St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri

We should have gone to St. Paul! If you read my last post you know we thought we were going to see the Arch in St. Paul. We were redirected to St. Louis and started off on a sunny day. I know I've been bragging about the great weather we've had but yesterday the weather caught us unprepared! We were about an hour out of St. Louis when it started to rain. I have never seen rain like this. It rained so hard we couldn't see the white line on the road.

It rained 4 inches in just 30 minutes! We had to pull off the highway along with all of the other drivers and wait for it to pass. When it was clear enough to see everyone drove on at about 30 mph with our emergency flashers on so you could be seen. It was very scary.

When we were almost to St. Louis traffic came to a complete halt. Of course we were almost out of gas and the fuel light came on.  We sat in traffic, creeping along and holding our breath that we could make it to the next exit.  We did and that was a huge relief.  We were able to find a back way around the traffic and there it was...the Gateway Arch! By now we could have just forgotten about it and gone on to our next stop.

First thing on the agenda when we finally got to our hotel was a good stiff drink for both of us! It was an experience I hope to never go through again!

Luckily, we awoke to a cloudy but dry morning. We headed off to the Arch and were so glad we did. It is really something to see.  We opted out of taking the ride to the top. We had seen enough and are ready to move on to Kansas City while it's not raining!

The Gateway Arch is right on the banks of the Mississippi River and we did take some time to walk to see the river.

Moving on down the road we made our way to Kansas City, Missouri. They have turned an area downtown into a gathering place full of shops and restaurants. It's called the Power & Light District.

It's really too bad this is Sunday.  This is a great city but most of the places are closed on Sunday! The barbecue place that everyone recommended isn't open.

 There are still plenty of places open and we found the Flying Saucer Draught House. They have 300 draft beers and Jim was in heaven!  We went in and Jim was able to find a few brands he'd never tried before. Imagine that!

  
We heard live music coming from around the corner and there is an open concert area called Kansas City Live!

They were having try-outs for

WHEEL OF FORTUNE!!!

Those of you that know me well know that I am a huge fan! I KNOW I could do really well if I could just get on the show! Alas, it was not to be.  I can still dream...

Moving on we found a beautiful church, The
 Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.


Funny that our next stop was a great building that several people recommended.  It is an historical landmark built in the 1800's.  It was originally a bordello. During Prohibition it was a Speakeasy with a tunnel entrance from the building across the street. It's now a very well known Steakhouse called The Majestic and features live music. Every Sunday local jazz musicians come and play with the resident band.

 We were in Kansas City. As good as this place looked we were in the mood for BBQ! How could we not do a BBQ place in Kansas City?

The bartender, Tom, was such a nice man. He told us about his favorite BBQ place called Gates Bar B-Q.  He called us a taxi and we took off for a date with a slab of ribs.  This trip has turned me into a rib fanatic.  We've sampled ribs in Texas, South Carolina, Nashville and now Kansas City. They are all different but they're also all great!

After dinner we headed back to The Majestic. Along with Tom, the bartender, we met David. He is a waiter there and was so knowledgable on the history of Kansas City. He should have been a history teacher! He was such fun to listen to. Kansas City has a very colorful past.  We had dessert and an after dinner drink before the walk back to the hotel.
All in all, another interesting day! Even though we had a tough time yesterday, we're so glad we came in this direction.  Some things are just meant to be!

We have met such nice people in every city we've visited. Each state has an identity all it's own and we have learned so much about this great country. I've learned that we grow a LOT of corn! Everywhere!  I'm not kidding, corn, corn, corn!

I'm just kidding around but it is surprising to me to see how much open land there is.  This country is huge and beautiful. We're so lucky to have this opportunity.  We're heading to Sioux Falls tomorrow on our way to Mount Rushmore. I'll check back in when I have something to share. Thank you, my friends, for staying in touch! I miss you!