November Happenings..St Louis

St. Louis Gateway Arch  

I am writing this to you from Guam... but that story is to come on my next post. I need to catch you up on my recent trip to meet Daisy in St. Louis. It was just before before Thanksgiving.  Daisy had a professional educators gathering there.  About 4,000 in attendance and I swear nearly half of them knew her.  This is her extended family. I found out that she was president of this association for a term.

Daisy had a hand in each of their advanced degrees.
They call themselves Daisy's Kids.

It was a little strange being at a gathering in which I was the behind the scenes supporter, the unknown. She was the one in the limelight at the center of attention receiving the love and respect. I now have a greater appreciation for the role of my ex.


I have often flown over the Arch but never been on the ground to visit this architectural attraction called the "Gateway to the West." It is 630 feet tall and 630 feet wide.

one of St Louis's finest....yep, we went waaay up there!

tram entry maybe 4' high 2' wide

8 tramcars. each car hold 3 on one side 2 on other
in each car. One set in each leg.

There is a tramcar that holds 5 moderately built people at a time if you want to go to the top and look out.  We did!  Your first challenge is to get thru the munchkin sized door you see here for the 5 minute ride to the top of the arch.  Reminded me of a space capsule. BTW, if you get stuck at the top there are 1,076 stairs to bottom.

the view from the port

Viewing port

Once there we exited into a curvy bay area (observation deck) that had port holes so you could view out and below! We were there just after the St. Louis Cardinals hosted the World Series and it was a special treat to be able to look into Busch Stadium where history was made just a few days  before.

the all steel balcony

The sun was just right so we had a special view of the shadow of the arch from 630 feet up! The ride down was less stressy.

top of the arch and its shadow

twilight near the water port

some sleezy brewpub

We were staying near the waterfront in the downtown area and spent several evening pub crawling and partaking of the nightlife and special culinary treats along the old town cobbled streets.



From the top of the arch we saw the old courthouse and took the opportunity to visit it.  It plays a significant role in American history for it was in this courthouse in 1847, the ground work was laid for the infamous Dred Scott Decision.

In March of 1857, Scott lost the decision as seven out of nine Justices on the Supreme Court declared no slave or descendant of a slave could be a U.S. citizen, or ever had been a U.S. citizen. As a non-citizen, the court stated, Scott had no rights and could not sue in a Federal Court and must remain a slave. This decision had the effect of widening the political and social gap between North and South and took the nation closer to the brink of Civil War.

View from the Arch
Original courthouse is now a federal historical site and museum.

I had studied this decision in elementary school but to have the opportunity to learn more about the entire Scott family, who were from Virginia and whose original slave owners played a key role in getting their final release, was enlightening.
I had a great time getting to meet others in Ms. Daisy's professional life. But I was now ready to head south to Texas for the winter. I will be there all winter except for a little journey to the Western Pacific....