Highlights of Route 66

with Archers Holidays, June 2015

Today was a 7am bags, 8am bus day, so we were up fairly early. We set off for our next Route 66 location of St Louis, Missouri (that's pronounced Lew-iss by the way.) We made a stop alongside the Mississippi River on the border with Missouri for a restroom stop.

We headed down to the river to see the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge. We walked out onto this now decommissioned bridge which was a steel structure. From out on the bridge we could see the St Louis skyline, including the Gateway Arch on the left hand side (end on).

The Mississippi River was moving pretty quickly. As we walked out onto the bridge, we found some more Route 66 memorabilia. Not sure what the little building is out in the river.

We drove through St Louis to make our way to the Old Court House where Beth would get our tickets for the Gateway Arch.

We had time to look around the Old Court House. It was here that they made the Dredd Scott decision - this determined that, free or slave, African Americans could not be American citizens and could not sue in Federal court. Also, that the federal government could not regulate slavery away in new federal territories. Below centre is the East Courtroom, then we were back again in the rotunda.

Like many state Capitols it has a rotunda, with a humungous American flag hanging down. Below right is the West Courtroom. This is immediately above where the Dred Scott case was heard in 1847 and 1850. Following alterations, that courtroom was removed in 1855.

We climbed a very ornate metal staircase up to the second floor. Of course, I had to determine the slidability of it, which was good - it was nicely polished wood! There are paintings overhead in the dome which date back to 1880 and were of men of history - Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S Grant, John Adams and Christopher Columbus - and representations of the United States, Agriculture, Commerce and Administration.

When we were up on the higher floors I looked over the edge - cripes! It was a long way down!

A quick run around the NPS gift shop and we headed over to the Gateway Arch, stopping close by in the bus. We had to walk past Basilica of St Louis, King, otherwise known as Old Cathedral. With roots back to 1764, this is the fourth church built on this site, and it was dedicated in 1834. The Cathedral is the oldest building in the City of St Louis and the only building that remains in the hands of the original owner, the Archdiocese of St Louis. We didn't have time to go inside as it was time to head into the construction zone.

Beth picked up the tickets and took us through airport-style security. Some time later, Asst Di had finally emptied her pockets of all my important stuff, and we went through. They took one of those green screen photos of us all and we headed through to wait for the pods. Seriously, you climb the Arch in pods (white balls with white seats) that seat five people - though you don't have much say who is shoved inside with you. We became Pod People and, once the doors were closed, it slowly rose up to the top. Once we stopped and the doors slid open, we turned left up the stairs and into the small enclosed lookout room. There are several little windows on either side, through which to look.

To one side we could see the city - the Old Court House was there too (below right).

We also saw Busch Stadium (Saint Louis Cardinals) and an overview of the city. The other side overlooks the river where we could see river boats

We spent a few more minutes looking out of the windows and spotted a lovely fountain.

We headed back down the stairs to rejoin the pod people. At the bottom, we left the pods and I became a National Park Ranger! We had time to hit the gift shop There was quite a bit of stuff in there, a lot of books and the usual tourist tat. We didn't buy much though.

Once back outside the sun was shining and it was pretty hot! The Arch is 630 feet tall and the same distance across from leg to leg at ground level.

We took a lunch stop at the Delmar Loop, St Louis. The Blueberry Hill restaurant was recommended for lunch. We don't usually do lunch but there was little else to do in this place so we headed inside. I ordered some cheddar cheese balls - actually cubes of cheddar then fried - with a salsa dip.

They have a large pop culture collection, including the largest collection of Chuck Berry artifacts and historic memorabilia on display in the world. Chuck Berry did perform there monthly for a while. Across the road from the restaurant is this eight-foot-tall Chuck Berry statue. His was the first star on the St Louis Walk of Fame at Delmar Loop. Ultimately, for us, it was too long a stop, but for those wanting a lunch break then it was fine.

We returned to the bus and headed for our next stop. The metal statues (below right) are at the entrance to the St Louis Zoological Park.

We made a quick stop at Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. They began in Florida in 1929 and opened their first store in St Louis in 1930, then one on Route 66 in 1941. They sell a million flavours of custard but with long lines they serve really quickly so you have to know what you want. Ted's son-in-law, Travis, came on the bus and thanked us for visiting and told us a little about their history. Apparently they are popular after sports games. To avoid disturbing the locals, they operate thirty-seven work counters to try and get everyone in and out as fast as possible, which usually takes about four hours!)

Custards eaten we headed back downtown, passing the St Louis Union Station which sadly ceased operations as a railroad station back in 1978. Today, it is under development with a hotel and exhibition space. More is planned including train-themed hotel rooms so maybe we'll have to go back and visit. Then we passed this fabulous looking building - it's still a Post Office! Fancy!

We saw what is now the Peabody Opera House (below left), a civil arts building, formerly known as the Kiel Opera House, which opened in 1934 and stayed open until 1991. The Kiel Auditorium adjacent was demolished, but the Opera House eventually got a $79 million refurbishment and reopened as the Peabody in October 2011. Chuck Berry was one of the performers in the opening show.

The former Municipal Courts building (below centre) is now empty and awaiting redevelopment. Originally opened in 1911 this building was created by Isaac S. Taylor, who was the principal architect of the 1904 World's Fair.

We were dropped off downtown to take this great photo of the Cathedral under the Gateway Arch.

Then we got to take a little walk through Citygarden with gardens, water features and artworks.

I bumped into Pinocchio here.

The bus came and picked us up to take us to our hotel, the Drury Inn St. Louis at Union Station. Another Drury Inn - Yay!!! We do love these cos they feed us. Free Wi-Fi, microwave, fridge, iron, ironing board, flatscreen TV and two beds! Woohoo!

With our kickbacks, we didn't need to go get dinner as we stuffed ourselves with hot dogs, nachos, baked potatoes, pasta, soup and more.

Of course we also get three included alcoholic drinks so I had a Tequila Sunrise, Theo had a Margarita and we all had some beers.

We took a walk to the nearest Seven-Eleven store and had to walk past the Union Station building (below right). It seems our hotel was built in 1907 for travelling railroad workers.

In the lobby there are a number of model trains - you know we like our trains. The C. P. Huntington (below right) is a steam model, then there was a Tank Car and another steam model the 0-6-0 Switcher. It was nice to see some lovely train models.

Ready to call it a night we picked up some free popcorn in the lobby, then walked past the swimming pool and spa to our room for the night.

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