Kelocity.com

A runner with an appetite for adventure!

Where the Buds are Born September 9, 2013

Filed under: St. Louis,Travel — Kelocity @ 8:01 am
Tags: , , ,

Laurie and I tried to hit up all the historical sights in St. Louis while we were there….so we had to visit the Anheuser Busch Brewery. It’s not just that we wanted free beers, promise.

IMG_0362

Anheuser-Busch has been around since 1852 and has been in fully-functioning since then (minus a few years during prohibition!) It’s now a national historic landmark!
IMG_0372

IMG_0363

We saw the stables where the iconic Clydesdale horses are kept. (And apparently there are 100 more at farms around Missouri too).
IMG_0360
 IMG_0359

Then we moved into the factory where the good stuff is made.
IMG_0374
 IMG_0376
 IMG_0378

I was impressed to learn that once the beer is finished brewing, it is usually bottled, packaged and shipped within a couple of hours. That’s fresh. Budweiser is also one of the only beers in the industry that uses rice as an ingredient. It’s the same recipe that was used since the 1800s.
IMG_0365

IMG_0361
 IMG_0373

What better way to end a tour than with two fresh-out-of-the-tap beers. Mmmm.
IMG_0390

Funny story… our plan was to go sightseeing, grab lunch and THEN hit up the Budweiser tour… but when we were driving, we saw the sign for the brewery and accidentally followed it all the way to the entrance. It wasn’t until we were out of the car walking to the door when we realized it wasn’t our plan to go so early! But we shrugged our shoulders and went anyways… we were laughing so hard!

IMG_0391

Please drink responsibly! 
IMG_0373

 

St. Louis: Gateway to the West September 8, 2013

Filed under: St. Louis,Travel — Kelocity @ 11:01 am
Tags: , , ,

When Laurie found out I was visiting Indianapolis, she called me and said “wanna road trip down to St. Louis for a few days”? Answer: Yes.
1238082_10200657667504202_1497045025_n

EJ let us borrow her car (Thank you so much!!!) and we drove four hours out to St. Louis. It was so cool to see the Arch in the skyline greeting us as we arrived! It’s been on my bucketlist to visit here for a long time!
IMG_0298

We got in around 5p on Sunday night and after we checked into our hotel, The Hyatt Regency. We couldn’t have asked for a better location. We could see the arch from our room, it was literally right across the street.
IMG_20130901_163904_975

IMG_0311

We dropped off our stuff and headed straight for the Arch!
Fotor0907143642

IMG_0302

IMG_20130901_165826_607

The Arch was opened in 1967 and stands 630 feet tall, making it the world’s tallest arch.  It’s also America’s largest man-made monument. It symbolizes America’s Westward Expansion and the Louisiana Purchase (which effectively doubled the size of the United States).
IMG_0305

Laurie and I were furiously reading information on our phones the entire time we were in St. Louis. We had forgotten what the Louisiana Purchase even was… and one click led to the next and soon we were excitedly reading about Lewis and Clark, the Civil War and the Oregon Trail. haha Two geeks on vacation. That’s what you get!
1234023_10200657667224195_547614368_n

It’s amazing how much history you forget until you visit the places in the text books. Suddenly it all clicks and makes sense… and it actually becomes exciting. Living History. I’m a fan.
IMG_0303 1

IMG_0309
 IMG_0310
 IMG_0314 1
A couple days later, we visited that old courthouse in the picture behind us here… but I’ll get to that later! More history!
 IMG_0316

We bought advanced tickets to go up inside the arch the next day. We got the first tram up and avoided the lines. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the little tram cars are like ferris wheel cars.
1239929_10200657660624030_1182739034_n
 IMG_0328
 IMG_0346

It was fun to see the Mississippi river from up there…
IMG_0340
 IMG_0330

…and the beautiful city below it.
IMG_0335
 IMG_0336

We wanted to go to a baseball game, but they were out of town when we were there =(
IMG_0342

IMG_0331
 IMG_0345

IMG_0326
 IMG_20130902_081640_713

 

Indy in the Summer September 7, 2013

Filed under: Indianapolis,Travel — Kelocity @ 1:46 pm
Tags: , , ,

I love Indianapolis. I had only visited once before and had a great time. I love exploring new cities and Indianapolis is very underrated in my opinion. Lots to see and do in that area. Actually, I was almost three months pregnant when we were first there, so technically, this was Adele’s second time there!
1173680_10200657669024240_246016194_n

Grandma, Aunty EJ and Aunty Sarah were very excited to see us when we landed. Adele was in heaven with all of the attention. Plus she loved playing with the cats and dog too! Lots of exciting things to do.
IMG_0273

