ST LOUISThe trip to St Louis was fairly easy. Even though it was an almost 300 mile trip, the trick of listening to Books on Tape (we started the previous leg) made the trip easier. We are both tired nonetheless. E stopped for lunch at a town called XXX which was an early Mississippi River port. The townspeople painted the levee wall the history of the city. We ate at the Lewis and Clark diner owner by a Middle East couple. Its claim to fame was letting the customers try a hookah. The town had number of art stores and antique malls. We searched for a hat rack like the one we left at Lost River.
 The ARCH is a magnificent overstatement, with no excess, no floss. The town is built along a boulevard with apartment an, offices, and public buildings along the way. Very European.
St. Louis is a big, brawly, successful city; clearly of the mid-western mode. It is sturdy and a clean, in contrast to the more delicate and  impermanent feel of the southern cities. The earlier settlers built this city to stay there. He downtown is being revitalized, like most cities. Warehouses becoming hotels and offices, office becoming condos and the train station a hotel and shopping mall.
We were both pretty tired so we ate in the hotel lobby and went to bed. It is another five hour drive to Chicago today.
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