Aaaahh!

The call was to remind me of my appointment for a manicure and pedicure. Believe me a mani/pedi is not something I’m likely to overlook. For me it’s a little escape from the day-to-day facets of life. Since I always go to the same person (Jamie) we laugh and talk about all kinds of crazy things. On my last visit I told her she could do whatever she wanted and I ended up with each toe painted a different color. With the cooler weather I won’t be showing them off in sandals, but I have to say these toes make me smile.

While I go to a local day spa, there are spas located in vacation destinations that can enhance any getaway or longer stay. And with the increasing popularity of girls’ getaway trips, spas are becoming a destination themselves. Spa Shiki, at the Lodge of the Four Seasons at the Lake of the Ozarks, offers a full range of services, including massages and facials.


Bellehaven, The Spa at Chaumette, is located on the grounds of Chaumette Winery in Ste. Genevieve (talk about the best of both worlds). There are services that use grape seeds, stalks and vines. A few, such as the Red Wine and Honey Wine wraps, use wine extracts directly from the winery.


I'm due for a massage and facial myself. Perhaps I'll plan a spa tour of the state. I think I've earned it. LOL

An Excuse to Eat Pasta

Saturday is World Pasta Day. October 25th is the founding date for the International Pasta Organization, a group “dedicated to increase(d) pasta consumption and awareness.” This year the group is meeting in Turkey to discuss how pasta can play a role in children’s health around the world.

That’s pretty heavy for a food most U.S. kids love in the form of spaghetti and meatballs. I’ve come a long way from my early days of preferring the stuff out of the can to the homemade version my mother prepared. Now that I look back on it that’s pretty insulting, but hey what do you expect from kids? LOL

Anywho, now my tastes have matured to the point where I can appreciate pasta in lots of different ways. One of my favorite ways is in Italian cuisine. I love a good Alfredo sauce and there’s nothing better than crusty bread dipped in a good olive oil seasoned with herbs and a little freshly-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. I have to be careful to save room for the meal.

Now, one of my favorite places to enjoy pasta is on The Hill in St. Louis. Many Italian imigrants settled in the neighborhood during the 1800s and the neighborhood retains much of that flavor today. Restaurants, houses, bakeries and markets sit side-by-side. Famous St. Louis baseball players Joe Garagiola and Yogi Berra are both from the neighborhood.

But it's the food that I love. It was in a restaurant on The Hill where I first experienced bread and olive oil. I'm hooked now. Oprah featured one of the restaurants on her show. Giovanni's on the Hill named a dish for her, Pappardelle alla Bella Oprah. It's one of the most popular on the menu.

So start planning to eat some pasta on Saturday. I am. I'm sure we'll all enjoy it.

First to Fight

Remember the movie Glory? Starring Denzel Washington, the movie told the story of the 54th Massachusetts, a black regiment that fought during the Civil War. Well thanks to that movie, many folks think that the 54th was the first engagement of black troops.

Not true. Next week marks the 146th anniversary of the first engagement of black troops. On Oct 27-29, 1862, in Bates County, Mo., two battalions of the First Kansas Colored Infantry skirmished with Confederate guerrillas at a site known as Island Mound. This happened nearly six months before the federal government officially authorized the use of black troops.

The soldiers had commandeered a Southern sympathizer’s log home for their home base and named it Fort Africa. A small detail of about 30 troops engaged more than 100 Confederate Guerillas. They fought bravely and the action caused a stir in the nation, as the troops proved that blacks were willing to fight for the nation.

The state has purchased 40 acres of the farm where the battle took place, including Fort Africa, and plans to open it to the public in time for the Civil War 150th anniversary in 2011.

Bates County recently unveiled a statue commemorating the battle. It sits on the square in Butler. Here are some photos of the statue with the sculptor and the re-enactor who posed for it.

The Origin of Homecoming

It's Homecoming Week at Mizzou and while looking for information about the activities going on, I came across this Web site which says the University started this tradition in 1911.

Who knew?

It seems the first Homecoming was built around the intense rivalry of the Mizzou/KU Jayhawks football game. The oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi, the tension of the games traced back to the real tension of the Border Wars between the states that led up to the American Civil War.

The school's athletic director invited alumni to "come home" for the game to add to the excitement.

Click here to learn more.

Fall Getaways Available Here

This is a great time of year to get out and explore. The weather is crisp, but not too cold and the trees are at their most colorful. Our state offers an abundance of opportunities to experience it all whether on a city excursion, outdoor adventures or anything in between.

To entice you just a little bit more, the Missouri Division of Tourism is sponsoring a Fall Getaway Contest. Be sure and check out our Web site, VisitMo.com and enter for your chance to a great trip.

Four lucky winners will enjoy a relaxing Wine Country and B&B package in Hermann, where they'll participate in the Holiday Wine Trail. Two other winners will head to Kansas City or St. Louis to catch the excitement of Chiefs and Rams football.

So don't delay, enter here.

Boo!

Fascinated with things that go bump in the night? Think that deserted old house at the end of the lane is creepy? Seen every episode of Scooby Doo? (LOL)

If you love things that give you goose bumps, I just saw a notice for a program at the Missouri
State Archives that will be right up your alley. "Haunted Missouri: A Ghostly Guide to the Show-Me State's Most Spirited Spots" may not confirm that there are ghosts in your attic, but it should be a lot of fun.

