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Peanut, "Wow, mom, now we can say we've been to all 50 states! What are we gonna do next?"

04 August 2008

St. Louis, MO











Despite the seedy vibe of this city, we had a most incredible day.

First of all, it was the hottest day of the year, hitting 107 I think. Well, it’s too darn hot. We’re melting. Addressing the kids is like talking to a door. They have far-off dazed expressions and can barely move their bodies. Their cheeks are so red you'd think they were sunburned and if I hear, “I’m fwetty” from Doodle one more time as I’m giving her a piggy-back ride in this heat, I’ll just lose it. Air-conditioned rooms have become the Promised Land.

We took another Riverboat tour on the Mississippi because we couldn’t help ourselves. Grandma has been on Cloud 9 all day – the focus of the boat tour being St. Louis history was the icing on the cake!

Our hotel is right across the freeway from the Gateway Arch. Never did I imagine it to be so beautiful and so large. It’s actually the tallest national landmark, beating the Statue of Liberty, Washington Monument and even Mt. Rushmore. A sleek example of architecture before its time.

Did you know there’s a tram to go up inside the arch? I never would have guessed this was possible and never even noticed the tiny windows from the outside. You climb into a pod (think Star Wars) and it carries you up to the top, in a confining rickety sort of way. Doodle at one point raised her arms and said, “Look, no hands!” just to give you an idea. But at the top it’s similar to being in a submarine. There was enough room for people to cram into the tiny window space on either side and a couple of lines of people to walk down the aisle.

It’s built to be able to sway 18 inches in 150mph gusts, and just the tiny bit of swaying we experienced had me feeling light headed. The occasional scent of body odor wafting through the tunnel wasn’t helping. Claustrophobics or those with sensitive sniffers beware! Then you line up, climb into another pod and down you go. We opted to watch the ‘Building of the Arch’ video and much to my surprise the kids were enthralled. What a masterpiece of design and construction!

The base of the arch is loaded with classy tour options. We watched the Natural Geographic Lewis & Clark documentary. Without realizing it, we’ve traveled their path completely in reverse. It started here and ended at Ft. Clatsop in Oregon, one of our very first stops! In between was the Missouri River (which we played in) and the Hidatsu Earth Lodges (which we toured). The kids recognized this, a small epiphany for them, that we too, are explorers!

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