I don't really like Memphis. I know I stayed there two days, but that was to recuperate and refresh. I would really have preferred to stay in Nashville. And of all the driving places I've been to, Nashville has been my favourite, and the one where I WISH I had had another day. Like, the touristy stuff in all the other places is very samey. Nashville is unique. It reminds me in a tiny way of Galway.
Anyway, I was up and out early, but I had the free motel breakfast with Little Britain
. They're all excited for the big anniversary tomorrow. And totally randomly, there was a group in St. Louis today that had travelled from Memphis and Elvis too, and they were talking to a group from Fort Collins (where we lived when I was a baby). I dint join in because I was nearly asleep.
So basically I drove all day. Just me and the road and a LOT of burst tyres in the hard shoulder. How do so many tyres burst? It's scary. Also a lot of dead armadillos, sadly. It was sometimes hard to tell them apart from the burst tyres, but at least it gave me something to do.
I stopped off at a little welcome centre (and toilet) in Arkansas, but there were no signs to take pictures with, so my fuzzy windscreen one from the bridge in Memphis will have to do. Memphis really is a Tri State town. Just down the road from Elvis is Mississippi, and across the bridge from downtown is Arkansas.
Further along, I stopped for GAS that was LIQUID so it should be called PETROL, but I have finally figured out how to do that cool thing you see on TV where they let go of the pump handle and the machine does the work itself
. Yeah me! It's just a little ... I dunno, metal thing you flick down and wedge on a ridge, and it pops off either when you've enough GAS or when you reach the amount you paid for.
I also went into a Walmart conveniently located right behind the petrol pump (Walmart also had its own petrol pump I had missed) and I picked up supplies for the road for the next few days, and a cooler bag and an ice pack because hot car tap water is THE WORST. Incredibly unsatisfying. Even more unsatisfying than melty Burt's Bees lipbalm. Yuck.
On then to St Louis, which Judy Garland had me saying all wrong, because it's Saint Lewis. With an esssss sound at the end.
I'm staying at the beautiful Hyatt Regency because 1) it's near the Arch, the only tourist thing I want to see here, 2) it has parking, and 3) it was on special offer and I got a massive king bed with FIVE PILLOWS for a great price.
But I think they doubted my ambitions when I wheeled up in my little Honda Civic, all wrinkly and sweaty and willing to carry my own luggage
. And with a boot full of Walmart bags... Anyway, I know how to stick my nose in the air, and it was nothing a good shower and clean clothes couldn't fix.
I walked to the first restaurant I could find, which was called Pi, and had a wannabe Chicago deep dish pizza. It was so NOT proper deep dish, that I was able to eat the whole thing. Lame. At least it tasted okay.
Anyway, in fear that it would be all booked out, I had booked a 5pm tour in the Arch online last night, so I headed back past the hotel for that. I mean, the Arch is LITERALLY behind the hotel. I am looking at it out my window. THIS WAS THE BEST DEAL YET, TRIVAGO!!!
There is, of course, construction going on around the arch, because what sort of vacation would this be if was actually able to experience everything to the full. You can still walk around the south leg on the outside, and it IS pretty cool. The bottom of both legs are equilateral triangles, and the type of arch is an inverted weighted catenary, which I understand while reading about it, but am unable to communicate back to you via blog
. Ask my dad. HE HAS NOT BEEN HERE, I HAVE FINALLY BEATEN HIM TO SOMETHING IN THE USA.
So anyway, I was lined up with this other couple for going up to the top of the arch, and the girl was obnoxious. She kept ridiculing her boyfriend for being so interested in the elevators, despite telling me that he worked with elevators. He had no idea what a funicular was, so I have my reservations about the extent of his knowledge, but at least he was pleasant.
And OMG ... I don't know what to say about the crazy elevators. They were SO COOL. The view at the top was alright, the FREAKING ELEVATORS are like cylindrical SPACE PODS, they're AMAZING. They're part Ferris wheel, part elevator, as the tour says. Since I can't upload pictures to this dam thing, I highly recommend you just go NOW and Google "gateway arch elevator" and just look at the images. SPACE PODS.
