OK, I'm clean and rested today so I can tell you a little about my trip. I left Union Station in Los Angeles late Friday night aboard the Texas Eagle Amtrak train (map, timetable) heading southeast.
When I woke up Saturday morning from very little sleep we were near Yuma, Arizona. It took us all day Saturday to get through the deserts of southern Arizona and New Mexico before arriving in El Paso, Texas Saturday night several hours late. The problem was that we kept meeting freight trains along the way, and since Union Pacific owns the tracks, everytime we met one, we had to slow down, pull over, and let it pass. My train was supposed to meet up with another train in San Antonio before heading north towards Chicago. However, since we were so late, there was no way we were going to make that connection. So in El Paso, Amtrak put those of us heading north on buses to meet up with the other train in Fort Worth. So I spent my Saturday night on a 12-hour bus ride from El Paso to Fort Worth. The bus was certainly a lot less comfortable than the train so I got even less sleep than the night before, but the good news was that we got to Fort Worth on time and got back on schedule.
On Sunday afternoon around 3PM, our train arrived and took us northeast through Dallas and the rest of Texas. It was night when we arrived in Arkansas. I think I got a little more sleep that night and on Sunday morning I woke up in Missouri. Our train followed the Mississippi River for a few miles before arriving at my final destination of St. Louis on Monday morning only a few minutes late.
I got off the bus and started walking towards the Gateway Arch, the one thing I had to see while I was there. Along the way, there were people setting up their lawn chairs on the streets getting ready for the big Labor Day Parade, but I kept walking towards the Arch. The Arch is quite tall - 630 feet high - taller than many of the skyscrapers in the city. Underground there is a museum, some shops, a theatre, a tram that'll take you to the top, and Lewis & Clark stuff everywhere. I took the tram up to the top and took some pictures. Looking out the west side, you'll see the city of St. Louis and looking out the east side, you'll see the Mississippi river and Illinois. After doing the Arch, I headed down to the Levee and got on a riverboat for a one-hour cruise on the Mississippi. That was pretty cool, but I was getting hungry. I started walking around downtown, but the whole town was dead since it was Labor Day. I found a visitor's center and asked them where to eat. The guy suggested I got down to Laclede's Landing and suggested a couple places to eat there.
Laclede's Landing is about a 10 block area on the riverfront of bars, restaurants, and nightclubs. A few of the places were open including one suggested by the visitor center guy: Show-Me's. I walked into Show-Me's and had a seat. It a cool bar with $1 bills plastered all over the walls and ceilings with people's names written on them. The waitresses are extremely friendly and wear these little pink shorts and white tops that are just slightly skimpier than a Hooter's girl ourfit. Their tops say "Best Tails in Town" on the back. I had a fried cod sandwich that was pretty good, but it's obvious people don't go there for the food.
After lunch I walked around town a little more, but there wasn't much going on so I hopped on the MetroLink subway and headed towards the airport. My flight was actually on time and I left St. Louis around 6PM. I thought my sightseeing trip was over at that point so I packed my camera away. But, the plane ride ended up being quite scenic. We passed over the Missouri River, the fields of Kansas, some really cool rock formations in the Four Corners area, the Grand Canyon, and the sunset on the Pacific Ocean.
So, I'm back home now and it feels like I was away for a week. It was such a great trip. I can't wait to start planning my next one. I think I've got enough Amtrak points for a free trip. I'm thinking of taking a train through the Rocky Mountains next. But before I do that, I need to find myself a good backpack... my shoulders are sore from carrying my bags around St. Louis all day yesterday.
I didn't do much shopping on my trip. The only shop I went to was Levee Mercantile, a historical recreation of a 1870s general store underneath the Gateway Arch. I bought myself a bottle of Pappy's Sassafras Tea, a bread pudding recipe book for my mom and some corn treats for Erin.
And finally... HERE ARE THE PICTURES!
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