Eagle Viewing

This is what we didn't do on Sunday: we didn't go to the Beggin' Pet Parade in Soulard. In hindsight we should've gone. (And please don't ask me why we didn't go this year or why we've never gone because I really don't know why.) As you can imagine, it's lots of dogs all dressed up in a parade and lots of people cheering them on. So cute. As usual, Sirius went with John and Troy. Here he is with some friends. I have no doubt he had a fantastic day.

What we did do on Sunday: we went to the Mississippi River to look at bald eagles. (It's that time of year when a lot of bald eagles have come down from the north to hang out here for the winter.) From a nature center in West Alton, Missouri, through a telescope, we saw the two bald eagles above. (The one on the left is an adult; the one on the right is a juvenile.) Brad saw a few more while I was talking to a naturalist at the center. And yes, I took this picture with my iPhone on the telescope . . . . . which is not an easy thing to do!

This guy was in the nature center so people like us could see an eagle up close. His name is Liberty and he's about 22 years old. After getting hit by a car twice in his first two years of life, it was decided that he has a vision problem so he was moved to a bird sanctuary.

Across the river from West Alton is Alton, Illinois. We went to this place for lunch called Fast Eddie's Bon Air. TripAdvisor says it's the "#1 volume bar in the world." (Apparently it seats 400.) Yelp calls it a "roadhouse." I call it "an experience." After nabbing a table (a guy with a Packers shirt was getting up to leave; Brad flashed the Packers logo on the shirt he was wearing under his jacket, and the table was ours!) I went inside and ordered our lunch from the seven-item menu. (A burger for Brad, chicken kebab for me, and fries to split.) Grand total: $8.

Meanwhile, Brad saved our table and got us each a beer. A Busch for me and a Heineken for Brad. Beers with tip: $10.

This is the view of the "patio" from our table. Being that it's a "patio," it's apparently exempt from Illinois' no smoking in restaurants law. (Yes, they have one as I looked it up while gagging on second hand smoke.) It's hard to see, but this place was jam packed with people. And you can't see it but there's a band on our left too. And lots of indoor seating as well. (But no available tables.) Simply put, the place is huge. Notwithstanding the smoke, we had a fun $18 lunch!

After lunch we got on the river road and drove north from Alton. We passed this cool mural on a building in Alton.

I have no photos from our drive but we went about 20 miles north and saw some interesting scenery. On the way home we crossed back over the Mississippi at Alton. It was sunset and my picture doesn't do it justice but trust me, it was pretty. Next year, I think we'll do the pet parade. But . . . . . this was still a really nice way to spend a Sunday!