Day 8 – Oh Black Water, Keep on Rolling…

We started the day by locating the world’s largest catsup bottle, which was near our hotel in Collinsville, IL. Believe it or not, our hotel room is decorated with paintings and photos related to the catsup bottle and the associated plant.

Today was our big touring day and the weather was overcast, but we did not get the monsoon rains predicted. In fact, we didn’t get any rain to speak of. We drove into town and parked on the levee, right below the arch. Literally on the levee. The levee was built in the mid-1800’s by workers who were paid one penny for each cobblestone block they placed in the embankment. They earned about $2 per week, after meals were deducted.

We took the ride to the top of the arch first. It is a bit cramped and claustrophobic and takes about 4 minutes to get to the top, but you get a great view. We were the only ones in our car so no one could see the fear in my eyes or hear me whimper. I’m not big on heights.

We then toured the Gateway to Western Expansion museum which is run by the Park Service. It features the story of Lewis and Clark’s expedition west. St. Louis was the starting point for many such excursions west and hence St. Louis is nicknamed the Gateway City. I believe that if you took the Santa Fe, Mormon or Oregon trails you probably passed through St. Louis to get on the trail.

After the arch, we took a one-hour paddlewheel ride on the Mississippi River. Our boat was the Becky Thatcher, in deference to Mark Twain. I know the Doobie Brothers call the Mississippi “black water” but I have to tell you it is much more of a dirty brown. I suppose that doesn’t rhyme as well.

After the boat ride, we had a concrete at Ted Drewes, which was a famous stop on Route 66 back in the day. A concrete is frozen custard that is so thick that you can turn it upside down, which they demonstrated for me. I tried the Terramizzou (chocolate and pistachio nuts) because I like the play on the name. It was very good but we both agreed that next time we are getting the small size.

To finish the day, we toured the St. Louis Art Museum. It is a very nice museum and best of all it is free. They have an unusually large collection of German works but also some good Impressionist and modern paintings, which we like. Our main impression of the museum was that all their art was very well displayed.