St. Louis, Part II

We got up Saturday morning and ate a quick breakfast at the hotel, then headed for the fabulous Missouri Botanical Garden. It's many acres of gardens, but due to the cold, drizzly day we confined most of our touring to the buildings, including the mammoth geodesic dome in which there is a tropical "jungle", complete with waterfalls, fish, and even mosquitoes! Wow, mosquito bites in January -- now that's a new one for me! The hot, damp atmosphere felt wonderful on a chilly day, so we stayed in the dome for quite a while.

I took this picture before all the fog had left my lens. I like the look.

Sarah and Matt

There were some interactive displays featuring green technology. Here's Sarah on a stationary bike in front of a green screen that makes her look like she's biking through the park.

The Botanical Garden also has a collection of Chihuly art glass sculptures interspersed through the grounds. Chihuly is not my favorite, but some of the pieces were quite striking.


Since we're all lovers of anything googie, kitchy, or big we then sought out the "World's Largest Amoco Sign". Yes, it was big. We lamented the fact that Ted Drewes isn't open in January, so we squelched our disappointment by eating lots of oysters (raw) and some alligator (cooked) for lunch at the Broadway Oyster House, a great historic spot near Busch Stadium. We also took a ride around town and into Forest Park, a large city park that was the site of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair (Louisiana Purchase Exhibition). We did a little Route 66ing, and I managed to snap this pic of the famous Eat-Rite Diner.

Before going back to the hotel, we stopped at Viviano's Grocery on The Hill and loaded up on Italian delicacies to take home.

Our evening dinner at Charlie Gitto's was very special. Charlie Gitto's Italian Restaurant (On the Hill) in St. Louis, MO 63110 I must find their recipe for the Penne Borghese with Cognac Cream Sauce. To die for.... as was the home-made peach gelato. Oh my, oh my!

On Sunday, it was up, hug and kiss the kids goodbye, and on the road by 9 a.m. An uneventful trip. I did stop and sneak a photo of the notorious Indian Harvest Trading Post in Villa Ridge, MO. It has been shunned by most of the Route 66 community because of the allegedly bad treatment most visitors have experienced by the owners. I'm too chicken to actually pull into the parking lot and get chased away, so I just took a photo from the side of the road. From there, it was drive, drive, drive until I got home.

Indian Harvest Trading Post

My trip report

Sigh..... so much to tell, and yet I don't want to bore anyone because I need all the readers I can get. LOL! But my trip to St. Louis was worth a few words. I'll be as brief as possible. It wasn't a perfect trip, but any time I can be with my family, I'm happy.

So, here goes... Friday morning, drove to Springfield, MO with no problem, but under threatening skies. Because I knew snow was coming, I decided to forego some stops I'd planned to make and just head straight for St. Louis. I did stop twice -- once on my "lucky" bridge in Riverton KS (I'm superstitious and won't pass it without snapping a picture), and then to take a quick picture of 4 Women On The Route, a very cool restored gas station in Galena, KS. The 4 Women was closed, as I knew it would be. 4 Women is where the inspiration for Tow Mater in the "Cars" movie lives. The station was bought and restored by four really neat women from Galena. http://4womenontheroute.com/Home.html The threatening skies opened up right after Springfield, and it snowed all the rest of the way. It was too cold for it to stick, but the fine, wispy snow was blinding, and that's NOT fun! The snow continued all the way to St. Louis.

Shortly after checking into the motel, I got a call from my daughter and her family. They were stuck in Pontiac, Illinois, and wouldn't make it to St. Louis that night. They have a new Subaru, and the gas cap door was frozen shut so they couldn't get gas. They had to wait until morning when the dealership opened. I was SO disappointed! (Turns out that it's apparently a common problem with Subaru Foresters, which isn't good if you live in frigid Chicago. The dealer told them that a recall is expected.)

