Viewpoint

It was impossible to get a spot on Market Street to view the Blues championship parade unless you arrived many hours early. Some people improvised, standing on the portico of what we call the Old Courthouse. It's part of the Gateway Arch National Park. Normally, park staff would have shooed them away quickly. Others avoided the problem by just hanging out in Kiener Plaza, soaking up the party atmosphere. Nobody got drunk and disorderly. There were no arrests, a bit surprising given the size of the crowd and river of beer.            

 

YAY FOR US

The crowd, as they say, went wild. I can't imagine, though, that this was really about a couple of dozen mercenary athletes paid to represent our city. I like to watch well-played sports (with the exception of football, the sanitized modern version of the Roman arena) for its beauty, skill, daring and competition. This vast street party, however, was about us, the people of the St. Louis area.

We are mid-sized and Midwestern, sometimes sneered at by the coasts and much bigger cities. There is a self-esteem problem. But look at us - our team went from worst to first, kicking the pants off every other team in the US and Canada. Yeah, St. Louis was the best of them all.

The memory will fade, but for this one brief shining moment we towered over all. And, as I have pointed out several times, The Lou loves an excuse to drink in public during the day.   

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS

As most of the US and Canada know, the St. Louis Blues improbably won the Stanley Cup, professional hockey's championship trophy. They had the worst record in the league on January 3, got a new coach and performed an amazing recovery. There was a huge victory parade and party yesterday, with the sound of Freddy Mercury's voice ocasionally hanging in the air. 

The authorities estimated that a half-million people turned out and I believe it. I couldn't get near the parade route itself but there was plenty of good people watching. The most common musical theme was a peppy 80's pop song, Gloria, that became the team's anthem. The Blues have been around for 52 years and never before won the championship. The city was bursting with joy.          

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - CADDILAC

Mt. Desert Island has several moderate size mountains. The highest is Cadillac Mountain (not Mt. Cadillac for some reason), 1,527 feet / 465 meters above sea level. That part is easily determined. You can drive to near the top but you need Ellie's scrambling skills to make to the  pinnacle.            

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - THE BAR IN BAR HARBOR

Didn't take a single picture yesterday. Raining and chilly all day long. No wonder my right index finger feels flabby.

So, back on the tour boat. There are a lot of sand and gravel bars from the main island to the little ones that surround it. Walk-able at low tide but you better get back in time. Some members of the crew were goofing off but they were observed from above. This will be noted on their time cards.