Cross-Country Road Trip Day 17
We went to IHOP for breakfast and paid for senior meals, but they gave us full-size meals instead (for the same price). I couldn’t eat everything and neither could Wanda.
Our first stop was to look for a giant chicken, which we decided to bypass but ended up seeing it from the road.
The next thing we looked for was a giant Great Dane, which we found after we drove completely around a trucking place.
When we got to St. Louis, we parked as close to the arch as we could. Wanda stayed with the car in spite of the very high heat, while Billy and I walked the half mile to the visitor center.
I didn’t realize that the arch was considered a national park (Gateway National Park), so I got stamps for my passport book. And, due to the pandemic, you needed to make reservations in advance to go up in the arch and they were sold out for days. I was a sweaty mess by the time we got back to the car!
We left the arch and drove to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. I had been there before, but knew both Billy and Wanda would enjoy the amazing mosaics through the cathedral. It was also nice and cool inside, giving us a respite from the heat.
We departed St. Louis and drove to our Super 8 hotel, but when we pulled into the parking lot, the place looked kind of seedy and there weren’t realy any dinner options around. I used my free hotel from Hotels.com and changed it to stay at the Hampton Inn instead.
Dinner was at the Red Lobster after two failed attempts at other restaurants.
The hotel was super comfortable and I got a good sleep for a change. They also had the best breakfast on the entire trip!
