Today was forecast to be hot and humid, so right after breakfast this morning Hubby Tony and I put our bikes on the carrier and got ready to go for a ride. After evaluating several routes, we decided on the River des Peres Greenway, located about 20 minutes from our house on the border between St. Louis City and St. Louis County. Over the years most of the river has been channelized and is now more of a storm drain than anything else. It's pretty unattractive up close, but there's a nice walking an biking trail paralleling it.
We've ridden on parts of this greenway a couple of times. Usually we start at the south end, but thanks to an errand I had to run on the way home it made more sense to go the opposite way. I had a hazy concept of the northernmost trailhead, but it turns out I was wrong. The greenway extended a couple of miles more, crossing a major street (Lansdowne), then turning and following another smaller street before ending up at a park.
At the park we got ready to ride, which meant we would double back
on the area we had just driven. Just before we got to Lansdowne I looked over
to the left and saw this:
Stag Beer is a local brand that goes back to before
Prohibition. Relatives from my parent's generation drank it regularly.
I parked my bike and walked across the street to snap a photo. I couldn't get a good angle from the sidewalk, so I walked partway up the driveway. Just about then I heard a noise. I looked up and saw a 50-something man standing on the porch.
I thought the man was going to yell at me for being on his property, but he was really friendly. He encouraged me to come close enough to get a really good shot, and told me that a previous owner had done the painting. He suggested I take a stroll through his wife's front yard garden, which was small but so jam-packed with plants, stepping stones, and statues that there was no grass visible. I thanked him, but said I had to keep going.
(After that the rest of the ride was nice, but uneventful.)
Five years ago today:
Every. Stinking. Time.
I usually zoom in for photos as much as I can but it is tempting to move in a bit sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI do try to take things from a distance. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't
DeleteMy sister has a modern art painting on the garage door next door to her. She is near Francis Park.
ReplyDeleteI'll keep an eye out for that one.
DeleteWhen I pass that property I wonder if the owner worked for or owned the company. I think the unique advertisement makes a statement, but I would embrace having it on my home.
ReplyDeleteIf you poke around on the internet you can find an article from several years ago where they interviewed the man who owned the house at the time. Evidently the inside of the house was loaded with Stag-themed items too.
DeleteWhat a lovely visit!
ReplyDeleteWhat a kind man. Pity he did not offer you a beer.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
That would have been nice....especially AFTER the ride!
DeleteAround here a lot of people are like that man, wanting conversation, inviting me in. I like that. We're about to go from atmospheric river rain, we've had for several days, to mid 80's and low 90's, in the space of a day.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy meeting people and hearing their stories.
DeleteWhat an original garage door mural! It's nice to meet a nice fellow.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. As Tony put it, I was "making friends".
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