One Hundred Very Angry U.S. Cities

by Adrienne Wilson on

Why this list of angry U.S. cities makes me laugh – I don’t know? Could it be that Orlando, the very home of Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and Mickey Mouse ranks number one for some bizarre reason? Maybe it’s because my city (Tampa, FL) ranks 12 and the near by St. Petersburg, FL comes in second? So my first question is this – what’s up with all the anger Florida?

World Hum points readers to a fine piece from Men’s Health focusing on 100 very angry U.S. cities. The ranking was based off factors like percentage of men with high blood pressure, FBI rates of aggravated assaults, Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers on workplace deaths from assaults and other violence in addition to road rage. Whew! With all those ugly factors and Orlando placing tops on the anger totem, some of you may be a little afraid to see where your place of residence ranks. Others may not be so surprised.

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard a St. Louie Treat

by Adrienne Wilson on

From the moment I exited my flight into the city I was caught off guard by the blistering afternoon heat. That’s how I knew that ole’ Mid-West heat wave they were talking about in the news was no joke, but I wasn’t expecting it to be nearly this bad. I wanted ice cream. When I met my family down at baggage claim I immediately made my desire for a cool delicious sugary snack known and like a robot programmed to say one line and one line only I spurted it out once more. “I want ice cream.”

My father, who’d be anticipating my trip long ago, had a better idea. Ted Drewes, a well-known St. Louis frozen custard joint serving up the yummies since lord knows when, but this special treat didn’t come until a few days later. Talk about built up excitement! I don’t know how I waited or even survived. My pops figured a mini-concrete frozen custard would be the perfect accompaniment to a family portrait shoot, so once we made through the grueling staged poses we took off and headed towards the custard.

If you’ll excuse me for a moment I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you what the custard was like. You can call me a duff when I say this, but it was guuuud! I mean it wasn’t just good – it was guuuud! Man, I hadn’t had a brain freeze like the one I encountered gobbling down the fine frozen fare in ages.

Anytime I step off a hot plane in St. Louis, I’ll be beyond happy to head to Ted Drewes. Even if it’s two days after the fact.

Ted Drewes is located at 6726 Chippewa, St, Louis, MO 63109.

Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, Missouri

by Adrienne Wilson on

I’ve been hanging around the outskirts and city limits of St. Louis the last few days and doing some touristy type things. Nothing wrong with that – I’ve never had a good opportunity to really poke around the town, even when I breezed through on my walking tour of America. There was a lot of land to cover so I had to keep it moving, but for the next few days it’s all about St. Louis.

One attraction any visitor might want to swing by is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. It’s a well-known monument not to mention it’s incredibly breath-taking. Building of the Cathedral started taking place in 1907 and was fully completed by 1988, when the last mosaic tiles were set in place. The mosaic collection is said to be the largest in the world created by 20 different artists and covering 83,000 square feet. The installation contains 41.5 million pieces of glass tesserae in over 7,000 various colors. So what happens is this – you look up at the ceiling and your jaw-drops. Plus, there’s that energy that just seems to flow through religious establishments that gets you.

Check it out.

Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis is located at 4431Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63108. Ph. (314) 533-2824.

One Night Stand: Springfield, Missouri

by Adrienne Wilson on

Right now I’m resting in my cozy Sleep Inn hotel room after my long 20-mile walk on dusty Missouri back roads, freshly laid oil on Hwy 60W, and everything in between. I’ve come to call the state Misery rather than Missouri, but that is due only to some of the hardships faced on my walk yesterday. Now I could stay here curled up in bed with my jammies on, yet that would be nothing more than a wasted opportunity in a new city. So I’m opting to go out. I’m told the Bass Pro Shop is a pretty happening spot in addition to some of the places found on this Springfield, Missouri Convention and Visitors Bureau website. I’m really not in the mood to do much, but since eating is a requirement and my favorite part of my daily regime I wouldn’t mind a few food recommendations. Where is the good grub Springfield? If there’s something outside of food that shouldn’t be missed and must be feasted on, pass that on as well. If not for me, then do it for some of the other readers heading out this way.

Unless someone can convince me otherwise, it looks like I’ll be skipping out on my sweet rendezous with the city of Springfield, Missouri to head down to Branson this evening though I’m totally willing to change my mind provided there is something equally exciting and closer. I’ll report back later.