June 13 - United States: St Louis, Missouri
A Morning With the Grandparents
We woke up early, intending to get to the St Louis Arch before 10:00. But, as it happens, one thing led to another and we didn't leave until lunch time. We had some postcards to address, a package to wrap up, and a few other minor things to do before we left. Next thing we knew, we were late.
So we hit the road but had to make a quick stop. Yesterday, we'd passed the Bigfoot 4x4, Inc building - home of the original Big Foot Monster Truck. And Jon was determined to get pictures since we had missed the world's largest prairie dog and the five and six legged livestock in Kansas. So there we were, on the side of the highway with this huge truck. These wheels were larger than life - I'm not kidding!
Jon and the Original Bigfoot Monster Truck
The St Louis Arch
Next we went down to the St Louis Arch: the Gateway to the West. Parking was, of course, a mess. But we found a place in a private lot under the freeway with some shade. Then we walked through the park until we came to the arch. Jon - who has never been here - said, "Hmmmm... I thought it was made of concrete!" Well, I'd never thought about it, but it's made of stainless steel. It's 630 feet high and 630 feet wide. That's a big arch.
The Saint Louis Arch
We went inside and stood in a massive line for entry to the arch. There are timed "pods" that are part of the elevator system up to the Arch, so you have to buy a ticket for a particular time. We also bought a ticket for the movie "Monument to a Dream", which we would see before heading to the top.
The movie was about the building of the arch and the men who were involved in it. So many of the shots were of the construction crew prancing around scaffolding 400 feet above ground. Since the movie itself was made in the 1960s or 1970s, the soundtrack sounded like something out of Star Trek. (picture Kirk circling Spock in a fighting ring). But it was interesting to see it again, and Jon seemed to enjoy it.
Then we headed to the North Tram and waited for our little pod thing to leave for the top of the arch. The line took a little while, but the actual ride to the top lasted only four minutes. There were quite a few people up there, squeezing into the little windows for the view of either downtown St Louis or the mighty Mississippi River.
Downtown St Louis - View from The Arch
The Mississippi River - View from The Arch
After about 20 minutes, we waited in a small line to get into the pods for the descent from the top. It was much later than we'd planned to be downtown, so we went back to the car and headed to Grandma and Grandpa's.
There, we showered and packed up because we were having dinner with one set of relatives and staying at my Aunt Chris's for the next two nights. Grandma and Grandpa were at a doctor's appointment and returned around 5:00 as we were loading the car. We hung out with them for a while, and left their house at 5:30 to drive to a restaurant called Patrick's.
Dinner at Patrick's With The Kaimans
Dinner was with my mother's family - her sister Mary and her husband, Pete. Also Mom's brother Vince and his wife Karen. And my grandmother, my Nana, was there. I haven't seen any of them since our wedding in 1998, so this was a nice reunion. Patrick's was in a lovely office area with a very active happy hour scene. The food was delicious and we had a very nice time catching up and sharing stories. Mary is a grandmother of her own now, and so we heard all about her children and their children. Vince's twins are around seven and he has some really funny stories about them. Mary had been keeping up with the journal, but every one else wanted to know the "favorite place", "least favorite place", "funniest memory", "most dangerous moment", among other superlatives. And, of course, Jon and I just love talking about the trip so it wasn't a problem at all.
Unfortunately, I completely forgot to take my camera out of my purse until we were in the car and on the way out of town. I hate it when I do that. (Sorry Mom!)
After dinner, we headed out to my Aunt Chris and Uncle Walter's house. Chris is my Dad's sister, and she and Walter are the parents of Bridget, with whom we stayed in Kansas City. (Got it?). They have two other daughters, Sara and Marci, who live here in St Louis. Chris and Walter have a large, gorgeous home out in the suburbs of St Louis. We arrived around 9:00PM and sat and talked to the two of them for a while. They showed us to our room, which has a king sized bed! Oh the luxury!!!
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