Events of Friday, August 20, 2010

          We woke up this bright and shiny morning well-rested and re-energized, excited to explore St. Louis, Missouri. After finally having a quiet night without nearby trains’ loud whistles, we were in good spirits to start out for the day. And what a day it turned out to be!

          We ate our breakfast quickly and got dressed and ready to go. We packed up bags of snacks and water bottles and headed out for the day’s adventure. We drove out of the campsite and as we turned the street corner, Abby gasped, “This is my first ever glimpse of the Gateway Arch!” Drama queen! Our first stop of the day was at a car repair shop. We turned off into the Midas parking lot because our brakes had begun to get noisy, so they needed repair. While Daddy got everything settled with the repair people, the rest of us prepared ourselves for the intense heat and humidity on our doorstep. At 8:30 am, the thermometer burst at 87 degrees with heavy humidity. But, that’s all part of the adventure!

          We walked a ½ mile to the base of the arch. By the time we reached the underground museum and visitor’s center, we were dripping with sweat. We gratefully entered the air conditioning with sighs of relief. At the entrance of the visitor’s center, much to our surprise, there was a security check. They asked for all electronic devices, bags, backpacks, and belts. Then, we had to walk through the metal detector while holding our wrists above our heads. All of us had been checked and ‘OK’ed and then we looked to make sure all were present and found that Ben was missing. We looked behind us to find Ben struggling to put his belt back on. Daddy and Abby went to the bathrooms while the rest of us waited for Ben. He looked so comical that I asked Caitlin to take a picture of him. She did. Then the next thing we heard was: “Um, excuse me, ma’am. Would you bring me that camera and show me the picture you just took?” Red-faced, Caitlin walked over to the security guard. He made her delete the picture of Ben. Poor Caitlin was so embarrassed! It appears it is against the law to take a picture of a security check point. Oops!

           We proceeded to the ranger’s desk. There we got our Junior Ranger booklets. Daddy purchased tickets for a documentary of the making of the arch. We watched it. Haha! No, it was really helpful in introducing us to the whole idea of the arch. It was amazing to see how the arch was constructed. And it was also amazing that although it was calculated that probably 13 people would die in the making of the arch, none did. After the movie finished, we went into the actual museum part of the museum and looked around there. We stayed there until it was announced over the intercom that cake was being served to honor what would have been the arch’s architect’s 100th birthday. We all got a piece of cake and thought how lucky and blessed we were.

          At 10:10 sharp, we headed over to the place where you go up into the arch. We stood in line briefly before entering little egg shaped enclosures that would take you up to the top of the arch. There were five people in one, so we split three and three. Daddy, Ben, and I were in one with a couple from Michigan. They gave us some good information about visiting Michigan and Europe. Mom, Abby, and Caitlin were in another and were not sociable enough to meet their companions. Tsk tsk! But, it was worth it when we reached the top! The view was SPECTACULAR and we spent a lot of time pointing things out to everyone. Mom found four apartment buildings with pools on top. I found a hotel swimming pool and saw people splashing in it. Caitlin noticed that some gardens on a lawn looked like arches from our point of view.

          We headed back down on the South line (we came up the North line) in a totally different way. We entered our little cars. Caitlin came over and took our picture in our car and them in theirs. Then, a lady asked Caitlin to take her picture. Just as she did, the announcer told us to get ready to go. Caitlin had asked to go down with Daddy, Ben, and I because we were alone. Just as she jumped into our car, the doors shut and we started off. We laughed over her narrow escape.

          When we returned, we went to another documentary about Lewis and Clark. It had a funny beginning. A voice had just left us with, “We hope you enjoy this exciting film.” Then, the screen went black. And so it was for a few minutes. We joked sarcastically about how exciting it was. Then, it started really loudly and we all jumped! We later voted it the better of the two documentaries we had seen today.

          As we exited the theater, it was announced that there was a puppet show starting up in the museum. We went and watched it for the fun of it. Afterwards, we started to get hungry. So, we exited the museum into the humidity. Seeing as how our RV was on risers in a repair shop we went out in search for a restaurant. All we passed for a while were bars, or way too expensive. At one stop that looked promising, a waitress told us that a heavy storm was coming in any minute. When asked how heavy, the lady looked at us and said, “Heavy.” We walked with more speed. As a few drops fell, we entered a Subway. We heard thunder and saw lightning, but no really heavy rains came, just a few drops. Anyhow, we ordered our sandwiches and sat down to chow. Delicious was one of the words that came out when our mouths were not completely stuffed. We walked out of the shop and walked down by the Mississippi River. We came upon a statue that was halfway under the water. We inquired and learned that there had been crazy flooding recently. The statue was of Lewis and Clark upon their triumphal return to St. Louis. Only all you could see was Lewis’ head and hand waving his hat and Clark’s hat looked like it was floating on the river. There were steps going down to the water that were meant to go down to the sidewalk! Caitlin and Abby waded in the river for a little ways. We took pictures and then headed back to the museum. Once again we entered the A/C and went through the security and waited for Ben and his belt, but no pictures this time! We finished up in the museum and browsed the gift shop. Caitlin got a notebook and Ben got the Diaries of Lewis and Clark book.

          Then, we went to the Historic Old Courthouse where “Dred Scott, a slave, asked for his freedom. And Virginia Minor pressed her right to vote.” We toured the floors and courtrooms for a while. Then, we went to the movie room to watch another documentary, this time on the Dred Scott case.

          With the promise of a swim when we got back to our campsite, we headed back to the newly fixed RV. We drove back to our campsite with the A/C blowing and changed into our swimsuits. We were very excited when it started to rain, but then there was lightning, so we had to wait on our promised swim. Instead, we watched the end of The Music Man, while the rain poured, the wind whooshed, the lightning crashed, and the thunder boomed. When the movie had finished, we ate a delicious dinner of tacos. By then, the storm had subsided, so the swimming and showers that followed were more than enjoyable. By the time we were in bed, however, the storm had returned, so as the rain poured, the wind whooshed, the lightning crashed, and the thunder boomed, we snuggled down with yummy memories.