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Wednesday, April 19, 2006

St. Louis Trip Recap Part 2 (Electric Boogaloo)... 


...So where was I when I left off?..
Wife's Christmas present, forgot my sunglasses, forgot the directions, fuck YOU, Kansas, stopping to see friends, good Mexican food, big ass burrito, I'm "sick"...

Food ALWAYS Makes You Feel Better...
Ok, yeah...I was feeling better after having eaten lunch and, since we were on a bit of a schedule, the wife and I hit the road once again, plugging along, now in the state of Missouri, on our way to St. Louis. Despite the fact that Missouri, like flat Hell Kansas, has implemented an asininely pokey 70 MPH speed limit (fuck YOU too, Missouri), at least the dreary flatness of western Kansas was a distant memory, replaced by slightly more scenic things like rolling hills and trees and rivers and dead raccoons and "stuff." The closer we got to St. Louis, though, the more I was filled with a growing sense of dread re: having left behind the MapQuest directions which would have shown conclusively how I was going to get to our hotel. I decided, though, that there would HAVE to be signs on the stinking interstate directing me toward the Savvis Center and, since our hotel was supposed to be directly across the street, we'd get there just fine despite my boneheaded mistake from (way) earlier in the day...Look, I was "sick," gimme a break...

Assuming: it makes an Ass out of...Oh, you get the picture...
Despite the obvious disadvantage of driving time versus flying time, I really enjoy driving into a city that I've never been to before as opposed to merely landing at an airport. When you drive, you get a good idea as to how big (or not) a "metro area" is, where certain landmarks are, what neighborhoods you may wish to avoid and things of that nature. The hotel that I had booked for our trip sits squarely in the "downtown" area of St. Louis which is right there on the Mississippi River which means that it's literally a stone's throw away from Illinois. The "Metro Area" of St. Louis, however, extends pretty far west of there, damn near beginning just as soon as you're through Columbia. Regardless, I figured that, even without those silly MapQuest directions, I would be hard pressed to "get lost" because prior to our departure, a wise man had told me that if I could see the Gateway Arch, I'd be fine: all I had to do would be to follow the Arch and I'd find downtown...

Sounds simple enough...

As my wife and I were truckin' eastward on I-70 through the expansive St. Louis Metro Area, we did, in fact, catch our first glimpse of said Arch when we were still pretty far out from it. If my memory serves, that was right about that same time that we passed some dilapidated structures in what appeared to be a particularly shitty neighborhood which prompted me to utter the line "over there's not exactly where I'd like to be toolin' around lost." Anyhow, eyes fixed squarely on the Arch, we made our way towards downtown St. Louis, expecting at any time to see that sign which I had so expected to see, directing me toward the Savvis Center and, ultimately, our hotel. I passed a couple of exits labeled "downtown" but, sadly, no exit labeled "Savvis Center."

And then I was in Illinois...

...You Need to go Down That Way, 'Bout Half a Block...
Now, I vaguely remembered that I had needed to get OFF of I-70 and onto some other interstate at some point REAL CLOSE to where the hotel was, and I KNEW that we were REAL CLOSE to where the hotel was, but I feared that, in the absence of those oh-so-important directions, I had gone too far or that I would choose the wrong interstate. As such, I exited the interstate onto some crappy state highway and followed signs in a vain attempt to get back to where we had just been, all the while getting seemingly farther and farther away from that damn arch. We went through some pretty swingin' neighborhoods on that highway, past some memorable landmarks such as illegal chop shops, drug deals in progress and burned-out strip clubs until I finally came to a road that was marked "To St. Louis." Long story short, we proceeded to tool around, like a couple of lost idiot tourists, through some of the St. Louis area's worst territory, finally ending up EXACTLY WHERE I HAD SAID EARLIER THAT I DIDN'T WANT TO BE TOOLING AROUND LOST...Long story short, we got back on the interstate, I got to downtown THIS time and we did, in fact, find our hotel WITHOUT getting shot or robbed which, as we found out later while watching the local news, was a real possibility as we seemed to have missed shooting after shooting which occured EVERYWHERE that we had been roaming around lost.

Everything Within Easy Reach...
Once we made it to the hotel that night (and found a great parking spot in the $15.00-per-night hotel parking garage, by the way), we set about to finding which of the barbecue restaurants that had been recommended to us would be easiest to get to from where we were (since we kind of knew where that was, now)...Sadly, the recommended ones appeared to be all "out of business" or simply non-existent with disconnected phone numbers and such so we eschewed the eating of smoked meaty delights and simply stayed in...All things considered, it was a good decision because the next day (Sunday) proved to be filled to the proverbial brim with activities (also: fun). Such activities shall be outlined for you all right about...now:

After I woke up on Sunday morning and found out that my wife had taken advantage of the hotel gym while I was still passed out, we went downstairs and ate a passable breakfast in the hotel "bistro." From there, we decided it was time to walk down to the riverfront and see what manner of distractions the ol' Arch had to offer. When we arrived at the arch, we took advantage of a package deal and picked up tickets to go to the top of the arch in what amounts to a claustrophobic carnival ride (I got some great pictures from the top) and also, later on, to take an hour-long riverboat cruise up and down the Mississippi which turned out to be a lot of fun (despite my forgetting sunscreen and getting burned up a bit). Following such frivolity there on the banks of the mighty Mississip', my wife and I headed back to the hotel for a quick nap before the piece de resistance of the whole damn vacation: the Blues vs. Oilers game and the Al Macinnis ceremony which started at 6 that evening...

13 game losing streak? NOT WHEN WE COME TO TOWN!..
Indeed, prior to our arrival, the St. Louis Blues had been mired in a 13 game losing streak which did little more than emphasize the troubles which the poor Blues had experienced all season long what with injuries and questionable personnel decisions. Because of all of the losin', the team was having trouble drawing fans to the games but my wife and I knew that, since Al Macinnis' number 2 was scheduled to be retired that evening in a special ceremony prior to the game, the place would likely be packed to the rafters in spite of the losing streak and, dammit, we were right. There was not an empty seat in the Savvis Center for the game and ceremony and, despite the fact that the Edmonton Oilers refused to participate in the number retirement, everything went perfectly, including the Blues winning the game 2 to 1.

Overall, It Was Fun: I'd Go Back...
Even despite the many factors which conspired against me (long drive, quick turnaround, being sicker than the proverbial dog), I had a lot of fun in St. Louis and would love to go back at some point and see more of what the place has to offer. I was able to get some good pictures while we were there which, of course, will be featured in this Friday's Phrickin' Photoblog, so you all will get to see a little bit of what I saw. As always, thanks for stopping by - have a fine Wednesday...

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