Erin and Archie get their groove on!

Erin and Archie get their groove on!

During the first weekend of September, Erin and Archie journeyed with Erin's roommates, Nick and Drew, to go to a music festival called Mystik Santuary in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  Erin's boyfriend, Logan, and Drew's best friend Tony also went on this journey.  They all left on the 5th of September bright an early for the nine hour drive to the fest; they drove for much of the day on the 5th.  It wasn't until about six o'clock that Erin, Drew, Nick, Logan, Tony, and Archie embarked on the first night of the festival which was located at Oklahoma City Air Park.  Here is a picture of Erin and Archie at the gates of the music festival:

Archie looks so small in Erin's hands compared to the huge sign outside!  The following day, September 6th, 2014, the group of friends went back to the Air Park for some more music and dancing.  Unfortunately, Archie was feeling a little to tired from the night before to make it out again.

Location: Oklahoma City Air Park
Address: OKC Downtown Air Park Oklahoma City, OK 73108
Longitude and Latitude: 35.45/-97.53333
Distance: 575 miles were traveled for one way
Total mileage from Erin and Archie's trip: 1,150 Miles!

Samantha travels home with Louie!

On the weekend of September 14th, Samantha brought me to her hometown to visit with her family.  I got to meet all of her friends and family; I especially enjoyed playing with her niece, A'rion!  On Sunday the 14th, before we traveled back to Carbondale, I went on an adventure with her family to Wildcat Den State Park, which is located in Muscatine, IA.  There, we played in the water and took a tour of the Pine Creek Mill.  This corn mill was built in 1850! There was a dam with a waterfall that Samantha used to swim in as a kid.  The dam was created for its water power to help power the corn mill and a few more like it, also located on Pine Creek.  I had a great weekend, but unfortunately traveled back to Carbondale THREE days too early to meet Samantha's new nephew!!  Her sister, Breezy, was hoping to pop when Samantha was in town, but baby Liam had other plans. 

Location:
Address: 1884 Wildcat Den Rd, Muscatine, IA 52761
Longitude: -90.868726  Latitude:41.466252
Distance: 
Wham to home:1.27 miles + home to Wildcat Den State Park:394.98 miles + Wildcat Den State Park to home:394.98 miles + home to Wham:1.27 miles   
TOTAL MILEAGE from our trip: 792.5 Miles
Total Mileage Thus far in Fall 2014: 1,452 Miles!

Taylor and Archie Visit St. Louis!

Taylor and I had a busy weekend in St. Louis!  Taylor and her parents were visiting family in Florissant, MO. and decided to visit some of the STL 250 cakes before coming home.  We first visited the Old St. Ferdinand Shrine in Florissant, just a few minutes from Taylor's aunt's house.  The shrine is at the site of the first church built in the village of Florissant in 1789.  The church and convent are two of the oldest buildings in the St. Louis area, and William Clark (of Lewis & Clark) even attended weddings and baptisms there!  This can be found at latitude 38.796728 and longitude -90.334093.

Next, we traveled to Forest Park, where Taylor spent lots of time with her family over the years.  Our first stop was the Jewel Box, which houses beautiful floral shows.  The Jewel Box was built in 1936 by the City of St. Louis and is listed on the National Historic Register.  It is an example of outstanding greenhouse design with unconventional, cantilevered, vertical glass walls.  This can be found at latitude 38.632147 and longitude -90.279462. 

We then visited the St. Louis Science Center.  The St. Louis Science Center is one of the top 20 science centers in the United States, welcoming more than 900,000 visitors annually.  The Science Center houses exhibits on dinosaurs, life science, and futuristic Cyberville among many others.  You can also watch movies in the Omnimax Theater which is displayed on the inside of the dome of the Science Center.  There's lots to do for all ages at the Science Center.  This can be found at latitude 38.628930 and longitude -90.270496. 

We visited The Muny next.  The Muny has been in Forest Park since 1917, and was completed in only 49 days, excluding 7 days that rain made construction impossible.  Since its opening, the Muny has housed many events including plays, musicals, and concerts.  This can be found at latitude 38.641020 and longitude -90.280672.

After that we visited the St. Louis Art Museum.  The museum was originally located downtown but was moved to Forest Park after the 1904 World's Fair.  The building was constructed in 1902-1903 and was built as the main building of the Palace of Fine Arts for the World's Fair.  It houses many beautiful works of art.  This can be found at latitude 38.639503 and longitude -90.294529.

Last, we visited the St. Louis Zoo.   The St. Louis Zoo was voted #1 zoo b Zagat Survey's U.S. Family Travel Guide in associated with Parenting Magazine.  The birth of the zoo is credited by the 1904 World's Fair, which brought attention to St. Louis and Forest Park.  A walk-through bird cage was constructed for the World's Fair which was bought rather than be dismantled and returned to Washington, D.C.  In 1910 the Zoological Society of St. Louis was formed from people interested in opening a zoo.  The St. Louis Zoo houses more than 19,000 exotic animals of 655 species and 3 million people visit the zoo each year which makes it one of the top attended zoos in the nation.  This can be found at latitude 38.635193 and longitude -90.290712.
We had so much fun visited St. Louis, and I can't wait to visit again!

Taylor and I traveled a total of 316.7 miles roundtrip.  Adding the miles I traveled with Sydney to the Veteran's Memorial Wall, I've traveled 330.3 miles!

Shawna and Louie go to Six Flags!

On Sunday August 24th, Louie and I traveled to Six Flags in Eureka, Missouri! This Six Flags was one of the original three, and it had a cake in front of the fountain to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of St. Louis! The latitude was N 38.508 degrees and the longitude was W 90.679 degrees.  It took Louie and me 27.6 miles to travel from the Wham building to my home. From there, we went to Six Flags, which was 137 miles. Round-trip, Louie and I traveled 329.2 miles! We went on quite an adventure! 

Archie & Sydney visit the Traveling Vietnam Wall

On September 11th Sydney and I went to see the Traveling Vietnam Wall in Carbondale. It was right on campus! We didn't make it to the opening ceremony because Sydney had too much homework. But when we did get there, I couldn't believe how big it was! It was almost as long as the practice field and this wall is only 80% of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. There weren't many people around but we talked to two very kind veterans. One of them even received a purple heart on his first tour in Vietnam and then went back a few years later to serve his country again! I couldn't believe the patriotism those veterans have. We also talked to a volunteer who told us that 162 out of the 58,3000 names on the wall are from Southern Illinois. Sydney told the volunteer that her grandpa was a Vietnam veteran as well, but he passed away 5 years ago because of cancer. Sydney told me she wants to teach her future students about this war because most people don't know about it and it is a part of our local history. 

I can't wait to see what adventures I go on next!!! :)

Latitude:N 37° 42' 31.9644"

Longitude:W 89° 12' 57.996"

Miles traveled with Sydney: 13.6