Mary Poppins

In 2008 Jonathan turned 30. He really wanted to see Mary Poppins on Broadway in NYC for his birthday. So we priced out a trip to NYC, but it just wasn't in the cards. Instead we road tripped to Atlanta, GA.

Now its 2009, and Jonathan has yet another birthday. This year Mary Poppins is on tour, and, lucky me, it's stopping in St. Louis (where he's from). So we flew out to Missour-A for a short weekend trip to see the show.

The Fox theater in St. Louis is pretty cool. It's a really old theater that's been totally restored. It's like a pagoda and a rich antique collector threw up in the theater. It was very ornate with tapestries, lion statues, large mirrors and carvings all over the walls.

Now, and I totally alone in my dis-liking for Broadway shows. I've been to about 5 or 6 different shows, and I just don't really enjoy them. It's not that I hate every waking moment, but I'd rather spend my money elsewhere. Mary Poppins (for me) was no different. The show was cool, with the different flying and dancing effects. Most of the songs were from the original movie, even though the show followed the plot lines of the book (Mary Poppins actually bolts from the family with out notice 1/2 way thru the show!). Still, for me … I'd rather spend my money on football tickets.

I wanted to take more photos inside the ornate Fox, but there was a big sign that said, "no cameras allowed", yet they didn't even search my purse. I took a couple photos of the stage (pre-show), until I got yelled at.

All in all, it was a fun show, and I think Jonathan had a great birthday!

Ted Drewes

Ted Drewes is a St. Louis tradition. I love cheesy places like this. I guess it's been around since the Route 66 days.

Their specialty was a 'concrete', which I had no idea what it is. Eating 'concrete' does not sound very appealing to me at all. Turns out, a 'concrete' is similar to a Dairy Queen Blizzard. I guess Ted Drewes sells only vanilla custard (what's the difference between custard and ice cream anyways?). Then they mix the custard with all kinds of crazy things.

Every time I get a Blizzard of a McFlurry, I ALWAYS get Oreo. This time, I'm on vacation so I went a little nuts. I got walnuts, chocolate and caramel. It was called something … like "The Duke" or something (that wasn't it … but something royal sounding). It was delicious … but it was also MASSIVE! I really wanted to eat the entire thing, but I just couldn't do it.

I know whey they are called 'concretes'. When the server handed me my order, he was holding the cup upside down. The custard mixture didn't move! But it wasn't hard at all, it was smooth and creamy.

If you're in the St. Louis area, look up Ted Drewes!