Day 7 - Sometimes It's Better To Be Lucky Than Good

Today was a travel day - Memphis to St. Louis. The trip was about 4.5 hours, and like the other long days of driving I tried to find someplace in between where we could stop and maybe have lunch or do some sightseeing. Unfortunately, the only thing between Memphis and St. Louis is a lot of nothing (although we did cut through Arkansas, so that was exciting). So, we decided to just head to St. Louis. We left around 10:30, and figured we would just stop some place for lunch, then head to St. Louis, where we had tickets to go to the top of the Gateway Arch at 5:00.

Around 12:45 we were getting hungry, so we decided to stop at the next exit, where the signs said they had McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's. I know, yummy. We opted for Wendy's, and Debbie and I were kind of looking forward to a lighter lunch after all of the meals I have already written about. I was going to get a grilled chicken sandwich and Debbie was going to get a salad. Well, wouldn't you know it, but before we got to Wendy's we spotted a very large restaurant called Lambert's Cafe, where their slogan is "The Only Home of the Throwed Rolls." I know what you are thinking - what are Throwed Rolls, and what's with the flawed grammar? We were thinking the same thing, so Debbie did a quick web site search and the place sounded great and we decided to scrap the high-class Wendy's for Lambert's.

I am not sure that I can do this place justice in writing, or even in photos. This is the kind of place where wearing a hat is required attire for men. Long ZZ Top beards an over sized bellies were optional, but much on display (and while I don't have the beard, I am getting there with the belly). Menu choices included Hog Jowls (not sure I even want to know how these are prepared), Frog's Legs, Chicken Gizzards and other items that you just will not find at Bruce's.

But the kicker to the whole place are waiters that fling hot, delicious rolls to you if you ask for one. And they don't toss them gently from a few feet away. No, these guys are clearly former high school pitchers who throw heat. We saw a few people fail to make the catch only to be be pelted on the face with a hot steaming roll. Luckily, my boys and I made all of the catches successfully. Also, the waiters and waitresses walk around with vegetables and potatoes in prison-style bowls and scoop whatever you want onto your plate.

So, instead of my nice little grilled chicken sandwich, I ended up with the pork steak, mashed potatoes and fried apples. I also opted for some black eyed peas (boom boom pow) that a prison guard, er... waiter, was walking around with. Debbie got her much desired vegetable plate, and fun was had by all. Needless to say, this was a much better experience than Wendy's ever could have been.

After eating about a third of my pork steak, we headed back on the road to St. Louis. We got to the hotel around 4:30, quickly checked in and headed out on foot to the nearby Gateway Arch. The Arch is a lot newer than I thought it was (finished in 1965), and is the tallest man-made national monument in the country. We headed for the tram up to the top observation deck and waited for it to arrive. When it arrived to take us to the top, we had a brief crisis. See, the tram was much more like Mork's Eggship than an actual tram or elevator. It was small, cramped, and had no windows. Debbie was not a happy camper, and for a minute it did not look like she would be making the 4 minute trip to the top.

Can't you sense the fear?

However, when the doors closed and there were small windows on the door, she was OK.

We got to the top in the aforementioned 4 minutes, and headed for the observation deck. Again, the term observation deck may be a little overstated. It's like being in the room of the lowest priced ticket on a cruise ship. Small windows with very little room to walk around. However, the views are outstanding.

After about 10-15 minutes up top, we headed back down to the ground. Debbie was fine on the trip down:

We did a quick tour of the Museum of Westward Expansion (boring), and headed for a very mudane dinner. But not before taking the obligatory pictures at the bottom of the Arch:

Sorry to disappoint with no gory stories about the dinner, but it really was nothing. We walked to an area called Laclede's Landing, which is a cute cobblestone street with a bunch of similar restaurants/bars. We picked one and ate a quick dinner and headed to the hotel.

We are staying at a Hampton, which is fine, but it's a regular room. Most of the rooms we have stayed in were mini-suites (Embassy Suites the last 4 nights), and to say we are a little cramped in here is like saying we have eaten a little bit of food over the past week. But we will manage.

Tomorrow we will likely try and do a tour of Busch Stadium (Cardinals), the Budweiser Tour and maybe a boat ride on the mighty Mississippi. I don't think any of these will involve egg-sized transportation.