Wanda Earned Her Name Today!

After much deliberation last night, Clare and I decided to stay put today and tour St. Louis.  Who was to know just how much touring we would get to do, deliberate or not.

Getting into downtown was easy enough, and we followed the directions we were given at the KOA to a leveled parking lot by the Gateway Arch (didn't even turn Wanda on as it seemed simple enough).  We found the parking lot and stared at the low brick archways that we were expected to drive through to enter.  All I could think was "Are you serious?  This is what St. Louis considers tourist parking??" 

I know Clare was very hesitant to drive in, and she might not have except that the car in front of us happened to be a GMC Terrain (which is what she drives, for those who don't know).  Obviously, if they could drive in, so could we... and for those of you who know nervous Clare gets with tight corners, you would be incredibly impressed with how she handled the very narrow ramps!  Go Clare!

It took a while to figure out how to get to The Arch from the parking lot, and in the process we discovered the "real" parkade for those going to the Arch.  Clearly they needed to work on signage off the highway!

We walked through the gorgeous gardens towards The Arch, and were thrilled to find out that the only lineup we had while there was the security check scanner "just like an airport security check" (it even said that on the sign LOL). 

Clare chose to see the movie about the building of the Arch before going up it, skipping out on the historic movie about the opening of the west and Louis and Clark and all that.  I think Rissa would have chosen history over science, but I could be wrong.  Anyhow, the movie was fascinating and rather amusing (although I'm not sure that was their intent at all). 

For those who don't know, the Arch was built from 1962-65 and lets just say the movie was very 60's style, especially the background music, which had me cracking up.  I also laughed when I learned that the guy who designed this monument hadn't even thought of it as a gateway when he came up with the idea.  He had simply looked at great architecture that represented fine moments throughout history, and felt a simple arch was the perfect symbol.  It was not until after his design was accepted, that he realized it could also be considered a sympol of the gateway.  Nice job! 

But that wasn't all.  We were watching live footage of the building, and watching those guys climbing around railings at 600+ feet with no safety harnesses, and in many cases not even safety rails!  In fact, my favourite line in the entire film came when they told us that they expected to lose about 13 men in the building of it.  THIRTEEN MEN!  Ok, I get the concept of "acceptable loss", and I can see that in some situations there might be a call for such loss... but seriously?  Was it really ok to design and move forward on the building of a monument knowing even one person could die!  This is when I just have to shake my little stuffed head and wonder about you humans.  I just don't get it.  The good news is that nobody died at all, so in the end all was good, but really guys? 

As soon as the film ended we were set to board our tram to the top (you buy the tickets with specific times so you aren't lining up forever).  Now when Clare bought her ticket, she was asked if she was claustrophobic, which left me thinking about the little elevators that go up the CN Tower.  Boy what a shock I got when the little 5 foot high doors opened up to reveal a tiny pod with 5 little seats.  No wonder they ask about the closed-spaces issue!  Four other adults and Clare and I piled in, and we all began joking about the extremely close quarters.

An example of the "pod" that was on display - obviously many people want to do the picture thing!

The top wasn't much different actually.  It was a very narrow arched walkway with small windows that you could peer out.  Now we could see why it only cost $10 to get up there.  All you could really do was lean over and take the obligatory pictures, then help out other couples and families who want a picture all together, and then head back down in the same little pod, with new strangers.  I'll say that it was worth it for the experience, and the ability to say "I've been there", but I'd have to say that for anyone who's been up the CN Tower, it is a tad anti-climactic.

Back at the bottom, we explored the historic museum briefly, checked out the old-style mercantile, filled with gifts from that time period, and the "regular" tourist shop filled with all the typical trinkets and touristy-type stuff.  I've commented about this strange traditions of buying stuff for people who aren't even there in previous posts, so I will just bite my tongue this time.  Besides, its not like I have much choice hanging off the back of Clare's backpack.

While considering whether we wanted to wander around any more of downtown St. Louis, Clare decided to walk towards the Mississippi river and see if she could get a decent picture of the entire Arch.  It was only then that we realized just how high the water level really was.  At the KOA we'd been assured that the flooding reports on the news were exaggerated, so we had not expected to see trees and signs almost completely under water, and Clare actually sat on one of the steps and put her feet in the water on the step below, just because she could.

We circled the Arch, went through it (after all, we are using it as our own gateway to the west), took various versions of photos of it, and eventually wound our way back to the car.  Only as we approached the parking lot did Clare and I suddenly clue in.  The entrance we had used was not the real entrance to the building - it was the BACK of it!  The street entrance was completely under water, as were the first 2 levels of parking.  They had removed the metal rail under two of the arches to make the top levels accessible.  Things were making a little more sense now (including the gravel ramp that you drive up to get inside.

And a few more flood photos, simply because they amused me!

I'd rather not, thanks.

Hopefully you stopped long before this stop sign!

Flood Lights??

