Stormy weather and traveling just don't mix...

The truck finally has its' canoe rack...thanks to many friends (thanks Lance, Ken, Beck, Blu, Jaysson, Cat, and Andrea!) and their knowledge of assembling things of this nature. Also bought a canoe on Sunday. The day the weather decided to turn bad. These photos were actually taken Sunday morning, but by that afternoon, it was quite a different story.

We ended up getting 2 canoes in Ponca, AR (thanks to Buffalo Outdoor Center!) and had to travel down to Clarksville, AR to catch I-40 back to LR...keeping in mind no cell phone service in that area (roughly 40+ miles, all hills and valleys). Well, it was storming/raining/windy on the drive, but we never had a clue that we were driving on the edge of tornado warnings. Until we got to Clarksville (and cell phone service!!) and found out just what kind of situation we were in...many of us had guardian angels that night as there were a few traveling along the roadways. I have to say a HUGE **THANKS** to Cat for keeping me company on the drive home and for "saving" my canoe!!

I don't have any pics of the canoe yet, but those will soon follow!

Tailgatin'

What?!...Did you guys think that just because we're on hiatus for the PA Program that I would take a break from posting?? I'll keep posting throughout the year just because!! This past weekend we were all tailgatin' fools...The HOGS played in the Rock and although we are not having a great year, we still beat MSU on Saturday!! WOOOOOOOOOOPIGSOOOOOOOIE!!! GO HOGS GO!! There was a lot of people out on War Memorial golf course...good times! And there was no shortage of food and fun! That's Cat and Amy (the two "perfect" chicks in Central AR), in the shot above (with lil' Miss Kate, of course!) and yours truly with her spoiled little bird dog.

Kate sure did have a grand time and seemed to find many a lap to sit in throughout the entire time (from breakfast to lunch to afternoon naps!).

It's now Thanksgiving week...where does time go?? I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

We'll start back up with PA stuff in January...but I may sneak in a post or two between now and then...so keep checkin'!

Last Days in Arch Town

I can't believe it's been almost two weeks! In a way, it's gone by quick; but, it also feels like forever since I've been home! These last two days we've been learning about Tribal Affairs. I can definitely say this course has been a real eye-opener and I go back to Little Rock District with many quesitons.

We had lunch today at the famous Gus' Pretzel place near the brewry. Stuffed pretzels (your choice of bratwurst, italian sausage, etc.), cinnamon pretzels, and/or Ted Drewe's frozen custard (and they really mean frozen!). It wasn't quite the sit down place, so we walked a couple of blocks and found this gorgeous park to eat lunch--the weather was absolutely beautiful (not too cool out yet!). And on our way back to the hotel, we drove by old Busch Stadium--"deconstruction" started the other day and we were able to watch a few "strikes" by the wrecking ball. It's supposedly a 24-7 operation...with the 2006 season starting around April, they don't have much time to mess around!!

Our last dinner in Arch town was at the famous (or should I say infamous) Cheesecake Factory in the Galleria mall. I really don't want to see another cheesecake for a while...food was great and many thanks to the folks who waited in line for us (our group of 20), since they wouldn't take reservations. And the dinner conversation topics were even better...but what happens in St. Louie, stays in St. Louie :) (Hey Joanie...we will hold you to your promise of bringing rum balls to Ft. Lauderdale!!)

Most of us take off early in the AM tomorrow morning; I hope everyone has safe travels and there will be many more adventures and stories to tell in Florida!

Tuesday Night Blues

After a full day of Tribal Affairs, and after staying late tonight to work on additional points for our HOBB, a few of us decided to hit BB's Jazz and Soups for dinner. Food was ok, music (and of course, beer) was even better. So, if you're in the area and have a need for some beers and blues, try BB's on Broadway!

Tomorrow's the last day of our first meeting and I must say, it's been a great experience so far. It can be a bit overwhelming, at times, but we've had some really good instructors, not to mention one heck of a facilitator! We started out as many strangers, but I think we are all quickly becoming fast friends. Next stop is Ft. Lauderdale, Florida...3 weeks of teambuilding.

Ya'll keep reading out there, and I'll keep posting! Take care!

1st Field trip; Cahokia and Ste. Genevieve

It's as if we're back almost 200 years...this is part of the group atop one of the bigger mounds at Cahokia. This site is located across the Mississippi River, but you still get a great view of St. Louis if you look back to the west!

