Glad I Didn't Buy the Jersey

Our day began with a trip to south St. Louis to visit the Budweiser Brewery.  The beer wasn't a great interest, although this is the largest brewery in the world, with can line #60 producing 1,950 cans per minute.  We wanted to see the home of the Clydesdales and we weren't disappointed.

The chandelier in the center of the "Stable" was purchased from the 1904 Worlds Fair here in St Louis, and gives a hint of the opulence that these horses enjoy.  The building dates from the 1800's and is brick on the exterior and polished brass and wood on the interior, with stained glass windows! Several of the horses were in residence, but most were at their home on Grants Farm, farther south, or at a ranch some 2 hours west of St Louis, where most of the care and raising of the young horses is done.

We stopped at the Biergarten for a lunch of sliders and brats and enjoyed talking to a couple from Moline, IL, that happened to be in town for a Cardinals baseball game.  They invited us to visit Moline and the home of John Deere, sometime, and to call them.  The missus is employed by Fastenal, a supplier of commercial fasteners that I have done a great deal of business with over the years.  Small world!

After returning to Nessie, we spent a few hours preparing for our evening

with pro football!  The St Louis Rams were hosting the San Francisco 49ers at Edward Jones Stadium just across the river.  The casino ran a free shuttle to the stadium, the weather was in the 70's both inside the stadium and out, the nachos were delicious, and.....the Rams lost. I'm just glad I didn't pay $90 for the jersey at the fan store on the way to our seats.  I know we should be SF fans, living as we do in NorCal, but old habits die hard, and we remember when we were kids in SoCal and the Rams played ball there. Where's Deacon Jones when we need him...

We had been able to score a couple tix a week or so ago on the second tier (at the top of the upper red area in the pic above), right on the Rams 50 yard line.  We had an excellent view of one of the sloppiest games I've had the pleasure to watch, and finally left about 1/2 way through the fourth quarter, along with most of the rest of the fans.  BTW, the pic above was taken well before game time, and it looks like the stadium is empty, but look below, and you'll see what it was like when the Rams took the field.

But it's all about the experience, right?  The noise, the crowds, the lights were all super, and we'll not soon forget it.

My compliments to the event organizers, who managed the crowd control very well.  Moving 70 odd thousand people in various states of chemical impairment smoothly in and out of a confined downtown city space is a tall order, and it was carried off without a hitch that we could see.  Kudos to Security and law enforcement.

Another great day in St. Louis.  Our to-do list is getting smaller, and we think that tomorrow will be our last in the area. But about those barbecued ribs.....