Camped on the Mississippi

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We are right across the river from St. Louis, in East St. Louis, IL, with a great view of the landmark Arch, but more on that later. St. Louis is a mid-sized city with many suburbs fanned out around it. The city itself, like too many we have seen, has a great many empty business buildings and abandoned warehouses. In the downtown, it also has several stadiums and convention venues, lots of restaurants, and a rising skyline.

We started our visit at Citygarden, a small but very good sculpture garden in the middle of the downtown.

Finding the weather rather pleasant, we decided it was a good day to go to the zoo. For those of you old enough to remember, Marlin Perkins used to have a tv show, first from the Chicago zoo and later from the St. Louis Zoo, where he introduced us to the exotic animals of Africa, Asia and South America.

The zoo he made famous is one of the three free zoos in the country. It is divided into sections based on we don’t know what, but the displays are quite good.

We both loved the penguin display, especially listening to the keeper and watching her feed the Humboldt penguins. The temperature in the penguin house was 45 degrees to make the Kings, Emperors, Rockhoppers and others feel comfortable. Being close to the penguins distracted us from the cold.

The aviary is housed in one of the few remaining buildings from the 1904 World’s Fair.

We visited the Insectarium out of respect for son-in-law Dave and it was worth it. Many of the displays were cleverly presented.

The next morning we took a 10K volkswalk through historic Webster Groves. The walk started at a rec center that should be a model for all towns. The center has pools, gyms, an ice rink, tennis courts, a skateboard park and more. The parking lot was full, the participants of all ages and cultures. Our walk took us past Century Homes, homes built in the mid to late 1800s.

The “new” Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, built in 1907, sparkles and glows. Eight-three thousand square feet of walls, floors, ceilings, and additional art works are done in colorful mosaics. Cardinal red and gold, representing happiness, predominate. The central dome and many side areas are awesome to behold.

This 14th century hymnal was for the choir members to share.

We returned in the evening to Chesterfield, another suburb, for a concert in Faust Park. At least two thousand people, old and young, diverse in background, sat on lawn chairs enjoying a local band play dance music. It was true Americana.