America 2015: Day Fourteen (12 August 2015)

I'm makin' my way back to Chicago
I'm makin' my way come rain or shine
I'm gonna find true love waiting for me
I'm gonna make it all work out for good this time

Let's go walking by the beach tonight
And watch the sun come up on Lake Shore Drive
Then I'll take you in my arms
And I'll keep you from all harm
Cause I know everything is gonna be alright

                                                                                                                   - Styx

Wednesday 12 August

Today was it. The day I’ve been dreading since last Wednesday.  We had to leave Chicago today, and it didn’t – and still doesn’t, for that matter – sit well with me. We always stay a little longer than we did the trip before, but it never seems long enough. The thing is, we know a lot of awesome people here, and every single one of them rolls out the welcome mat in the most extravagant manner every single time. It’s hard to leave when people bend over backwards like that.

Where else do I start but with Matt and Jaimie? I honestly don’t know how I got so lucky to count them as friends. You guys are amazing. Thanks for every single thing you did to make us feel so welcome on what was clearly an insanely busy and hectic time for you guys. It’s truly humbling.

The last week living Matt and Jaimie and their three kids, Brooke, Miles and Paige (who are beyond adorable) has been incredible fun. The sort of fun that you can’t accurately describe with words. Each day was an adventure. You never knew what sort of toy you were going to end up playing with by about eight thirty on any given morning. My personal favourite was the Thomas the Tank Engine train set. Breakfasts won’t ever be the same again!

To steal a line Matt loves to use and modify it a touch: "There are many great Americans...but Matt, Jaimie and the kids are right from the top shelf!"

I’m forever thankful that our two families managed to connect a few years back, and lucky that we’ve continued to keep in contact. I wouldn’t have missed this weekend for anything! Leaving Chicago wasn't easy today. Especially not when we barrelled off down I-55 and ran into an hour-long traffic jam, during which we barely ticked over fifteen miles an hour. The root cause was roadworks, and it was a nightmarish delay. Lucky we’d stocked up on snacks beforehand. And we stopped for lunch at a 'Steak n Shake' location in a place basically in the middle of the Illinois countryside. Healthy eating? No...but it tasted great!

Midwest scenery

 

Oh well, at least the holiday continues (sorry, Lauryn and Karen!), and we didn’t have to go through the exhausting rigmarole of flying. Instead, we journeyed south through Illinois and across the Mississippi River to St Louis, Missouri, which is mostly famous these days for the impressive Gateway Arch that dominates what you would probably call a modest skyline (at least in comparison to New York City and Chicago) no matter which way you look.

Back in the old days, around the time of the Civil War and later still, St Louis was the Gateway to the West, when the land between here and the Pacific Ocean was wild frontier. It was a hub for all sorts of freight, mail and other supplies. St Louis has grown out of that ever since. It’s a fairly quiet place, with a very good baseball team – the city is mad for the Cardinals – and plenty of parkland. They’re doing major work under the Gateway Arch to further improve that.

Downtown St Louis, MO

 

Nathan’s birthday is coming up in a few weeks, so tonight was the celebration, because, by way of a present, I organised passes for the Champions Club at Busch Stadium where the Cardinals were playing the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight. It was a pretty awesome present, if I do say so myself.

 

You go up to the suite level of the impressive stadium an hour and a half before first pitch, get to drink as much beer and eat as much food as possible in air-conditioned comfort before going out to your reserved seat. And it’s not just the usual hot dogs and fried chicken, either. This was top-quality food: I’m talking roast beef, satay chicken, prawn and scallop pasta, all sorts of fresh salads and cookies for dessert. Even better, during the game someone comes around taking drink orders so you never have to leave your seat.

The atmosphere inside Busch Stadium is great. The Cardinals are a perennially good team, and tonight’s game had a little bit of everything: stolen bases, home runs, video reviews and even a squirrel invading the Cardinals dugout. The crowd rides every pitch, and clearly love their team. It’s a fun place to watch a game!

 

I should mention that our hotel has an excellent view of the Gateway Arch. Normally in places like this, where I get an ‘[Insert Attraction Here] View Room’, I end up doing some sort of permanent damage to my neck trying to get a glimpse of the sight. Not here. Here, in St Louis, I open up the curtains in the hotel and there’s the Gateway Arch, staring right back at me. A great view!

 

It’s been quite a day. I was a little flat early today after leaving Chicago, but the ball game fixed me right up! We’ll do a bit of sightseeing in St Louis tomorrow, including going up into the Gateway Arch.