All right, got posts for Chicago and St. Louis coming up momentarily!!!

Looking forward to it.

Day 7: Chicago, Illinois

Day 6 was a day of rest, but on Day 7 I drove up to Chicago to catch a White Sox game! Chicago is the third-largest city in the U.S. I had already done Chicago downtown many years ago, so I decided to just take it easy and hang out at the stadium!









St. Louis coming up soon!

Day 8: St. Louis, Missouri

On day 8 (today), I drove down to St. Louis, Missouri. Although it was technically just another 100-some mile drive, this was a very symbolically meaningful trip for me - it was my very first sojourn across the Mississippi River, the dividing line between the east and the west of the U.S. (Although more than 2/3 of the country geographically is west of the Mississippi if you count Alaska, 58% of the US's population lives east of the Mississippi.)

The fourth-largest city in the country as recently as 1910, St. Louis is now only the 60th-largest city, it's dwindling population prompting a sort of exodus of businesses (and, famously, the NFL's Rams, who returned to Los Angeles after 24 years in STL). Still, though, St. Louis remains extremely historically important, its cultural resources far exceeding its remaining industrial ones. Walking its streets, I was very much reminded of Boston, and I think the comparison is valid - as Boston was the first real city in the U.S., the entryway to a new land, so too was St. Louis the entry point to the west, the first real city on the far side of the Mississippi.











For the next 8 days, I'll be with my brother in northern Mississippi, about 30 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. I plan on spending some time in that city, in rural MS, in the national forest nearby, and even across the mighty Mississippi in Arkansas. I'll duly document all with picture evidence!

I've got extended family in the County (Webster Groves, Ballwin, etc.) and off the Loop a bit. My mother's cousin owns a little joint on the Loop called Blueberry Hill. St. Louis isn't a bad city.

Quick on-site update: Beale Street, Memphis suckaz! One of the country's most iconic stretches of road. *Packed* tonite! Walkin'(and drinkin') in Memphis!!!

(September 8, 2016 at 11:12 pm)TheRealJoeFish Wrote: Day 8: St. Louis, Missouri

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From the bottom of the arch to the top!!! To reach the top, you need to get into a small pod (about 6'x6'x6') and ride the 650 feet up over about 3 minutes. Each leg of the Arch is 54'x54' at the base but shrinks to under a third of that at the top. This is the city from above!

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A shot of how extreme the curvature (and small the interior) is at the top of the Arch. People are leaning out into the slightly extended windows to get a good view.

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Never knew there was an inside to the arch. Coolness!

Week 2: Memphis, Tennessee and Northern Mississippi (Part 1: Non-Beale Memphis)

Heyyy everybody! I'm back and better than ever! Today was the midway point of my 4-week, 4,000 mile trip through the eastern portion of the USA, so I figured I'd show you all where I've been the last few days! As you can see on my itinerary (post 1), I've spent this week with my brother in Mississippi, just south of Memphis. I've spent two solid days in the city, and have pics galore! But, first, a little about Tennessee and Memphis:

Tennessee is a very interesting state, in a lot of ways combining the endearing parts of the south with a rather cosmopolitan flavor in its two big cities, Memphis and Nashville. As of 2015, Memphis (in the southwest corner of the state) and Nashville (the state capitol, in the center of the state) were the 24th and 25th largest cities in the USA; amazingly, Memphis's population is estimated at 655,800 and Nashville's at 654,700 (though the latter figure is growing faster). Tennessee itself is a long, skinny state, and most Americans are surprised to learn that the northeastern tip of Tennessee is closer to Canada than it is to the southwestern tip of Tennessee.

Memphis itself is one of the most distinctive cities in America, and is primarily known to the layperson - or, at least to me before I got there - for three things: fantastic food (the BBQ Capitol of the U.S.), fantastic music (the blues Capitol of the U.S. and home of Elvis Presley), and the civil rights movement (one of the most important cities in the struggle for equality, and the site of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.).

The most vibrant street in Memphis - at least from a visitor standpoint - is Beale Street; that will have its own post. For now, here are some pics of the rest of Memphis! If you like ducks, check them out!












I'll post my pictures from Beale Street tomorrow, as well as my pics from my trip this morning to Little Rock, Arkansas. Thanks for reading; enjoy!

Quote:Never knew there was an inside to the arch.  Coolness!

Yeah, I went up there in the 80's. Kind of frightening, with the top being all bent like that.