Last Time In The Loo - Day 3

On our last day in The Loo, we spent a great portion of the early afternoon trying to decide what to do in The Loo.

Brother, who actually lives in Edwardsville, IL, is not overly familiar with the city. After hours of debate, we decided to go to The City Museumt prior to checking out the Wash U MFA gallery show.

First, though, Brother suggested that we have some authentic midwestern pizza at Imo's! Brother had described the pizza to us. For whatever reason, pizza in the midwest is made with Provel cheese instead of mozzarella. Rumor has it that this is because Provel cheese is made in IL or St. Louis or something. Sister, who worked at Panera bread (originally St. Louis Bread Co. - yes! I am SUCH a fan) said that she told customers that Provel is a combination of Provolone and American cheese, which actually sounds good, just not as a pizza topping. Brother kept saying "Look I'm not taking you there because it's going to be a good meal. It's just that you have to try it."

We got there and Father found a coupon for a free 2-liter bottle of Pepsi with a purchase of a pizza, so instead of my getting a small Pepsi, I was handed a 2-liter bottle. Yeah.

The pizza:



It was cut in squares and was edible. I'd never eat it again, unless I was utterly and completely starving, which I was when we ate this. It tasted like a microwave pizza. Namely, Celeste. Ewwww.

On our way into the city, Father said "We have to stop at the arch!" I've been to St. Louis four times and have never actually stopped at the Arch. I have millions of photos of it from afar, but never actually walked up to it. People resisted this idea, but thankfully father insisted.


Photo Credit: Sister

The Arch, The Gateway To The West, is spectacular. When you stand directly underneath it, it looks like its shaking and you feel dizzy.



People from the east call it The Asshole Of The East, which I think is funny. But now that I've seen it up close, I don't think its as funny. Apparently you can take a ride in the Arch, which is not something I ever want to do.



We headed into the city and parked near the City Museum, because there is a ton of parking in St. Louis. This is because there are very few people in St. Louis. When we got into the City Museum, we realized that not only is it quite expensive (Brother had only ever been at night - it is open until 1 am - when it is cheaper) but that it was populated by millions of children. The prices changed at 5:00, so we decided to not go and to perhaps come back at 5:00. I felt bad because my friend G was supposed to join us. I called him and said "Dude, there are a million kids. This is not a good idea. We may be back later."

It was about 3:00 at that point, so we had two hours to kill. We walked over to the MFA exhibit, which was actually in the middle of being taken down. Snap.

Ummmm.

We asked the kid who was taking it down "Are there any other good galleries around here?" He said "Blah blah blah gallery is around the corner."

"What are they showing?" I asked.

"Landscapes."

Snap.

Brother had no idea what to do. We stood in the lobby of the gallery for about 20 minutes just looking at Brother really hard, hoping that he'd have an idea. He kept saying "There's really nothing to do!" He suggested, after a while, that we head to Delmar, where there are nice shops. Brother and I hung out there during my last visit when we went to The Tivoli Theater to see "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra," the best movie of all time. There are cute shops. It's scene-y. I said "Maybe I can buy stuff for my new apartment there!" Yay!

Only one problem - Brother didn't know where we were in relation to Delmar. We finally found two dudes on the street and asked them "How do we get to the Tivoli?" They said "That way." Turns out we were on Delmar. Sweet!

We drove down Delmar for about 20 minutes, getting the not-so-scenic tour of whatever part of St. Louis we were in. St. Louis is different from other cities because it doesn't seem to be a walking city. You can drive for an hour and not see a single person or a single business. You'll see nothing but abandoned and scary looking warehouses and then bam! Beautiful residences.

Delmar just ended amidst the beautiful residences. We looped back around, perplexed, and just headed back in the direction we came from. By then it was getting late, and Brother said "Look, even if we figure this out, we're going to get there and have to turn around to go to the City Museum."



We scrapped the plan and went back to the City Museum. When we got there, there were still a million kids. Brother said "The City Museum is effective birth control."

We debated for an eternity - should we go in? Should The Parents go in? What package should we get? Is this going to be at all fun with a million kids in there? Sister desperately wanted to go in, so we finally, after much much much debate, decided to go in. I didn't call G because I was afraid that the plan could change at any second, or that the City Museum would crumble just because that was the sort of luck we were having that day.



So! The City Museum is the best place ever. There was a chance I would hate it, but I ended up liking it. I didn't take many pictures because, well, its all caves and tight spaces and climbing through ceilings through steel/wire tubing and crawling through tunnels under the museum. It would have been easier had I not had my camera at all.



It's in this huge building where they've erected caves and scaffolds and 8-story slides (see above). Sister described it as being "very Terry Gilliam," which it was. There was a lot of climbing and darkness and getting lost and desperately searching for more slides. The kids in the museum were nuts. Little bodies can sneak through any crevice. The museum is basically just a huge playground and its yours for the taking. There are signs everywhere saying that the museum is not responsible for injuries. I imagine there are many.



There was also an outside portion of the museum, but we didn't play there because it was a little cold out and also it was more money. Plus, I think I'd have had a heart attack.



We all had bruises and soreness after our adventure. But it was worth it. Fun in St. Louis! YAY!

We went for dinner and then headed back to Edwardsville, where we hung out with Brother's roommate's for a bit and then spent time discussing my relationship insecurities. I have the best siblings of all time, and am lucky to know so many people who support me.

I headed back on Sunday and had amazing flight luck! We got to the airport a little before we'd planned. My flight had been delayed already, so I would miss the connecting flight in O'Hare and most likely be stranded for a while. The standby earlier flight was already booked, but because I got there so early, they were able to put me on a direct flight on another airline that got me to Laguardia 2 hours before the original flight!

YES!

I had to undergo the complete bag check, which is always demoralizing because I am such a terrible packer. After checking my bag, the dude said "Miss! You look like you're in fashion... could you please tell these women that my glasses are in style?" This guy was about 60 years old and had old-school brown plastic scientist glasses. I was like "Oh, yes, those are TOTALLY coming back in." "See? TOLD YOU!" he said to the ladies, and then turned to me and said "Miss, you've made my day" and I said "No, you have made MY day." Because he really did make my day. I love cute, little things with cute, new people. Awshummmm.

My last trip to St. Louis was amazing. Being with my entire family was lovely. I can't wait to do it again. And I can't wait to see Brother again, because when I next see him, he will be back on the east coast for good! YEAH!