After spending time at the Gateway Arch, I had a little more time left to explore St. Louis. Admiring some of the architectural details & craftsmanship around town. Textures, patterns, reliefs, rusty metal, patina finishes & so much more!!!

I also made it to CITY MUSEUM… but that’s a whole ‘nother crazy post unto itself. Those of you who have been there, know what I mean… CRAZY!!! But in the best way possible… you’re gonna have to wait while I sift though all of those photos!

It’s pretty hard to miss… so you totally know when you’ve made it to ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI!!! The gleaming Gateway Arch National Park right along the Mississippi River. And it’s pretty cool how the angles & geometry of the arch seem to change as you walk around the park and see it from different vantage points… with a special little sunset gleam on the side!!!

Without the sun, with plenty of clouds instead!

Not every often do you get to see Navy Pier’s Festival Hall with nothing in it. Usually it’s filled with trade shows, garden shows, the SOFA art show, Winter WonderFest… err, well this year… LIGHT UP THE LAKE! A fun new illuminated holiday event sure to come back again next year!

Masked & triple-vaxxed… it felt so great to be back to live theater last night! It has been FAR too long. Sure, some last minute free tickets helped too! We went to see the new “revival” of OKLAHOMA! An updated twist on the original Rodger’s & Hammerstein musical.

While there were a lot of talented performers onstage, I think there were also a “few” bad choices along the way. I understand trying to update it a bit… but I was “confused” by the lack of scene changes, the IKEA furniture, the total black-out dialogues, the video close-up projections & the dream dance scene… which honestly, is a little much in the movie too?!

But again, the talent was there… and it felt so great to back in a beautifully classic theater again! One step closer to a small bit of “normal” again.

Blue skies & gridded girders making geodesic geometry in the Crystal Gardens at Navy Pier.

Morning sunrise through the palm trees of Crystal Gardens at Navy Pier. Not quite a tropical getaway… but if you imagine really hard…

Rural road trip barn… my favorite along Route 55.

Gotta love a good morning road trip!!!

Sometimes a simple weed is so much more. I love the way that nature always finds its own way… even when there’s just a crack of dirt, a slice of sun and a lot of architectural structure all around.