That’s our hotel!
Today was time to check out St. Louis. We are far enough out that we had to catch a bus to get to the light rail line, and then take that into the city. A couple signs that we are not in Seattle anymore: first, the sign at our hotel proudly announcing that this IS a smoking facility, and then the sign on the light rail that they JUST banned smoking on the trains as of 9 days ago.
And the light rail
Everyone had been telling us we should check out the Arch (memorial to St. Louis’s role as the gateway to the west — not only did Lewis and Clark leave from here, but so did many of the pioneer wagon trains, etc.) so we headed over there first.We went to the Old Courthouse to buy our tickets. The courthouse itself was quite interesting. Not only was it the location of the original Dred Scott case, but also had some good exhibits on early St. Louis history.
Old Courthouse and Arch
Old Courthouse – another view
Looking up in the rotunda
The Arch was interesting, but I have to say underwhelming. Getting to the top was a matter of buying a timed ticket in advance, then queuing at the designated time, then climbing aboard an amusing small little pod for the trip up. Because of the unusual shape of the arch, they can’t use a traditional elevator, so instead there is this train of little pods that climb up a curving track. Anyway, you get up to the top and exit into a very small room with tiny windows looking out in two directions. You kind of have to lean over and lay the upper half of your body on a shelf to see out the little windows. After about 5 minutes you have seen everything there is to be seen, so you queue up again for the ride back down. Yes, you can see for 30 miles in each direction, but there just isn’t much to see!
Your pod awaits
View from the top of the arch
Next to the arch is the embarkation point for the river cruise tour, so we headed over to do that as well. Again, just a bit underwhelming. Yes, it is a cruise on the Mississippi, but St. Louis just doesn’t seem to present its face to the river. Bit of empty bank, bit of old industrial buildings, lots of bridges across the river, and the rest hidden behind a wall they built to keep the floods out.
Going under a bridge
Something about this struck us
There was one interesting bit on the river, however, as we noted a ‘party boat’. It consisted of a barge pushed by a tug that had one of those tent canopies along with folding chairs and a table set up underneath. Oh, and there were a couple of honey buckets. And many people mingling around. Yup, that’s how to party on the Mississippi!
Party!
We did stop at a bike shop to pick up a couple extra water bottles for our ride, and then headed up to the big city park (site of the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair). We originally thought we might go see the zoo — supposed to be one of the best in the country – but it was too hot and our feet were too tired, so we made the very good decision to instead visit the Missouri history museum. Best thing we did all day! There was a good exhibit on the 1904 World’s Fair, and then a wonderful exhibit showing St. Louis history through panorama photographs, blown up to wall size and accompanied with explanatory notes.
We just missed the bus back to the hotel at the end of the light rail line, so we gave in and Ubered back (is that a word now?) For dinner we headed back to the BBQ place from the first night. Some brisket, shrimp and grits, and a couple beers, and we were feeling much better!
Stairs back to our hotel from the lower level