Hello, hello!

Wow. So we are having adventures with hotel rooms! Last night, not so good. We were all glad to get out of the hotel this morning! Tonight is much better!

So a little catch up....

yesterday we went to the Jefferson National Expansion Museum, which includes the Arch and the Old Courthouse. The Old Courthouse is where the Dred Scott Case began - the Dred Scott Case that Roger B. Taney(whose house is in Frederick, MD) presided over as Chief Supreme Court Justice.

The Arch -

Oh my gosh! Kudos to Saarinen(who also designed Dulles airport, among other things). I will say the tram ride up was not my favorite, and totally not what I expected. But once you get up to the top, WOW! The view is spectacular! I think the Arch was designed with the tourist in mind because it is quite spacious at the top(when compared to the Washington Monument, that is).

After going up in the arch, we took a tour on a riverboat, the Tom Sawyer. One thing that surprised me was to see the Mississippi is a muddy brown(speaking of mud, there is real dirt out here. No clay!). We asked a park ranger if it was pollution or just the way the river is, and it is just the way the river is, at least here. Another thing that surprised me about the river in St. Louis, is that it is not a recreational waterway. It is a working river, and the waterfront is very industrial.

This is a picture of a grain barge being loaded. Yes, the back is sunk down lower than the front. We learned that the proper way to load a barge is from back to front(or vice versa), not from the center out.

Wednesday we went to the home of former president, Harry S. Truman. Very unpretentious!

We couldn't take pictures in the house, so this is it. It is a cute house, albeit outdated in decor. It is a house that you could picture yourself living in - President Truman would probably like that comment.

Following the Truman home was a visit to the Monroe school, where the Brown's and others sued the school board to desegregate schools. This led to the Supreme Court case, Brown V. Board of Ed. It was really sad to see the hatred people can allow to surface.

A surprising thing is the scenery in Kansas. I had a preconceived notion that Kansas would be flat and nothing. This explains southern Indiana and Illinois. So far, southeastern Kansas is really pretty. Beautiful rolling hills, and when you reach the apex, you can see green fields and trees that continue forever. Clouds so close, you just want to reach out and touch them. And a gorgeously azure sky that meets with the green fields in a distant point. Perhaps western Kansas will match the stereo-type I have, but this part of Kansas is something to write home about - and I think I just did!