May 16, 2012 - Waiting at the STL Airport

We are waiting anxiously at the airport to get on the plane. Everyone arrived on time at 9:15am. This bodes well for out travels since we have early wake-up calls most days. Loved ones and friends came to send us off. It was fun to meet parents and significant others. We made it through security without too much trouble although the ticket counter did find checking us in altogether a bit of a challenge. Since only two of our travelers knew each other before the trip, there is lots of exuberant chatting at the gate. It is going to be a long...

May 15, 2012 - St Louis- Missouri

Tuesday drove 199 miles to East St Louis in Illinois, St Louis is in Missouri but we are parked across the river in the Queen Casino RV Park, not here for the gambling though just its the best location campground for visiting St Louis. We can see The Gateway Arch from our RV will catch the metro in the morning to go & do some sight seeing of the city.

May 12, 2012 - Depart Branson - Visite St-Louis et la fameuse Arche - Fin Rt 66

Il annoncait de la pluie pour aujourd'hui mais etant donne qu'on avait du soleil dans nos bagages, il a fait beau, couvert un peu mais ensoleille dans l'apres-midi. En partant de Springfield, MO, nous avons pris la Route 66 et je peux affirmer que le Missouri est l'Etat le plus "Friendly" pour les amateurs de la Route 66. Facile a suivre, bien indique, meme en prenant une autre route. Seulement quelques endroits ou l'on semble perdre la route mais j'assume que l'autoroute l'a integree. Vu que cette route sert encore aujourd'hui, les villes...

Apr 5, 2012 - Zoo de St-Louis

Il y a eu de gros orages toute la soirée et toute la nuit mais ce matin pas une goutte, il fait frais et c’est nuageux, on décide d’aller au zoo quand même et ce fut une très bonne décision. La température était fraîche donc pas de grosses sueurs et pas coups de soleil. Le zoo de St-Louis est un des plus renommé au monde, quand j’étais jeune et même jusqu’à mon âge adulte j’ai regardé « Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kindom » avec Marlin Perkins qui était le directeur du zoo de St-Louis. Le zoo se trouve dans un immense parc où il y a plusieurs...

Apr 4, 2012 - L'Arche de St-Louis

Aujourd’hui nous nous avions donné comme mission d’aller voir l’arche de St-Louis et d’explorer le centre ville. On n’a pas eu le temps d’explorer le centre ville, le parc où se trouve l’Arche est immense et le complexe de l’arche est grand lui aussi et sous terre en plus, on prenait notre temps pour acheter nos billets pour monter tout en haut de l’arche et on s’est retrouvé à acheter nos billets vers 11h00 et notre temps d’embarquement était prévu pour 13h30. Alors si vous allez voir l’arche, achetez vos billets tôt le matin ou même la...

Apr 3, 2012 - Granite City Illinois

Hier une autre journée torride presque 90°F, alors on a rien fait, nous sommes allés voir chez mon onc Wally s’il avait le cadeau que nous voulions pour Tristan et il l’avait alors on l’a acheté, ensuite on est allé manger une crème glacée pour nous rafraîchir puis on est retourné à la climatisation pour le reste de la journée. Ce matin nous sommes parti pour St-Louis vers 9h30 et nous sommes arrivés vers 13h00, nous sommes installés à Granite City quelque milles à l’est de St Louis, on est même dans l’Illinois mais très près du...

Dec 30, 2011 - Friday

Next destination Tunica, Missouri Stopped along the way in Hannibal, MS to see the boyhood home and museum on Mark Twain. Thoroughly enjoyed that visit, the town and the river views. It was a beautiful sunny day with the temp in the 60,s. After that we were on the way to Tunica, MS., passing briefly through Memphis, where I was born. In Memphis there were metal bars on the doors and windows as we drove on the interstate. The area looked rough. I have often wondered how it was that I was one of not too many lucky individuals to have been...

Dec 29, 2011 - Thursday

Left Iowa around 9:00 A.M. and drove to St. Louis. I was proud of myself, Laura, for doing the research on where to stay overnight in this state. Thought the RV park would be located on the river, in a quaint part of town. As the GPS continued voicing the turns leading us into the extreme inner city, I realized things sometimes sound better than in actuality. There was a black iron gate around what was probably an RV park of about 75 spots, in the heart of the city. Being across from the police station was a plus, however. Also the nice...

Nov 29, 2011 - Saying goodbye to Jane and Jim

Monday saw us taking Jenny to the vets for some more tablets. The vet thought she was doing really well despite the prognosis. Jane and Jim joined us for the afternoon and evening for a farewell meal before we started to head south to New Orleans. We really enjoyed their company and hoped we could meet up in Europe sometime.

Nov 27, 2011 - Forest Park and St Louis Art Museum

The day dawned cold and grey so we decided to head out to Forest Park in St Louis. The park which is four miles from downtown is larger than New York's Central Park.The park was the site of the 1904 World's Fair known as the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. The fair opened April 30, 1904 and closed December 1, 1904. In addition to the fair, the park hosted the diving, swimming, and water polo events for the 1904 Summer Olympics. Today the park is the location of many of the museums in St Louis. We decided to visit the St Louis Art Museum....

Nov 26, 2011 - Missouri Botanical Gardens

Although not the best time of year to visit, it was a glorious day so we headed out to the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St Louis. The gardens where founded in 1859 by Henry Shaw and are the oldest botanical gardens in continuous operation in the US. The garden is also a place of research, conservation and learning. We were surprised by the number of people there but we soon realised why. There was a special Greenland Express Holiday Flower and Train show. As we queued to get tickets a lady handed us two tickets and before we could offer to...

Nov 17, 2011 - St Louis, MO - Nov 16-17

November 16, 2011 We got up around 8:30 and after packing and having a quick breakfast at the hotel we hit the road for St. Louis. The drive was just over 3 hours and there seemed to be lots of trucks on the road today and every one wanted to pass another truck. It certainly slowed the traffic down a bit but we made it to St Louis about lunchtime. We also found petrol for under $3 a gallon for the first time!; We drove directly to the Anheuser-Busch Brewery and found out what times there tours were and found that we had about 45 minutes...