St. Louis -- Rest Day

Today was a rest day from bicycling but a great day for sight-seeing. I might add that it was a very educational one as well. I learned a great deal about the building of the Arch and have a new respect for the architect and engineers and men that constructed this beautiful and magnificent monument. A photograph does not do it justice. You have to be here to appreciate it's size and height. It is twice the height of the Statue of Liberty. Going up to the top is another whole new experience. I took some shots from the top.




Straight ahead is a shot of the Old Courthouse (more about it to follow) and to the right is our Hyatt Hotel. Behind the Courthouse was where the wagon trains gathered before heading West.




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The next photo of the River




This is the pod like thing which seats five at a time to transport you to the top and back down.








This is at the top. Can you see the narrow windows from which we were able to look down.
After getting back to ground level, my friends and I watched an IMAX movie about Lewis and Clark's journey to the Pacific Ocean. I was impressed by their incredible journey and can't wait to get home to read more about them.
In the afternoon we took a leisure steamboat ride on the River.








The bridge is the famous Eads bridge. The city's oldest bridge.
The next stop on our sight-seeing adventure was a visit to the Old Courthouse. The famous Dred Scott case began here and led to the divisive U.S. Supreme Court decision. The photo below is of the dome from inside the rotunda.




The last photo of today is of a statue of Lewis and Clark and Lewis's dog on the banks of the River.




Finally a photo of the Arch from the terrace on the 18th floor of the Hyatt.




Our last stop was the bike shop for some needed supplies. It' s the nicest one so far on our trip, but they can't compare to the ones in Fresno. I have to stress how lucky we are to have such great shops and I am going to let them know how much I appreciate them when I get back.
To finish the day, I had ribs and beer for dinner!