The First of Many Arches

We woke up early and were on the road by 6:50. Tim was making sure I was watching for caches in each state and we found Indiana and Illinois easily. You could see him visibly relax as soon as we found a cache for each state. We ran into quite a bit of rain while we were driving but it cleared up by the time we hit St Louis. There was a green car that kept following us. Everytime we made a lane change, the car would follow. It sort of started freaking us out, but also provided us with amusement for close to a hundred miles. As soon as we got to St. Louis, we headed straight for the Anheuser-Busch factory for the tour. We were able to see the Clydesdale horses, and what was really cute was we saw a dalmation running behind the fence. We toured the stables, and they were the cleanest I've ever seen. It didn't even smell like a stable. Then we toured the historic portion of the brewery along with the newer portion. We were able to see some of the bottling lines running, and then the best part came, the taste testing. We were able to sample two beers. After 1 I was done, but Tim got to try 2 that he really liked. They had pretzels and soda for the kids. This place was incredible. The history and architecture were awesome. It reminded me of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. We then drove to the hotel. We were like the Clampett's going to Beverly Hills. I'm just glad Cassie didn't wear her Crocs in here. This place was one of the nicest places we have stayed at. High class all the way, and the best part is that it is right across the street from the Arch. It is also perfectly placed to walk around town. We walked over to the arch to purchase tickets for tomorrow. I don't know if I'll make it. Just looking up to the top gives me vertigo. Well I have all night to freak out about it. Another wish of mine has been granted. We were able to eat supper at WhiteCastle. Never ate here before but it was fun. We ordered the 20 burger value meal for us. Nick ate 7 burgers by himself. My baby is a growing boy. We walked back to the hotel stopping by some fountains along the way. Now we are off to Starbucks to see if we can get internet and download some more caches.

Miles 397