Welcome to the Top

So here we are!

It was a cloudy day, and we did get caught in a down pour when we were walking back to the hotel, but what a cool visit! Down the ramp you see behind Hubs and through the security detectors into the lower level to see the museum of westward expansion, and buy tickets to the top! We knew there were stairs so Hubs had to stay behind. I got my ticket ($10) and went to the line to wait a few minutes. The park employees are very thorough, and guide the correct number of people into each area to board the cars to go up.There are displays and photos of the construction along the way too.

 Behind each of these numbered doors is a cozy little car that fits 5 people in a very snug seating arrangement.

These folks just got done and are leaving the area-see the person on the right side of the photo in the yellow shirt? they are climbing aboard their car to go up. The red boxes above the doors are TVs that show a short video about the construction of the arch to pass the time while waiting. 

Here you can see how "cozy" the pods are, I took this right before I had to board with my new "friends"!




There are no windows on the way up so it's a lot like taking an elevator, slower though. It takes 4 minutes to go up and 3 minutes to come down. The car ride is smooth and when it gets to the curve of the arch it does a little jog, step, jog, step as it moves on.

 This is the view out the East side of the top-the Mississippi River.

And here's the West side view-St. Louis. That tan building next to the highway is our hotel, the Hyatt Regency.

 See there's the Cardinal's Stadium.

 The signs by the windows tell you it's the very top! You can see there's a pretty good group of people looking around. You can stay as long as you want, then prepare to catch the next ride down.

This is the group of folks waiting to go down. You need to stand to the right side, on the yellow section of the steps to stay out of the way of the getting out of the cars. I liked the sign at the top of the steps when you get out of the car. It's lit up here, so you can't see it in the picture, but it says Welcome to the Top.

 Here's a short video I tried to take of the car going down. I was in with a family and we were chatting as we went, you can see the inside walls of the arch and the stairs used by maintenance workers.

When we got done it was pouring rain! So we spent a little extra time at the Museum of the Westward Expansion. It details the Louis & Clark Expedtion.

 These manikins or models or whatever you call them, talk and move-it's pretty cool.

 The museum is free so you can hang around there as long as you like.

This is a pretty cool wall mural-it's made to look like it all carved stone but it's actually a flat painting. Well except for the arch model part.

There;s also a little candy/snack shop and the souvenir store too. We didn't buy any thing at the souvenir shop because we couldn't find anything in there that was made in the USA. SO the rain had pretty much stopped so we thought we would be able to make it to the hotel fairly dry-boy were we wrong!!

THe Hyatt Regency at the Arch

So we got a really nice room at the Hyatt in St Louis. It was handicapped accessible with a roll in shower.It was clean and while a little small, we didn't spend that much time there so it was all good.

Seriously ugly art on the walls-except in the bathroom, LOL, there it was a cool photo of the arch!

Look lucky Bamboo!

On the 11th floor, I had hoped to have a view...well if you look around the lamp and behind the chair, you do have a view of a corner of the Arch park, and the street that goes to the baseball stadium where the Cardinals play ball. Really?, who puts furniture in front of the window?

The lobby was really pretty-lots of marble-like floors and such. They have a Starbucks & Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in the lobby. They also have a bar/grill and a cafe where you can get the breakfast buffet for 15.95 each. We passed on that pricey breakfast. It was kind of fun to go in and out of the lobby because almost every time there was someone that would ask if you needed any help or if you were enjoying your stay.

The only complaint I have(besides no free internet in the room) is with the parking. We have found with almost every large city we have gone to that parking is a nightmare. It costs $20 per night to self park in the hotel parking facility. I don't mind paying, since I knew about it already-I just figure it's the cost of getting a room-it makes me feel better.  But here's the problem.....

Yup, we got back from a day of sightseeing and the parking facility was full. Lucky for us, the handicapped space was still available so the valet guys let us in. All in all a pretty good stay. The location is really the whole point with the Hyatt I think. We walked to the arch and if a person wanted to go to any sporting event it would only be a few blocks walk to any of the big venues. It's true what they say.location, location, location!

