It’s been a great three days here in St Charles, Missouri. The weather has been warm and a little humid, but otherwise nice. Our campground, like many RV parks, is nearby lots of transportation; not too far to our right is both a railroad and a freeway (so a fairly constant background noise from them), it’s about one block away from the Missouri River, and we are underneath the final approach for the airport. We’ve enjoyed getting to know Southwest 737 sounds, plus the various American and Delta flights. This is most certainly a busy place.
St Charles is a great reminder of just how young our hometowns are. Old buildings in both Longview and Nampa are often younger than we are; old buildings here might be nearly 200 years old. This city is old enough that it saw Lewis and Clark off on their exploration of the West.
Saturday and Sunday saw our group went into St Louis by bus. First stop was the Gateway Arch; fun ride to the top was followed by a great view of the city. We enjoyed a BBQ lunch downtown, then went out to tour a dam and locks on the Mississippi. The arch was certainly a highlight of the trip.
Sunday was busy. We visited the site of the 1904 World’s Fair, the St Louis Basilica (a remarkable building, no paint inside…color is provided by some of the most incredible mosaics), and then to the Botanical Gardens. The gardens were hosting an extensive Dale Chihuly glass exhibit; we saw 20 or so beautiful pieces set inside gardens. Finally we took a tour at the Budweiser plant; fun tour of the factory, saw two Clydesdale horses, and had some free beer.
Oh, and before it is forgotten, Sunday was Leila’s birthday. We celebrated by going out for some more St Louis ribs for dinner. Absolutely splendid, there are leftovers in the motorhome’s refrigerator.
Today was a free day; we got some chores done this morning, then took a 2 mile hike to the Lewis and Clark museum and boathouse. It was a nicely done museum near the start of the expedition. Next we walked back through historic St Charles along the waterfront. We saw some great old buildings and felt the history along the brick streets.
Travel days the next two days, leading us to Memphis, Tennessee. More then…
