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Published: February 15th 2015
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The Gateway Arch
The huge arch which sits next to the Mississippi and really anchors the entire city. Shortly after settling in we were lucky enough to have Martin Luther King Jr public holiday. Even more lucky is the US Army’s policy that where possible, all Army personal are to enjoy an additional day off whenever there is a long weekend (so if there is a Friday public holiday, US Army also takes the following Monday as free leave….job dependent). Fortunately my work encourages personnel to take that additional day off…..I don’t need to be told twice!! With a double long weekend we decided to head to St. Louis (pronounced Saint Lewis) which is renown for its giant arch and being the ‘Gateway to The West’. During our previous time in the US, it had never even been on our radar to visit, but with it being a short 4.5 hour drive down the road, it was our first destination.
However, we learned pretty quickly that traveling in the US with kids would be a little different than when we were DINKs. We had to wait for Paddy to finish school for the day before we hit the road, so we didn’t get away until mid-afternoon. We then endured a number of ‘I’m hungry’, and ‘I
The Zoo
Look out Nicky! Wrong place to stand. need to pee’ stops which turned a 4.5 hour trip into 7 hours. However, one our six stops along the way was to find dinner. With some help from our incredibly smart phones we were able to find some local fare, ‘Panheads BBQ shack’ a short drive off the interstate, and what a find! Those who have travelled in the US would know that the interstate highways are lined with fast food and franchise restaurants. Whilst they offer cheap food, they aren’t exactly a culinary experience so we decided to head to Panhead’s. We opened the front door and were hit with a waft of smoke and quickly realized that you could still smoke in some restaurants in America…..bad start. However, the little shack had heaps of charm – hand made furniture, a log cabin style interior, cheesy neon lights advertising American beers…..awesome! Fiona and I shared a BBQ sampler and couldn’t get through what was supposed to be a single meal, but by god it was good. I’m pretty sure I put on 2kgs eating brisket, ribs and pulled pork, but I waddled out of the restaurant a pretty satisfied (if not sleepy) bloke.
We finally
Monkeying around
Yes, I know it's an ape. made it into St Louis and were greeted by the giant arch which dominates the city skyline and really provides the city with a unique and amazing tourist attraction. We were staying in the fancy pants Hyatt Regency which backed onto the Mississippi River and was directly adjacent to the Arch and got the kids into bed so they would be good to go in the morning. In the morning we wandered through the downtown, which like a lot of American cities, was eerily quiet giving it an abandoned feel. But the city was really quite nice – there were quite a few green spaces and a large number of art-deco skyscrapers which made it pleasant to wander. We found an excellent breakfast spot called ‘Roosters’ which specialized in organic foods before heading to to the zoo. Like a number of the attractions in St Louis, the zoo was absolutely free, and a bloody fantastic zoo. We enjoyed the first relatively warm weather (about 12 degrees) and wandered around the zoo with the kids super excited to be both at a zoo, and outside in nice weather! The St Louis zoo is really up there as one of the better
Family Selfie
Hitching a ride on the train around the zoo. zoos we have had the pleasure to visit. It is has a number of small gauge trains which you can use to get around, but it is laid out in an easy and friendly manner and some of the displays are brilliant. They have designed it so in some instances you can walk in behind the displays and see the animals inside when they are resting or getting out of the cold. We were able to get right up to within about 1.5 metres of the giraffes and really appreciate just how huge they are. It was a really great experience, made all the more amazing by the fact it’s free.
That evening we met up with Jamo who had just arrive for his posting to the US and was living about 2.5 hours out of St. Louis. We enjoyed another excellent BBQ dinner before heading out on the town (Fiona kindly volunteered to mind the kids god bless her!). St Louis has a number of vibrant suburbs which are all representative of the demographics of the region. There’s a lively suburb around the University district, another restaurant area around an suburb established by Italian immigrants, and
Breakfast time
Hope the wind doesn't change
so on. Jamo and I headed to Soulard which was renown for hosting a number of Jazz and blues bars and boutique breweries. We found a fantastic little bar with a blues band who were absolutely killing it and settled in at the bar for a great night, which apparently included shots…..needless to say, I spent the next day wearing the cloak of despair…..much to Fiona’s amusement.
The boys showed no concern for my hangover and woke us early with raucous playing and yelling which drew bangs on the wall from the neighbours. I eventually dragged my backside out of bed and we decided to visit the Gateway Arch. The structure is quite stunning and really provides a central point and anchor for the city which would run the risk of being considered bland without it (although this is far from the truth). It was built in the mid-1960’s and drew inspiration from the arch shaped bridge across the Mississippi built in the 1800’s which opened up Middle America to the railroads which were the lifeblood of the country’s economy. There is a cracker of a museum underneath the Arch commemorating the expansion westward through the US
The Arch
Not hung over at all..... and what it meant for the American Indians and the buffalo. You can also catch a tiny little carriage train which takes you to the top of the arch for a top-notch view across city. Not for the claustrophobic though, as each carriage only seats five, and the carriages transition from horizontal to vertical movement as the train ascends the arch.
After the Arch we enjoyed an outstanding lunch where Jamo applied the ‘hair of the dog’ principle with an apple cider before we found one of the many green spaces within downtown to enjoy the sun. It was a moderately warm day in the sun (about 15 degrees Celsius), but when you’ve been laboring through days as cold as -17, it felt positively balmy! It was great to let the kids run and play, and enjoy the warmth of the sun on our skin as I’m pretty sure we were suffering from vitamin D deficiency! Once the sun slipped lower in the sky and the park fell into the shadow of the surrounding buildings we headed to a traditional American restaurant TGI Friday’s for a feed.
The following morning we enjoyed
an excellent breakfast at Roosters again before farewelling Jamo. We then headed to the St Louis Science and Discovery Centre. This place is another of St Louis’ outstanding and free tourist attractions. It’s a bit like Questacon, although this one is not quite as elaborate or expansive as the Discovertorium in San Fran, it had more than enough to keep the kids entertained for a couple of hours. But, we didn’t stay too long. Based on our 7-hour journey to arrive in St. Louis, we thought it wise to depart a little after lunchtime. With the kids fed and the sun streaming through the window, they both quickly fell asleep and we were able to kill a fair few miles before they woke up, and you guessed it, needed to pee. We arrived home safely and had really enjoyed our time in St Louis. Despite not being on our radar last time we were here, it was one of the better cities we’ve travelled to in the US. It has some great attractions, some beautiful buildings and it well planned and preserved. Unfortunately we didn’t get to explore the suburbs, or go to one of the more popular attractions, the
Helping out at the Museum
Nicky helped this bloke set up his display of historic items. Was very cute to see him and this boy pull the wagon all the way through the museum. City Museum, so we will undoubtedly go back again this year.
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