You can’t come to St. Louis and not visit the Arch! 

So we headed out on Tuesday!

 

Some history: Gateway Arch National Park was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987 and was named after President Thomas Jefferson due to his acquision in 1803 of the Louisiana Territory from France known as the of the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the United States. The new land was to be explored and encouraged westward expansion. It was orignally called the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. The bill to rename the park Gateway Arch National Park was signed into law in February 2018.

Another Travelin' Trio long weekend to work on a photobook! We arrived in St. Louis an Saturday with no flight problems and immediately headed out for lunch We wanted authentic St. Louis barbecue at a place in the heart of St. Louis so chose the #1 hit on Yelp, Pappy’s Smokehouse BBQ. As we got closer, we were a little nervous about the location but when we arrived there was a line out the door and it smelled so good, we decided to stay.

 

After about 5 minutes in line, we discovered the line was very circuitous to get inside the restaurant and once inside, there was yet another line. We were already invested, so we stayed. A nice employee gave us a menu and told us his favorite items. The 30 minutes went pretty quickly. Once in the restaurant, we saw staff bringing food out of the kitchen. Oh, it looked delicious! Near the counter, a sign said, “You should know what you want to order by now” 🤪 The ordering part was actually pretty efficient and by the time we got our drinks and sat down, our food was already on its way. And oh my! It was delish! We all ordered ribs and got brisket on the side (leftover BBQ makes an excellent lunch for a working weekend).

After lunch, we still had time to kill before we could check into our AirBnB. Karen found the Meeting of the Great Rivers National Scenic Byway, so we crossed the Mississippi into Illinois and drove a section of the scenic highway. Having big white bluffs on one side of the road and a very full river close on the other side of the road was an interesting experience. The town of Alton was cute to drive through. And then we headed back to St. Louis.

 

We just wanted a light dinner and thought Mexican food would do the trick. Yelp brought us to the cutest, VERY local, former home now Mexican restaurant,

El Maguey Mexican, which was less than half a mile from our AirBnB. We drove right past it on the first pass and almost gave up, but we found it. The decor was festive, the service super friendly, the food yummy, and the portions gigantic. More leftovers!

We typically get an Air BnB type dwelling for our photobook weekends. That way we have a dining room table to work on. And we quickly fill it up with laptops, cables, and other necessary items.

 

Sunday we  diligently worked on the book most of the day. When it was time for dinner we headed out for something different. Uncle Bill’s Pancake & Dinner House was the winner ('though it's apparently now closed, after 63 years! 🥺).

In addition to a lot of choices in pancakes, we had many dinner choices as well. The pecan pancakes were really good, and the Halloween display was impressive.

 

Monday's dinner led to a different fare, Italian!  We found Anthonino's Taverna and enjoyed toasted ravioli and lasagna.  Anthonino's is "on The Hill" and we knew we were close to it when we saw road barriers and fire hydrants painted in the stripes of the Italian flag. There were plety of leftovers for a yummy lunch tomorrow.

Tuesday's dinner was just leftovers so we could work more on the book. We finished it and ordered 3 copies at 10:45pm! Good thing since we had to leave at 5:30am Wednesday. Theresa and Rodney flew to our respective homes. Karen was able to stay on and telework from St. Louis in a different Air BnB. She ventured back out to catch some nighttime photos of the Arch.

As for the Arch, it's 630 feet tall; 630 feet is also the distance from leg to leg at ground level. 63' at 10' per floor makes it 63 stories tall. You can ride to the top in a tram car (it’s best not to be claustrophobic or acrophobic due to the small size of each car). Great views from the top! The Eads bridge across the Mississippi is a pretty fascinating bridge. You can also see the old courthouse (where the Dred Scott case was heard) and the Cardinals’ baseball stadium. The National Park consists of the entire site, not just the Arch itself.

Another successful "workshop" and fun visit to a historical city. 

 

There were five giant smokers outside and yet the menu warns they run out of food items every day. Wow. There were lots of signs and fun things to observe, including menus autographed by celebrities and tributes to military groups. The biggest curiosity was, “Why is there a MAINEiacs sticker on the door of a BBQ restaurant in St. Louis?” (After research, I think it’s for the 101st Air Refueling Wing of the National Guard and not the junior ice hockey team of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League based in Lewiston, Maine.)