So I took some pictures at the top, marvelled at the curvy floor, and the shadow on the Mississippi River (and the state of Illinois on the other side), and then I'd had enough of the stuffy air and tiny windows and just wanted to do the space pod again
. I ended up with the same couple, and the girl was still as condescending about the poor fella's interest in his damn area of work.
There was a documentary film included in my ticket, so I hung around for half an hour, until they let us in for that. It was all I could do not to to yell in ANY language at a French child who was spinning the metal chain of the barrier in front of the cinema for almost ALL that time. The whole French family also assumed no one could speak French, and went on about how it would be easy to beat everyone there to the front of the queue because they were all fat, and they had started to line up in a different place. So the French theory was, just start a new line and barge in in front of all the poor rule-abiding, obese Americans.
ANYway, the film was made in, probably the 60s and it was both over-dramatic and a little bit creepy. Cool to see footage of how they built the arch though. I nearly fell asleep a few times
. Avoiding dead armadillos on the road really takes it out of you...
After that, I tried to take some artsy photos of the Arch exterior on my very cool phone, but they came out extremely weird. I went around the construction and down some steps then to dip my feet in the Mississippi, because what good is it being near a famous body of water if your toes don't go in (eh, Daddy?!) The river is probably really gross right there, and it was all muddy, but hey. It's off the bucket list now.
After that, I nearly exhausted myself walking around town looking for an atm. I had already gone back to my car for my forgotten lipbalm (by far the most difficult part of waiting around for that Arch film to start was dry lips...) and now I was walking blocks and blocks to find cash. I can only get out max $140 per day, and I like to have some on hand in case I have a car emergency, and I was close to using up my funds from a few days ago. Anyway, I eventually found one with a locked door that need a card swiped to go in, and whaddya know! My card worked
. And then on the way back to the hotel, there were about fifty other ATMs.
So the count of new states visited this trip is: Kentucky, Tenesee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri. I have been to all of these states now. I have driven through them, stopped and walked around, and taken photos, AT THE VERY LEAST. I despise this smarmy attitude of some people who, oh, "don't count it unless you stay the night, or have lived there". What the fricking hell do you understand the English verb "BE" to mean?!?! Jackass. Come to think of it, they're always men who say this to me. I'm not claiming to have a deep knowledge of each backroad of the place in question, I'm not saying I know famous people from there, or what the local tax rate is, all I'm saying is I HAVE *BEEN* THERE, and if you can't accept that, you have bigger problems man. Sort out your life.
Go me, I'm awesome, I've been to a gazillion states now, and I'm driving a Honda Civic.
Meet Me in St Louis!
Friday, August 14, 2015
Saint Louis, Missouri, United States
Other Entries
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1Extended Vacation
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2Learning and Culture
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3Back to the Bend
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4Fightin' Irish
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5Just Around The River Bend
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6Queen of the Road
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7Heading on down to Nashville
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8Going to Graceland
Aug 122 days priorMemphis, United Statesphoto_camera39videocam 0comment 1 -
9Guitar Pool
Aug 131 day priorMemphis, United Statesphoto_camera7videocam 0comment 0 -
10Meet Me in St Louis!
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11Driving Along in my Automobile
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12The flat plains of Dakota
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13Mallrat
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14Tornado Watch
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15On The Road Again
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16Where am I
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Comments

2025-02-11
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Margie McNamara
2015-08-15
You've become really "Civic" spirited since you started on this trip!
Kevin, (Father, Daddy etc)
2015-08-16
Although I have not been to St Louis, (Lewis), I have seen the Arch from an plane, does that count?
Romy
2015-08-21
Kevin, I don't think that counts! But ask Mary. She is the expert and would know the difference between being there and bring over there. ☺