Day 14: Memphis to St. Louis

The primary reason we stopped in Memphis was to visit the National Civil Rights Museum. It wasn't until the morning of the day that we'd planned on going that I went to the website and discovered that the museum is closed on Tuesdays. Argh!! This was a big oversight on my part. But thankfully the museum is located at the Lorraine Hotel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and much is on display outside. They've done an amazing job preserving the appearance of the hotel from the same day that he died. It was a somber visit. I hope that we can bring Adler back someday when he's older to understand the importance of this location in American history.

Long way up - 630 feet to be exact!

We made the drive north to St. Louis where our hotel was directly across from the famous Arch. The Arch has recently undergone a massive redevelopment and expansion of the visitor center which is underground. The exhibits have yet to fully reopen which will happen on July 3rd. Even so, the arch is still accessible and we purchased tickets for the ride to the top. Adler wanted to know how fast the elevator went up. Answer: 3 miles per hour. We also learned that the ride up is a combination of elevator, escalator and Ferris wheel combined into one which meant that Adler wouldn't get turned upside down. You ride individual pods that are connected together like a tram. Each pod can squeeze up to five people inside. You have a small window that allows you to view the guts of the arch as you rise to the top. Once at the top you peer out of tiny 7 x 27 inch windows both east and west. I learned afterward that on windy days the top of the arch sway back and forth. Fortunately it wasn't a windy day because I'm not sure that Lisa would have enjoyed the extra movement. After about fifteen minutes we took the tram back down to solid ground.

Proof that he made it.

Then it was a short walk to Busch Stadium to where the St. Louis Cardinals play baseball. It's a great stadium that sunk the field to about thirty feet below street level so that when you're in the outfield you can look down into the stadium. Unfortunately the Cardinals were in Cincinnati that day so we couldn't take in a ballgame. Adler played briefly in a water fountain and then we went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

My software company has a customer based in St. Louis and I took the opportunity to take two of their executives, Charles and Larry, out to dinner. Since it was their town I let them select the restaurant--a place called Frazer's. It was the first "nice" meal of the trip: cocktails, appetizers, entrees and wine. We started with zuchinni rolls, carpaccio, stuffed dates and a cheese plate. Adler demonstrated that he has a good appetite and is willing to try anything. During dinner was an intense thunderstorm. Thankfully it has passed by the time we finished because we skipped dessert at the restaurant because my friend Brendan told me that I had to have the "best ice cream ever" at Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. He told me that he'd been to visited St. Louis five times and been to Ted Drewes eight times. He is so in love with this place, that upon returning to California, he had a special paddle made for his ice cream machine to replicate the custard at home. Someone else also affirmed that this was the place to go. And then when I Googled it after arriving in St. Louis learned that Jimmy Kimmel's guest the previous night was John Hamm (St. Louis native) and Jimmy surprised with with Ted Drewes. I normally pass on dessert but felt required to try this. I went for the savory version by ordering the Concrete with pretzels. The salty crunchy bits of pretzel were the perfect accompaniment for the custard. Brendan was right--it was specatular! It was also a bittersweet evening because Lisa would be flying home tomorrow. At least we sent her off in style with a good meal and a great dessert.

Adler's pretty good with the camera, too!