DAY 3: Wednesday
We spent Tuesday night at The Cheshire, which is this European boutique-themed hotel just outside of St. Louis. Holy crap, this place was amazing. To some, it could be construed as simply old-school inn that’s seen better days, but to me, this was the ultimate in late-’60s/early-’70s resort kitsch. There are two restaurants on site, an upscale Italian restaurant, which has live jazz every Tuesday, and an English-style pub. Having been to England loads of times, the pub was pretty accurate. Dark mahogany wood everywhere, large armchairs, a fireplace and a long bar. It was incredibly cozy and the drink menu was crazy. I had a champagne-pomegranate cocktail called “Fairy Dust” and it honestly tasted like what I hope heaven feels like, blissfully boozy. I also had the chicken wings, ’cause hello! I’m in St. Louis! Duh! These were also quite delectable. Bruce and I stayed in the James Bond Suite, which was super sexy in a kitschy-mod kinda way.
After a comfortable night’s rest we were up at the crack of 8:30 a.m. and on the road by 9. First stop: The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge. This is the world’s longest pedestrian and cyclist-only bridge. If I lived here I’d definitely hit it up for some power-walking, or whatever. It has a great view and connects Illinois and Missouri.
Bruce slept through the bridge, so I took advantage of this by taking a slight detour to the real-life house that inspired the book The Exorcist (which the film was based on). Allegedly this nondescript house in the suburbs was the site of one of the best-documented possessions and exorcisms in America. I was too much of a wimp to get Bruce out to take a picture in front of it (plus he was sleeping). From there we headed to the famous Route 66 Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. If you’re keeping track at home I hadn’t eaten anything yet that day, so the frozen custard served as breakfast and lunch.
Next we headed to Laumeier Sculpture Garden to see some art. This is a great place to take kids, especially if they can walk. They’ll love the large sculptures everywhere. It’s not so big that you’ll get lost for hours, but it’s a nice sizable park to let the kiddos run around in.
We then visited the Jesse James Wax Museum, which was actually pretty awesome. The guy that showed us around was incredibly nice and very knowledgeable. This is definitely a must-stop along Route 66, in my opinion. It’s very quirky and really quite fun. You learn all about the legend and mystery of Jesse James. Did he die in the 19th century or live to be 102 years old? This museum delves into that mystery.
Afterwards we hit up the Meramec Caverns, which were fantastic for about 10 minutes, then pretty damn boring. I think we maybe went on a bad day though. Our tour guide was very underwhelming and didn’t really seem into it. So, once Bruce got fussy I just nursed him (360 feet underground!) and then left the tour halfway through. It had been a long day already.
That brings us up to tonight. We’re staying at The Wagon Wheel Motel, another iconic Route 66 establishment. Fortunately, it’s right next door to a BBQ place, Missouri Hick Bar-B-Q. I ordered ribs, mashed potatoes and corn on the cob, and a couple beers, ’cause damn, that was a long day! The ribs were pretty good, not write-home-to-your-momma good, but good enough. And that brings us up to now. There’s a rowdy crowd in the room next to us, but fingers crossed they won’t wake up Bruce. I say fingers crossed for their sake. An angry, sleep-deprived momma is a scary momma.
Here’s a link to the next leg of the trip. If there are any amazing places I left off, let me know and I’ll add them to the trip!
Leg 2 (Richland, Missouri to Tucumcari, New Mexico)
Route 66: Leg 2 | My new trip on Roadtrippers.com! >>
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