So…my wife and I did something way cool this weekend! We went to the Wildwood Lodge in Steelville, MO to see Guy
Clark. The Lodge was built in the 1920’s and has that “old” feel to it that I just love. It sits on a bluff above the Meramec River on a truely stunning piece of land. They serve a “country” style dinner in the dinning room—prime rib, fresh trout and all the fixin’s—and a huge breakfast and enough hospitality to keep you smiling for a year! Bob Bell and his family are the hosts and they do an incredible job. The concerts are held in the great room around the fireplace and you are literally sitting inches away from the performers. Guy Clark just blew us away. (And Mr. Clark—if you ever do read this post—my apology again for asking so many questions! I’m a huge fan. I probably made that a little too obvious the other night). Anyway, if you love good music, great food and a beautiful setting in the Ozark foothills, you owe it to yourself to visit Wildwood sometime soon. Check out their upcoming concerts at www.wildwoodspringslodge.com. And thanks Bob! We hope to see you soon!

What we did on our summer vacation…well, my favorite time of year has come to a screaching halt with the start of the 09/10 school year.  My son already has two weeks of school under his belt.  As I’ve said many times before, I’m one of those parents who hates to see the kids go back to school.  I know…some  parents can’t wait for the school year to start so they can get back to a normal routine, but not me.  I love having kids around.  I wish they didn’t go back until after Labor Day!

This summer was a little different for the Doyle clan.  My son went on a mission trip to Iowa to build handicap ramps for recent flood victims.  He now knows the business end of a paint brush, among other things!  Thanks to Bart, Marty and all the good folks at St. Michael’s and St. George for giving my son an experience he’ll never forget!  While my son was doing the dirty work, my wife and I did a quick getaway to Santa Rosa Beach on the Florida Panhandle.  It was like a second honeymoon!  We read, took long walks on the beach, cooked some incredible,  fresh seafood and …well, that’s about it!  It was pretty close to perfect. 

Whatever you did this summer, I hope it was as memorable as mine.  If you have a minute, tell me about it…

Wow!  Did St. Louis look great for the All Star game, or what?  I was extremely proud of everything our fair city did this last week.   Apparently it was noticed all over the country too.  While my wife and I were watching the game,  I received phone calls from Cleveland,  San Diego, Chicago and New Orleans from friends who were enjoying the snapshot of St. Louis that the game was providing.  At one point, I actually took the phone off the hook … I really did want to see some of the game and not spend the whole time on the phone!   One  of my favorite moments in the game was when Albert Pujols caught the President’s first pitch and then took his hat off as he was shaking hands with President Obama.  Albert is such a classy guy! 

The whole week has truly been a “midsummer classic!”   A tip of the hat to all St. Louisans!!!   You really made us shine!

Hope everyone had a fabulous July 4th holiday.  Around the Doyle house, we have a huge celebration every year!  We tie the 4th together with my wife’s birthday and go full tilt boogie!  In fact, we actually boogie all month long.  July is officially known as “the month of Ann” in our house!

It’s  All Star time!  Hope you can make it downtown for some of the festivities and maybe even the game!  The Sheryl Crow/Elvis Costello concert under the Arch on Saturday will definitely be one of the highlights.  If you need any details on what’s happening,  go to our website—kezk.com—and you’ll find all kinds of useful links.    Have a great weekend!

Summer means so many things to me…vacation time with my wife and son,  sweltering days at the pool, the smell of freshly cut grass, watching and listening to the Cardinals, chasing fireflies at night, wearing fewer clothes!  The list goes on and on.  One of the other things that really defines summer for me is seeing little kids with lemonade stands on the corners in our neighborhood.  I can never resist a glass of kid-ade!  If you have kids who are running a stand this summer, check out www.Inc.com.  It’s Inc. Magazine’s website and they’re looking for the nation’s best lemonade stands!  Your kids could become famous and maybe even win some cool prizes!  And let me know where your stands are…in 95 degree weather I’m always looking for an excuse to stop and have a glass!  Happy summer!

