Minimal Progress

Well, my ambitious February goal was set when the weather was nice and before I knew that February would be cold, wet, windy, and cold. Did I mention cold? I made minimal progress toward my goal in the first days of the month as rain, snow, ice, and wind kept me inside and off the trails.

A highlight of the first half of the month was that Jeff got me a musubi maker straight from Japan, so I can make real musubis now instead of the Big Musubis I was trying to make with a small loaf pan I had.

February 8, I decided to take a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to walk on a new interstate bridge that hadn't been opened to traffic yet. The Stan Musial Veterans Memorial bridge now carries I-70 from Illinois into St. Louis, but it opened for pedestrian traffic the day before it opened to cars. 

I thought that temps in the teens and windy conditions might keep people away, but people came out and my shuttle from downtown was full of retirement-aged white people bundled for a blizzard, a couple of grandchildren they'd dragged along to this historic event, and one possibly homeless dude blasting Sandi Patty's Star Spangled Banner on repeat through a tinny speaker for the duration of the ride. Sandi Patty was still going to strong as he crossed the bridge.

All the people coming onto the bridge from the Illinois side were dressed in camo. Those from the St. Louis side more commonly sported North Face or even fur. 

 I had planned to walk at least a few miles while in StL, but the wind drove me off the bridge, back into the warm shuttle, and into a cozy bar to enjoy some duck tacos before heading home.