We drove to St. Louis on Friday (July 6) from Indianapolis, where we had made an overnight stop late Thursday night following the Cincinnati game.
Doug had planned our trip perfectly: get on the road a bit toward the next town following a game, thus lessening the next day’s drive time. He also picked hotels that provided free hot breakfasts, giving us a healthy fueled start to each day.
On the way, we had lunch in Greenville, Illinois, home of Greenville College where the famed Christian musical group Jars of Clay met, formed and got their start. The downtown restaurant was quintessential mid-America.
You get a first view of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis (top left) from some 20 miles east of the city. It’s an architectural wonder that marks the approximate point from which began the Lewis and Clark expedition and eventually opened the entire western part of our country.
Both Gregg and Doug took the tram to the very top of the Arch. You can see some photos taken from the top on Gregg’s blog by clicking here. The parabolic monument was designed by famed Finnish architect Eero Saarinen, who, unfortunately, died suddenly before its completion. It’s twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty, but only half as tall as the Empire State Building.
At the new ballpark in St. Louis you are greeted by the bigger-than-life statue of Stan “the Man” Musial (top right), whom I watched perform magic with his bat many times in my youth when he’d come to Wrigley Field to play the Cubs. Of course Musial’s home field in those days was the old Sportsman’s Park. He was an incredible baseball player and is an even better human being.
Doug had planned our trip perfectly: get on the road a bit toward the next town following a game, thus lessening the next day’s drive time. He also picked hotels that provided free hot breakfasts, giving us a healthy fueled start to each day.
On the way, we had lunch in Greenville, Illinois, home of Greenville College where the famed Christian musical group Jars of Clay met, formed and got their start. The downtown restaurant was quintessential mid-America.
You get a first view of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis (top left) from some 20 miles east of the city. It’s an architectural wonder that marks the approximate point from which began the Lewis and Clark expedition and eventually opened the entire western part of our country.
Both Gregg and Doug took the tram to the very top of the Arch. You can see some photos taken from the top on Gregg’s blog by clicking here. The parabolic monument was designed by famed Finnish architect Eero Saarinen, who, unfortunately, died suddenly before its completion. It’s twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty, but only half as tall as the Empire State Building.
At the new ballpark in St. Louis you are greeted by the bigger-than-life statue of Stan “the Man” Musial (top right), whom I watched perform magic with his bat many times in my youth when he’d come to Wrigley Field to play the Cubs. Of course Musial’s home field in those days was the old Sportsman’s Park. He was an incredible baseball player and is an even better human being.
I think we all agreed that this new Busch Stadium in St. Louis is the best overall park of the four we visited, although each one had its particular “bests”. This park just seemed to have the most “bests,” architecturally, aesthetically and functionally. The red brick and black iron exterior perfectly complemented the gorgeous playing field (above photos).Plus, we finally saw a Giants win, 4-3 (they had not been playing well – and still aren’t). But the Cards are the reigning World Champions of Baseball, and it was great to see them play in their new facility.
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