We Have Arrived in St. Louis

 St. Louis, MO

Gold Windy Selfie on the Mississippi

Camping From Memphis to St. Louis

On Monday we left our comfy place in Memphis and hit the road.  The original plan was to drive to Nashville and spend 2 days there and then go on to St. Louis but plans change.  We had been waiting for our Hilton points to hit our account so we could get a nice place for 2 nights for free but by the time the points hit our account all of the Hiltons were booked for Spring Break so we decided to pivot.  The weather was looking good so we booked camping in Tennessee at Paris Landing State Park and camping in Kentucky at Columbus-Belmont State Park.  The weather stayed nice although it was cold.  We expected cold and it wasn't colder than we had camped before so it was all fine.  Both parks were very pretty and kept up.  We got to see a lot of birds and really enjoyed our time.

Paris Landing had a small aviary for injured birds

We were off by ourselves.  Most people that camp this time of year are in an RV and love the hookups.  We saved some money by choosing a site with no hookups which we don't use anyways.

Paris Landing has a huge marina with fancy boats waiting to be used

Morning pour over is always good

Columbus Belmont State Park is right on The Mississippi.  It was a Civil War site and there are things there to remind you like a museum and cannons.

This chain was stretched across the river by the Confederate Army to restrict movement into the South.

The defensive formations that were built are still there.

We had a great site set away from everyone who wanted views of the river from their site.

We had a nice breakfast location

St. Louis!

Our drive took us into St. Louis on I-64 heading west.  We rounded a corner and then could see St. Louis and The Arch off in the distance.  It was a really cool moment and I could really see The Gateway To The West.  So now we are set up in St. Louis.  We have been here once before and have a lot on our list to do and redo.  Our Airbnb is nice and in a great location near bars and restaurants.  We are here until April 29th and looking forward to Tiki, Breweries, Baseball, Hockey, Museums, and many other things.  

We have a creepy basement for laundry and tornados (we might get some tornado worthy weather on Friday)

I picked up Fried Chicken at Hodak's.  I am sure we will be back

I also picked up some beer at a local bottle shop.  

That's it for today.  If you missed the last post you can find it here.

Go Grizz!

 Memphis, TN

Back to Downtown for the Evening

Today we took a Lyft back downtown for some fried chicken, a cocktail, and a Memphis Grizzlies Basketball game.

We started out at Gus's Fried Chicken (again).  We have had a few fried chicken meals since we left Washington last April and this is the best place (so far) in our opinion.  We planned on waiting in line and waiting for our meal but Gus's was operating at full capacity and we were in and out faster than we had anticipated so we walked across the street to Old Dominick Distillery for a cocktail.  

Old Dominick's has the best $10 cocktails we have had in a long time.

After our meal we walked to FedEx Forum and explored the arena before the game.  There were plenty of people walking from downtown to the arena so we were in a pack of people celebrating even before the game started.  

The Old Dominick Distillery bar at the arena was hopping

Grizz kind of looks like Teenwolf.

There were areas with really cool local art.

One of the best parts of the experience was how much fun the kids around us were having.  They were so into the game and putting on a great show for us.

The Grizzlies won against the Houston Rockets.  It was an exciting game with plenty of highlights.

We are wrapping up our time in Memphis.  We just have a few more things to do and a few more days to do them.  Our plans have changed for our trip to St. Louis.  We were going to spend 2 nights in Nashville but we didn't get our points in time to book before everything was booked up due to Spring Break.  Since we are Diamond members, we were invited to book a fully booked hotel for $653 a night.  We decided to pass and now we are camping along the Mississippi river in both Tennessee and Kentucky.  

That's it for today.  If you missed the previous post you can find it here.

Back to the Crosstown Concourse

Memphis, TN

Flipside Memphis

Today we headed back to The Crosstown Concourse for some pinball, live music, and a cocktail. We started at Flipside for some pinball action.  It's a great place but the machines are a bit expensive.  The machines are in good condition so that is a plus.

I had a good RUSH game

Jazz and The Art Bar

After pinball we walked across the street and went to The Art Bar.  It's the bar we went to 2 weeks ago and loved!  We took our drink out to the atrium and listened to the University of Memphis Jazz Combo Number 1.  They were great and the sound in the atrium enhanced the experience.  It was a fun evening.

That was it for today.  If you missed yesterday's post you can find it here.  We went to The Crystal Shrine Grotto.

The Crystal Shrine Grotto

 Memphis, TN

The Crystal Shrine Grotto is amazing

The Crystal Shrine Grotto

Today we visited The Crystal Shrine Grotto, the only man made crystal cave in the world.  It's located in a cemetery so I was wondering if it was an ethical place (is ethical what I am looking for?  Is there a better word?) to visit but it turns out they have weddings and photo shoots there so yea, tourism is fine.  It was built around 1933 and holds religious sculptures.  It's a really cool place and you should visit if you are in the Memphis area.

The Grotto Entrance

The Artist

Security is state of the art so don't be a jerk, you will be recorded on VHS and a 70 year old man will track you relentlessly until you are in Grotto Jail.  Seriously, be cool!

Donna pointed out the Lucite hair and beard on this Limestone Statue.  Not a common combo.

That's it for today.  It was a great stop.  If you are in the area you should spend 30 minutes to check it out.  If you missed the last post you can find it here.  We walked to Arkansas.