Serendipity Homemade Ice Cream

Ice cream n cake n cake

What’s better than spending a hot summer evening than eating ice cream? I thought that made a good opportunity to see the cake at Serendipity Homemade Ice Cream.
This ice cream shop isn’t just your typical commercial ice cream shop.

This store has been opened since 2003 and is in the heart of Webster Groves. They have over 30 homemade unique flavors, although they aren’t served all at the same time. That’s the shops way of getting you to go back and try them all.

Colin and Andrew both wanted to try flavors that weren’t available at the time, Pumpkin Pie and Coconut. I tried a little scoop of Gooey Butter Cake and Cake Batter. They were pretty good. My mom and my husband both had Toasted Marshmellow. My dad tried Caramel ice cream after the Key Lime Pie was sold out. Colin had Strawberry Cheesecake and Andrew had Cookie Monster which was Cotton Candy ice cream with oreos and cookie dough mixed in.

Cake artist - Marianne Baer

One hundred-five down 145 to go.

Brightside

Beautify cake

Brightside, formerly known as Operation Brightside, helps make St. Louis a more beautiful place to live, work, learn and grow. Their projects beautify public areas in neighborhoods, downtown, and along highways. They remove graffiti from vandalized properties and put on an annual city-wide clean up, called Project Blitz.

Volunteer opportunities are available from February to November:

• February - March: Sow annual seeds at greenhouse in Forest Park
• March: Plant window boxes for City Hall
• May: Plant downtown and at Lake Louie
• May - November: Nurture Lake Louie gardens, I-64 @ 20th Street exit
• July - October: Mentor neighborhood garden projects
• October - November: Assist with daffodil plantings

Cake artist - George Grove

One hundred-four down 146 to go.

Grand Avenue

Grand cakes

These cakes were on a stretch of Grand Avenue from Highway 70 to Olive Street.

Grand Avenue Water Tower

The Grand Avenue Water Tower was built in 1871 in the form of a Corinthian order column with brick, stone and cast iron trim. It was used for  firefighting and for regulating the water pressure for the area. Beacons were placed on top of the tower and served as navigational aids to pilots seeking Lambert International  Airport.

Legend has it that Charles Lindbergh once used the lights to find his way home when he was lost in a Mississippi River fog.


Cake artist - Gina Harmon

Ninety-nine down 151 to go.

Boys and Girls Club

The Boys and Girls Club provides a safe place for children to learn and grow to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.

The Herbert Hoover Boys Club, named after the president, was founded on the site of Sportsman’s Park. When the St. Louis Cardinal’s ballpark was moved downtown August A. Busch, Jr. and Anheuser-Busch Brewery donated the property for use as a boys club. In 1990 was when they added "Girls".

Cake artist - Richard Rice

One hundred down 150 to go.

Powell Symphony Hall


Powell Symphony Hall is home to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Originally called The St. Louis Theater, it was built in 1925 with 4,100 seats. It spent the first 40 years of its existence as a stage for live vaudeville performances as well as motion pictures. The building is said to be haunted by the ghost of a man named George. He is supposedly seen in a white suit and white hat and is thought to be that of a former vaudevillian. He is said to play with the lights and the elevators.

During the 1980s, several theaters in the area, including the Fox Theatre, were renovated. By the end of that decade, a major initiative to revitalize the area had evolved into what is known as the Grand Center.

Cake artist - Earl Miller

One hundred-one down 149 to go.

Fabulous Fox Theater

The Fabulous Fox Theater was built in 1929 by William Fox as a showcase for the films of the Fox Film Corporation. It closed almost 50 years later. Fox Associates purchased the theater and it went through a $3 million restoration and reopened in September 1982

We've been to the Fox several times. Twice to see George Carlin. We also saw Jerry Seinfeld and Madea Goes to Jail, where Tyler Perry came out at the end of the play to chat and answer questions. Can you tell we like the comedies?

Cake artist - Rick Monrotus

One hundred-two down 148 to go.

Big Brothers and Sisters

The Big Brothers started back in 1904, when a court clerk from New York wanted to help the troubled boys he saw come through the courts. In 1977 Sisters was added so now we have the Big Brothers and Sisters. Volunteer mentors help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships.

