St. Louis Page Dec 2000- Gene, his brother Dan, and I spent a long Christmas weekend in St. Louis and had a good time. My wonderful Great Aunt and God Mother Ardell lived out there and wanted to spend some time with her. It was the first time Gene and Dan had seen that much snow from the air. We were flying and we couldn’t see anything but white. It was a nice trip, but it was unusually cold. Even the locals were complaining about the cold. It wasn’t too horrible except when we went to the Gateway Arch-Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. The view is amazing from up there, but it is right on the Mississippi River and it was below freezing. I think it was 1 degrees. Ugh! I like the cold, but that was ridiculous. : ) The Arch itself is quite impressive and the view from the observation deck is incredible. According to the AAA tour guide, the inverted, gleaming. Stainless steel structure soars 630 feet above and commemorates what was the gateway to the west for thousands of 19th century pioneers. Designed by Eero Saarinen, the memorial is 75 feet higher than the Washington Monument and incorporates 886 tons of Stainless steel. There is a tram that takes you to the observation deck and it takes about ½ hr to get to the top. I couldn’t help but laugh. The little pod that you set in reminded me of the egg in Mork and Mindy. I know I am dating myself, but it was funny. I laughed all the way to the top. If you have never done it, it is worth the time. The view is amazing.

We wanted to go and see the Clydesdales and do a tour at the Budweiser Brewery Plant , but it was near Christmas and they were closed for the week. Bummer. We soon found out that most attractions were closed or had shortened hours. It was ok though, we did a lot of visiting with my aunt and driving around. Dan actually had a nice visit to the St. Louis Zoo while we were visiting with my Aunt one afternoon. Another day we drove across the Mississippi and went into East St Louis, IL. We ended up at the Queen Hotel and Casino Boat . Didn’t do any gambling, but it was fun walking around and pretending/thinking what it would have been like gambling and drinking while moving up or down the Mississippi. One of these days, I would like to stay there just for fun. It’s docked and doesn’t go anywhere, but it would be fun to stay there and imagine. We did go to church on Sunday which was nice. I can’t remember the name of the church, but it was a WELS church and we did enjoy the service.

Regrettably we had to leave later that afternoon, but had a nice but short trip. I still have family there, so I am sure I will be back again. I will update this page when we do.


June 2010 - Well I made another trip to St. Louis in 2010 for the LWMS Convention . Thursday afternoon was the only free time I had so of course the first thing I did was go to Busch Stadium where fans come to watch their Cardinals . Although it’s a nice stadium, I didn’t get to see too much of it because they were getting ready for a concert that night. I still went in and got some pictures, but I would like to go back and watch a game. It looks like a really nice place to play ball, except for that darn humidity. Lol But it is a nice stadium and they have a metrolink station literally across the street. It is a great way to get there without having to fight traffic and pay to park.

I had paid for an all day pass on the metrolink so I decided to go to the Lacledes Landing . This is an area that is a nine block industrial area that once housed companies producing coffee, leather goods, mattresses, tobacco, whiskey, candy and machinery for the barges. Today it is known for it’s cobblestone streets and century old brick and cast iron facade buildings. There are still many specialty gift shops, but also several restaurants. It is also a great place to take pictures of the Arch. There is a huge park and I wandered around quite a while taking pictures and people watching. That is always a blast too!

Since I was at the convention I didn’t have much time the rest of the weekend, but I did go to a nice restaurant on Saturday night called Calecos . It was really good. I only had a burger but it was done perfectly and they had homemade chips. I also hear that the pasta is exceptional. I would highly suggest this restaurant to anyone in the St. Louis area or visiting downtown St. Louis.

Unfortunately I had to leave the next afternoon, but but I did enjoy the area. It was really hot Saturday and Sunday, but it was the humidity that made it really bad. It wouldn’t have been too bad otherwise. Either way, I like St. Louis and will be back again. We still haven’t been to the brewery.


2012 - In February of 2012 I had one of the moments that shock and amaze you. First I need to explain a couple of things to put this part of the page in prospective. My mom and dad divorced with I was still in elementary or middle school. We lived with our mom, but I still saw him on weekends and holidays, etc. A few years later, while I was in high school, he ended up getting remarried and moved to Florida. Sadly, for whatever reason, we never saw or heard from him again after that year. We actually did receive a Christmas card that year, but that was the last communication we ever had with him. Never knew what happened to him, where he ended up, why he never called us or kept in touch. It was a hurt that slowly grew and eventually led to some anger, but then it turned into curiosity as I became older.


