Things To Do in St. Louis

Wineries: there are excellent wineries within 1 or 1.5 hours of STL. 

Check out: Chaumette Winery   

Laclede's Landing has opened up and is connected to the Missouri Riverfront - very nice place to hang out 

St. Louis Riverfront Times: St. Louis BBQ Festival -- Q in the Lou... bring on the BBQ

http://stlouis.eventful.com/events/september

http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/calendar/#/

St. Louis Zoo – is rated as the best free-admissions zoo  https://www.stlzoo.org/


Missouri Botanical Garden – my favorite is the Japanese Garden with the lake; http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/


Butterfly House:  http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/visit/family-of-attractions/butterfly-house.aspx


Forest Park is a gem; it is 500 acres bigger than NY’s Central Park  http://www.forestparkforever.org/about-forest-park/


The Fox Theater is always a great choice if you want to get dressed up for some show; Frank and I eat at the diner down the street before the shows  http://www.fabulousfox.com/events


Anheuser Busch brewery tour at the St. Louis location; I don’t drink but I enjoy the tours, and seeing the Clydesdales is always funhttp://www.budweisertours.com/locations/st-louis-missouri.html

If you have a KID SPIRIT and enjoy hands-on discovery stuff for adults and kids alike, then the City Museum is a great place; I love taking photos here http://www.citymuseum.org/

Islands, Castle, & Water

July 3rd, 2015:

Frank and I took a trip to Alexandria Bay where the Thousand Islands are located. We had never explored that area before, and were eager for our turn on the Uncle Sam's boat tours. We lunched at Riverboat restaurant, where (Frank claims) we ate the best gelato ice cream served the size of a giant baseball - mango and passionfruit dipped in white chocolate.

We traveled up and down crystal clear, blue-green St. Lawrence River -- the water so clean that people drink it, bathe in it, and cook with it. The weather was crisp and cool. Everything was beautiful. We crossed over to the Canada side and back to A-Bay; we admired every beautiful house and estate that populated the islands. We saw large estate islands, and also wee islands that had only one house or only a tree. We heard stories shared by the tour guides -- how some islands were man-made to woo lovers and potential wives, how some islands have bridges that span international waters (Canada and USA), how in in winter the river freezes over and animals cross from island to island like little nomadic tribes, and how some islands are so small they only have one tree, one vegetation, and some dirt. We photographed just about everything that I could see.

Frank suggested that we walk around the most famous of the thousand islands: Heart Island. Formerly known as Hart Island because it was populated by harts, the island was purchased by Mr. George Boldt, who blasted the island's sides and reshaped it into the image of a heart -- all for his wife who sadly died before the castle was completed. To this day, Boldt Castle remains unfinished, as a symbol of the love and the loss that George felt on the day he heard his wife died. The story is told that one day, the telegram arrived announcing that all construction needed to cease -- heartbreak. The castle remains incomplete because on the day his wife died, George lost half of his heart, and because George's lady love was not able to live in it, no one else would either.

Frank and I walked around that unfinished island admiring the beautiful trees and flowers, the stone walls and the view of the St. Lawrence River; we sat on the bench looking out at the water, and we stood on the highest landing of the undone castle, thinking of George and his beloved wife, feeling sad for their loss, and feeling grateful that we were together.

That day, Frank proposed. I didn't even think he would; I was expecting it to happen somewhere fun, loud and noisy (like we often are), perhaps during the baseball game we were planning on attending on the Fourth of July (back in Syracuse) (because there would be fireworks, right?). Instead, like he always does, Frank found the perfect spot with perfect timing in the midst of Heart Island. We were standing in the dovecote of the castle, alone. I was admiring the construction and the circular, smooth walls - trying to figure out how to photograph the whole thing - stones and windows and the right hint of light - without messing up the panoramic photo. Suddenly, he was on one knee (how did he get there?!), with this ring box pointed at me, looking a bit embarrassed. Before I could think about it, he said "hurry up and say yes" - turning bright red because someone might see this moment.

