Escaping the Everyday

Escaping the Everday
Diaries

1,505 miles down, 1,408 miles to go!

April 9, 2024

St. Louis! We finally made it to St. Louis. The drive was pretty quick from Nashville to St. Louis. I’ve been excited to visit here because Jake and I have never been.

Remember I mentioned Jake and I knew we are going to hit some hurdles in our trip? Well, we’ve hit our next big hurdle! If you aren’t aware, St. Louis can be a dangerous place so we couldn’t just park our car on the street or a parking garage because odds are it’d get broken into. My brother’s jeep was parked on a street in the city, mind you this was a “safer” section, and one of his windows was smashed and his car was rifled through.

Since our whole life is in the car, Alex asked his apartment complex if we could park in the secure garage. They said yes, but the clearance to get in is only 6’7” and I’m like “ugh, with our Thule cargo bin, we’ll never make it in”.

Next thing you know, Jake and I are on a side street unpacking the cargo bin, unpacking items we need for the stay, and putting all the stuff in the cargo bin, in the car. We are trying to do all this with the pets! I turned to Jake and was like “I’m going to have a melt down”. It was stressful as we couldn’t leave the car with all our stuff but couldn’t leave Cassie in the apartment without her crate. Alex ended up staying with Cassie in the apartment while Jake and I took turns making a trip up to his apartment. Then hiked the Cargo bin up to his apartment. An hour later, we were all settled in the apartment.

I was a little bummed because of course we visit Alex during his busiest time of the year with work but he still made time for us!

That night we went to a St. Louis Cardinals game which was a blast! We got a few rows back from the front.

We ended up leaving the game a little early because Cassie was struggling in her crate but we expected that as it’s a new location for her and everything was unknown.

Our on way back we were going to take the Metro but we missed it by a couple seconds. The crazy part was that this lady was freaking out and we thought she just missed the Metro but come to find out her kid was on it but she wasn’t!

I still wonder if she found her kid. Gosh, I hope so. That has to be scary!

April 10, 2024

Today was a filled day even though it was a rainy day, we made the best of it! We started by getting breakfast at King’s Diner which I highly recommend if you ever visit St. Louis. They have this nitro cold brew that is delicious. I normally can’t drink coffee black but this stuff I could!

We then took the Metro to Gateway Arch National Park. It was really cool because there was actually a museum underground that’s free. You can also purchase tickets to ride to the top of the Arch. We were a little bummed because the only time we could ride the arch was later that night, but we had plans. Anyways, definitely worth a visit!

That evening Alex took us to Brennan’s Cigar Bar. It’s cool to visit a city when you know someone because they definitely know the hidden gems of the city. I’ve never been to a cigar bar, I’m not even sure we have any in Maine. Alex took the lead on this because Jake and I had no idea about getting them. I didn’t end up having one but Jake and Alex loved it. It was a different kind of experience which was awesome.

After that we went to a St. Louis Blues game at the Enterprize Center which was a blast! It was cool to see the different things fans do during the game or when goals are scored. There was also “towel man” who was a fan that would be spotlighted, and he’d throw free towels in the crowd.

Jake and I both agree that nothing compares to watching the Boston Bruins play at TD Garden but it’s still worth it for the experience.

When we got out of the game, it was raining pretty hard. Luckily I had my umbrella but I felt bad as Jake and Alex had nothing. So we booked it pretty quickly to our last stop of the night! Up Down STL was our last stop.

It’s basically a Barcade with really old games. We played pinball, pong, basketball hoops, old school shooting game, etc. Every game was only 25 cents but it can certainly add up fast. It made you feel like a kid again.

We’ll be heading out to South Dakota tomorrow and will be in Bozeman by Friday.

Talk to you in Bozeman!