Saint Louis to Home

We left Denver and hustled to St. Louis.  We left Denver on Monday, President Obama came on Tuesday, and a snow storm on Wednesday.  We heard they were coming and we were out of there!



The first thing we noticed when we got to Saint Louis was a blimp.  What’s that blimp doing flying over St. Louis?


This is the St. Louis RV Park, just a big old paved lot in a great location,  walking distance to downtown.


We never heard of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.  Do you know what it is?


It’s the Saint Louis Arch and, again, I was dumb enough to follow Bob and up we went. 


They call these things pods and they stuff five people in this little pod for a trip up the Arch.  It’s a tight fit in there.  Tall people hunch over and large sized people have to suck it in!


We made it up and this is the view looking over Saint Louis from the top of the Arch.  I swear could feel it swaying, but Bob said it was imagination.


Here we are:  happy Bob and apprehensive Sue. 


Oh, that’s why the blimp is flying over Saint Louis.  The Cardinals were playing in the World Series.  It was hard to tell because they just don’t have the spirit Pittsburgh has.  If you were ever in Pittsburgh on game day when the Steelers, Pens, or even the Pirates are playing you know what I mean.  Pittsburgh fans are awesome, and you end up leaving town cheering for the home team, proudly wearing black and gold.  Go Steelers!!  I was also quite miffed because the Mighty Yankees were not playing in the World Series.


These steps lead to the top of the Arch.  When you get off the elevator you walk up (or down to get back in the pod).


This is a Saint Louis pizza.  We heard they were great and decided to try one.  The crust is as thin as a cracker, crispy, and the cheese is PROVEL, which is a combination of provolone and velveeta.  Yep, it tastes like it sounds.  It’s not my kind of pizza.  


See how thin the pizza is?  You have to eat it fast so the crust doesn’t get soggy.


After eating that huge pizza it was time to tour the Budweiser factory.  We were walking but we were offered a ride in this Chevy Cruz.  Chevrolet was giving free rides around town.


These are all the brands marketed by Budweiser.


The wagons were on prominent display.


So were the Clydesdales, and they certainly are some pampered horses.


Their straw was piled at least two feet deep, and this barn smelled good.  Honest!


Each horse has his (or her) own private stall with their name above the stall.


Now for the fun part of the tour, the beer making part!  Unfortunately my camera battery died and I couldn’t take a picture of my pumpkin beer at the end of the tour.


Of course we had to visit the sight of the Saint Louis Worlds Fair.  It’s now called Forest Park and has a Worlds Fair Museum, ball fields, a zoo, a lake for boating, at least two golf courses, and really nice running and biking trails.


This carriage was used to transport visitors to the Fair.


This is just a reproduction of the Spirit of St. Louis, but they did have a large exhibit on Charles Lindbergh featuring his many awards and letters which was really interesting. 


A cute statue in  the park.


There were at least two wedding in Forest Park the day we were there.


This isn’t at the park, it’s inside Pappy’s Smokehouse.  The guy driving the Cruz told us the food here is much better than Saint Louis pizza.


Yum!  He was right!  The ribs had a dry rub and they served barbecue sauce (three kinds) on the side.  I think these were the best ribs I ever ate. If you ever go to Saint Louis go to Pappy’s Smokehouse.  You’ll be glad you did! 


Sigh, our last campground.  It’s home tomorrow.


We’re home again, and the camper is parked in our lane waiting for it’s next trip.  Actually we’ve been home for about a month but it’s taken this long for Bob to take the picture.  There’s no hurry anymore.  Retirement is sweet!