For someone who likes to take photos of everything, I don't have even one photo of us taken on that day. Frank refused to have his photo taken. I have a strange selfie-like photo of half my face and half of his blurry face as he turned away from the camera. The only photo I have to commemorate our proposal on Heart Island was of our two feet - a little worn and weary, not so pretty, but side by side.

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Click HERE to visit us at our wedding website. 15 days to go!!

Parents of the Groom

John and Kay Bush live in Leslie, MO. Together, they have five grandkids, each as important as the other and all well-loved. They enjoy gardening and baking, and periodically, board games or trivia with the family. 

Kay is licensed as a real estate agent and in her spare time volunteers at church, hosts family gatherings, and serves as family matriarch. She is an amazing planner and organizer, loves creating her own trivia games, enjoys board games, and boasts an incredibly precise memory of all fun facts and trivia of family history. Kay maintains records of all things family -- from kids' elementary school awards to grandkids' sleepover plans to toys and mementos that the next generation might appreciate thirty years down the road. Thanks for being our memory-keeper, Kay! 

John is an avid hunter, farmer, electrician, comedian, baker, master chef, conversationalist, and occasional Cardinals fan. If you want to build your own crater lake, then John has the resume experience and mad skills you can rely on. John has mastered soap-making from natural ingredients, developed his own recipes for grilled everything-you-can-think-of, and can flip a quip faster than you can blink. Thanks for the laughs, John! 

Parents of the Groom

Bill and Rita Diez live in Union, MO. They both served as police officers in Franklin County Sheriff's Department, protecting the peace and serving the community. They enjoy hosting backyard BBQs during Oktoberfest, love antique shopping, enjoy Seinfeld episodes,and are huge St. Louis Cardinals fans. They always score the best deals and coolest finds at the nearest vintage store or antique shop. 

Bill served in the US Army, and was even stationed abroad for a year in Korea. An avid reader and history buff, Bill enjoys researching family histories, especially tracing the Diez family history back to Germany. In his spare time, Bill collects and remodels vintage stereos. 

Rita is an amazing cook and exemplifies Grandma Extraordinaire every holiday season when she hosts cookie baking & decorating sessions with the grandkids. Rita is a hobbyist and has a knack for decorating, staging, and setting the scene for every family gathering. Although Bill is the history buff, for a thorough pictoral history of the family, seek out Rita and she can provide a chronological overview (along with a good cup of coffee).  

Parents of the Bride

Rev. Sanh Tran and Rev. Mai Le have three children, one daughter-in-law Phuong Dung, and one grand-daughter, Phuong Anh. They have both been in ministry for over 40 years, serving God and the communities in which they live and work -- and have now taken on a different calling: serving as Grandparents to Phuong Anh. 

Mai is currently pastoring Family of Faith, the Vietnamese ministry at Lafayette Park UMC. Mai is a masterful chef and baker, loves photographing in gardens and orchards, enjoys films and theatre, and occasionally contributes short articles to Viet magazines and journals in her spare time. 

After have been a pastor at over 10 congregations throughout his 40 years of ministry, Sanh is currently serving part-time as Chaplain at Valley Hope substance abuse rehabilitation center.  Sanh is a musician, playing guitar, piano and at one time trumpet, clarinet and the Vietnamese traditional instrument "dan co."  He loves to take photos of trees and foliage changing colors, enjoys walks in the gardens, and listening to music. In his spare time, he translates AA training materials from English into Vietnamese. 

10 Things About the Bride

1. loves to watch the St. Louis Cardinals
2. prefers chocolate & raspberry combinations of anything (candies, yogurts, ice cream, etc)
3. loves scrapbooking
4. loves the Food Network channel
5. has a degree in poetry

Favorite Shows:

1. I Love Lucy
2. Modern Family
3. The Walking Dead
4. Criminal Minds
5. Vicar of Dibley

10 Things About the Groom

1. a HUGE Cardinals fan
2. a KISS fan
3. plays the guitar
4. reads Steinbeck
5. "chivalry is not dead"

Favorite Shows:

1. Breaking Bad
2. The IT Crowd
3. Seinfeld
4. Game of Thrones
5. Better Call Saul