Sunday, Jen, Katie, Kim, Brandon, Paul, and I piled into Brandon’s Dad’s Trailblazer and set off for Kansas City to watch the Cards play the Royals. We met up with Kenny and Krissy in Columbia, Kim’s friend Karen outside of KC, and Matt and Amanda at the stadium to complete our group.

Kim had found a deal where we got a ticket, a hot dog, and a soda for $14. Not too shabby, especially when you consider the view from our seats:

The weather was perfect for baseball (even though some of us got a little too much sun) and the Cardinals played well, winning the game 9-6 behind Jason LaRue’s 4 RBI and Pujols’ 2 run homer. Skip Schumaker also played well, stifling an early Royal rally with a bullet to home that beat the runner and the impending collision.

It was the first time I’d been to a regular season Cardinals’ game outside of St. Louis, so it was neat to see how it’s done at other stadiums. Kauffman Stadium in KC is actually a pretty cool place to see a game. In fact, the local residents weren’t even that much of a problem, since at least 50% were Cards fans. One thing Kauffman definitely has going for it is the huge HD scoreboard in center field:

After the game, we managed to file out of the stadium (all the Cards fans stayed to the end, natch) and head down to the world renowned Arthur Bryant’s for dinner.

While the line was long, the food was excellent. I had the classic combo of Beef and Fries:

Bellies full, Brandon shuttled us back to St. Louis in record time. It was a good time for all. Thanks for driving, Brandon!

Click here to see all the pictures.

Bob and I very much enjoy going to the Muny each year, especially with the seats that Bob’s family owns. I can never go back to sitting the the cheap, cheap seats again. Last weekend, we got to see the closing show of the Producers. Originally, we were not going to see the show, but Sunday morning, Bob’s uncle called and said that he and his wife were unable to make it and if we were interested. Heck yea! Of course, we offered them to Kate first because it was her birthday but she said no so it was her loss and our gain!

Now, I’ve seen the Producers quite a few times already, both movie and stage and it never ceases to make me laugh. I do forget how raunchy the show is and enjoy watching all the little old ladies around us with their shocked expressions. There were a couple of rainstorms that occurred that night but came at the perfect moments: the rain let up right before the show started and the rain started up again as soon as the show stopped for intermission. We were still able to finish the performance but we did lose some audience members because of the thunderstorm. Didn’t they know that if you don’t like the weather in St. Louis, just wait 15 minutes?

It is a St. Louis experience that must not be missed. It even says so on the List .

72. A musical at the Muny. Pack a picnic, take a blanket, go to the north entrance and get in the mood. If you’re opting for the cheap seats, get there early and make friends in line—it’s a community unto itself. Just be sure to bring your binoculars. If you’re buying, try for the middle of Terrace A. You have to be born or marry into those seats in the pit, and quite honestly, they’re too close and too low to see well.

And since I married into the seats in the pit, I will tell you, they are not too low! They are awesome!

Katie and Kim are such awesome people and crazy at the same time. Can you believe this? They volunteered (no bribery, no begging, no nothing from me) to help clean my deck and patio so it would be presentable for entertaining. We even got a coat of paint on the patio table before we called it quits. So, the patio and deck are squeaky clean, patio chairs have been scrubbed down, weeds have been pulled from the garden and there is a fresh coat of paint on the table. Wow! I’m not ashamed of my deck anymore, thanks guys!

Tip of the day: If your friends willingly offer to help you, take them up on it!

Entree: Pork Chops alla Pizzaiola Tasty pork chops with “pizza sauce” that is very easy to make and fairly light on the belly.

Side Dish: Balsamic Vegetable Medley My first attempt with a SparkRecipe and it was a pretty good success. You can adjust the amount of balsamic vinegar to your taste. Next time, I may bring it down a notch.

Dessert: Hollywood Grapefruit Cake A tarty cake that was a little on the dry side but not too bad. A couple of suggestions are to cut up the sections of grapefruit so that it would allow the frosting would fill in and to not beat the cream cheese so much that it becomes oozy instead of a frosting consistency. The pink is a nice touch.