I traveled to St. Louis this past week for a NCURA research administration conference.  This was also the Cardinal’s season opener so the town was a' hoppin!  I hadn’t been to downtown St. Louis since I was a kid and back then the big thing next to the Gateway Arch was the McDonald’s on the riverboat! Talk about fancy! 

Our conference hotel was booked for Saturday night due to the game and the NRA being in town so we ended up staying at the Casino Queen across the river. I was ecstatic when I discovered that the casino bar had O’Fallon’s Weachy on tap, uh… for A BUCK! Sweet money in the ghetto!

I had an early Sunday session but later that afternoon we ventured to Schafly’s Tap House to try some local flavor then relaxed atop the Hilton at the 360 Rooftop Lounge with a prime bird’s eye view of the Cardinal’s game. 

View from the 360 Rooftop Lounge

 My roommate was one of my more colorful coworkers who apparently does not travel much and I’m convinced is text book ADHD. Fun stuff let me tell you. She argued with the bell hop about carrying her own luggage simply because she didn’t want to spring for a tip. She didn’t want to order a drink at the 360 because beer was $5.00. Seriously?  She finally did order one when I said, “You are in a nice hotel ON a per diem. Spend the $5 FFS!” 

I had a great time in spite of my crazy cohorts and the snooze fest sessions. We had local Italian, watched a couple baseball games, met some great people, actually did learn a lot, and ate way too much food. Now I'm back in my office and my only question is, "Where the heck is the hospitality lounge?"