taxi thursday

Yesterday we woke up in Paducah in slow -- central -- time. They are an hour behind. The quilting museum didn't open until 10. The day is half over by 10.

We decided to try and find breakfast downtown. And we did. It was nice and the food was good, but the town was dead. We spent the hour after breakfast walking around and shooting ghost signs. Town should have been bumper to bumper with the morning rush and there were barely any cars on the road. It was surreal.

After hitting the museum, we headed northwest for St. Louis. It was a generous two hour drive. We stopped at a BBQ pit for lunch.

Our hotel in St. Louis was the same as the start point for the walk. The walk, it turns to, was a 10K. We did the first half and reached the Mississippi, and crossed the bridge into Illinois. The rate was so high it covered the river trail below us. After walking around the arch, we headed straight back to the hotel. It was a 20 block walk. And we needed to know how long it would take to get there.

Back at the hotel, we rested a bit, had a glass of wine, and then headed back to the arch for a 7:30 sunset trip to the top. This was really poor planning on or part. Why the hell did we make two trips? When we reached Unit Station, I asked a taxi driver how much to the Arch. And I got in.  Bonnie was shocked. I was exhausted from the heat. She got in as well.

Going to the top wasn't worth the time or the money. It took about an hour, and 45 minutes of that was standing and waiting in various lines. The windows are tiny and the area crowded. My suggestion would to just cross it off the bucket list now.

I would have preferred the stairs. The pods to go up fit five people, tightly. They are claustrophobic with little head space. I was glad when were were back on terra firma.

Then it was another 20 block walk back to the hotel. Bonnie must have energizer batteries. She just kept going and going, often being far ahead of me. And the gods of walk signals never gave us a break.

Miles/Steps:         10.71 miles total
Weather:               84, sunny, humid

Wildlife:                none 

Bathrooms:           none

Money found:        2 cents