Serendipity Ice Cream

St. Louis Trip, Day 6, Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Wednesday evening in St. Louis, our friend Kate, Karen's rommate, said she had noticed an ice cream shop on her way in to town, and suggested we stop there.  So, we walked the few blocks from our dorm to Serendipity Ice Cream.

It had been very warm all week (except for whenever it rained), so ice cream was a welcome treat.  We had spent the evening before at the volleyball court, which was a lot of fun--but had left us drenched in sweat.  Eating ice cream was a much less strenuous activity!

Appanoose County Courthouse

St. Louis Trip, Day 8, Friday, July 31, 2015

Court in Centerville, Iowa (the Appanoose County seat) was first held in a building that was also used as a blacksmith's shop and storeroom.  In 1848 the first real courthouse (measuring 24 by 20 feet) was built for $119.  

When this proved too small, court was held at the local churches until a two-story brick building was constructed for $23,000.  

Monroe County Courthouse

St. Louis Trip, Day 8, Friday, July 31, 2015

Another stop on our trip home from St. Louis was the Monroe County Courthouse in Albia, Iowa.

The first session of the court in Madison County was held in a log house without a floor.  During the session, Judge Charles Mason, the lawyers, and the clerks slept on the ground.  Since there was no barn, their horses were tied to trees outside  One night there was a severe storm, so they brought the horses in and stabled them in the courtroom where they slept until morning. 

First Methodist Church in Centerville, IA

St. Louis Trip, Day 8, Friday, July 31, 2015

It's not everywhere you go that traffic will slow down and wait for some random blogger standing on the sidewalk across the street to get a photo of the local church.  But...that's just what one car did for me in Centerville, Iowa!

Centerville was one of our last stops on our way home from St. Louis last year.  We noticed this Methodist church down the street from the courthouse, and knocked on the door of the parsonage.

Super 8...and Illegal Fireworks!

St. Louis Trip, Days 2 & 8, July 25+31, 2015

On our trip, we spent two nights at Super 8 motels, one in Bowling Green, Missouri, and the other in Macon (below).

Of all the hotels I have stayed at, I would rate Super 8 as the most economical.  The rooms were not particularly fancy or spacious, but when one is is travelling, arrives late and leaves early, all that is needed is a bed!  

Eden Theological Seminary: Press Building

St. Louis Trip, Day 4, Monday, July 27, 2015

Across from the SPICE building is Eden Theological Seminary.  Papa and I walked over to see the seminary's Press Building while my sisters finished their chess games.  This ecumenical seminary was established in 1850.

In 1924, the seminary moved to its current location in Webster Groves, MO.  The Press Building is named after Dr. Samuel Press.  The tower is 106 feet tall, and was originally used as a water tower!  Water was pumped up into it to provide water pressure for the campus.  It is now used as a bell tower.

SPGI 2016: Bughouse & Blitz Championships

St. Louis Trip, Days 3 & 4, July 26-27, 2015

One part of the SPGI 2016 that I was most looking forward to was the bughouse championship.  Susan Polgar had arranged so that I could play in all the side events, the family & friends section, and as a house player for the main tournament.  I have over 10,000 bughouse games in on FICS, so I was hoping to do well.

Charity and I had planned on partnering for this event, but Charity didn't feel well, and ended up having to stay at our dorm.  My youngest sister kindly consented to be my partner instead, since I really didn't want to be partnered with someone whose skills/style I would have no idea about. 

The Gateway Arch

St. Louis Trip, Day 4, Monday, July 27, 2015

From the Old Courthouse, we walked over to the most famous landmark in St. Louis, the Gateway Arch.

After standing in line outside, we went through security.  Inside there were benches for people to wait for their turn up, and screens with the schedule.  A loudspeaker announced as each group had its turn to go up.  We toured one of the gift shops, and my sisters had a couple pennies pressed into souvenirs.

St. Louis Old Courthouse

St. Louis Trip, Day 4, Monday, July 27, 2015

We stopped at the majestic Old Courthouse in St. Louis to buy tickets to tour the Gateway Arch.  

The first courthouse was built in 1828, but the population of the city grew quickly.  By 1839, a new courthouse was needed.  There was a re-design in the 1850s, when the original east wing was replaced, and the west wing was remodeled.  Between 1861 and 1864, the building's cupola was replaced with the dome.

Downtown St. Louis

St. Louis Trip, Day 4, Monday, July 27, 2015

Monday morning the chess camp had a campus tour.  We decided to skip that and head for downtown St. Louis with our friends Karen, Mike (Karen's dad), and Kate.  Our main goal was to tour the Gateway Arch.  But this post is dedicated to the oddities and architecture we saw along the way.

Musicians in St. Louis are slightly different from the ones you'd run across in the Iowa cornfields....St. Louis artwork is a little different too!  This has to be some of the most creative metal art I've seen.

SPGI 2015 - Bus Tour

St. Louis Trip, Day 3, Sunday, July 26, 2015

Sunday afternoon, Susan Polgar and Paul Truong had generously arranged for a free trolley tour of St. Louis for participants and their families.  The trolley drivers were very knowledgeable and told us about all the interesting sites.