Just One More Little Thing

I just realized I forgot to share my favorite photo I took in Hannibal, Missouri.

 See I hiked up about a million steps to the top of where the bridge used to be and then you can look down and see the Tom  and Huck Statue. Look WAAAAAY down there, parked at the curb. Yup, there's hubs in the air conditioned car waiting patiently for me to take pictures for my blog.
I sure hope this picture is right side up when I post this!
Then if you drive down a little bitty alley along the river bank, you'll see folks live in these cool old houses and this ones side-yard is what used to be under the bridge. It's kind of like looking at the back side of the tourist areas.

This plaque tells the milestones of the bridge that isn't there anymore. It was dedicated in 1936 and demolished in 2001 after flooding damaged it and it was replaced by a new bridge further upstream.

Hyatt Regency At The Arch

OK So here's the lobby.  and once again-no free internet. HELLO! Hyatt! Please enter the current century. The folks at check in were very nice. I hope the beds are comfy! More on our Hyatt Experience to come.

Pause in Hannibal

SO we're on vacation. I planned to pause here in Hannibal. Home to all things Tom Sawyer & Huck Finn. Including this statue.

The view of the river from atop the old bridge that isn't there anymore.

and of course the Mark Twain Family Restaurant. With a giant cup out front. Onward we go!

Planning Vacation

It's time for the vacation planning to swing into action!I went on line and got tickets for a Riverboat cruise.

I mailed away for the St Louis travel guide and found a couple of cool places I want to visit. 

Fitz Root Beer Bottling Company

Says they are America's original soda microbrewery-sounds good to me!
 And we will likely take the Anheuser Busch tour too.

On the way home I want to stop in LeClaire Iowa and see the home of American Pickers, Antique Archeology. And.... BONUS! there's a fabric store called Expressions In Thread there and their website says they are having a HUGE SALE!
So don't tell anyone....all of my 5 followers...when we'll be gone because "they" say if bad guys know you're gone they'll come rob your house. Well just try to get past Sandy & Mitch I say!

D Day!

So yesterday was my company's Dividend Day.
 It's a summer picnic. Here's the story-
P&G has been paying dividends to its employees since its Profit Sharing Program began in 1887.  Again this year is no exception.   Our site’s celebration of Dividend Day is one way to celebrate our personal contributions to P&G’s success and its ability to pay dividends.
We get an excellent box of product and get to eat free food.
 And Schwans Ice Cream.
And kids can ride kiddie rides for free.
And stand in line to get a ticket for playing a little game that is redeemable for more product.












But here's the real reason anybody comes to D Day.....PRODUCT BOX!

And see we got a case of Bounty, and a bundle of Charmin and a case of Swiffer Sweeper wet cloths and a case of Tide.

Hmmm, there's no Scope in the box this year...hmmm....and no herbal Essences......hmmmm....that's pretty unusual. 

Well even a not so great box is a great box! A lot of employers give away nothing so I'm glad I work for Procter & Gamble. I have to mention that I'm an employee when I talk about their stuff because of our Social Media Policy. 

Where Have You Been?

What a good question!
I have been watching the Olympics....

Booking a Hotel for our upcoming weekend in St Louis....

Sewed a couple of more of the Retro Flower quilt blocks....Love the nook tablet for videos!

Found this video that tells how to make curved pieces easily without pinning. Thanks to She Can Quilt dot com.

Stocked up on Ketchup at HyVee-Only 77cents a bottle!

And working....

That's about it.

Old Picture of the Day

So awhile back I came across this blog Old Picture of the Day.

I don't know where he finds all these really excellent old Pictures but they sure are fun to see.

YOu can see a new picture every day. That's more than you see on my blog!!

I Got the Power!

Take a look at this..
Did you see that baby power through the side seam on that scrap of fabric! Wahoo! It's a good running machine I think! BTW-it's really hard to video with ones phone while one is sewing!!

It took me awhile to get the tension right, I think I need a little more adjusting, but it did the hems on these jeans quicker than anything!

I guess she's on the way to paying for herself now!

Words With Friends-SCORE!!

I'm sorry Jilly, but I was pretty excited to get this word!

122 YAY!!!