Missouri loves company

Tuesday I left Cincinnati for St. Louis. The drive was rather uneventful. I got into the Gateway city and had the urge to be much higher. So I found a parking spot and made my way over to the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Gateway Arch. The structure is pretty awe inspiring, and as I made my way towards it I started to get amusement park excited. The entrance to the arch is underneath, so the museum and gift shop are under the ground directly below the arch. With my national parks pass I was able to save $3 off of the $10 ticket cost for the ride to the top of the arch. I approached the elevator with excitement only to find 8 separate cars. The cars are an egg shaped pod that remind me of a tea cup ride out of 2001: A Space Odyssey, each only sit 5 adults (rather tightly). Luckily, it was a slow day and my ride up was with only one other guy. The ride actually reminded me of a ferris wheel. Once at the top and at 630 feet there was a hallway with a few windows on the east and west side of the arch. The west side looks over the city of St. Louis and the east looks over the Mississippi river. I understand that on a clear day the visibility is around 30 miles. Being up there was quite amazing. My cell phone had perfect service up there and I was even able to make two phone calls. My trip down was all by myself, which was nice. From there I made my way over to my friend KJ's house.

I spent the rest of Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursady morning with KJ, her husband Rodney, their ~two year old son Trey, and their baby daughter Caroline. Wednesday, KJ drove me and Caroline around town to show me some of the exciting stuff about town. One of the things we drove past was the City Museum, I wish that I had the opportunity to get inside and outside of it to check it out. We had lunch at Blueberry Hill with Rodney, we all had burgers and the food was quite good. Wednesday after breakfast I said goodbye, on my way to Hot Springs, Arkansas.