Since I was alone in St. Louis, I decided to drive down to Route 66 State Park and check it out. I've been there many times before, but it wasn't far from the hotel, and I didn't want to get into potential snow visibility problems, although it had mostly stopped by then. Route 66 State Park is the former Times Beach, the fascinating history of which you can read here: http://www.legendsofamerica.com/MO-TimesBeach.html. This picture doesn't look like much, but it's one of the mounds where, I've been told, the contaminated soil that was the downfall of Times Beach is buried. I also took a quick picture of the former Steiny's Inn, a Route 66 landmark restaurant which is now the Route 66 State Park Museum.

I grabbed a salad and went back to the motel for the night. Sarah, Matt, and Cody arrived around noon on Saturday. Two items on our agenda were to visit the Arch and Ted Drewes Frozen Custard (another Route 66 landmark AND home of the yummiest ice cream on the Route). On the way to the Arch, we stopped at Broadway Oyster House, where Sarah and I were able to partake of our favorite food -- oysters on the half shell. We also shared a bucket of steamed crawfish. The guys ate more ordinary fare.

By the time we got to the Arch, there was a 2 1/2 hour wait in line to get in and we just didn't have that much time (Sarah and family went on Sunday morning after I'd already left for home). From there, we drove to Ted Drewes, and it was closed for the month. Actually, we knew that, but just had to make sure because we knew little Cody would love it. No luck there. Touring St. Louis was becoming a big bust.

Back to the motel, for a swim. Unfortunately, a very large and impolitely unruly family was dominating the swimming scene to the point where it just wasn't much fun. So, we went back to our rooms and dressed for dinner.

Ah, dinner! Off we went to the Hill (the Italian neighborhood in St. Louis) for a most incredible and sumptuous dinner at Gian-Tony's. We chose it after I had taken a poll of several friends from St. Louis asking their favorites, and Gian-Tony's showed up on everyone's list. I highly recommend it.... food, ambience, service all excellent. http://www.gian-tonys.com/default.asp.

Yesterday (Sunday) morning, we did our little belated Christmas thing. We put on our Christmas tree headgear (LOL!) and opened stocking gifts right there in the hotel room. Fun, fun, fun!! (I made all those stockings.)After breakfast, we regretfully parted company. Sarah, Matt, and Cody headed for the Arch before driving back to Chicago. I had a clear, easy, sunny drive back to Tulsa. I stopped to take a few pictures in Cuba, a town which has taken wonderful advantage of it's Route 66 heritage. Now known as the Mural City, there are historic murals painted everywhere. Here's a pic of my favorite. Remember, this masterpiece is just paint on a flat, blank wall. Awesome.

I also stopped for what might be the last time I get to see the Wagon Wheel Motel. The owners are gone now, and who knows what will become of this legendary place.

Finally, I stopped at the World's Largest Rocking Chair in the tiny town of Fanning, MO. This is fairly new, so it's the first time I've seen the 42'4" tourist attraction. The chair is almost larger than the town -- quite impressive if you like large stuff, which I do. http://rwarn17588.wordpress.com/2008/04/01/worlds-largest-rocking-chair-set-up-in-missouri/ From there, it was a straight shot home on the evil interstate. The End.

St. Louis bound

I'm leaving early tomorrow morning for a few days in St. Louis. I'm meeting my daughter and her husband and stepson for a belated Christmas visit. We're meeting roughly halfway between our homes. They live right on the lake in Chicago where the winds are fierce, so I'm sure they'll be happy to get out of that icebox for a while. I can use a little vacation, but mostly I'm just excited about seeing them. Their little boy is 8 years old, so we'll be doing kid-related stuff on Saturday, then have dinner on The Hill Saturday night. (If anyone from St. Louis reads this and can tell me the best Italian place on the Hill these days, please let me know!) A big disappointment is that Ted Drewes isn't open in January, so their son won't get to sample a Concrete for the first time.

I haven't been to St. Louis for quite a few years. I've actually been IN St. Louis a lot, but it's always just passing through on my way from Tulsa to somewhere else. I do look forward to tomorrow's drive there, since I'll be making some of it on Route 66 and hope to stop (time permitting) to see a few friends along the way.

Tonight, I have to do an evening dialysis session so that I can have the three-day dialysis-free weekend. That will be nice, too.

I'll be back on Monday. Have a good weekend!