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I've always liked this one, how the contrail seems to be erupting from the ground behind the wall, visually overwhelming the monument.
But that's not what's on my mind right now. I am pissed. As some of you know, I nave a niche specialty in federal administrative law. The agency before which I practice has kept their evidence files scanned into their servers for some time (no more paper) and gives counsel a copy on a CD. Worked fine. The agency recently decided it needed to encrypt the CDs for privacy reasons. Well, okay. But I use a MacBook Pro laptop and the new encryption systems only works on Windows. They have no intention of making a Mac version. But you can run Windows on a Mac these days, and I do. I got my first encrypted disk on Tuesday and the IT guy at the hearing office showed me how to use it. Went fine.
Yesterday, I got another in a different location. It looked like I decrypted and extracted the needed files but then I couldn't open them. Oh well, there was a public Win machine I could use. As I was closing the folder, I got a message asking if I wanted to securely delete the encrypted files. I said yes. The files vanished. So did my entire Windows installation, all my Windows apps and the majority of my photos and documents on the Mac hard drive. &^%#@*!
I have most but not all backed up. The originals of the last few days Costa Rica pix are gone for good. I know the person who runs this project for the agency and she will receive an email from me later today. And Republicans keep saying you can't trust the government.
ANONYMOUS: thanks for your gracious response.
We look at art and education today on Downtown St. Louis 365.
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Okay, back to the local stuff. This is what we were greeted with when we returned home last weekend. That building up in back is a pavilion preserved from the 1904 World's Fair, when STL was considered a suitable venue for such an event. It's been used for all sorts of public occasions - weddings, political rallies, concerts and more. Speaking of which, one time when I was an undergraduate at St. Louis University the Grateful Dead were in town for a big theater performance. The following afternoon they just showed up here and started playing. The SLU dorms emptied out and headed for the park. Wow, man.
A NOTE TO ANONYMOUS: after giving this much thought, I have decided to ask you to stop posting Biblical quotes in comments to all my posts. My blog it not a place for others to express their ideas on matters unrelated to it. If a socialist or a member of the Tea Party commented with daily excerpts from from the words of Karl Marx or Ronald Reagan, no one would be surprised if I objected. It's okay to post comments about the photo, the subject of the photo, the text, what's happening in your area relating to the post, or me (whether positive or negative). It's not okay for others to press their own causes on my blog. Whether I agree or not with such comments is irrelevant. So, please.
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Hey, kids, don't you know that there are alligators in these waters, big ones with huge teeth and steel-trap jaws?
Indeed, we saw several of them upstream in the Palo Seco estuary, like this, for example. However, these boys were very near the mouth of the estuary at the Pacific ocean. Alligators are fresh water reptiles and probably don't like all the brine at this location. I hope the theory is correct.
We look at the big picture today on Downtown St. Louis 365.
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Or Cah-row-LEE-naz, if you are speaking Spanish. Back in cold, snowy St. Louis, we remember this place in Tamarindo as the best restaurant we've eaten at in a long time. Carolina, second from left above, is flanked by her two cooks and the young lady who served our meal.
Attention was paid to every detail. Guests are personally greeted and bid farewell at the door. There is no drinks list; they will make you anything you want (like the Tamarindo margarita below). The silverware is changed at every course. The staff is full of charm. When I asked for a copy of the set menu to bring home, they brought it on a small plate covered by a napkin, rolled and tied with pink ribbon. That's class.
And the food! There is a five course tasting menu for $50, $65 with wine pairings. You might pay three times the price in New York. We ate there twice during our stay and have nothing but praise. Imagine dishes like an ahi tartar salad, once with with fruit ceviche, once with chive cream and caviar; pomegranate curry soup (mind blowing); and banana fritters with vanilla ice cream and hot chocolate sauce. Some of the wine pairings were ingenious - like a smooth, rich shrimp risotto with a bone dry rosé from Bordeaux.
If you ever find yourself in Costa Rica, you owe it to yourself to dine here. Oh, and by the way, if you don't get the reference in the title, click here.
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A quick post from the Miami airport on the way home. This gentleman was in harm's way in the street during the horse parade in Santa Cruz. There were hardly any Americans around the town. The only U.S. sports gear I saw was this, one Boston Red Sox hat and my Cardinals cap. For my home town readers, this was a David Eckstein shirt. How long was he with the Cards, two years? I suppose being World Series MVP was worth his visit.
Sincere apologies to my CDP for the lack of comments this week. We've been touring our booties off. We normally return from a vacation more tired than when we left. That's the way we like it. Carpe diem. Back to normal later today in frozen STL.
Since we just returned from the warmth of Costa Rica, Downtown St. Louis 365 has something from last year's sunny Hispanic Festival.
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We took a long day trip yesterday with a guide to Rincon de la Vieja National Park on the slopes of a volcano. The name means "the old lady's corner." Never did have that explained to me.
Activities include horseback riding, walking suspension bridges in the canopy, riding a zip line, covering yourself with volcanic mud, bathing in natural hot springs, riding a huge water slide and taking photographs. The only other couple on our trip was Kelly and Ralph from Chicago. Above, Kelly hits the final chute of the slide. Below, the intrepid Mrs. C zooms through the last section of the zip line.
We are heading for the airport this morning and will be home by late tonight. Frigid temperatures and snow await us. I don't have any new St. Louis material so I may post some memories of Costa Rica for a bit.
We inspect a state of disrepair today on Downtown St. Louis 365. 
