Adventures in Travel - part 3

Days 7-8

(part 1)        (part 2)

Here we are in St. Louis!  Our first stop was the Gateway Arch!  Neither of us had been there, so it was a neat stop.   We rode in the tram up to the top - 630'!  And talk about an optical illusion - the base is also 630' wide!  The tram cars are round and sort of like a ferris wheel, so you swing a bit to follow the curve - that was unsettling!  You could see out of the cars, too - but you were looking at the inside of the arch.  Stairs & wires & various other things you'd see inside a building.   The cars held 5 people, if you were very cozy.  Luckily, the Spouse & I got our own. 

View from the top

Blueprint with the dimensions.

This is a cross-section of the keystone at the very top - those screens are livestreaming the view so people who can't make the ride can see what's up there. 

It's very efficient how they work the whole tram thing.  We had already bought our tickets (for a specific time) and when we checked in, they gave us a pair of "boarding passes" with a car # on it.  There are 8 cars per tram, north side & south side.  Then we went into the staging area and stood on the spot on the floor corresponding with our car #.  We got the story of the Arch and safety briefing from the worker. and then filed thru the picture area by car #.   Up a flight of stairs and then waited at our respective car loading areas.  The doors opened and people got off the tram, and we loaded and took the 4-minute ride to the top.   The trams reloaded, went down, unload/reload and came back up and that's when we had to reload back onto our same car.  So, you're up there less than 10 minutes and it's not terribly crowded at any time that you go.  

There are other things to do inside the base of the Arch.  There were several museums and a gift shop, of course.   We had "Ultimate Explorer" tickets, but since we didn't get the tickets far enough in advance, we ended up missing the documentary movie.  We did experience the virtual reality theater - which I wish I'd gotten pictures as we approached - it was basically a walled off area in what reminded me of a food court and several rows of stools.  There were a handful of people sitting on the stools with the VR goggles on, all looking around like a flock of chickens.  Quite hilarious!  We also got an hour-long Riverboat Cruise on the Mississippi River.  Take note - make sure you don't wander too far away from the loading area.  We did and suddenly 8 million people were in line before us, so we didn't even get to sit out on the deck due to no seats left.  But that's OK, it was hot, so even tho we couldn't see outside very well, we enjoyed sitting in the interior part in the a/c. 

When we left St Louis, we headed toward Gas City, Indiana.  The only reason I knew of this place is it's always where the Spouse stops when he drives home from his Mom's house in Arkansas.  I didn't think there was anything special about it, but come to find out, it's part of the Garfield Trail!  

Jim Davis, the artist who draws the Garfield cartoon is from Grant County in Indiana.  So there are 14 Garfield statues throughout the county in his honor.  We drove around and saw them all!  

This is #1 stop in the brochure - however we didn't go in numerical order, more like "map order" so we didn't do a lot of driving back & forth. 

I was happy to get to this one - we were driving around on a Saturday morning and this one is in the local library so we were hoping it was open!  They also decorate the statue for the seasons. 

This one is noted that you can only get to it during daylight hours, and between April-November since it's inside the pro shop at a golf course! 

This one didn't have a plaque - he's standing outside the James Dean Museum in Fairmount.

A family was just coming out so I was chatting with the mom who said she thought they'd just moved the statue here.  Come to find out they were also from Michigan, which was pretty funny!

This was their first stop and our 5th, tho.

Once we finished the Garfield Trail, we headed on back home.  

As usual, it's nice to be able to shower and use your own bathroom, even tho we did stay at some nice places. 

Adventures in Travel - part 2

Days 4-6

(part 1)

Since it was quite late when we got to the MIL's house, I didn't see her until Monday morning.  She goes to bed early and therefore gets up crazy early.  She just had her 80th birthday in mid-June - the Spouse sent her picture in to the local news tv station so she saw herself on tv!  That made her really happy. 

So the MIL insists that a married couple should always share a bed, so she gives up her room for us when I visit. 😵  She's got a spare room with 2 perfectly fine twin beds, but we get stuck on her saggy, creaky mattress that's probably as old as me!  But the Spouse went and got a nice air mattress and set that up in the spare room for us - it was glorious!  

We did some touristy stuff.  We always drive up to the top of West Mountain and hang out at the one or both of the overlooks and just look down at Hot Springs.  We stopped to get some water at the Happy Hollow spring, which is different because the other fountains around Hot Springs are, you know, HOT!  This one is not.  Speaking of - I did NOT visit the bathhouse.  I've gone there in July before and it's just not enjoyable when it's hot out.  Then we went to have some BBQ for lunch and then just vegged in the a/c the rest of the day and planned the rest of our trip!  Luckily, we didn't have anything planned already, since the delay in me getting to Arkansas would have messed up plans. 

The Supreme Spud at Stubby's BBQ.

OMG.

an enormous baked potato, pulled pork AND brisket, baked beans & coleslaw. 

Tuesday, we got up and went to this little Mom & Pop restaurant for breakfast - those are the best kind!  Phil's is located right across the street from Oaklawn Racetrack and is in an old house.  I don't know what I was expecting, but the decor was a whole bunch of vintage kitschy collections ~everywhere~ one wall had a bunch of porcelain spice sets, another had a bunch of "wall pocket" vases in the shape of various people & animals.  Another wall was a variety of kitchen implements; mandarin blades, potato mashers, ice cream scoops, etc, etc.  There was a LOT to look at! 

