St. Louis Arch

It's hard to visit St. Louis without taking a trip to see the arch. Once you see it, you want to ascend it, too. So we did. The trip in the tiny capsule scared the pants off Danielle. Mark did not seem to mind it.


Once Danielle got over her fear of heights, she was able to see this view of St. Louis. In the dead center is the courthouse where the Dred Scott decision was settled.


The tiny capsule that took us to the top of the arch looked like something out of 2010.


Five pairs of legs crowd the pod that lifted us up the arch.


Danielle was nervous about being at the top of the arch. When she felt the sway of the 630-foot tower, her hands felt clammy and she began to feel dizzy and hot.


The view on the inside of the apex of the arch shows a crowd of people and tiny, slanted windows looking down over the city and the Mississippi River.


Danielle was stopped by the gaze of this man: George Arkeketah. He was part of a display on Native American dealings with the American government in the late 1800s. (Photo circa 1898). The portrait hangs in the museum under the arch.


The arch was Danielle's choice. Busch Stadium was Mark's. We took a tour of the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, and Mark got to sit somewhere he usually doesn't.


During the tour, Mark stands in front of a wall of blown-up baseball cards. The cards belonged to William DeWitt Jr., owner of the Cardinals.


Mark and Danielle stand near home plate at Busch Stadium. In the background is the arch.


Another "site" in St. Louis is our friend Abby, with whom we attended high school. Abby went to college in Missouri and decided to stay. We had dinner in the "Hill" neighborhood of St. Louis. It was great to reconnect with her.