Our first stop was Gateway Park, just across the Mississippi.
Under the Arch is the Museum of Westward Expansion, a tremendous display of the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804, and the Thomas Jefferson Louisiana Purchase era. Thomas Jefferson was truly a man of vision with regard to expansion of the United States.
We could have spent hours in the museum, which charges no admission and is cleverly tucked into the space between the legs of the Arch, and about 20 feet underground. Time started to get away from us, so we headed for the tram to the top of the Arch. Zip and zap, and we were at the top!
Donna was very happy to get out of the little tram car, and so was the nice lady she was hanging onto! But at 630 feet high, the view was tremendous.
Looking out the windows to the west, Busch Stadium was on the left (the Cardinals were playing a home game today), the Old Courthouse is in the center, and Edward Jones Stadium where the Rams play is on the right (the white domed structure).
The little cars that one rides in to go up (or down) in the Gateway Arch are about the size of a coffee mug. Five people squeeze in, and the whole works shakes and rattles its way up or down. Donna was none to happy about that, I can tell you. This is a woman that once attempted to exit a roller coaster at the top of the first tall "hill". The only thing that prevented a horrible headline on the evening news was the fact that her boyfriend had a firm grip on her pants. So we were both happy to be back on Terra Firma. A shot of where we "just was" became necessary, taken from the ground under the center of the arch on full magnification (should have seen us on the ground like a couple of kids):
Then it was off across the street and then the next street, and then the next street, to the Old Courthouse:
Where we took a picture of the interior of the dome. Then it was off to Union Station, and old train station that we were told was newly refurbished with upscale restaurants and shops. Not! I suppose it was a train station at one time, at least that's what the signs said:
But the shops did not exist, the only food was the typical mall fast food, and there were about 15 people in the entire place. It will be a nice place someday...I'm sure. We did find a Laundry's, so we had seafood for lunch, fish tacos and crab cake sliders. Pretty good food!
Our last stop on the Metro line was at Forest Park, the seventh largest city park in the US. The site was the location of the 1904 Exposition and Worlds Fair, and is a huge expanse of grass, bike and walking paths, as well as the Missouri History Museum, a planetarium and Science Center, a 27 hole golf course, skating rink, and on and on. We stopped at the History Museum first.
In the entrance, a large sculpture of Thomas Jefferson dominated. Just behind him was the actual sister ship to Lindberg's famous Spirit of St. Louis. The sister ship was prepared just like the one Mr. Lindberg flew in case anything went wrong with the first plane.
In a wing to the side of the museum, an exhibit of artifacts from the 1904 Exposition was available to view. This Chinese writing desk was one of the most interesting items. In the background, you can see a photo of the actual exhibit from the exposition. The desk is rosewood, intricately inlaid with whitewood:
Another wing held an exhibit detailing Thomas Jefferson's conflicts with his "all men are created equal" belief and his ownership of slaves at Montecello. TJ tusseled with this all his life, but never quite came to an equitable solution. One of his quotes about the struggle summed up his conflict:
We never fail to be amazed at how the words of our forefathers continues to apply today!
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