June 2023 Recap
Taylor Swift & St. Louis
Three days into June Shannon and I found ourselves inside Soldier Field waiting for Taylor Swift to take the stage. Some moments build up levels of anticipation that result in an inevitable letdown. There was no letdown this evening.
Taylor Swift delivered a show that was everything and more.
We were extremely fortunate to have a front row seat to all three and a half hours of her performance. Well, second row seats (Thanks Stephen & Paige!) At times we were less than 20 feet away from Taylor as she moved about the stage. I was star struck. This might have been the closest I have ever been from a person as famous as her caliber.
I took a few videos, but of course concert videos never do justice to how it feels to be in a venue hearing one of your favorite artists live.
Here are a few pictures of the view from our seats. Yeah, she was right there. It was one of the best concerts and nights I have ever experienced.
We took a mini road trip down to St. Louis for an extended weekend to see our friends Stephen and Paige. They’ve been living there for a couple years now and this visit was long overdue.
We carpooled with Kristin and Corey and the six of us spent an enjoyable 48 hours seeing the city and eating some really good food. Of note the food at Pappy’s Smokehouse and the drinks at The Gin Room were top notch.
St. Louis is without a doubt an underrated metropolitan area. Even by Midwest standards. Just driving around, I was impressed by the gorgeous architecture and the personality that each neighborhood has cultivated. And the parks! My goodness the parks here are big and spectacular. So many of this America’s cities would be improved if they had accessible parks of this caliber.
Our 4Runner “Big Blue” surpassed the 100K mile mark towards the end of the month. While it doesn’t get a lot of “around town” miles, it racks up the mileage on our lengthy road trips. One of the reasons we got this vehicle is because of its track record of longevity and with some proper maintenance it should be good for another 200K. I hope so because I have never had a car that has been as delightful to drive around as this one.
Our Arbor Day trees finally arrived in the mail. We donated some money to the organization back in February and the resulting gift was 12 trees. Including…
5 Norway Spruces / 2 Eastern Redbuds / 2 Pee Gee Hydrangeas / 1 Sargent Crabapple / 1 Washington Hawthorn / 1 White Flowering Dogwood
You would not know they were trees as what we got were a bundle of sticks ranging from 7-14 inches in height. Just like our last round of trees, I am quickly discovering that I form an emotional bond with these plants. While it feels unlikely that all will survive, especially seeing as a few of them have shown zero signs of being alive, we are going to give it our best shot.
It continues to be brutally hot and dry. Our yard is riddled with patches of dead grass due to the ongoing drought.
|
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High
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Low
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Average
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|---|---|---|---|
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Temperature
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89 °F
|
47 °F
|
67.2 °F
|
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Dew Point
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72 °F
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36 °F
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53.5 °F
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Precipitation
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0.82 in
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-
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1.82 in (sum)
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Gust Wind
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38 mph
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-
|
3.8 mph
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My favorite book I read in June was The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins. My favorite film I watched in June was Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. My full media diet log can be found here.
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