I'm Leaving St. Louis, Louis

Had my first official "day off" yesterday with an opportunity to do some fun stuff. But I digress.

I arrived in St. Louis on Saturday after a couple days in eastern Missouri that included a visit to Hannibal, that town from another time that now seems to be devoted to the lore of and lure of the mark Twain creations of Tom and Huck. Got my first glimpse of the Mississippi and took a deep breath, relaxing as the water carried south, the way the movement of water always seems to take me to another place. In this case, that other place included Columbia and Vienna, MO.

The following day I just followed the trail of memorials from Vienna all the way into St. Louis by way of St. James, St. Clair, Wentzville, O'Fallon and St. Peters. Beautiful country all...

The last 30 miles or so I got embroiled in something I hadn't seen since leaving Denver...traffic. The vast majority of this trip to date has been on small country roads or major roads in lightly populated areas and driving has been a breeze. But I pushed on.

I was scheduled to speak the next day at the St. Louis Center for Spiritual Living, and through the grace of Rev. Marigene at the center, was planning to stay in the home of one of its members, Debbie Koebel...thank you so much, both of you.

Debbie opened her home to me in every way possible and was my personal tour guide around St. Louis. I have seen many wonderful things including:

The world's largest outdoor sculpture garden

The Loop and other historical neighborhoods

Going to the top of the Arch downtown

Going to a Cardinals game with their long time rivals the Cubs

And more.

I have experienced Toasted Ravioli and St. Louis style pizza where they were born and the local indulgence known simply as Gooey Butter Cake...as tasty and as unhealthy as it sounds, but still worth doing once.

This morning I am heading back downtown to visit the St. Louis Vietnam Veterans Memorial before heading down to Cape Girardeau and close out the Missouri part of the tour. Kentucky tomorrow, then some time in Illinois. It is getting good.