I have been working so much lately that I didn’t have time to pack for my trip, so I had to get up at 3:30 am in order to pack and prepare my house for my absence. Luckily, I was able to finish everything and make it to the airport with plenty of time to get through Security. After Security, I went to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. I need stop going there because their food in not that good and I ended up throwing away half of it. I waited around the airport until my flight, and then I was off to St. Louis. The flight was about 2 hours until landing in St. Louis. I collected my bags and then went outside to wait for the shuttle bus to take me to the rental car place. It took a long time to arrive and I was the only person waiting. Maybe they don’t have as many shuttles running on Sunday? Anyways, I made it to the rental place with no problems and got my car. The rental guy kept trying to talk me into upgrading my car into something nice. He was spitting out all these car names, and I finally had to tell him that I had no idea what he was saying. Then he joked around about how I don’t know cars. Finally, I got in my car and drove to my first stop.
They announced on the intercom when it was time for the movie to start, so I went into the theatre. Cahokia was once the largest city in north of Mexico. This city thrived in the 1200s when Europe was still recovering from the Dark Ages. The city had a caste system with priests, a ruler, nobility, and people that did the work. Products that originated in Cahokia were traded throughout North America and items have been found up to a thousand miles away from the city. Which is very interesting since people were not travelers during this time. Most of the trade centered around the Mississippi River, as that was the main highway for travel. The mounds themselves had multiple purposes. Some were burial mounds for important people. And others were the foundation for homes of the wealthy. No one knows what happened to Cahokia, but after the 1400s they started to decline until eventually Cahokia ceased to exist. The movie was interesting and gave me an understanding of the importance of Cahokia.
My next stop was Ulysses S. Grant National Historical Site. When I walked in, I signed in at the park ranger station. They told me the next tour would be in about 10 minutes, but I had time to explore the park or the museum. Since the tour would take me around the park, I decided to look at the museum. I knew nothing about this site other than that it was a National Historic Site and the Ulysses S. Grant was a general in the Civil War on the Union side. The museum showed more of Ulysses S. Grant as a person and what his life was like. There were journals and letters from his perspective, and the perspectives of those close to him like his wife and close friends when he was a general. When it was time for the tour, I walked back to the information station. I turned out to be the only person on the tour. Really, the main attraction of the park is the house. As we walked to the house, the park ranger gave me a little history about the importance of the site. This was the site where General Grant first met his wife, Julia Dent. A couple of miles from the site was the Jefferson Barracks. Back in the day, this were General Grant and Julia Dent’s brother was training. They became friends, and the brother invited Grant home to meet his family. It was instant sparks between Julia and Ulysses, and the started courting and eventually married. The park ranger also told me a bit about their married life, like there was a point where they were separated for 3 years because of Grant’s military service. There was even a point were Grant quit the military and was going to become a gentleman farmer. At this point, he lived with Julia at this site (White Haven) with her parents. It was a strange relationship because Grant grew up in the North with his father being very anti-slavery, and Julia’s family was a slave holding family. This sparked several debates between Grant and his father-in-law. When the Civil War began, Grant returned to military service to fight on the side of the Union, and eventually won. The Grants eventually bought the house from the Dents and used it as a vacation home when they needed a break from public life. At this point, we got to go into the house. The ranger pointed to some stuff, but mostly left me alone to explore. They tried to keep the house as historically accurate as possible, but one of the things they added was a mirror over the mantle that was actually a TV. You hit a button, and it shows a debate over dinner between General Grant and his father-in-law about slavery. I then walked through the rest of the house, taking pictures. One of the weird things about White Haven is its name. It is called White Haven, but the house is actually green. No idea why.
The next place I drove to was Jefferson Barracks Historic Park. It was literally just a park. I though there would be something there in reference to the barracks, but there wasn’t. There was a museum you could go to and a national cemetery, neither of which I was interested in. So I drove around a little, and then headed to downtown St. Louis for the rest of my trip.
I was hungry by this time, so I took a detour to get some food. I went to St. Louis Bread Co., which is actually Panera Bread. I was wondering, because the other locations I passed when I was driving had the Panera logo. Maybe it was started in St. Louis? I got my usual, and it was just okay. It was hot, but the cheese hadn’t melted yet, so it was just okay.
Our guide told us a little about the history of Anheuser-Busch. The brewery was originally just owned by Adolfus Anheuser and he brewed the beer. Then he met Mr. Busch who worked in beer distribution and was so impressed that he brought him home. Busch met Adolfus’s daughter and the 2 ended up getting married, and the rest is history.
After that we went to where the beer is stored. They have these huge vats, and each one contains 3,600 barrels of beer. We were only on one level, there were 3 other levels and the vats went back 4 deep. And that is only one of the rooms they store the beer and this location is only one of several around the world. We learned a little bit about the process, like the vats are lined with a type of wood to help them ferment. That is why they are not made of wood, but instead are stainless steel.
We had to show an ID and get a token. We could then present the token to the bar tender at the end and get a free beer. Since I don’t like beer, I just left my token on a random table for someone else to enjoy. Then I went to the gift shop. When we were in Ireland, all Dad asked for was a beer mug. Kendall and I got him one, and it ended up cracking on the flight back. Luckily, I found another one and it was on sale, so it was only $2. I then walked around some more and got Budweiser barbeque sauce for my Mom and a Clydesdale horse ornament for Kendall. My last stop was Forest Park. When I looked at the pictures online, it was super pretty. But I guess that is during a different time of the year like the Spring or Summer, because it didn’t look that pretty when I drove through. By the time I got there, the zoo and the other businesses were already closed. I was also really tired, so I drove through the park and then decided to return to my hotel for the night. The next day I would have to get up early to return my rental car and meet the rest of my team at the airport so we could go to the client.
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June 2022
AuthorThese are details from my adventures around the world. |