, we just don’t drink that much.  Tonight, we broke out of the mold and ordered a blueberry martini to share.  Delicious, but at $9 + tip, I’m reminded why we don’t do this all the time!

I enjoyed the ride home at dusk, although the weather makes me wish that the World Naked Bike Ride (if you don’t want to see naked people, don’t follow the link) happened every night.  If you’re feeling shy, you can go here, for a tamer, text only description of the St. Louis WNBR.  We missed the St. Louis WNBR this past Saturday, but next year?  Be there or be square 😉

Open Streets in the heat

Yesterday, I was on my bike for almost five-and-a-half hours, volunteering for Open Streets in St. Louis. Five-and-a-half scorching, 100-plus-degree heat index hours.  It sounded like a good idea when I signed up in April.  Get up at 6am after a late night at Opera Theatre and spend lots of hours out in the sun?  Fabulous idea.

All complaining aside, I enjoyed the opportunity to experience, and help with, Open Streets 2.0 — a great day for bicycling (and walking, jogging, rollerblading, etc.) in St. Louis.

Headed home, a stopped train delayed our trip and increased our time in the elements.  By that point, I had thrown caution (and sun safety) to the wind and removed my t-shirt to prevent death by extreme heat.  Fortunately, we found a shady spot to wait it out.  Eventually, the train passed, and I mustered enough energy to climb the hill and roll on home.  I spent the rest of the day recovering.  Lots of fluids, a shower to scrub off all of the icky sunscreen, some high-quality food (the fact that we made lunch serves as either a testament to our commitment to good food or to our insanity (perhaps heat-induced?)), and a nap — just what the doctor ordered 🙂

The  next two Open Streets events will take place in September and October.  While I hope that the temperatures will be a bit friendlier then, I’ve learned not to bet against St. Louis weather.

No Impact Man in the Lou

Colin Beaven, AKA No Impact Man, will be in St. Louis next Monday, June 7th to speak and sign copies of his book at the Schlafly branch of the Saint Louis Public Library (225 North Euclid Avenue, in the CWE) from 7:00pm – 8:30pm (event info here).

Though I admit I have yet to read his book, I’ve followed his adventures on his blog for awhile now, and I’m excited to hear him speak.  I just now requested the book from the library — with a bit of luck I’ll have it in my hands by Friday.