I saw the cake sitting in front of the Fox Theater ticket office, but knew it didn't belong there. At first I thought it belonged to the City Dinner that site east of the Fox. When we got back to the car I found out it didn't belong to the City Diner. I actually looked through Michael  photos and found it belonged to the Big Brothers and Sisters about one block west of the Fox.

Cake artist - Laura Weinrich

One hundred three down 147 to go.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

No doubt about it this bird deserves a cake

Today with newspapers dying left and right it is good to know that the Post Dispatch Weather Bird is still flying high. If I was to pick the top St Louis institution it would be the Weather Bird. This bird has been flying high for over a century and shows no sign of giving up. Heat, frigid cold, floods, tornadoes, and blown calls that lost a world series the weather bird has survived them all. The Weather Bird is a trickster and uses some slick puns, some bad ones too, to get his message across. Weather bird will take on any politician and injustice and set the record straight. Weather Bird shows the heart of St Louis and displays it succinctly and compactly.

“ The Post was given a blank cake and I was asked if I could decorate it,” said Dan Martin Post-Dispatch artist who draws the Weather Bird.  Once Martin saw the cake he immediately knew it had to be a Weather Bird Cake. After the design was approved Martin got to work, decorating the cake using outdoor house paint.  “ For a couple of weeks I would go down to an abandoned part of the press room where the plate room was and paint. It’s been on display in the lobby but will now be perched outside through the end of the year.”

(From the Blog written by Suzanne Corbett)

Guest blogger - Rich

Ninety-eight down 152 to go.

Weather Bird and Cake artist Dan Martin

Church of the Holy Family

 Log Cabin Church Cake

Church of the Holy Family in Cahokia, Illinois ,  is a breathtaking  example of an early log church. My words would not do this place justice so you can read about this early log church at the blog Rome of The West. 

The care taker of the church was friendly and helpful. It was very hot the day we seen the church but it had air conditioning. We were told that it does not have heat in the winter.

It was a fine place for quiet reflection. For some reason our attention was drawn to the bell tower in the steeple. 

Guest blogger - Rich

Cake artist - Screwed Arts collective 

Ninety-seven down 153 to go.

Old Cahokia Courthouse Site

Dismantle cake

Built around 1740, the Old Cahokia Courthouse was originally a residence then a courthouse.

In 1904, the court house was one of Illinois oldest building. Promoters for the St. Louis World's Fair bought it, dismantled it, and rebuilt it as a fair attraction. At the end of the fair it was dismantled and moved again for the rebuilding of Jackson Park in Chicago.

With each move, the building would lose parts of timber that was used in the original construction. Cahokia residents lobbied for the court house to be returned. When it was rebuilt on the original site, it also contains some pieces of timber from the original structure.

The building contains a small museum of colonial life in Cahokia and a recreation of the courtroom.

Cake artist - Justin Tolentino

Ninety-six down 154 to go.

Malcolm W. Martian Memorial Park

We need more MRO in our cake.

I must admit I did not know this place existed, and the people who are there did not know it exists either.

As we were driving to the Malcolm W. Martian Memorial Park my wife said the there is a world-famous fountain at the park. Seeing a couple coming off the Mississippi River Overlook, known as the MRO on park signage, I inquired about the location of the fountain, or The Gateway Geyser. This park is such a well-kept secret that they were the only other people in the park area and it is a big park. They informed me that they did not know that there was a water feature about except for the mighty Mississippi.


I thought there must be some sort of fountain there because the logo of the park was a fountain. Walking up the MRO I was on a sharp lookout for geyser. I was quickly rewarded and saw the structure. I told my wife it must be off for maintenance and she told me that it goes off every three hours.

It was a very hot day and I did not feel like hanging out for an hour and a half in the blazing afternoon sun. I liked this park and looked around as much as I could till the heat got to me. I will go back when it is cooler and at either twelve or three o'clock to watch the geyser.

Guest blogger - Rich

Artist  Theresa Hopkins

Ninety-five down 155 to go.

Katherine Dunham Museum

Dance cake

The Katherine Dunham Museum consists of a collection of furniture, paintings, musical instruments, costumes, decorations, photographs, sketches, a broad range of ethnic art objects, and a cross-section of personal belongings documenting the life of this extraordinary woman.

