Meet Me in St. Louis, Part I

I'm currently in the greater St. Louis area with my parents to visit my sister. Its my third trip to see her since she moved down here to intern at the St. Louis Zoo last year. I'll have more details about the current trip tomorrow and Friday, but tonight I want to focus on my second trip down here.

Unlike the other two trips, I took the train from Bloomington. My brother and I sat in the first class, almost a necessity given our height, which makes the standard seats less than comfortable, especially on long rides. It was a quick ride down the rails, with only stops at Springfield and Alton. A few minutes after the scheduled time we arrived at the new Amtrak station, just a couple of blocks from the old Union Station (which is now a shopping center).

We were there in early March, which oftentimes is a fairly mild time to visit St. Louis. In fact, the week before temperatures were in the 70s and sunny. However, the weekend we decided to go down there happened to be during the middle of a cold spell. The temperature was in the 30s both days. Although it could have been worse (at least it was sunny), it certainly wasn't the best walking weather.

Nevertheless, we did have fun. We ate at a couple of good restaurants near my sister's apartment, drove around the hills and hollows southwest of St. Louis, and visited the old courthouse near the arch. We visited the zoo, which was a blast, except that many of the animals were not out, due to the near-freezing weather. At least we didn't have to deal with crowds.

Less than thirty-six hours after we arrived, my brother and I were back on the train to Bloomington. The train ride back to the north was just as uneventful as the trip down, save for an adventure to Taco Bell after we got back to the station in Bloomington*. It was a short trip, but an enjoyable one.

Coming tomorrow: I marvel at the animals sleeping in the mid-day haze, as I stupidly walk around sweating profusely.

* Not as interesting of a story as this sentence makes it sound.