Today started out really cold and very windy, but in the end, it turned out to be a pretty decent day. It was our first of many field trips. We visited the settlement of Cahokia, which in its' prime rivaled in population cities like London, England and Paris, France. The mound we climbed up to this morning was thought to be a very sacred place, probably considered a temple. The surrounding area was filled with smaller mounds, which other structures would be built upon (shelters, storages, etc.).

This afternoon we visited Ste. Genevieve, about 60 miles south of St. Louis. This was also a very early settlement, which was moved a few times in history due to flooding of the Mississippi. It's a very quaint town, almost New Englandish in a way. Perfect with the changing of the leaves!

Tomorrow, we'll be back in class...the next two days will cover Tribal Affairs. I'll keep posting!

Beer, shopping, and hockey

Here we are, at the brewery...post-tour watering hole. This was actually my second time visiting Anheuser-Busch and I have to say, it is one of the highlights of St. Louis. Plus, got to see 3 places listed on the National Historic Register, which fits in quite nicely with what we've been studying these past couple of days in Cultural Resources Management.

That was Saturday afternoon. Saturday morning was spent working on taking the Myers-Briggs test (I'm a ISFJ!), our book review, and starting up our HOBB (home office back brief). Saturday night we went to dinner at Lombardo's, a really good Italian place (but be warned...if you order appetizers and a salad, you won't be able to eat your main course!!). We had a pretty good storm roll through the city last night; I hear we didn't get much rain back home in LR!

Sunday was a day of sleeping in, shopping, and hockey! Oh, and also catching up back home with all the phone calls--I have to say thanks to Cat, Andrea, Cherilyn, and Karyn...you guys rock and thanks for calling!! I must say, I had a grand time shopping today with our course facilitator, Judy Morrison; most of you know that I don't like shopping, but at least this experience was enjoyable. I was able to get some really good buys at Eddie Bauer, the one store I would max a credit card out if ever given the opportunity.

The hockey game was a great time too--my first professional hockey game! I hate to say it, but the Blues lost (to a really good team, though--the Red Wings). No big fights and really no bloodshed, so maybe in the rabid-hockey-fan world, it wasn't such a great game. I had fun, though, and would go again if I had the chance.

Tomorrow we're off to Cahokia, one of the oldest settlements/burial sites in North America. It's our first field trip and I'm looking forward to actually spending some time out of this hotel! We should have good weather for it too.

Well, that's about it for now. Gotta get some sleep. Take care all and talk with everyone soon!

Weekend activities

OK...it's really late and it's been a long day, but I wanted to send out a quick update (I'll have another post with pictures soon!).

We finished our Cultural Resources section of the class on Friday afternon; tomorrow, we'll be working on our first HOBBs (home office back briefs) and also a book review. I think there may be a push to go see the Arch in the afternoon...but I believe it might be raining, so we'll see what happens. Tonight, a group of us went to the movies; some went to see the 2nd Zorro movie, while others went to see Jarhead. I went to the latter and have to say it was a very good movie. Without giving away too much detail, it was a great representation of what a person can go through in a situation like that; I can only begin to imagine...

We actually have Sunday off; I know in the evening we'll be headed to the Blues and Red Wings game, (my first professional hockey game!), but I think I may be sleeping otherwise!! Although, someone mentioned checking out Missouri wine country...so much to do, so little time!!

As always, hope everyone is doing well!! Good night!

A day of "firsts"

Well, here we are...smack dab in the middle of the Hyatt lobby. Take a good look because these are the people I'll be spending most of the next 11 months with! Today was a fairly good day--lots of info shared. One point they told us was to keep our "homes" updated on the activities we do and what we're going through...I think this blog is great for doing just that.

UPDATE...A lot of people have requested a who's who, so here's the list of the group and where they're from, left to right, BOTTOM ROW: Randy Campbell; Barbara Blumeris; Dana Needham; Joan Lanier; Maria Chin; TOP ROW: Jason Needham; Alicia Kirchner; Martin Gonzalez; Clarke Hemphill; Vechere Lamply; Shawneen O'Neill; and Jeremy Weber.

We had our 1st group dinner tonight at one of St. Louis' brew pubs called Schlafly. If you're interested, their web site is www.schlafly.com

Good food, but I didn't try any beers. Well, it's been a day of firsts. Hope everyone is doing good and I'll keep on posting (although, I wouldn't be expecting a post every night...a girl's gotta get some rest, ya' know!)