Katherine Dunham, the Matriarch of Black Dance beleived that dance was an integral part of a people's social structure. She traveled to the Caribbean to study African rituals and native dance forms.

Upon returning to the United States, Katherine Dunham introduced African and Caribbean rhythms to modern dance and ballet. This became known as the Dunham Technique.

When she moved to East St. Louis, Illinois, she was struck by the signs of anger and hostility among the city's youth and believing dance to be "concerned with the fundamentals of society,"  She established the Performing Arts Training Center, designed to offer city youth constructive alternatives to violence.

Cake artist - Dail Chambers

Ninety- four down 156 to go.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Center

Olympic cake

The Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Center, is named for Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who is one of the all-time greatest athletes in the  women's heptathlon and long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals, at four different Olympic Games.

She established the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation, which provides athletic lessons and resources for youth, adults, and families to improve their quality of life.

When we pulled into the center the parking lot was closed. We could see the cake not too far from there. I didn't know if the center was open or not. There were only a couple of cars in the parking lot. We drove along the driveway and came to an open gate in the fence that had a walkway leading right down to the cake. Right next to this walk way is another walkway coming from the Metrolink Station. And right after that was something I have never seen before, a  surveillance truck.

The center has really nice kept grounds and was bigger than I thought it was. It has basketball courts, athletic fields, computers and community rooms. The school district uses the center for after-school programs.

The cake really celebrates a birthday party. It has lots of colorful balloons on it.

Cake artist -  Linda Thompson

Ninety- three down 157 to go.

Le Grange de Terre (Big Mound) Memorial

STL Mound cake

When the French settlers saw this big mound, they called it La Grange de Terre, which means “Earthen Barn”. It was later referred to as The Big Mound since it was the biggest of the twenty-seven Indian mounds that were located in the St. Louis  area.

As the population of St. Louis increased, the mound was leveled and the dirt was used to make bricks to build housing. All that is left is the boulder and that was relocated to where it is now to make room for a new Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge .

Cake artist - Amanda Blalock

Ninety-two down 158 to go.

Gateway Harley Davidson

I don’t want a pickle just want to ride on my motor-cicle
And I don’t want a snake just want to see some cake.

Gateway Harley Davidson is a good place to see some motorcycles. Nothing like looking at those puppies and dreaming of riding in the wind with bugs in your teeth, or weaving in and out of traffic to get to the front of the line at a traffic light.

Man I didn’t buy this bike to be in line at a red light, I will sneak up to the front and nail it when it is clear. I could never do that now. I would not even drive a bike on 270. I can’t stand driving a car on 270. If I lived in Utah, I would have motorcycle. 

No geezer glide or garbage wagon for me, I like them stripped down.  Springer front end, nostalgic up sweep pipes and an open primary sort of like a Schwinn Stingray with 75 horse power. 

Andrew dreaming
of his future ride

Chrome and a fancy paint job are fine but when you have a bike the only question that must be answered is, “Does it go?” If I answered this question correctly maybe then I would go for some flames on the gas tank.  I guess this was the turning point in my life for motorcycles, when I saw Steve McQueen do this I knew I would get one.

Guest blogger - Rich

Cake artist - Theresa Hopkins

Ninety-one down 159 to go

Blue Owl

Levee High cake

The Blue Owl is located in the quaint and charming town of Kimmswick. They serve home cooked meals and specialty desserts made with that homemade touch! It is Home of The Famous Levee High Apple Pie!

The Blue Owl was Mary Hostetter's dream come true. She started with a flavorful assortment of homemade pastries, cookies, cakes, cheesecakes, pies, and candies that she sold at craft shows and festivals. The Christmas of 1984 she received 30,000 orders for her delious cookies and pasteries. After working 21 hours a day she realized she needed a commerical kitchen.

Fond childhood memories lead to The Blue Owl Sweet Shoppe.Here is where Mary created an old-fashioned candy shop featuring over 50 kinds of homemade candies.

