In Lincoln, Nebraska Ken and I were once again hosted by friends of mine from the University of Notre Dame. Nathaniel Cunningham and I were flat-mates in the Notre Dame London Program in the spring of 1998. Just after we graduated, Nathaniel had the great good sense to marry Staci, and I was privileged to do a reading at their wedding Mass in Denver.
We had a great time catching up, meeting their lovely daughters, nieces and nephew, and looking at pictures from our undergraduate days together. Though I wish we had the chance to see one another more frequently, and our visit was all too short, Ken and I were back on the road the next morning to meet up the the ladies and continue our journey to St. Louis.
We arrived in St. Louis just after dinner and went immediately to the famous St. Louis Arch, more formally known as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Here it is pictured in the dusk behind the original St. Louis Cathedral:
As impressive as the arch itself is, the system of bringing people to the top of the arch is truly a marvel - if frightening for those of us afraid of heights! A cross between elevator and ferris wheel, these cars bring visitors on a four minute ride to the viewing platform at the top of the arch:
Once there, you enjoy great views of the Mighty Mississippi and the city itself, including the aforementioned Cathedral and the courthouse.
We enjoyed the view - but not the slight swaying you can feel the arch doing in the wind . . . or the masses of high school students touring the arch that evening. Once we were done, we marched down a small flight of steps, very much sensing the curve of the arch, and boarded the cars for the three minute downward journey.
We had some trouble finding someplace to eat afterwards, but we finally found some fine Mexican food at El Borracho and then hit the sack. After a long couple of days, all of us were pretty darn tired and the humidity (ugh, what the heck am I doing moving back to the Midwest?!) had taken quite a bit out of us.
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