IMG_0255
IMG_0256

We had fun playing around the house for a while. And I was very excited to see a couple of Thunderstorms too! One day it even hailed! (Don’t ask me how you can get hail when it’s 90* outside!)
IMG_0258

We also enjoyed a lot of great meals while we were there too. We started with brunch at Taste.
IMG_0215
 IMG_0223
 IMG_0224
Adele would only let us put a hairbow in her hair if she could then pull it out and put it in ours too. It’s funny how she plays games like that now. She’s getting funny.
 IMG_0227
 IMG_0232
 IMG_0237
 IMG_0238

We ordered the sweet potato fries to share and they were AMAZING. Adele loved them too.

IMG_0247
 IMG_0248
 IMG_0250
That night, we ventured out again to Napolese for dinner.
IMG_0271

We had some great wine and amazing Pizza. EJ and Sarah bought her this cute Panda from the National Zoo in Washington DC. Adele and Mrs. Panda have been inseparable all week. 
IMG_0260-MIXOn Sunday, we had a special visitor… Aunty Laurie came to visit from Chicago!
1186037_10200657668544228_591243070_n

To celebrate, we went out for brunch on Sunday. We ended up at Lincoln Square, yum!
IMG_0285

IMG_0282

Adele is getting better at not eating crayons. She still doesn’t quite get how to draw with them, but she likes to make dots on the paper and say “doot doot doot doot” while she does it. haha

IMG_0284
 IMG_0288It was a quick visit for Aunty Laurie, but soon after brunch, her and I said goodbye to everyone (including Adele) and headed out on the open road.
IMG_0295

Next stop: St. Louis! Roadtripppppp! Stay tuned for more!
1239748_10200657666824185_1674339238_n

 

Wheels Up September 2, 2013

Filed under: Travel — Kelocity @ 7:49 pm
Tags: , ,

Adele is air borne again. I have to look back to confirm, but i think this was her 15th flight. This time, the destination was Indianapolis to visit her grandma and aunties. I flew with her alone and i was admittedly a little nervous. The older and more mobile she gets, the more being confined in a seat for 4 hours with her scares me.

I got to the airport early and actually saw my college roommate in the terminal. We chatted and hit up starbucks together. Then adele fell asleep in the carrier while we waited to board. I hadnt realized it, but i looked at my watch and realized our departure time had passed. I only had 20 minutes to make my connection in Houston to begin with…enter panic. I talked to the gate agent who agreed to put me up in a hotel in houston if i missed the second leg. Adele and i love adventure so we boarded anyways and hoped for the best.

The flight was pretty quick. We passed the time with snacks, the tea tin, books and toys. People were commenting on what a good baby she was…then 3/4 thru the flight was “The Great Apple Juice Disaster of flight 286”. The lady next to me fell asleep with her tray table down…and her full glass of apple juice on top. Before i even realized what was happening, Adele swooped in and threw her table up and the drink came crashing down. Ahhhh! I apologized profusely and offered to buy her something stronger (!) But she was so nice and declined. Oy vey.

Once we landed, i strapped Adele into the carrier and ran (I mean RAN) to our next flight only to find out it too was delayed so we were fine (even early). Whew. I bought adele some milk in the meantime. When we boarded, i headed straight to the back of the plane and scored one of only two empty seats next to me. Yessss. Anyone who has flown with kids understands this is life changing.

She did great on the second leg too. She played peekaboo with the kind people across the aisle, she played games on the kindle and read books. (One of her books has a picture of a banana in it and she sees it and squeals “NANA” when she sees it!)

When we landed, we had two very excited aunties waiting for hugs. And grandma was anxiously waiting at home for us too. So far, it has been a great week. I will be back soon with a full recap and LOTS of pictures. we are all having a blast!

 

Frequent Flier July 21, 2013

Filed under: Baby,Travel — Kelocity @ 9:04 am
Tags: , ,

In Adele’s first year, she traveled on 14 different airplanes. Out of those flights, I traveled solo with her for 8 of them! Adele now views airplanes as her own personal jungle gym. Apparently arm rest tumbling is all the rage now.

Let me explain how this works… baby climbs over arm rest (head first of course). Arm rest goes up. Baby climbs back to mom. Arm rest comes back down. Baby climbs over arm rest again. Repeat 176 times. Whatever makes you happy, Adele.
IMG_8681
 IMG_8682
 IMG_8695

And if you get lucky, you can do this for the rest of the flight:
IMG_20130615_170506_435