On Tuesday we made reservations for the St Louis Arch (also known as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial). It was great! There is a visitor's center under the arch and plenty to keep you busy while waiting for your turn. The ride up the arch is scheduled and you buy tickets for a certain time (can buy online or over the phone to avoid the long lines). A few minutes before your scheduled time you gather in a line and watch a video about the arch. Then it's almost like a Disney ride - there are 8 "pods" which hold 5 people each. You wait outside your pod door and then climb in. Although they don't warn you - I'd really not recommend it if you are claustrophobic...or over 5'10" tall !! I've forgotten the exact times - but it's about a 4 minute ride to the top and a 3 minute ride back down. I'd love to see a replica of how the "elevator pods" maneuver up the arch as it is quite a feat.
The top of the arch was great and it was a clear morning so we could see quite far.
After leaving St. Louis we made our first dent on I-70 and got to Missouri. We stopped off at the President Truman Library & Museum in Independence. Unfortunately for us, we arrived at 4:30 pm and it closes at 5 pm. We literally ran thru the museum to try and take in as much as we could in that short amount of time. I would highly recommend this museum (and give yourself more time!). Included in the museum was a replica of the Oval Office and his famous "The buck stops here" desk plaque; letters and mementos from US citizens (including a button down shirt with a letter from a congressman stating that a gentleman felt he was being taxed so much that he literally sent the "shirt off his back"!); and hand written notes written during the time he decided to use the atomic bomb (ironically we were at the museum on the anniversary week of the bombings). It had so many exhibits that I would have loved to read and look at more closely. Hopefully we will be back this way again.
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