With that said, I started doing some genealogy at the end of 2011. While researching, I found a person with my father’s name buried in Jefferson National Barracks (JB) in St. St. Louis Mo. I knew he was in the Navy when my mom and he were married, he was from Missouri, and the birthdate was the same, so sadly I figured I had found my dad. However, I needed to confirm. I called JB and spoke with a friendly and helpful woman named Valerie. She was able to verify that this person was indeed my father and he had passed away in Feb of 2000. It’s hard to explain how I was feeling at the moment. I had loved him, I had been hurt by him, I had been angry at him, I had felt sorry for him for missing out on our lives, and now I felt shell shocked I guess. Don’t know how else to explain it. I had an answer to where he was, but not why, or how he died. I asked Valerie if she had any information even though it had been 12 years since he passed. She said she would look around and see what she could find. Less than 15-20 minutes later I rec’d a call from my dad’s brother in St. Louis! I had never met or spoken to anyone on his side of the family except one cousin, and that was in 1976. It was absolutely wonderful to connect with him and his wife via phone calls and emails for the majority of 2012.

This brings me to October of 2012. My birthday is in October and I decided I wanted to spend it in MO with that side of the family. My aunt and uncle graciously invited us into their home and made us feel like part of the family from the moment we walked through the door. To make things even better, they had about 20-30 other family members there to meet me! I felt like I was the star attraction, lol Gene said they treated me like the returning prodigal son. In all serious though, it was overwhelming at first trying to remember names, but it was also so WONDERFUL! It was like nothing I have ever experienced before. It was thrilling to meet people I have never known, while also realizing that they are my family too. I enjoyed meeting everyone but was especially thankful to meet my great-aunt. She is a wonderful person and had a lot of questions for me and answered a lot of my questions. Like I said the whole experience was an amazing blessing that I had never expected. To be accepted unconditionally with open arms is beyond words. I got a lot of phone numbers and emails and address which I plan to use to keep in touch with everyone. There are still quite a few that I have not met, but hopefully next time. While we were there I went to a lot of cemeteries and laid flowers on the headstones of some of my relatives, including my father’s. It was a surreal feeling. The whole trip was actually.

We did have a great time and saw a few sites while we were there. We finally got to do a tour of the Budweiser Brewery! It was a great to see the original facility and we had a great time running around with my aunt and uncle. We got to see the Clydesdale horses too. They are so beautiful.

While we were in St. Louis we also went with them to the St. Louis Science Center. According to their website, they have more than 700 hands-on exhibits that span the broad spectrum of science. We have something fun for everyone! In the Science Center you can watch staff test the laws of physics in live Amazing Science Demonstrations; sneak past a life-sized animatronic Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops; explore the night sky uninterrupted by weather, pollution, or city lights; build a replica of the Gateway Arch and much, much more! We did have a great time looking around the center. However we were mostly there to see an Omnimax film. We saw the Rocky Mountain Express 2012. The movie propels audiences on a steam train journey through the breathtaking vistas of the Canadian Rockies and highlights the adventure of building a nearly impossible transcontinental railway. - See more at: http://www.slsc.org/omnimax-film-archive#sthash.Z0bIaTte.dpuf. It was interesting, sad, scary, and exciting to watch what they went through to build this railway that is used by so many today.

Our last full night in St. Louis we went to Pappy’s BBQ. This place is so good. The smell hits you (in a good way) as soon as you walk through the door. We had to go try it since we saw it on Man VS Food.  We were so delighted that we did.

We did leave MO the next morning but made a detour to Jefferson City to see their Capitol and meet my dad’s other brother. We will definitely be back and spend more time and get to know this side of the family better.

Here are a few ST LOUIS PICTURES for you to enjoy. You will have to sign up for a Walgreens account, but it is free!

Here are a few PICTURES OF BUSCH STADIUM for you to enjoy. You will have to sign up for a Walgreens account, but it is free!

If you are going to the St. Louis area, here are a few fun and interesting things to do:

Misouri History Museum St. Louis Art Museum Forest Park
Holocaust Museum & Learning Center Missouri Botanical Garden Six Flags St. Louis


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Page last updated June 2013.