The California Adventure

St. Louis - The Gateway to the West

This is downtown, part of which that houses Busch Stadium (boo again, for two reasons.) I've never been there, but after the success of this trip, I just might have to give St. Louis another chance.

We left St. Louis and drove the full 6 hours back to Milwaukee in one trip. If we stopped it was for gas or a quick snack, so I didn't take any more pictures. I instantly putting these pictures on the website, but an event happened in my family that restricted me from ever completing it. I always wanted to finish it up, and now my goal is complete. So that brings about a long awaited conclusion to the adventure that gave my site it's first true and interesting content. Before I went on this trip, I just had random pictures on this site that had no connection to each other. This trip gave my viewers an experience of mine to follow along with and a reason to check back every week for updates. These pictures, along with the way that I presented them, set the bar for everything that I do today on this site. Everything I learned about making my site was discovered during that time as well. Even though it is 2 1/2 years later, and that trip in my mind did more harm than good for my family, I am still glad that I went because it allowed me to see places that I only have dreamed about before. I'm also glad that I finished it because it was always meant to be a complete trip, and ending in Okalahoma City would have disrupted that progression. I hope that you enjoy these pictures, and make sure you check out the entire California Adventure from December 2001 to January 2002.

When we got up to the top, it was night time, the light switches were set to 'on' and the city was aglow. The conditions were prime for a unique and memorable view of the surrounding landscape. Now that I got that mumbo-jumbo out of the way, I can say what I really want to. It certainly was cool up there. It was kinda scary, because you were pretty high up. I swear I felt the Arch swaying, although the website states that it can withstand earthquakes and winds up to 150 mph. Didn't stop me from being afraid of plummeting down towards the Earth. A few thick windows and the steel structure were all that stopped me from being a memorable spot in the picturesque panoramic view of downtown St. Louis. I'm sure that everything featured in these pictures has a name and an address, but I don't feel like mentioning them because I don't care much for St. Louis. My loyalty lies elsewhere, in a little town nestled in Southeastern Wisconsin. Milwaukee represent!

This is the viewpoint from the Eastern side of the Arch, looking East (duh) towards Illinois (boo.) That body of water is the mighty Mississippi, and to cross it would be insane. Why? Because then you'd be in Illinois, and we all know about people that live there.

To the right are stairs leading towards the pods that you take down to the bottom of the Arch. There's something about this picture that just looks wrong, but I assure you that it is not altered and appears exactly as you would see it inside the Arch.

This riverboat is permanently stationed on the Eastern shore of the Mississippi River (Illinois territory) and I think it is a casino, although I couldn't find any information to back that up.

My Mom Kris and brother Tim take a second to look at me instead of St. Louis. That suited me, because I always believed that I was more important than the city St. Louis, and I was right.

This sign signified that you were in the exact center of the Archway, and that you were 630 feet above the ground. I didn't know that I was that high, but then I started to see colorful bears and blue meanines attack a popular British rock band. It was a surreal moment.