Are we there yet? Day 3

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On Day 3 of our journey we woke up to the view of the Gateway Arch, across the Mississippi, which was at flood stage due to the previous day's storms. It was really windy and we were not sure if we were going to be able to tour the Arch. To our surprise, the Arch was open, so we made our reservations, with less than one half hour to get there. Not a problem, right as we are just across the river-except we had to go through security like at the airport and I forgot I had mace in my purse. While I waited in line, Al jogged back to the parking lot (about 1/2 mile) dropped of the mace, and jogged back. We got through security, bought our National Park Senior passes, picked up our tickets and had 5 minutes to spare.

The first part of the tour is an excellent video which was produced while the Arch was being built between 1963-1965. The Iron workers all had cigarettes dangling from their mouths, and no one used a harness. At the start of the project, it was estimated that they would lose 13 men, however, none were lost. For all our Pittsburgh friends, it was noted that all the steel was manufactured out of Pittsburgh, and transported via the Ohio River.

The second part of the tour was riding a very small tram, like stuffing 5 people in an old VW Bug. The door to the tram was only 4 foot high so you can image how it was inside. It was so small, one of the women in the tram with us said we were all going to be close friends by the time we got to the top, which only took 4 minutes. The view was spectacular. We descended on the opposite leg of the Arch, which toke 3 minutes. We proceeded to the Old Court House, where Dred and Harriet Scott sued for their freedom from slavery. He lost his lawsuit at the county courthouse level, appealed to the Missouri State Supreme Court and won. However, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the decision and determined that the law of the land was 'once you are a slave, you are always a slave'.

We enjoyed lunch on The Hill (Little Italy) at Mama Campisi's. We tried the 'toasted ravioli' Mama's Signature recipe.

On the way to Springfield, MO we drove through Mark Twain's forest, which provided some scenic relief from the otherwise mundane drive.

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Photos

Gateway Arch
This was the view from our hotel parking lot

Gateway Arch
The view of the Arch from the Old Court House.

Comments

[Terri]

St. Louis
Guess I'll be seeing that soon when Tom moves!

[Jane Disher]

Hey there!
Linda, it sounds like a great trip so far - enjoy every mile! :0)

[Gloria]

Hi Linda, this is great. Thanks for sharing! Sounds like your trip is great.