Hey, kids! What day is it!? (At this point, you yell "FRIDAY" with utter abandon and I yell back "HELL YEAH, IT IS!") So yeah, it's "Friday" again and, of course, once again time for me to bust out (yet) another Phrickin' Photoblog for your viewing pleasure. As I mentioned last week, we're going to be continuing with the "pictures from St. Louis" theme, this week being the photos which chronicle the "riverboat cruise" which the wife and I went on after having ascended the Arch...I should force you good people to wait no longer for said picturey display...The Phrickin' Phun begins...NOW...
Now, I say this ALL the time: you click, they grow...


As we rejoin our Protagonist, Mr. Cheese Boy Man, we find him on the banks of the mighty Mississippi river, giving the double thumbs-up sign and sporting possibly the loudest shirt ever. Don't let my apparent happiness deceive you: I was in abject misery on the day that this picture was taken what with the bronchitis and the delerium and such...Regardless, this was a fun day and I was giving "being psyched" my best shot...By the way, that bridge back there has like...way important historical significance. Just thought you kids might like to know that...


Here's the wife, standing in front of the riverboat which would soon ferry our happy asses up and down Ol' Man River for a good hour. Look at her, all decked out in St. Louis Blues gear! Indeed, the Arch and the riverboat were mere precursors to what she was in town for...Make no mistake, she was all about the hockey that day...


Now on to pictures taken from the boat, this here giant art deco tin can is the riverboat Admiral which was constructed way back in the 1930s. It's since been renovated and turned into a floating casino with more gaming space square footage than any of the casinos in Las Vegas. No, seriously: apparently every available square foot inside this massive vessel has been turned into gaming space. Also: ooh, shiny!


Here we have the old power plant, built 'round the turn of the century and completed in time to provide electric power for the 1904 World's Fair. Apparently the majestic hulk is still in limited use today by the city utility in St. Louis. Isn't it beautiful?..


And here we find ourselves, back on land, staring at a plaque which is part of the grand staircase which leads from the Arch to the riverfront. The plaque states August 1, 1993 - The bottom of this plaque indicates the high water mark of the great flood of 1993. On this date, the Mississippi River reached 49.38 feet, the highest level ever recorded in the city of St. Louis. Now, don't let that 48 foot figure fool you, that's not the ACTUAL depth of the river, but a number used by the shipping industry to determine depth and draft...Want to see exactly HOW HIGH the river got back in '93?..


Well here it is, kids: the view of the Mississippi River FROM THAT FLOOD PLAQUE. That's right, you can see the tops of cars down beyond that rope fence. There's a good bit of parking space down there, then there's a wide sidewalk, a road, more sidewalk, a number of steps...Imagine the river being all that way up where I was? I guess it's no wonder it's called the "great" flood of 1993...Bye bye, cars...Bye bye, ice cream truck...Bye bye, frolicking tourists...Bye bye, me...

So there you go: week two of three of the St. Louis-themed Phrickin' Photoblogs. Hopefully you've enjoyed these enough to come back again some time. As always, thanks for stopping by and have a fine weekend...

Labels: get outta town, Phrickin' Photoblogs