Day 218, part 2

GothGirl and I had some girl time tonight.  We invited her friend and her friend’s mom to see the theater production of Disney’s Camp Rock movie at the New Salem State Park outdoor amphitheater.  None of us had ever been to this locale before to see a show so we weren’t sure what to expect.  Despite it being a small theater production, they did a great job and  we had a super fun evening.  Our seats were in direct line with the center of the stage and we were only 8 rows up.  The amphitheater is situated in a bowl-shaped valley, which meant that there wasn’t a breeze during the warm evening; but all other aspects were great.  There was a concession stand with reasonably priced snacks and drinks. The seats were roomy and fairly comfortable considering they were just hard seats.  The only other thing I could ask for would be cup holders on the back of the seats in front of you, similar to those at Busch Stadium.  The lady behind us knocked over her soda and it spilled down below under several of our seats.  I think the cup holders would eliminate this kind of thing.

Here’s a photo of GothGirl and I before we left for the evening.

GothGirl, me, and our friends before the show.

Some of the show’s signage showcasing the characters.

The stage.  It’s a small production so the set was not overly elaborate.  I think part of this was intentional because the majority of the movie takes place at a rustic camp.

I only got a few photos of the actual show in action.  My shutter is pretty loud, so I was only taking photos at the end of some of the really loud musical acts so as not to be disruptive during their dialogue.  And by this time, it was getting pretty dark and no flash photography was allowed.  Thus, my photos are pretty rough.  Excuse the dark blob in the lower right corners…it’s the head of the guy sitting in front of me.  Since I had to shoot quickly before the dialogue would start again, I didn’t have a lot of time to shoot around him. 

Here are the campers at Camp Rock.

And now the campers at Camp Star, the rival camp.

Though this was a small theater show and the cast was comprised of mainly high school and college-aged kids, they quality of talent was really good.  We were all quite impressed.  The show’s program was very nice as well, though I didn’t take a photo of it.  All 4 of us girls really enjoyed ourselves and we are looking forward to catching more shows here in the future.  And after all the fun we had at the musical, we continued the fun on the way home with lots of girly giggling.  What a great way to spend an evening!

Day 205

No photos for today, so I will share the photos I took inside City Museum this past Friday.  We spent hours there and still didn’t see everything.  There is so much to see and explore that it’s crazy.  We found ourselves wondering how they built the place…which pieces did they bring in first, where did they find the materials, how long did it take, etc.?  It was a great place to visit for people of all ages. 

Wall made of metal drop-in serving dishes (like in a salad bar)….so cool!

These painted conveyor belt rollers were one of my favorite parts of the building.

Open metal tunnels to crawl through.

Shoelace factory….

Awesome architectural pieces….

Insect displays…

Little kids ball pit…

Circus school….you could watch them practicing.

Central staircase…

Rock and tile sculptures…

Beautiful wooden structures…

And much, much more!  There really is something for everyone.  Love this place!

Day 202

Since it was so hot out today, we decided to take advantage of an indoor attraction in nearby St. Louis…..City Museum.  We’d heard great things about this place and GothGirl had been a few times on a summer care field trip, but we had never gone as a family.  My mom had taken the day off so she joined us.  Though it was only mid-morning when we arrived, it was very hot & humid outside.  There is an outdoor play section, which was still in shade, so we decided to hit that part first after paying to get in.  At just $12 a person, I would later realize what a great deal we got for such a fun place.  Rather than explain what City Museum is about, I will instead direct you to their website: http://citymuseum.org/site/.

All photos are SOOC unless otherwise noted.

A view of the building.  They have more things to do on the roof; but because it was so hot and it cost extra, we decided to skip it on this visit.  You can see part of the outdoor play area around the treeline.  It’s in full sun in this photo as I took this shot as we left later in the afternoon.

View of the hanging-off-the-edge-of-the-building-bus from below in the outdoor play area.

All of the metalwork and structures made this place a photographer’s dream….

I’m going to stop with the outdoor photos of City Museum for now and share the indoor photos in the near future when I don’t have any other pictures to show.

After we left the Museum, we headed to The Old Spaghetti Factory down on Laclede’s Landing.  My mom hadn’t been since she and my dad had taken my brother and I when we were kids.  Brian and I went about 15 years ago with his family, but our kids were not born yet so this was their first visit.  I had mom get a shot of us outside.  Note that cool brick street.

It was a wonderful day and we will definitely be making another trip back to City Museum, though preferably in the spring or fall when we can enjoy the outdoor areas without being drenched in sweat.

Day 199

It’s another cheat day as I didn’t take any photos.  Instead, I’m going to share some photos that I took on the 9th.  We took the kids and 2 of their friends to the local Adventure Village small carnival area at the Fairgrounds.  Earlier in the year, we purchased some passes that gave us admission and free rides at a good discount over regular prices.  Because the State Fair is not actually in session, attendance was greatly reduced and the kids got to ride all of the rides with little to no lines.  While it was a fun day for them (and ultimately that’s what counts), Crockett and I were a bit bored sitting and watching them for several hours.  If only they had some really cool adult rides!