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We’re in…a parking garage at our hotel. Well, I knew about it when I booked the place, so we checked in and took some things to a cart before I punched in the code and maneuvered my car to a space in the single-story garage. The GPS (which we narrowed down the names for; I think Sylvia will stick) won’t work in there, so we had to ride out from under the roof and start our day and route in the parking lot. Next door to our hotel, a community project garden was growing. A sign said it was sponsored by several organizations, and we could gaze in at the rows of the vegetation on our way to St. Louis Union Station. Our first night, I snapped my photos of the skyline from the seventh floor, crashed for a few minutes on the spacious bed, and set up my computer once again.
The next day would be packed with our full day of sight seeing, so we began with just the indoor mall and hotel arena that has a tower and full European castle-like façade. The Union Station had a food court that was welcome when in search of a
quick meal, but I also went outside to check out the city’s Hard Rock Café. It’s a tradition for my trips, and this particular one is situated beside a series of gold fish ponds. A pedestrian bridge connects diners and shoppers to a seafood place and there are docks to stand upon while feeding the swarms of tiny and rather well-fed orange and white fish. The Union Station has a hotel attached, but the next night, it was a mecca for high school prom students and a wedding reception (I pretended to be taking a picture of the Whispering Arch at that point, but I enjoyed watching a member of the wedding party groove to the music).
Along with all of these draws that make the Union Station worth at least one visit, we found a stop for the Metrolink, STL’s public transit system. On Saturday the 9th, we started with the Jefferson Expansion Memorial. Yes, that would be the Arch. A friend or two that I spoke to about my trip seemed to think that this was really the only thing to do in St. Louis; I found that it was just a beginning. At the station at
Mom with one swarm of fish
Here is a section of one of the fish ponds and Mom looking down at the many residents...they would just pool up wherever they saw a human. The quarter feed machines probably help provoke this kind of response.Union Station, we began to get advice about the stops to take and how to begin seeing the many things that were on our list. The stop names are obvious enough, but since my mother likes to chat with most anyone, we were sure to do that on this trip. At least she usually does it to gain information or to pass the time by getting into a more involved conversation that began with a “does this train go to…?” We rode to the Arch’s stop and began looking out at the corner of the Cardinals stadium and so on. I also knew that sports were big deal in this city; it seemed as though the fans could actually make it to the Edward Jones Dome or the other venues without taking their life into their own hands and becoming lost in the wasteland of fan parking. Ah, I envy them!
Once we had alighted at the station, the signs to tell us “This Way Out” were non-existent. Yet another way that London has it made, I say. We could see which way the Arch was, for it was hard to ignore through some brick arch openings that offered
views out of each side of the station. So we walked down and looked at the parking deck across the small street; here we had found a path. We just had to walk to the back of the garage and find the correct elevator and walk 45 degrees southeast and a few other minor things. Once we were at the top of the garage, a park awaited us. Sidewalks took us into a pleasant green space that would frame the famous landmark quite well. I knew that a point would come in which we would try to start taking our photos. We started to see the Arch rise all 630 feet above us before long, and from then on, it was impossible to get the entire structure in one photo. That is a fact that impresses me, but also ensures that I will snap all sorts of sections and above head shots that make me personally feel as though I’m flying. We could gaze at riverboats out on the river and see a set of stairs to one side (with a busload of young students coming; we hurried to get in the line to enter into the complex below the
MT meets us at exhibit
Here he is in STL as we waited to go to our boarding platforms and ride up to the top of the Arch. Arch), then a large open field running to our right and on into the city. An opening underneath the Arch was where we began, booking our tram ride to the top.
Going to the top of the Arch is one of those experiences that transcends the tourist experience, but if you tend to avoid rides that incite claustrophobia and forced conversations with those sharing a space pod-like structure, this may not be the attraction for you. There is much to do along with taking a tram up one of the ‘legs’ of the Arch, so the quality Museum of Westward Expansion and the educational theater and the gift shop (of course, since I do need a mini-Arch for my world collection. It must keep my Eiffel Tower and windmill company.) are options. It was a busy day for the Arch, but we got our passes and began moving through an exhibit or two for our side of the tour without much delay. We were waiting in one area with our green door hanger-like passes before moving further down to meet our door. A video ensued of the history of the Arch from the 1800’s (since I had already ‘seen’
STL spread out from the Arch
Seen through one of the little rectangular windows on either side of the narrow but impressive observation room at the top. Mark Twain and the bit of history about steamboat captains in the exhibit room), and we soon boarded our chosen side and tram with three gentlemen.
It was something like four minutes to the top and three down, but you’ll have to step inside the sample tram in the visitor’s center and look into it to decide if you want to make the trip to the top. Once we were there, we saw that the observation area was straight and narrow, but to look out of the rectangles on either side of the main floor, one had to about lay down. Plenty of other tourists crowded the windows, and once more came up, the first few feet and windows of the observation area had to be kept clear. My mom and I got a lot of vistas that we could see nowhere else, though, and we marveled at the group playing ball below in the shadow of the Arch; our height had the ‘ants’ effect on everyone. We saw Illinois out of one side and St. Louis and Missouri out of the other. Later we explored more of the museum below and got our fill of the Arch, but
our lunch was at the next stop, Forrest Park.
The Metrolink got us to the large green space filled with free attractions (such as the zoo), but we had to wander and try to find some signs in order to locate sustenance. We ate at the park visitor’s center café, and here the literature selection and maps on finding restaurants and other points of interest were superior. We visited the Missouri History Museum and the Spirit of St. Louis replica, and then we pondered the rest of our day. It led us to Washington University, for I enjoy visiting and doing self-tours of college campuses on vacation as well. This became a bit of a tradition over the years, so I’ve visited those out west and in Europe and so on (I’ve yet to see many of the Ivy League schools, but I’ve graced the quads of Harvard). We had to figure out where the central building and traditional photo opportunity would lie at ‘Wash U,’ but after being locked in the courtyard of one building (that’s a story in and of itself, but I’m just thankful for the campus map with phone numbers for the police. They called
Jefferson statue at the Museum of Western Expansion
This pivotal figure was about everywhere on our trip in STL. Here he stands at the front of the Museum underneath the Arch. the building we were in to tell someone about the geniuses who were knocking on the doors to be let back in.), we were hiking across most of the school. At journey’s end and questioning a student or two still around, we found the impressive front entrance. This triumph was compounded by going to Kayak, a cool hang out coffee bar for which we got recommendations; the afternoon pick-me-up is necessary when going all day long in a new city.
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