Now, you are probably wondering why I named this post what I did, when I hadn't even used Wanda to this point.  Well, those flooded streets and a ton of construction have caused havoc for downtown streets.  Roads are closed.  One way streets are now two ways, or even reversed!  I hadn't noticed how bad it was on the way in as Clare had found that parking lot so quickly, but now that Wanda was trying to get Clare out of there, it was quickly becoming a disaster. 

Ironically, she'd already pressed that little blue button twice to get directions to Wanda.  The first call had disconnected before the directions were downloaded, so she had to call back.  But now Wanda had sent her in a complete circle and back to where she started because it was determined to send us up a one-way street that was not going that way right now!  So, Clare had to press that blue button yet again and explain the mess.

This is the point where Clare decided that OnStar had paid for itself completely.  When the adviser understood the situation, she stayed on the line and talked us through it street-by-street, so that Clare could tell her if she could or couldn't go down the road she was suggesting.  It was like having a passenger sitting beside her, reading the map, and helping her figure it out on-the-fly, only better because they didn't end up snapping at each other (ok, that last part was my opinion from personal experience with drivers and passengers attempting to help them, but I think Clare might agree with me there).

Of course, having someone on the line talking you through street-by-street directions, meant there was times when we were just sitting at the lights, thus providing the opportunity for open discussion.  I don't know how on earth it came out, but we learned that our adviser was based in Toronto, Ontario!  They started discussing a tragic event that happened in a flooded river in Ontario just before we left, and nearly missed the next turn we were supposed to take.  Go figure.

We were just starting to get out of the downtown area, when the call got disconnected.  Wanda immediately piped in, telling us we'd left our planned route (imagine that!).  I guess she'd been sitting silently, just waiting for her moment to help again.  Only she still wasn't much help, and when we reached a street we'd crossed twice before, and she kept insisting Clare do a "safe and legal U-turn" on a 4 lane busy street, Clare finally pulled off the road and pressed that little blue button yet again.  This time, the man on the other end managed to stay connected, and talk us through every set of lights and onto the right roads until we finally arrived at the parking lot of the St. Louis Science Centre (it had only taken an hour to go about 8 miles)!

Why the Science Centre you  might ask?  Well, anyone who knows Clare might not be asking, but believe it or not, the destination was not for the love of science (ok, maybe it was, but that wasn't the main reason).  You see, my dear readers, St. Louis is where Build-a-Bear started, and as a result there are a number of locations in the city to choose from, including one in the Zoo that is all different animals, and a Build-a-Dino at the Science Centre.  So, we decided on the Science Centre for the science AND the stamp in my Pawsport :D.

After all the hassle it took to get to the place, and considering that its the only store that offers the dino option (that we are aware of), Clare caved and picked up a dino and put a St. Louis t-shirt on her.  Name: SL.  Yes, for St. Louis, but some of you might recognize those initials as something else, wich of course is the reason Clare got to know the people we are off to visit.  It just seemed like a fitting name for both reasons :).

When Clare explained our travels to the cashier, we were eagerly told that we should take the tram across to the zoo and visit the B-a-B there, as its "bear" choice was all kinds of animals.  It was already after 3pm, and Clare was afraid such a trip would end up in yet another "animal", so we chose to wander around the FREE science centre instead.  We learned some neat things about energy, checked out the dinosaur exhibit, and then watched a science demo on making things go boom (small booms, but still entertaining).  The highlight of that demo was a propane sound wave tube; a long tube with tiny little flames along the top.  When the scientist played music at the one end, the sound waves pushed the propane down the tube and made the flames go up and down, just like waves dancing to the beat of the music.  It was amazing to watch, and Clare tried to take a picture, but none really turned out.  You'll just have to take my word for it.

By about 4pm, we were both beat from our day's adventures, and agreed that perhaps we should let Wanda get us back to the campground before rush hour began.  With only one missed street, and one "you have left the planned route", Wanda got us back to the KOA without needing any help from her human assistants.  Yay Wanda!

The rest of the evening was rather boring as I sat in the little cabin while Clare "hung out" doing silly human things like eating, watching news (something about needing to check weather), chatting with other people in the campground (including a staff person who informed us that every GPS system she knows of seems to have a nightmare getting people in and around St. Louis, so I guess we weren't alone) and organizing her "stuff" to repack the car tomorrow.  *yawn*

We finally sat down to write this post, and wouldn't you know it, the internet went down just as we were finishing up.  We waited, hoping it would come back up, but at midnight Clare admitted defeat and went to sleep. 

Its now 8am and I was determined to get this posted before we got on the road today.  There is a storm front coming toward St. Louis, but the weatherman said its losing power as it travels, so hopefully it will just be rain by the time we meet up, and drive through it.  As much as I would love to see a tornado, Clare says she really doesn't want to lose her car to one.  Sheesh, humans and their "stuff"  :D.

Today's goal is to get through Missouri and at least part of Kansas.  Hopefully it goes well, and I'll have plenty fun and safe adventures to tell you about tonight

Whatever!