From the Top

I realized I hadn't posted the most obvious photos from our St. Louis trip--those from the arch. Amanda captured most of these, from either the van or at the top. I didn't go up this time, but waited down below with my knitting project in hand.

Enjoy the view!

Arriving at the riverfront:



Bridges over the Mississippi River:



Illinois:



Downtown St. Louis (& beyond!):



Busch Stadium:



The Old Courthouse:



From the base (see the windows at the top??!!):



This last is the only one of the bunch I took. Seeing the city from the top of the arch is pretty cool! If you go: be prepared for a LOOOONG security check point if you go in the north entrance (closest to the parking ramp). [Tip: walk around to the other entrance. Almost no one does, meaning the security line there is WAAAY shorter!] Be prepared to remove your belt and have everything scanned. They do refuse to admit people in this post-9/11 world. They turned the 3 people in line ahead of us around and wouldn't let them in after they failed the metal detector 3 times.

Union Station

Union Station was St. Louis' railroad hub back when long-distance travel meant taking the passenger train. Today it is a shopping center and hotel complex. Still, the architecture is wonderful. And you can't beat lunch at Hard Rock!

















Note to any and all persons who may have ever visited Union Station with us: Even though there seemed to be fewer shops inside, The Fudgery is still there. They still sing. They still give a free sample following the "show." The fudge is still really good!

Kid Paradise

The City Museum is new to St. Louis since we moved away in 1988. (Wow, that's a long time ago!) It is pretty much Mecca if you're a kid (or a kid at heart, or need to keep a kid busy.) It's a re-claimed warehouse/office building with 3+ stories of fun to explore and a human-sized hamster run attached to the outside of the building. Oh yeah, there's also fun on the roof, including a school bus perched OVER the corner, 11 stories up. (Yeah, you can go in. Yeah, the front door opens. Yeah, it's WAAAAY off the ground!!!)

Take a peek!


















You'd be surprised by all the places kids found to crawl around and explore. They had a great old arcade. And an area where they collect architectural details from old buildings being demolished. And several slides where you got on the slide on one floor and ended up down a couple stories. (One slide was made from the rollers at the loading docks, only instead of being flat to push boxes into the storage area, it was tilted for a pretty fast ride!)

All in all, if you're intrigued, or have kids, you should go if you get to St. Louis. Skip the added $$ for the roof if your kids are older than 12-13. Entrance bands are good for the whole day, so pack a lunch!

Getting Our Kicks.....

. . . down on Route 66!





Just home again from our annual family road trip (a.k.a. "vacation," though we use the term loosely this year as neither my dh nor myself feel very rested or renewed!)

I'll post more pics later. For now just wanted to explain the absence of late.