Its been a great trip so far here in St. Louis with the officer team! We went to the zoo yesterday morning then to tour Purina Mills after lunch. We were able to get permission through some connections to go on the research tour that they normally give to other companies in the ag industry. We were able to see their beef cattle barn where they were doing palatability tests with different feeds, the equine barns where they test a horses performance on a huge treadmill that inclines to a 10% grade, the dairy parlor where they were moving the different lots of cows through milking them with all electronic gates and sprayers that worked automatically with sensors, and to the companion animals research barn where they were doing a study on meat rabbits. There is so much more to the tour than I can even begin to describe. It was so interesting. Its amazing how much research goes into every component of feeding and raising livestock. It was a perfect tour and very educational for these FFA students to experience. We werent allowed to take many pictures while we were there in respect for their rules. They dont want their research information being available to competitors and they also dont want people coming in with a personal agenda to falsely represent the ag industry, like PETA. They in no way do anything harmful or detrimental to the animals, but organizations like PETA have a way of filming something and making it seem like something its not. This was not the same tour that the general public gets to take. But, if you ever have a way to get in to take the research tour, I highly recommend it! We then went to the Cardinals game last night. It was still drizzling when we got there but it soon quit. Despite losing the game, we all had a blast! This morning, we were going to go up in the Arch, but we were going to have to wait until 3pm to go up. So, we went and got lunch instead and came on out to Six Flags. We already went online and bought tickets to go up in the Arch in the morning. The kids are having a blast riding all the thrill rides here at Six Flags. Because of numerous bone lesions, I cant ride roller coasters or other thrill rides anymore. the only ride Ive been on is the big water raft. We got soaked but it was fun and felt good to cool off. Now, were in Hurricane Harbor, the water park side of Six Flags. Im trying my best to avoid doing something that would put me at an increased risk of infection, so Im sitting in one of the beach chairs under the shade while all the others go play on all the water rides and pools. Everyone else all summer has taken pics of their legs and feet while soaking up the sun so I took one and included it below! We are having a great time! Im so glad I got to come without my own kids so that I could just enjoy everything and not worry about diapers, naps, etc. Man, I sure am missing them though!
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 23:45:56 +0000
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