kitchtrips

Sweet southern smell of summer in Savannah
Tailgate drop Tuscaloosa, Alabama
That’s my hometown
Yeah, that’s my hometown

New York City, subway on the run
San Diego surfers, soaking in the sun
That’s my hometown
America’s my hometown

We got blue collar people
Little pink houses
White church steeples
Wishes in a fountain

If you know every name on your street
And you know them then you know me
That’s my hometown
America’s my hometown.

– Uncle Kracker

Thursday 8 June 2023

St Louis is a great city. A smaller Chicago. Or maybe Indianapolis is a smaller Chicago and St Louis is a smaller Indianapolis? Anyway, the point remains that the city on the banks of the Mississippi River that was once the Gateway to the West (back when horse and cart was how people got around, and when the Oregon Trail was more than something you might read about in a book, see in a movie or even see a part of in real life) is great.

The weather has been extraordinary ever since we got to America, and it continued that way today, with warm weather and plenty of sunshine. No air quality issues from the Canadian wildfires like they are suffering through out on the east coast, notably in New York City.

I woke up to news of a Swans loss, so that wasn’t the best way to start my day, but I half-expected it to be honest. Our Airbnb – which is actually very nice when it is cleaned and prepped for us – is right in the heart of downtown, very close to others that I’ve stayed at here in the past, and close to the Gateway Arch.

For the uninitiated: the arch is a towering stainless steel-clad monument designed to salute westward expansion of the United States. Hard to believe this was about as far as American civilisation went back in the 1800’s. I walked along the banks of the Mississippi and through the parks around the Arch on a perfect morning for taking photos.

After breakfast, we drove out to Sullivan, a bit less than ninety minutes away and definitely out in the sticks, where Meramec Caverns, famous for being the Jesse James Gang’s hideout back in Missouri’s more lawless days, is. Aside from being a beautiful spot alongside a river, and down a two-lane rural route. There is also a pretty awesome zip line course there, with four lines that vary in length and speed – two of which cross a river, which is cool – with a couple of wooden suspension bridges thrown in for good measure.

We got in a with a group of locals and were led by two guides, Maddy and Colin, who were a lot of fun. It’s pretty awesome flying across a river at around 50 miles an hour (or around 80kmh, if you prefer metric) and I wished it had gone on twice as long. Probably the best zip line I’ve done, other than one down in the mountains around Gatlinburg, Tennessee, which had some of the longest lines in America.

After lunch, we toured the cave system that is the main attraction, with our guide Woody, who filled us in on a lot of local history as well as the business of how cave formations are created: hint, stalactites. There were a few formations illuminated by coloured light, and a spectacular light show at the end, which were both very impressive. The ninety minute tour flew by.

Back to St Louis in the afternoon. Dinner at a local Japanese restaurant that I’ve been two a couple of times before, just around the corner from the Airbnb. Found out during dinner that Donald Trump was indicted again, this time relating to the mishandling of classified documents. Quite a moment: a former American president indicted federally. Wow.

Early night tonight, big day tomorrow including the Gateway Arch and a baseball game at nearby Busch Stadium.