TRJF's 4,000-Mile Road Trip!!!

[TheRealJoeFish]

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

[account_inactive]

Looking forward to it.

[TheRealJoeFish]

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!

---

Here's U.S. Cellular Field (to be renamed Guaranteed Rate Field on November 1) as seen from the parking lot. Wandering far from the immediate area is not encouraged; the field is on the south side of Chicago, just two miles or so from Englewood, one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country. Chicago just passed 500 homicides in 2016.

---

---

U.S. Cellular is not a particularly highly-regarded stadium; it was fine but there wasn't really anything distinctive about it.

---

---

Me in my seat, down the right field line. You can see there's almost no one behind me; US Cellulars difficult-to-reach location + White Sox having a bad year + day game on a workday = rather poor attendance.

---

---

The visiting Detroit Tigers warming up.

---

---

Miguel Cabrera (#24) playing first base. Statistically, Cabrera has been the best batter in the MLB since the start of 2007, just ahead of Adrian Beltre.

---

---

The Sox celebrating the 7-4 win after coming from behind in the 8th inning. That glorious mustache belongs to infielder Tyler Saladino.

---

---

The Chicago skyline. The building on the far left is 1,450-foot (442 meter) Willis Tower, formerly and better known as the Sears Tower. For the quarter-century from its completion in 1973 until 1998, the Sears Tower was the tallest skyscraper in the world (humanity has since constructed 13 taller). It has been passed in the U.S. only by One World Trade Center, completed in 2014.

---

St. Louis coming up soon!

[TheRealJoeFish]

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.

---

The first order of business in St. Louis: gettin' me some BBQ. St. Louis is more famous than any city in the country - save the king of barbecue, Memphis, Tennessee - for its ribs, pork and other delicious sweet spicy meats. It was raining heavily, so I was lucky enough to make it into Bogart's, one of the most well-known rib joints in the city, without waiting in line. The ribs were incredible.

---

---

The Gateway Arch, as seen from downtown. One of the most iconic monuments in the world, the 630-foot (192 meter) tall Gateway Arch was finished in 1965 and commemorates the westward expansion of the United States. The middle portion of the country was purchased from France in 1803 (the Louisiana Purchase), and explored by Lewis and Clark the next year, starting in Missouri and ending in what is now Washington.

---

---

Outside of the old St. Louis Courthouse, which can be seen under the Arch in the previous picture, a monument to Dred and Harriet Scott. Scott and his wife were born into slavery, and in 1847 they sued for their freedom, having been located in Missouri - a free state - when their owner died. In the St. Louis Courthouse, a jury found in favor of the Scotts. The case, however, was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and, in a ruling that will forever soil this country's history, the court ruled that no person with African ancestry could be considered a U.S. Citizen under the Constitution in 1857. This ruling rapidly accelerated the percolating tensions in the country, and was a large factor in the beginning of the U.S. Civil War in 1865. The decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford was overturned by the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1866.

---

---

Underneath the Gateway Arch, a monument to its builders.

---

---

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!

---

---

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.

---

---

Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals, from above. The Cardinals are one of the MLB's most storied franchises, and have more World Series Championships (11) than any team other than the Yankees (27).

---

---

The Arch from underneath.

---

---

A few blocks from the Arch, there was a park with a dozen or so large sculptures. This was certainly the most... distinctive.

---

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!

[c172]

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.

[TheRealJoeFish]

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!!!

[Whateverist]

Day 8: St. Louis, Missouri

---

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!

---

---

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.

---

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

[TheRealJoeFish]

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!

---

A view of the Pyramid, Memphis's most identifiable structure (recall, of course, that Memphis shares a name with a great Egyptian city). Originally a sports stadium, it was home to the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies for a number of years, as well as various college teams. It was essentially unused for most of the last decade, but was recently purchased by sporting goods outfit Bass Pro Shops as a commercial HQ and event center.

---

---

A different view of the Pyramid, showing its current sponsor, its observation deck, and its relative height compared with the interstate in the foreground. At 321 feet tall and 591 feet on each base, it is the tenth-largest pyramid in the world.

---

---

A Mississippi steamboat in the foreground, with Mud Island in the background. Right around 1900, an island started accumulating in the Mississippi River, and eventually grew at such a pace that it was feared it would alter the river's course. The city of Memphis shaped and developed the island, reforming it multiple times over the last century. Today, it is home to a couple very nice riverfront parks and gentrified housing developments.

---

---

History abounds in Memphis; signs like this were ubiquitous.

---

---

A portion of the Memphis Public Library System. I took this picture because I'm rather fond of buildings with multicolored lights. Looked even cooler in person.

---

---

A view down Main Street. I am told that trolleys (or, at least, replica trolleys with wheels) do still run down the tracks.

---

---

The lobby of Memphis's iconic hotel, the Peabody. Why is it so crowded? And why is there a man on the left side of the image (a little hard to see) wearing a bright red suit and black pants like a band leader? Keep reading to find out!

---

---

But first, a view from the top of the Peabody, looking out towards the river. That's Arkansas on the other side of the Mississippi.

---

---

I promised you ducks, and here's ducks! In 1933, the manager of the Peabody decided, after a long day of hunting and drinking, to bring back some ducks and place them in the fountain of his 5-star hotel. As the story goes, the next morning he awoke in a panic, and rushed down to the lobby expecting chaos. Instead, the five ducks were splashing gently in the lobby fountain, and the hotel's patrons were enthralled with the playful waterfowl. Ever since then, the Peabody has been home to 5 ducks who live in a roost on the roof of the hotel. Every day at 11 am sharp, the Duck Master leads them across the roof, into an elevator, and down into the lobby fountain. At 5 pm, every day, they follow him back into the elevator and up to their "duck castle" on the roof.

---

---

And here they are, marching the red carpet back to their duck house! "Seeing the ducks" is one of the most famous things to do in Memphis, and the spectacle always draws a crowd. Having arrived 45 minutes before 5, we were only able to get a perch overlooking the mezzanine railing!

---

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!

[c172]

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.