Rain Delay

Who would have thought the first rain in years (okay – 6 weeks … but c’mon, you KNOW it seemed like YEARS since we’ve had rain) in the Houston area would delay my flight. It did.

The weather on the north side of Houston was severe enough to cause the FAA to hold aircraft on the ground, then re-route our trip to St. Louis around the New Orleans air space. The Southwest folks wanted to run behind the storm, meaning head west, then turn north. The FAA won (what the captain described as a pushing match) and so they added more fuel to the plane and we took off 30 minutes late across the Gulf of Mexico. We didn’t have to go all the way to New Orleans, and I could tell by the sunshine in my window we had made the turn northward.

I wish I’d had my camera in my lap when I sat down. My bags were the first ones on and I was sitting right over the baggage door. How many times have you wondered if your bags made the plane and you never see them? I saw mine! Also being loaded was 10 boxes of fresh seafood. It said so right on the side, along with a 409 phone number. I was thinking about calling and letting them know their seafood was safely on the plane for St. Louis.

I got some great cloud shots and a few shots of the twists and turns in the Mississippi River. It’s up and muddy.

I was sitting on the wrong side of the plane to get a picture of downtown and the Arch and stadium, but I snapped a shot of Gateway International Raceway  in Madison, IL, where I’ll be on July 18 for the NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

We landed in St. Louis about 40 minutes late. I was the last person off the plane (sitting in the back I had a whole row to myself) but my luggage was the first off! There were several "Welcome to St. Louis and the 2009 All-Star Game" signs ... as well as several shops selling All Star gear.

St. Louis is first and foremost a baseball town. This was once the western port of Major League Baseball, as well as the Southern most city, with the Cardinals of the National League and the Browns (moving to Baltimore in 1954 to become the Orioles) of the American League. 

You wear RED to baseball games. Unlike other towns (Houston comes quickly to mind) whose color schemes have changed, this town has always been red. I asked my sister why there wasn't a Stan Musial baseball in a silent auction. "Everyone in this town probably has one," she said about the Hall-of-Famer who still lives and is very much a part of the town's sports scene.

Baseball - it's St. Louis!

My sister met me at the airport. We dropped stuff off at her house, changed into comfortable clothes, picked up her dog (a shepherd/chow mix), and took off to Creve Couer Lake. We all hiked and worked up an appetite. Lunch was great!!!

Now on to other things!

Photos can be found here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mikerine56/STL01#