Day 27

I cannot believe we are this far!!  Today we drove through Missouri. We stopped briefly in Joplin as we passed right through it on our way.  The devastation was unbelievable.  They have such a long way to go in the clean-up/rebuilding process.  The tops were ripped off of trees everywhere, no branches, no leaves, just trunks with a few limbs poking out.  Their hospital looked like a bomb had gone off in it.  Home Depot, the place to go for cleaning and rebuilding supplies, was nothing more than a large tent.  We saw people working on removing debris, volunteers, Red Cross workers, and people still going through debris.  It was very sad and tragic.  Just another reminder of how blessed we are back home.

We arrived in St. Louis around 5pm and headed to the arch.  It was so much cooler and impressive than I ever imagined.  The town was abuzz with Cardinals fans everywhere (we only saw one Phillies fan, I am sure there were more, maybe he was hiding :) and Marines everywhere.  Apparently, it is Marine Week at the Arch.  They have a beautiful park there where the kids could run around.  Several Marines were present  throughout the park giving demonstrations and letting everyone hold their weapons, climb in their vehicles, etc.  They were so kind and our gang had a blast, especially Benjamin, Jonathan, & Elizabeth.  She is like a puppy, as soon as she gets out of the car, that little girl just wants to run!  Most of the time, it is in circles...it reminds us of our sheltie we had years ago that loved running in circles, but I digress :).

We went up in the Arch, which was quite cool!  It was a bit claustrophobic, though, with all 7 of us in a tiny "capsule" riding to the top, but we managed!  We saw more flooding from the Mississippi River and many roads were barricaded downtown because of this.  It is sad how much flooding we have seen. 

We ate dinner late at a restaurant underground and then walked back to the hotel, which actually had an amazing view!!  It was another fun stop that I am glad we made!

What did not work: The Junior Ranger program...we did not realize this was a National Park!   We thought about completing the program, but we just did not have time.  It was causing some stress, so we opted out of it this time, which was a good call!

What worked:  Priceline!!  Harvey has used Priceline for years with good success, all but once (you can ask my brother-in-love Gary about that one :).  He always goes for four star hotels and then bids.  It works great in big cities, as they have nicer hotels and more to choose from.  One of the hotels we stayed in early on complained about it and said we could have gotten better deals had we booked through them, but that was not the case! Harvey got some amazing deals by bidding. This particular hotel in St. Louis had a separate bedroom, a large sitting room with a foldout sleeper sofa, and a breathtaking view of the Arch and the Mississippi River and was only $60. plus tax!!  Go Priceline!!