Page 4

We certainly didn’t want the visit to end, but didn’t want to keep everyone up too late, so we agreed to come back for breakfast in the morning.  Debbie cooked bacon and eggs and put out smoked salmon as well.  We could have talked all day long.  Gerry could relate to the big family and he joined in the conversation easily.  They’re only about a hour and a half from Branson, Missouri, so we hope to come back to this part of the country again and stay longer.  It was such a treat to see them and I think Dolores was truly tickled to see us as well.

St. Louis was the next stop.  There is an RV park right downtown where we planned to stay at least two nights.  We thought that we night have a hard time finding a place to stay on the Labor Day holiday weekend, but there was no problem getting in.  Mostly concrete surrounded by a large fence, it certainly was not a pretty spot.  But all we really needed were the hookups for A/C.  Other than a handful of big RVs, it was nearly empty.  We settled in before hopping in the Saturn to check out downtown St. Louis.  The car was filthy from being towed, so first we found a car wash, then headed for the Mississippi River downtown.  Something was definitely going on for the holiday weekend.  We parked across from LaClede’s where music was blasting away and the streets were closed to vehicles and overflowing with people.  With literally hundreds of places to eat, the key for us was the length of the wait.  At Sundecker’s there was no wait at all and we were able to sit outdoors on a deck overlooking the river to enjoy a leisurely meal.

On the opposite side of the parking lot a wooded area with wide avenues lead to the famous St. Louis Arch.  Housed beneath the arch is a museum, theatres that show Imax movies, and trams that go to the top.  With daylight rapidly dwindling, we decided to wait till the next day to see it all.

Steps lead down from the Arch to the river where the President Casino is located.  Everyone has to have a casino card to enter and only bills or tokens work in the machines.  We were surprised to discover nickel machines and did try our luck on a couple of those for a while before calling it quits for the night.