So we left Tracey’s family and drove for a few hours… We found this beautiful place to park but it was dark out and it took us a while to find it…
But it was worth the half hour search and aggravation… the #HorseShoeLakeStatePark sites were well spaced and the surroundings were nice and peaceful….
You could actually see the St. Louis Arch over to the right… I tried taking pictures of it but it was so small, it didn’t come out on camera too well…
I went for a short #hike down a trail which brought me closer to a lake where viewing of the St. Louis arch was better… Still it was like the size of a thumb in the distance… The white hazy clouds would’t allow my camera to focus on it…
Yet #TheTravelingMac was curious… For some reason the #St.LouisArch was calling my name… So I headed back to #TheMillenniumFalcon and convinced Tracey to go check it out…
Horse Shoe Lake State Park was like a little sanctuary… There was all kinds of #WildLife out here…
I couldn’t believe we were so close to the #city… Being out here, you would think we were hundreds of miles away…
And you know it has to be peaceful and quiet to bring these gorgeous #birds around… The #Heron is not known to mingle in noisy environments… I love to just sit and stare at these birds… They remind me of a ballerina with their beautiful, cautious poses which they hold for minutes as they hunt and keep an eye on their surroundings… The Heron is like the mayor of peace on this planet… Where ever you see one, you better bet there will be peace and quiet…
It was a windy day and around 60 degrees outside… This would be a great place to bring your family for a week of #camping…
You can enjoy both the #wilderness and take the family into the city if you like… Best of both worlds…
There she is folks… She’s been calling us for some reason…
It took us like 15 minutes to get into the city… I had never been to St. Louis before, so I was very excited and curious…
Tracey had been up in the arch before so she was the calmer one in this crowd… As usual… lol!
I was a lot more impressed than I thought I would be… If you stare at the arch for a longtime, it starts to play mind tricks on you… It looked like a portal to another dimension of some sort but was built to be #TheGatewayToSt.Louis…
Then when you go inside you feel like you are in a futuristic space film of some sort… They put you in these tiny pods which slowly bring you up to the top of the arch…
Look, I’m not a guy who really likes to do #touristy things but if you do come to #St.Louis,MO this is a must do… You really get a feel for the city up here…
The observation room was surprisingly very roomy… Windows are scattered all around so everyone could get a long peek…
You get a great feel for how massive the Mississippi river is… The old Miss… So this is technically the first location from #NationalLampoonsVacation… If you remember, Clark and his family cross the #MississippiRiver and they speak about the St. Louis Arch.. The link to the scene is below the National Lampoon’s image, if you want to check it out…
| 00:14:15 | Clark: Hey, hey, see that, kids? |
| 00:14:17 | louis arch — the gateway to the west. |
| 00:14:20 | It’s over 600 feet tall, and there’s an elevator all the way to the top. |
| 00:14:24 | That’s 60 stories to you and me. |
| 00:14:26 | Rusty: Wow, dad, can we go up on it? |
| 00:14:28 | No. |
| 00:14:29 | Dad, what river is this? |
| 00:14:31 | Ah, that’s the mississippi. |
| 00:14:32 | The mighty mississip. ha ha ha ha. |
| 00:14:35 | The ol’ miss. |
| 00:14:37 | The ol’ man. |
| 00:14:39 | ♪♪ Deep river ♪♪ |
| 00:14:42 | ♪♪ my home is over jordan ♪♪ |
| 00:14:47 | clark, I think this is the wrong exit. |
| 00:14:50 | as long as we get across the river. |
http://school.wikia.com/wiki/National_Lampoon%27s_Vacation_Transcript
So, maybe #RustyGriswold didn’t get to go up the St. Louis arch but Tracey and I did… I don’t think I will ever miss a chance to look at a city from these heights again… It’s a must do!
Unfortunately they were renovating the whole park around the St. Louis Arch… I saw pictures of what they hope the results to be and it looked pretty damn impressive… And very futuristic…
Then my eye caught the St. Louis Cardinals’ ballpark and I remembered that they were in a big fight for the #WildCard… What if there is a game tonight? Yep that’s #BushStadium… What a horrible name! Reminds me of two things I don’t like… The past President and the crap, piss beer…
They had a really good history of the Arch… Another story of a man’s dream coming to life after a passionate fight to bring recognition to the city he loved…
Well, the man is now gone but his creation still exists… He was one of those lucky ones who knew his work was going to be recorded and go down in history… So he made it count… That’s for sure!
The cloudy day was perfect for taking pictures of the arch… Well, up close at least…
Standing under this massive #landmark, you can’t help but feel it is going to topple over any minute… How these guys figure out how to build such a masterpiece is beyond me… Imagine being the mayor in the 60’s and some guy approaches you and says he wants to build a huge arch that appears unstable but isn’t… Who signs off on projects like these? lol!
Well, now I know why the Arch was calling me!
Yes, you guessed it, a game was being played and the Wild Card was on the line! If I didn’t go up in that Arch, I would have probably missed this opportunity… Thank you St. Louis Arch!!! You have created yet another good memory for a curious visitor…
And the game was awesome! We got tickets for $20 a pop! We got to see a a very hard fight for the wild card! I love days like these! Everything was working out perfectly!
#TheCardinals were in a heated fight for the wild card with only 4 games left… So they badly needed this win! And they did it at the bottom of the ninth when #Molina hit a double and sent the runner home, to win 4-3… The whole crowd was cheering and it made a game, I really didn’t care about, that much better!
Unfortunately the Giants would take the wildcard later and Cardinals just didn’t do it… But they came damn close! Our seats were in this food court area… We were a little away from the field but then it started raining… Well, our seat had an overhang… So all of the people with the good seats came running back here! Lol! You know they didn’t pay no $20 for their seats… I think…
There’s the result of a winning hit as the Cardinals ran out on the field… They would end this game in such fashion and then play the Giants who were their rivals for the wild card…
What an awesome day and what a great start to our #NationalLampoonsVacationTour!
I was all in the #baseball mood as I joked around, admiring these great #CommemorativeStatues of past Cardinal heroes…
Tracey was a little more reserved, as usual… She must feel like more of a mother than a girlfriend, babysitting this maniac! lol! She sleeps very well probably because I wear her out with my daily antics…
That’s right folks… A great day and a great start to a long, fun filled #RoadTrip… This is why I got The Millennium Falcon and moments like these make me so proud of myself and Tracey, who are living life on a whim… Not knowing what we are doing most of the time… Just letting the world guide us to these special moments in this short time on earth…
Life is good folks…