St. Louis

We spent four days in St. Louis as part of our Historic Route 66 travels. I have traveled to St. Louis on business a few times but never toured. Once on business, I had a chance to eat dinner at a corner Italian family run restaurant in the Italian neighborhood called “The Hill”. It was a “take-back-in-time” experience. Since then, I have always wanted to tour this city.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Bogart’s Smokehouse in Soulard district. One of the oldest communities in the city, Soulard is today a largely residential neighborhood whose many businesses include restaurants, bars, and the North American headquarters of Anheuser-Busch. Half of the neighborhood is composed mostly of row homes and small apartments. Many of its houses date to the mid- to late-19th century.

We started off with eating good BBQ at Bogart’s Smokehouse in the Soulard market area. Corner location that may seat 30 which isn’t nearly enough seating but the staff does a great job keeping the restaurant “flowing” I had the smoke BBQ turkey sandwich that even though was regularly sized was very big and filling.

Not far from Bogart’s is the Anheuser-Busch brewery. It opened in 1852. We took the free complimentary one hour tour in a down pour rain. The best part of the tour was the free tastings at the end.

On the historical route 66 through St. Louis is the Forest Park area. Originally, this was the 1904 World Fair hosted by St. Louis. At that time, USA wanted to demonstrate it’s superiority in manufacturing and science to the world. The fair cost a fortune. It tried to emulate the European fairs with grand presentations. The current Missouri History Museum was the grand entrance with a grand foyer. Most of the other building have been removed.

Our next stop was the renown Arch of St. Louis. The wind has been brutal since we have been here. Denise decided to watch as I take the trip to the apex. The federal park ranger told me that the arch will be moving in this wind.

The Gateway Arch is a 630-foot monument. Clad in stainless steel and is the world's tallest arch, the tallest man-made monument in the Western Hemisphere, and has become an internationally famous symbol of St. Louis. — The Gateway Arch is a 630-foot monument. Clad in stainless steel and is the world’s tallest arch, the tallest man-made monument in the Western Hemisphere, and has become an internationally famous symbol of St. Louis.

The five person transport pod to the Apex. It took about five minutes. I was by myself and the pod was very jerky trying to keep level as it moved through the arch.

View to the West over St. Louis. The old Courthouse directly in front, Cardinal Baseball field to the left.

We are staying:

370 Lakeside Park in St. Peters, MO. This is a city RV Park. It is only about five years old. It is one of the better parks on this trip. We paid $40/night, includes 50amp electrical, water, sewer and free wifi. It has nice walking/biking trails, spacious sites and it is close to St. Louis sites. We would definitely stay here again.