Last night, I returned from St. Louis where Sports Illustrated was covering the Men’s Final Four, the Division I College Basketball tournament. I was pleasantly surprised by St. Louis. I didn’t think I would have a very good time, and I was delighted to say that it was quite nice. My opinion may be colored by the fact that I was in a nice hotel and that our handling of the event went really well. My favorite meal in St. Louis was at 1111 Mississippi. It had a great wine list, nice relaxed service, a casual atmosphere and delicious food.
The arch in St. Louis was much more impressive than I thought it would be. It soars high into the sky, and the surface looks really great.
I went to the park with Geoff on Saturday afternoon. We wanted to go to the Botanical Garden, but we received incorrect directions from the Concierge. We ended up taking the Metro to the wrong station. When we got out, no one could give us directions on the bus, and very few of the bus signs had any indication of the bus that stopped there. Apparently, in St. Louis, only poor people take the bus. We saw this duck in the park. James and I both think it is a muscovy duck. Birders, any opinions? It was around twice the side of the mallard ducks nearby.
I met Rich Clarkson a few years ago in the Sports Illustrated offices. He is a very experienced sports and news photographer. This was his 50th time shooting the Final Four. Dave Klutho, one of the photographers at SI, threw a party for him at his house. Dave lives in a suburb of St. Louis. Rich has a ton of great stories–from stories that every photographer experiences to stories that only a few people in the world have experienced. For example, he has a couple of great stories from when he was a wire photographer at the trial in Holcomb, Kansas that Truman Capote covered in his book In Cold Blood. The party was great, and I think Rich had a great time.