Babies and Beer--Urban Hike: St. Cecilia's to St. Stephen Protomartyr Fish Fry, March 20, 2105

Even at 4:39, the line to get into St. Cecilia's Fish Fry was all the way around the parking lot to the rectory.

Chimichanga!

The Buddhist Temple on Bates

Paul walks down Bates.

Foot prints in the concrete

The first day of Spring: 60 degrees and buds on a few trees.

Gallons of oil and gas travel down this railroad in South City at Bates every day.  Check out this Fox 2 News article that briefly outlines the risks.

A bell in someone's yard?

At first, I thought it was St. Patrick, but maybe Joseph? Mary was in the other planter.

The steeple of Protomartyr

Scenes from the Fish Fry.  St. Stephen Protomartyr (so called because St. Stephen is considered the first Christian martyr.Check out the skinny on St. Stephen on wikipedia.)  Fish Fry has its own flavor. It's not quite urban (like St. Cecilia and St. Pius), but it's also not really suburban, either.  This year, both wine and beer were served amid the many children who ran about, darting under the stage, in and out of tables.

Briefly unattended spawn of Catholics. (Hope no one is offended: I, myself, am the spawn of Catholics.)

Curious South City Architecture. don't think the car mirrors will allow this car to pull further up the pad.

Above and below: alive and plastic animals on the way . . . .

The Fish Fry Market in St. Louis is booming as we have always been a predominantly Catholic town. Even the fallen away ones like myself relish a good Fish Fry where you can drink a few beers and wax nostalgic in the basement cafeteria of a Parish School.  Since the line for the infamous St. Cecilia's Mexican Fish Fry was already very long by 4;39, Paul and I decided to walk the mile or so to St. Stephen Protomartyr on a Friday afternoon that just happened to be the first day of Spring.