Last night, I repeatedly woke up in the middle of the night. The Walmart parking lot where I parked the RV was illuminated throughout the night, which made it difficult to stay asleep. Also, the cold weather made it difficult to stay asleep. Accounting for all the midnight breaks, I probably only slept 4-5 hours.
After waking up around 7:30 AM, I immediately began driving toward St Louis. About an hour into the drive, I stopped for breakfast at a Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr off the freeway in rural Iowa. The fast food restaurant was filled with groups of elderly men and women. The men were eating together in groups ranging from two to five people, and the women were also eating together in groups ranging from two to five people. It seems like most of the people routinely visited the restaurant in order to socialize, drink coffee, and eat breakfast. All of the men and women seemed to live simple lives as farmers and appeared to be very lively, energetic, outgoing, and content. A couple of people even wished me “good morning” as they walked past me near the beverage counter.
After taking a shower at an Anytime Fitness in St Louis, I drove over to Downtown St Louis to visit the St Louis Arch and Old Courthouse. As a single ticket holder, I was able to hop onto the 1PM tour, rather than having to wait until the 4PM tour. Here are some interesting facts about the Arch:
- The Arch is meant to symbolize the entryway/expansion route that Lewis and Clark took when they explored Westward.
- The Arch is 630 feet high, and the ground distance between the bases is also 630 feet
- The Arch was constructed in 1963 and has never needed any structural repairs since its construction
The tour began as we descended a ramp into one of the bases of the structure. We continued descending ramps and stairways until we were 50 feet below ground, the lowest point of the structure and also where the transportation cabs are located. The 9 transportations cabs transport visitors to the highest point inside the arch where there are eastward and westward facing views. Knowing about the history of the arches and its meaning added a lot of value to the experience.
While enjoying the view from the top of the Arch, it was interesting to notice how flat the terrain is in St Louis. As far as could be seen in any direction, the landscape looked to be perfectly flat in all directions.
After, I walked to the Old Courthouse, which was built almost about a hundred fifty years ago. In the below-pictured room in the courthouse, Dred Scott sued Ms. Emerson for his freedom and was emancipated.
The Cathedral of Basilica of St Louis is located on the border of a low-income neighborhood. The design and mosaic-work was very detailed and beautiful.
“The Loop” (Also the “Delmar Loop”) is known, probably too generously, as “One of the 10 great streets in America.” The street is lined with older, street retail buildings housing restaurants, bars and specialty shops. What makes “The Loop,” “The Loop?”
- Proximity to University (serves as a hub for college retail/dining)
- Street retail (buildings have no setback from street)
- Sidewalk dining
- Large tree-lined sidewalks
- Specialty shops, restaurants, and bars
I ate a meal at Chipotle, had a (tasty) cookie from Cookie Insomnia, and then continued driving a couple hours to Columbia, MO.
Song of the day:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxuY9FET9Y4&w=560&h=315]