So…one of the ironies I find about lawn care in the summer is…you want your lawn to look great, right?  But you don’t necessarily want to spend your whole summer working on it.  Hot summer Saturdays…don’t make me care for my lawn…I want to be somewhere where the water is clear and cool and the drinks are just the same!  So why do we put all this fertilizer on our lawns in the spring?  It just makes the lawn grow faster and that means we have to tend to it more often.  Like on those Saturdays…  any ideas?

Okay…here we go!  I always know summer has officially arrived when we start doing our afternoon broadcasts from the world famous St. Louis Zoo!  We’ll be there tomorrow (6.12, from 2-7 pm).  Stop by and join the fun.  We have free ice cream, a free concert starting at 5p and there’s a good chance my co-hort and geeky traffic reporter,  Mary Ann Carson, will wear a goofey hat!    Oh…and I almost forgot…they have all kinds of cool animals there too!  Our Zoo is such a jewel in the cultural world of St. Louis.  If you don’t come out tomorrow to see us, make it a point to visit the Zoo sometime soon!

I am so proud…please allow me to be a little self-indulgent here…my  son recently was named his school’s ‘09 recipient of the Hugh O’Brian (HOBY) award for excellence in leadership!  Yes…Hugh O’Brian the actor who played Wyatt Earp in the 50’s and 60’s!  So, anyway…my wife and I took my son to Cape Girardeau for the leadership conference at Southeast Missouri State University (thanks all you Redhawks!!!) and after we dropped him off, we went down to the riverfront.  It was incredible!  Why is it that a town the size of Cape Girardeau can create a family-friendly, historically significant riverfront atmosphere and a city the size of St. Louis can’t?  Maybe I need to get together with my buddy Charlie Brennan down at KMOX and get some wheels rolling.  My wife and I were amazed at what they’ve done in the Cape along the riverfront…and we were a bit ashamed for the one gazillionth time that we haven’t done better here in America’s greatest river city.  Do you have any ideas?  If so…I’d love to hear them! 

At the end of the weekend we drove back to the Cape and picked my son up.  He reports that the HOBY conference experience was very rewarding.  He also told me to leave him alone for a week while he catches up on lost sleep!

Why don’t you join us this Friday (May 29) from 5-7pm for happy hour at MORTON’S THE STEAKHOUSE in Clayton!  It’s the celebrity bartender event to benefit Operation Food Search.  I’ll be joined by Kristen Cornett of News 4. For $25 you can enjoy cocktails, wine, appetizers and that signature Morton steak!  All for a great cause.  There will be door prizes and tons of fun stuff to do.  Operation Food Search provides meals to over 100,000 people a month in St. Louis, nearly half of whom are children.  C’mon…eat, drink and be merry with us this Friday.  I’d love to see you there!

What a great Memorial Day weekend.  I hope you took at least a few moments to ponder what Memorial Day means in America.  It’s not just the start of summer and the BBQ season.  It’s about the brave men and women we’ve lost in the name of freedom.  Whether you believe in war or not,  our troops since the Revolution in 1776 have fought so we could be  free.  It’s a sad fact that man still seems to want a fight…whether it’s over land, religion or politics.  I hate to say it, but it just seems like we have that in our DNA.  Maybe someday…    Meanwhile, I do like to think that when our troops enter the fray, it’s for the right reasons.  We’ve made mistakes in wartime but I still think…more often than not…we do the right thing.   So…a tip of the hat and a solemn bow to the ones who have gone before us so that we can live free in this great country.

My bouncin’ baby boy,  Seamus,  turned 16 this weekend and I took him to the Indianapolis 500 for his birthday.  It was a blast!   Whether you’re a car racing fan or not, I really believe you should experience–once in your life–the moment when 33 Indy race cars take the green flag and go from 135 mph to 225 mph in 4 seconds.  It’s a moment you will never forget.  And TV just doesn’t give it justice.  It was an incredible day, race and birthday for Seamus!    Many more buddy!!!

Hope you had a great weekend!!!!!  Welcome to Summer!!!!  Yipeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!