Susan Polgar rode in our trolley.  To start the trip, the driver announced that there would be two stops: one at the World Chess Hall of Fame, and the other near the Gateway Arch for photos.  We had to make our stops brief, and return to the trolley promptly; the driver joked that for insurance purposes he had to make sure he brought at least 75% of us back.

SPGI 2015 - Chess Class with GM Polgar and FM Truong

St. Louis Trip, Day 3, Sunday, July 26, 2015

Sunday morning we attended an optional session with Susan Polgar and Paul Truong.  They told about how they came to work at Webster University and about their chess program, SPICE, and gave pointers for young chess players.

Left: Susan Polgar  Right: Andrei Botez and Paul Truong (This fun photo was the only one I got of  Paul: Andrei is actually much taller!)

Paul Truong met the Webster University provost, Dr. Schuster, on ICC in 1998 and chatted with him online.  They never imagined years later they would be working together to create one of the biggest chess programs in the world.  

SPGI 2015 - The Cafeteria

St. Louis Trip, Day 2 - Day 7

As I noted in my post about our dorm, our $300 (per person) for the week covered room *and* board: 3 meals a day at the Webster University cafeteria. I do not generally eat three full meals every day. I eat breakfast and lunch (dinner), and then have a light snack for supper, and I snack any time throughout the day when I may be hungry.

So, eating three meals a day (since they were already paid for!) was a challenge.  The first couple days I did it, but by the end of the week, I really had to lighten up on how much I ate every meal!  We became convinced that were it not for all the walking a person has to do on campus, students who eat regularly at a cafeteria would be quite overweight.  

SPGI 2015 - Dorm Life

St. Louis Trip, Day 2, Saturday, July 25, 2015

We were in St. Louis for the Susan Polgar Girl's Invitational because my youngest sister had won the Iowa Girls Chess Championship and was representing Iowa at the event.  My other sister (Charity) and I were both returning as alumnae, since we had participated in the Invitational in 2012.  Papa traveled with us as bodyguard and chauffeur.  

St. Louis Zoo

St. Louis Trip, Day 2 - Saturday, July 25, 2015

It's high time I finish my series on our St. Louis trip last summer.  Our next stop after visiting Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery was the St. Louis Zoo.   We had heard it was very impressive, and since my sister loves animals, we really wanted to see it.  The only problem?  Everyone else in the city seemed to want to visit the zoo!  There was a long line of cars waiting to find parking.

After spending 20 minutes trying to find parking, we were almost discouraged enough to head back to our dorms, as we had to be at Webster University at 4:30 p.m. for chess game analysis.  But, we finally found a spot and headed into the zoo at 1:40, giving ourselves 2 hours before we had to leave and find our way back.  

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery

St. Louis Trip, Day 2 - Saturday, July 25, 2015

The site I most wanted to see in St. Louis was my great great great uncle Philander Lockard's grave.  Philander and his brother John both volunteered for the Union army during the Civil War.  Philander died at age 24 of typhoid in St. Louis on December 8th, 1861.  John, 25 years old, was wounded April 6th, 1862 during the Battle of Shiloh, and died on May 25th in Waterloo, Iowa on his way back home. 

The gravestone where John is buried at one of our local family cemeteries commemorates both him and his brother Philander, and I had always thought they were both buried there.  But upon further research, I found that Philander was actually buried at Jefferson Barracks.

Battle of Athens State Historic Site

St. Louis Trip, Day 1 - Friday, July 24, 2015

Just over the border in Missouri, we stopped at the Battle of Athens State Historic Site.  A storm caught up with us here with tremendous claps of thunder.  It was almost as if we could hear cannons roaring.  It started raining, so our visit was a comparatively short one.  We didn't want to do much walking in the rain.

The Battle of Athens was the northernmost battle west of the Mississippi in the Civil War.  It was fought between the Missouri Home Guard (Union) and Missouri State Guard (Confederates).  Athens was a town of over 500 people.  The building above is a very nice picnic shelter, modeled after the Athens General Store, one of 6 grocery stores open in Athens prior to the war.

The Pearson House, Morality, and Legality

St. Louis Trip, Day 1 - Friday, July 24, 2015

Driving through Keosauqua, Iowa, we noticed a sign pointing out the Pearson House which was built between 1845 and 1847.  We hadn't planned on stopping, and it was not open while we were there, so we admired the buildings and the grounds, but didn't get to see the inside of the house.  Also on the property are the Ellis Schoolhouse and a log cabin.

Originally, the second floor of the house was used for Methodist church services.  But, what the Pearson House is most noted for is its place as a stop on the Underground Railroad, which helped fugitive slaves on their way to freedom in Canada before the Civil War.

Van Buren County Courthouse

The Van Buren County courthouse in Keosauqua, completed in 1843, is the oldest courthouse in Iowa and the second oldest courthouse in continuous use since its completion in the United States.  

It currently appears to be undergoing renovation, so although the two brick buildings with offices on either side appeared to be open, we didn't make it into the courthouse.  We only admired it from the outside. 

Lunch Box Cafe

St. Louis Trip, Day 1 - Friday, July 24, 2015

After leaving the American Gothic House, we stopped at about noon at the Lunch Box Cafe in Douds, Iowa.  There were an impressive number of cars parked in front of the cafe, especially considering Douds is a town of only 165 people.  

As we walked in we noticed Acts 16:13 on the front window, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved."  Inside, the place was bustling with locals.