Biscuits with chocolate gravy, cheesy grits & sausage patties. 

My first time having chocolate gravy. 

 It was like a room-temp runny pudding, but less sweet than Jello pudding.  Very interesting.  

The Bobby Hopper Tunnel on I49

We left MIL's around noon and headed toward Fayetteville.  The Spouse & I have been married 20 years now and I've never met his best friend & family in person!   Before we got to their house, we drove around the University of Arkansas campus, since the Spouse is alumni. 

It was pretty cool, since I never did the college thing.

After visiting & dinner with the BFF & his fam, we finished up our day in Eureka Springs. 

Home for the next 2 nights. 

Our welcoming committee

Wednesday was our 20th anniversary!  We got up and did some touristy stuff and figured out the trolley system.  When we were riding thru the "entertainment district" in downtown Eureka Springs, I saw one of these places where you can have old-timey photos taken. We had one taken on our honeymoon, where the Spouse was a cowboy and I was a saloon girl.  We needed a new one!

We is fancy now!  

I just need to point out - the Spouse can rock a top hat!  He looked awesome.

The Bigfoot store

Yes, Chuck the skeleton went along with us. 

After a late lunch at a place called Sparky's (awesome bacon cheeseburgers there!) we went back to the cottage to cool off for a while, before heading back downtown for the "Eureka Rocket Ghost Tour".  Basically, this old guy & his dog drove us & another couple around in a golf cart (it identifies as a rocket) for 2 hours, telling us stories about the town and area.  It was fun, tho.  He was a great storyteller. 

The Crescent Hotel - reportedly one of the most haunted hotels in the US.

We just popped into the lobby for a bit, but we didn't do any of the haunted tours there. 

That's on the list for next time!

What we did see was absolutely beautiful, tho.

Thursday morning, we had breakfast at a place called the Squatch.

Good stuff there, too!

No pics, but I had the "Hog Wild" - a toasted croissant with ham, bacon, cheddar, bacon aioli and bacon jam.  The Spouse had a sausage & cheese kolache and a side of biscuits & gravy. 

Our next stop was the Christ of the Ozarks statue.  

His "wingspan" is 65' and he's 67' tall on top of Magnetic Mountain.

Fun fact, per the Rocket driver - he was meant to be 68 feet tall, but that would have required placing an aircraft warning light on top of his head.  So they made him slightly shorter to avoid that.  

😂

It worked out that we only drove 4 - 4 1/2 hours a day.  

Once we left Eureka Springs, next stop was St Louis!

Adventures in Travel - part 1

Day 1-3

Ugh, so the travel fairies are totally against me flying to Arkansas.  

Here's the post I made about my trip from last January.

In that post are links to the previous year

The Spouse had been at his Mom's house in Hot Springs since the middle of June and the plan was for me to fly down there and drive back with him - spending our 20th anniversary out on the road somewhere.  We didn't care where - just together (and alone!)!

So my flight was supposed to leave Flint, MI on June 3 at 5:30pm. have a layover in Chicago, then on to Little Rock, landing at 9:40pm.  

Since this was a one way trip, Sis1 drove me to the airport.

Delay

Delay

Delay

Delay

Weather / air traffic control management / lack of flight crew were the reasons I got.

Friday's flight supposedly ended up leaving Flint at 11:15am on the 4th. 

When it went from 8:10pm to 1:15am is when I chatted with someone at American Airlines whose name looked like a cat walked over the keyboard.  

I rebooked my flight for the 4th, leaving at the same time (this a regional shuttle between Flint & Chicago)

At least I was able to go to Mom's house and watch the 4th of July parade with the family. 

Granddaughter was excited that she could go out in the road and not get yelled at!

We also let off some fireworks in the street outside our house. 

and filled up the yard with smoke!

The Spawn had taken the grandkids to see some real fireworks and they are still young enough to dislike the loudness and crowds.  The sparkler fountain ones on the ground were more their speed. 

However, the notifications started at 1pm.

Delay

Delay

Delay

Delay

Last I saw, when the delays made it to 10pm, they just cancelled the flight.

But first, since I missed my flight from Chicago to Little Rock, they rebooked me for the 5th with a 9-hour layover in Dallas / Fort Worth!  Aw hell naw!!

If it had been Houston, I would have called up my friends who live there and hung out with them for a few hours.  But not Dallas.

This time Sis1 found an actual phone number for American Airlines and I was able to talk to a human and rebook AGAIN for the 5th.

 

I was sort of torn.  I looked at flights leaving Detroit for Little Rock on a different airline, which there was a very early one, however it had a short layover in Nashville.  I've been to Nashville twice and both times were a disaster!   So I was hoping 3rd time was a charm leaving Flint. 

So we went back to Sis1's house, and while I stayed at her house Friday night, this time I wanted to go home.  I'd sent most of my clothes with the Spouse, so I had no pjs, underwear or toothbrush with me and instead of doing laundry again and stewing in my anxiety and stress (and the fact a storm we'd gone thru had knocked out her power) I went home. 

This wasn't even the bad storm!

So instead of having Sis1 deal with driving me again me as well as fighting with a generator, etc - I had the Spawn drive me to the airport.  That way I could leave my car at home and it wouldn't be as obvious that she was home alone. 

So third time was indeed a charm.  Although I didn't get my preferred seats that I paid extra for - at least I got on to leave actually ON time and actually made it to Little Rock a few minutes early. 

Hooray!