Although I would rather not drive that fast, the 1800 does just fine in OD at 65 to 70, and so we did for ~40 min. toward the city. As we rounded the bend, we could see the tip of the Arch before any other part of the city. I have to admit, it was a thrill for me too. I don't think I have been back to St. Louis since the summer we took a family vacation to visit our cousins and tour the Budweiser factory. I can tell you one thing that has not changed about St. Louis - it is still hot and humid in the summer - in case I have not mentioned this, we did not modify this car, no AC in 1963 and no AC now :)
We rolled into the city over the MLK Bridge over the Muddy (Mighty) Mississippi and strait into the old waterfront. We rolled down the old cobblestone street headed for the Arch part, but alas there is a big construction project renewing and expanding the park around the Arch, so we hit a dead-end. We found a safe parking lot, and set out on foot to find food and then see what we could of the Arch.
It turned out to be a good day to visit. After lunch we walk to the park down the city street around the construction in the warm rain and found our way to the arch -
Photo by Joe Hille -
As we approached the ticket booth, I prepared myself for the worst, but we got a positive surprise - We can get you on the 2:15 Tram to the top (it was now 2:06 - how much better can you get. I recall the first and last time I went to the top of the Arch - again, on that family vacation 38 years ago, and for me it felt like we waited in line for hours. Well, there was a little bit of deception in this time estimate because we did not actually board the tram for about another 45 min. but we were allowed into the boarding around at about 2:15. I think these guys have taken a move our of the Disney play-book. Get them past the first line and then they are committed, and they just have 2 more lines to wait in, and then the line to get back down too...
Well this was out first tourist activity, so we got into the groove and waited in line, read about the park expansion that was creating all of the mess around the monument, and I have to say, it looks like a really nice improvement. Much like the Rose Kennedy Greenway in our home city of Boston. I like to see how the cities are making these improvements for walking and biking. I wold like to come back in a couple years and see how this turned out. Maybe in the fall after the humidity subsides :)
As the door opened for us to board the tram car - or should I say the Egg Pod - I remembered this from my childhood - Joe bing 6'3" and my 6'2"- let's just say the Volvo has more head room than these Tram Pods. This monument tour is not for those of you with claustrophobia or fear of heights - I tend to have a bit of both at times... Up we went 4 min up and 3 min down they said during the pre-ride entertainment in the third line after the 2:15 tram group entered the preparation tunnel. Luckily there was a window in the tram door that allow us to see the inner working of the Arch as we went up. mostly a view of the emergency exit stairs that we would be climbing down for an hour is this system broke down. I recall the last time we went up, there was a bit of wind, so I was looking forward (NOT!) to the swaying of the Arch while we were in the observation room at the top. Well, today was pretty calm, so we were not treated to that feature, and spend about 10 min at the top taking a few photos and exploring the city from above. We could see the car parked below and a few blocks away.
Heading out of the city and a bit north - Ended the day in Hannibal MO and looking to make up some Miles on Tuesday as we head across MO, into Kansas and on toward CO.
Mileage Check - ODO 35,920
Trip OD - 1,531
PS: Found an easy way to post quick notes and photos from the iPhone to the Blog, so I plan to put more short posts up during the day while Joe is driving. Who knows, maybe a short video too.
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