st. louis, part II.

I am still so worn out from my trip! But as a few days have passed I figure I should toss something up here on my St. Louis trip. It was by and large kind of a surreal experience, because being alone things happen and you start to feel like you are just kind of making them up. Granted, I spend a lot of time alone, but I swear my "do whatever I want urge" reaches odd primal levels when I'm traveling and I find myself going a little bit overboard. Nothing sketchy, but I'll get to it.

So I met Phyllis Schlafly. She is nice and old and really did talk about socialism and the recession while I was in the room. The whole experience kind of blew my mind as I wasn't expecting to meet her. Research was quick and very fruitful.

Leaving the EF archives, I decided I'd walk through this nice neighborhood I'd seen on the way over. And then I kept walking, past Washington University and into Forest Park, which is lush and lovely and goes on forever. I hit up the fabulously free Art Museum and then I kept walking. I somehow got it in my head that I wanted to walk all the way to the Arch. Well, St. Louis is a very big place and I made it through St. Louis University (tacky-ist campus ever-- overrun by these awful sculptures) and probably within a half mile or so of the Arch. And then my feet were dead because I'd walked like 9 miles. So I caught a cab and went to the baseball game.

The baseball game was mostly great-- after I got through the insane ticket line and got my beloved Nalgene confiscated at the gate and spent way too long wandering around trying to find a bratzel. I found it, along with the world's largest (and most expensive!) cup of Budweiser Select and made it too my great seats off homeplate. Bratzel was tasty and I am going to figure out how to make them, beer healed my tired soul and the stadium was super nice. I've never been alone at a baseball game, but it was actually really nice, lots of people talked to me and I didn't feel as alone as I would've been if I'd just retreated to the Holiday Inn. Got a ride home from a cabbie who told me if it's not ancient history, it's not history. Whack.

Thursday it was raining and I was slightly crippled from my crazy walk the day before so I took it pretty easy. Visited the Arch and the accompanying museum, say an emotionally manipulative Imax film on Lewis and Clark that made me all "I love America" and caught a pulled pork sandwich and a yummy yummy Shiner Bock at this place called Jake's. Took the Metrolink train from downtown to the airport and despite it being a touch late, had a great flight home.

Perhaps the best part of the flight was, as usual, the drink and listening to This American Life. It was better than usual because the drink was free-- I am not sure if it was because the flight was late or because the stewardess, while looking at my ID was like "Wow, somebody who looks like she's twelve drinking bourbon" was all impressed or something, but free is free!

Made it back just in time to see some of the Pioneer Day fireworks. Pictures are up on facebook and I am really too lazy to post them here, at least right now.