LOOPING AROUND THE NORTHEAST TRIP DAY: 5 - - -AUG 5, 2012 by Joel Perlish joelperlish@aol.com (610) 789-7673

LOOPING AROUND THE NORTHEAST TRIP DAY: 5 - - -AUG 5, 2012 by Joel Perlish joelperlish@aol.com (610) 789-7673

LOOPING AROUND THE NORTHEAST

TRIP DAY: 5 - - -AUG 5, 2012 - SUN

MILES TODAY: 1 - - - TOTAL MILES: 897

AVERAGE PER REAL RIDING DAY: 298.3

St. Louis, Missouri

Another full, educational, much walking, St. Louis day:

Another full, educational, much walking, St. Louis day:

We began the day at about 8:15am with a run to the Arch. According to Wikipedia: The Gateway Arch, or Gateway to the West, is an arch that is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, Missouri. It was built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States. At 630 feet (192 m), it is the tallest man-made monument in the United States, Missouri's tallest accessible building, and the largest architectural structure designed as a weighted or flattened catenary arch. The arch is located at the site of St. Louis' founding, on the west bank of the Mississippi River where Pierre Laclède, just after noon on February 14, 1764, told his aide, Auguste Chouteau, to build a city. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_Arch to read more.)

Under the Arch is a wonderful tourist area that encompasses ticket takers, two gift shops, three movie theaters, and a wonderful museum… Before entering the National Park designated area is the usual x-ray machine set up for ferreting out the terrorists among us… Safely through those devices, we made our way to the entrance for the tramway to the top of the Arch. We burrowed through several hallways and shortly reached the row of tiny five-seat cars that would carry us to the top. As we entered car number 5 Etsuko bumped her head on the top of the door. I remarked, "Isn't it ironic that the shortest person here has hit her head on the door!"

It's a four-minute ride to the top in the encased little room. One can see some of the inner workings of the Arch through the glass doors, but mainly it's a claustrophobic experience to say the least. Finally the doors slide open, one exits to a short series of steps in a narrow stairwell, and then it's into the top - where a row of windows on each side open out to either the city of St. Louis, or the expanse of the Mississippi River and into Illinois.

Everyone looks like ants from 630 feet up! We spent at least a half-hour there taking pictures, gawking through the binoculars we brought, and hobnobbing with various folks there. One man from Indiana said he had recently been working on the arboretum at a nearby college near our home in Delaware County.

Soon we reversed the process down to the bottom, through a gift shop where we bought some superb fudge and kettle corn, and then made our way to the movie theater where there was a marvelous presentation about Lewis and Clark on an IMAX-like screen. The Lewis and Clark expedition west began in St. Louis. Just amazing, powerful, and awesome how they managed in 1804-1806 to cross the unknown and perilous countryside to the Pacific. From Wikipedia: The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition (1804–1806), was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific coast undertaken by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, it was led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Their objectives were both scientific and commercial – to study the area's plants, animal life, and geography, and to learn how the region could be exploited economically. (To read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_and_Clark_Expedition).

Later in the museum we gleaned more details, and discovered information about other early adventures, inventions, and historical moments. At one of the displays a mom was posing so still for her daughter to take a picture, that after she moved I went over to her and exclaimed, "You were standing so still I thought you were part of the display!!" She laughed loudly.

We learned a lot in that museum.

We made our way back to the hotel, and caught a taxi to the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Our taxi driver was a hearty fellow from Ghana, Lucius. It had me a little worried as he was fiddling with his windshield GPS trying to find our destination. I could imagine he didn't know how to how to get there or was just pretending he didn't know how to get there to run up the taxi fare. He had been in the country he said 35 years and knew his way around. Still… if worried me. The worries were unjustified it seems. He got us there in fair time and then a few hours later came back to pick us up. I had the app on my iPhone plot us - and could in fact watch our little 'dot' move along the St. Louis highways on the map screen, and could see he was going the most direct way. What a world!

As excited and enamored with the baseball game that I was, Etsuko fell in love with the Botanical Gardens. And as an extra treat there was an enormous exhibition of Asian art at more than 25 locations around the grounds. From Wikipedia: Founded in 1859, the Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the oldest botanical institutions in the United States and a National Historic Landmark. The Garden is a center for botanical research and science education of international repute, as well as an oasis in the city of St. Louis, with 79 acres of horticultural display. It includes a 14-acre Japanese strolling garden named Seiwa-en; the Climatron geodesic dome conservatory; a children's garden, including a pioneer village; a playground; a fountain area and a water locking system, somewhat similar to the locking system at the Panama Canal; an Osage camp; and Henry Shaw’s original 1850 estate home. It is adjacent to Tower Grove Park, another of Shaw’s legacies.(If you want to read more surf on over to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_Botanical_Garden.)

Our first stop was the little Sassafras cafe there. It was cute and the folks were personable and there was a good selection of yummy items on which to chow down. Regrettably, we made all the wrong choices and didn't enjoy the meal much.

Then it was out into the richly beautiful gardens. Plants and flowers of most every design and color delighted our senses as we made our way around. Etsuko was enchanted and I was delighted to take so many photographs (over 250!)… There were ponds and grassy areas, marshes and bogs, trees of all possible description. It was a flower person's heaven, and Etsuko was there - her smiles beamed even over the sunlight-splashed displays….

Throughout the park the Asian sculptures - many of Chinese kites in various shapes, and many of HUGE dragons (perhaps half a football field-length long and made entirely of porcelain plate-ware) dotted the grounds along with signs explaining in detail the artwork.

At one point as we were meandering along a path in the Japanese Garden, we made a gentle turn and a huge waft of lavender hit us smack in the olfactory senses - it was subtle and delicious.

For about two hours we trod the pathways. We had told Lucius we'd meet him at 2:30, and finally, after getting lost in the gardens for a bit, got back to the cab by about 2:45. He had patiently waited for us. We tipped him about $5 for waiting. As we rode back to the hotel we chatted. He said he was a grandfather - which surprised us because of his youthful manner, and that he was now 58, and visited Ghana once a year. But now he'd be going twice a year to oversee the building of his mansion there. Seems he would be retiring in a few years to go back to live in his native country. I said to Etsuko within Lucius' hearing, and in my mock serious tone, "Well, at least now we have a place to stay when we tour in Ghana…" We three had a good laugh at that, and his broad smile was wider than the rearview mirror as he said we'd be welcome any time!

We hit the gift shop one more time and I got a wonderful St.Louis hoodie, another red birds-on-the-bat t-shirt, and Etsuko bought a cute soft little doggie and a little Cardinal bear (which we intend to have ride along with us on the back of the motorcycle).

We had one of our favorite meals of the trip so far in the Hyatt restaurant - we split a Mediterranean salad and a crispy thin-crusted pizza. Then since it was our last night in St.Louis we treated ourselves to splitting a superb rich slice of warm chocolate cake and a plop of pistachio ice cream.