One of the towns i've wanted to visit for a while so it was nice to get out here to see it. It was the warmest weather of my trip so far, even warmer than in Los Angeles, so I broke out the shorts and t-shirt for a few days which was very pleasant!
I also met up with a friend who I know through my internet car forum, and it was really good to meet him and his family, who were really welcoming and really looked after me very well. James took some time out from his schedule to show me around his area and the St Louis region, I had a great time with him and it is great to be able to consider him a friend 'in the real world'!
Despite a tornado warning on 2 of the days I was in the area, I managed to visit the famous St Louis Arch, a site of an ancient civilization - Cahokia Mounds and the St Louis Zoo, to name a few places.
James also took me to his local Bentley, Lamborghini, Lotus and Maserati showroom, which was very interesting to see the size of the buildings compared to our exotic dealers back in the UK. They had a few Lotus and a very special Alfa Romeo - not officially sold in America, and very exclusive in Europe, so that was pretty special. I also found the Lamborghini I wanted to take home!!
I went to visit the famous Arch on my own one morning, it was really cool to see it - I could see no point to it other than "just because", but it was very interesting to read up about it. It is strange to look up and see a towering archway up above you, yet there is something inspiring about looking at it, it does not fit the area, it is like it should not be there at all, and yet there it is, and it does not look out of place!
Underground, under the arch there is a museum of sorts, the land is part of the National Parks Service, which surprised me slightly, but they had a lot of information about the early settlers in the area and the Native American's who lived here prior to modern America.
We visited Cahokia Mounds, which involved a lot of walking and good views of St Louis in the distance. It was the site of an ancient town, larger than that of London in the year 1200, and is the largest ancient town in the North American continent.
This is the official website, it shows the site better than I can describe:
St Louis Zoo was really good, they had a very rare Giant Salamander, found only in the rivers of China in the mountains, it is an endangered animal and the world's largest amphibian - growing up to 5 feet in length! This one looked big at about 2 and a half feet long!!
They also had a good variety of other animals, which, when not asleep seemed quite satisfied with their home.
From here I drove directly north through Illinois to Chicago, another place I have wanted to visit for a while...
Thanks to James and his family for what was a really pleasant few days, and for making me feel so at home!
Myself and James:
FYI: St. Louis Arch covered in the same gauge stainless steel as DeLoreans! (That's what makes it looks so FAST!) :)
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