Today we started by driving by our old home in Bellville, IL. I was 1 year old and Marta came home from the hospital she was born in to this house. It was quite close to our hotel. Mom gave us the address and GPS did the rest.
The neighborhood looked ok but not like the right place to stop and take pictures, so I snapped the above photo with my phone as we drove by. I believe it is the left side we lived in.
Then we drove into St. Louis to see the Gateway Arch. Our drive in was exciting for all of us, especially the girls as they competed to see who would see it first (Emily won).
The Gateway Arch as we crossed the Mississippi
We were able to park in the cathedral parking lot which was the closest to the memorial. Then we walked over to it and bought our tickets.
Entrance and tram ticket to go to the top
Then we had a chance to enjoy the outside of the arch.
Selfie by Marta Wetmore
Photo by Marta Wetmore
Once inside, we looked around the gift shop before our turn to take the tram to the top of the Arch. We had to stand in line quite a while, waiting to get in the tram.
Photo by Marta Wetmore
As you can see, we were assigned car 4.
Loaded in our car. Selfie by Marta Wetmore
Photo by Marta Wetmore
We worked our way through the crowd to view out the windows.
Emily enjoys the view of the Mississippi River
Tug boat on the Mississippi River. Photo by Marta Wetmore
Western view over the Old Courthouse and Busch Stadium
Emily makes her way to the very center
Emily poses in the very center, 630 feet above the ground.
After getting our full of the view, we road the tram for 3 minutes back to the ground level. We went back to the gift shop to get the things we picked out earlier and a few snacks to tied us over until supper. As we ate, we saw a ranger letting kids get their picture taken in this cut out of a real lady ranger. The girls had to give it a try!
Abigail
Emily
And Emily tried on a ranger hat they had.
Then it was time to view the film on the making of the memorial. I remember seeing this film years ago as a kid when I came here with my family. Emily and Abigail watched with enthusiasm. It was amazing to learn that no one died in the construction of something designed in the 1940's and built in the 1960's without anyone even knowing if the construction would be possible.
Relief on the wall outside the entrance to the theater.
After the film, we were ready to go and see the Old Courthouse. When we walked out the door, we could see that it was pouring rain. A number of people were standing in the covered area, waiting it out. When it seemed to let up a little, we made the decision to make a run for it. It turned out to be a bad decision. Even though we had a relatively short distance to go, the rain picked up terrible and we were soaked through by the time we got to the car.
Abigail posing as drowned rat 1
Emily as drowned rat 2
Once the rain stopped, we got out of the car and walked over to the Old Courthouse. The clouds made a beautiful backdrop for the Arch as we walked there.
Cathedral and Arch
Old Courthouse
We stopped to look at the statue of Dred and Harriet Scott whose famous case was tried here and went down in the history books (read below).
We went inside and looked in the rotunda at the flags and bunting.
Emily and Abigail pose on the second floor.
One of the rangers at the Arch mentioned that there were multiple designs submitted for the monument. He said there was a display of the top 5 designs at the Old Courthouse. After we looked around the rotunda, I asked a ranger there where we could find the display. He directed us to the library on the second floor. When we got there, we found out that there was no display, but a researcher there gave us a private view of a book they had there of the top designs. Interestinglyg enough, the winner's father had also submitted a design and was the original one they contacted to say he had won, not realizing it was his son's design they had chosen! It was very interesting to see and we were very grateful she took the time to show it to us! She said in 2017 when the monument is finished, they will have 3D models of the top 5 designs for people to see.
We enjoyed the view from the top of the Old Courthouse steps as we left to go back to our car.
Look, I'm holding it up! Photo by Marta Wetmore
Marta and the girls
When we got to our car, we started the drive to do some shopping and eat supper. On the way, we passed Busch Stadium where the St. Louis Cardinals play
We also passed the famous Budweiser sign that I remember passing as a kid.
Eventually, we went to P.F. Chang's for supper before our long drive to Independence, MO.
Posing at the fountain outside the restaurant
We drove through more fairly heavy rain to get there, but we found it ok and were ready to get some rest after all of our adventures!
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