Journalist Jason Offutt will talk about his travels throughout the state looking into all manner of creaky, shiver-inducing stories of ghoulies. I'm planning to go, and if you're in Jefferson City you can too. The talk is scheduled for next Thursday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. at the Archives.

For all the rest of you looking to get your scare on, check out VisitMO.com for a list of haunted attractions and events. Perfect for the season.

Missouri Day

Way back in 1915, our state's lawmakers created Missouri Day, to be observed the third Wednesday in October to "foster love for our state's history and to teach rising generations of boys and girls the glories of Missouri." I love the flowery language they used to use.

In our office, we're passing out Missouri-grown apples to mark the occasion. That leads me to consider some of the other great Missouri products that you can enjoy, from great wines, to pumpkins, chestnuts and goat cheese, you can find it here. To see what else is out there, check out the AgriMissouri blog.

I Love a Parade

Just got back from the Homecoming Parade. As usual, it was the place to be on Saturday morning. Lincoln's parade always draws a large crowd, including the folks in town who don't have any affiliation with the school. Lincoln's band puts it down (I am a little biased, as the band director is my soror), plus they bring in high school bands from St. Louis or KC, drill teams, car clubs and this year, Buffalo Soldier re-enactors on horse back. Of course you also have the local politicians, candidates for office and Miss Lincoln University and her court.

The campus sits on top of a hill, and the area at the bottom is known as The Foot. The parade starts and ends there, and vendors set up to sell barbecue, soul food, sweets and drinks, t-shirts and other paraphrenalia for both the school and Greek-letter organizations and sometimes even jewelry. The Foot becomes the place to see and be seen, as alumni hang out and reconnect.
Kids run around collecting candy and older folks bring their chairs to enjoy the sights. An altogether satisfying morning.

HOOOMMMEEE – COOOMMIINNNG!

Anyone who attended Lincoln University of Missouri or visited during homecoming week in the last 30 years has heard that call. It’s what you’d hear all week long during every imaginable event. It would take on the feeling of the call and response during a church service. Someone would tip back their head and joyously yell, “Hooommmeee – Cooomminnng!” Then others in the crowd would repeat it.

Lincoln University (LU) is one of about 100 HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities) in the country. Founded in 1866 by the soldiers of the 62nd and 65th United States Colored Infantries, the school has a rich and storied history. Missouri outlawed teaching blacks to read and write in the years leading up to the American Civil War. But these soldiers had received a basic education once they were allowed to enlist in the Union army and they wanted to share their fortune. Following the war, these soldiers donated parts of their salaries and raised more than $5,000 to start a school for the recently-freed blacks in their state.

LU gained quite a reputation through the years and by the 1920s became known as the "Black Harvard of the Midwest."

Now thoroughly integrated, the school pays homage to its roots each year during its Founders' Day when it remembers the soldiers. And in 2007 the campus unveiled the Soldier’s Monument. This beautiful memorial sits at the center of campus and reminds all who see it of how the school came to be.

So it’s Homecoming Week once again. Sunday night, the campus celebrated with fireworks. Other events happen daily throughout the week and include the coronation of Miss Lincoln University, a parade that draws people from all over and of course the football game. In addition to all this excitement, the Alumni Association is holding its annual convention in conjunction with homecoming. So as the week progresses, Jefferson City should slowly sink under the weight of all the alumni coming to town to reminisce with old friends and remember their college days.

Chili Dogs and French Fries

It’s a rainy October day, and all I want to do is go home, curl up and turn on the classic movie channel. Or pop in the animated version of Ray Bradbury’s “The Halloween Tree.” It’s one of my favorite Halloween movies and I feel like I have to watch it each year. Other October movies I have to see include Halloween Town on Disney and Hocus Pocus. (Yes, I am an overgrown kid).

And for lunch I want chili dogs and french fries. I don’t know when this meal became a fall favorite of mine, but there is something about the cooler weather that makes me crave it. Follow it up with some apple slices dipped in caramel (fat-free to counteract the effects of the rest of the meal) and I’m a happy girl.

Downtown Becomes Cow Town - For 10 minutes

I’m in Kansas City at our Missouri Governor’s Conference on Tourism. We’re downtown at the Kansas City Marriott and just a short walk from the new Power and Light District.

This new entertainment district is an amazing collection of restaurants, nightlife venues and the Sprint Arena that plays host to concerts and will host sports events. Tina Turner kicked off her tour there last night and people were everywhere.

Then today the American Royal publicized its annual barbecue with a cattle drive down Grand Boulevard. A couple of us walked over to check it out. I wanted to see it because I couldn’t really picture it. Was it going to be Kansas City’s version of running with the bulls? Not exactly.

Instead cowboys and girls actually drove a herd of cattle down the street just like they did back in the day when they were bringing a herd to the stockyards. I went expecting full-grown cows, but they seemed small to me. I decided they were probably the cow equivalent of teen-agers. (Hey - I’m a city girl; don’t know much about cows). I'll tell you this though, if you’ve never seen cattle in an environment that includes concrete and skyscrapers, you don’t know what you’re missing.

So what’s it like to drive cattle down a city street? A four-wheeler leads the way,with a photographer or videographer on the back. The cowpokes and the cows followed at a brisk pace. It’s over in about 10 minutes. But I’m glad to have seen it.

Here's a link to the online story that includes video.