Mini Levee High
Apple Pie

The Blue Owl has been visited by a number of TV networks. The Food Network show Road Tasted and the Travel Channel's Pie Paradise featured the Famous Levee Pies. And when the Levee High Apple Pie was chosen as One of Oprah's Favorite Things orders started coming in from around the world.

Just as Mary predicted, when she started the Blue Owl, that "people would have to wait in line to get a table at The Blue Owl, " still stands for today.

Cake artist - Stuart Schuchardt

Ninety down 160 to go.

Mastodon State Historic Site

Ice age cake

Mastodon State Historic Site is an archaeological site that contains the Kimmswick Bone Bed. Bones of mastodons and other now-extinct animals. The area is one of the most extensive Pleistocene ice age deposits in the country. The first solid evidence of the coexistence of people and these giant prehistoric beasts was when scientists excavated a stone spear point made by hunters of the Clovis culture (14,000 - 10,000 years ago)



The museum has on display a full-size replica of a mastodon skeleton and tells the story of the oldest American Indian site that you can visit in the park.

You can touch a real
mastodon's tooth

When you exit the museum there is the trail to go to the bone bed. First you have to go down some steep steps. A sign said there were 139 steps. I really didn't count them as I was concentrating on walking down them,as Colin and Andrew were already at the bottom waiting for me. We walked along the trail and came to another set of very steep steps. They reminded me of the steps at Niagara Falls. It was a really hot summer day and I didn't have any water or first aid kit with us. I told the boys this hike would be best to do in the fall season.

Cake artist - Rich Brooks

Eighty-nine down 161 to go.

 

Maritz / Fort Belle Fontaine

Paranoia strikes deep into your cake it will creep.

We went to see the cake at Maritz the other day. I did not know my way around the place and for some reason a bridge used by the company was not in use that day. Long story short I wound up driving around the place and going down one-way streets the wrong way making a general nuisance of my vehicle and myself. I was never at this place before and so I asked a few people for directions to the cake and of course, no one knew where it was. The whole time as I was bouncing about the company grounds of Maritz I was being followed by their security, some SUV was keeping an eye on me. When I stopped by the cake that I finally found the SUV pulled alongside of me and gave me the once over. I had the impression that I was not welcome there and the quicker I left the better. That is the way I am, I do not like being checked out.

I really got the once over at Fort Belle Fontaine. You have to stop at a guardhouse and state your business. I said I wanted to go to the Fort and check out the cake. I was told there is no port there. I said I want to see the Fort not port which brought out the head guard as she was taking back talk. I was asked whom did I want to see and I said the cake to take a picture of it. I do not know whose idea it was to put a cake in this place because it may be a historical site but it is also a youth detention center, to me this does not seem to be the best of ideas. This is why you had to state your purpose for going to this place. I commented on this fact after I was informed of it which on seemed to annoy the guards even more. On my own part, this also was not the best of ideas.  After signing the log, a quick check of my license plates, and an evil eye stare down I was given a pass and allowed in.  It was a hot soupy day so I did not explore the fort or take the stairs down to the river.  After taking a few pictures I headed down the road, which seemed to go nowhere except into a cluster of cottages on a torn up old narrow path. I turned my car around and went back the way I came. I am not sure if I was going the wrong way on a one-way street but I did see a black helicopter hovering overhead on my way out.

Guest blogger - Rich

Cake artist
     Rich Brooks
     Screwed Arts

Eighty-eight down 162 to go.

World Bird Sanctuary

Raptor cake

The World Bird Sanctuary was founded by Ornithologist, Walter C. Crawford, Jr. Crawford. He began his career at the St. Louis Zoo working with then Zoo's Director Marlin Perkins. Originally named the Raptor Rehabilitation & Propagation Project. The land formerly belonged to the U.S. Army, who used the area as a munitions depot during WWII. Many of the first bird buildings were old Army facilities.


There are live displays of Bald Eagles, Owls, Hawks, Falcons, Vultures, Parrots, Reptiles and much more! They offer free seasonal shows, nature trails and educational programs for all.

An onsite Wildlife Hospital is where veterinarians, rehabilitation staff and volunteers have treated over 300 distressed raptors each year. They also have a Parrot rehabilitation and has treated over 900 parrots 1977.

Cake artist - Mark Swain

Eighty-seven down 163 to go.