Saint Louis, The Arch, and Budweiser tour
28 August 2019 | Saint Louis
John Robin | 75 degrees, slight wind, great day
It was a pretty full day playing tourist today. We started off at the Mel Price Lock, that we are going through tomorrow. There is a museum there showing the construction and operation of the locks. My favourite part is driving one of the towboat simulators. You have 600 feet of barges in front of you, and have to enter locks with 2 feet of space on either side. I never did get in without scrapping the sides, and all the banging that went with that.
We then drove 30 minutes to Saint Louis, and our friends took the tram to the top of the arch. There is a new museum dedicated to the arch, and Saint Louis history which we both found very interesting. The town was controlled by Spain, France, and England with all the varying laws concerning slaves, and treatment of the natives. It seems the Spanish and French were a lot nicer than the British of that era.
We then walked over to the Busch Stadium where the Saint Louis Cardinals play. Sadly they were out of town until Friday, and we have to get moving. Otherwise it would have been fun to take in a game.
Since we were at Busch Stadium we decided to go tour the Anhauser Busch Brewery, where such American stalwart ales like Budwiser, Bud Light, Stella Artois, and Michelob Ultra are made.
They were the first Major brewery to go coast to coast in America. This was because Anhauser's son in law, Busch figured out how to pasturize beer, and then built ice plants every 30 or so miles along the railway tracks. This allowed them to keep the beer cold, and stopped the taste from changing during transport.
The facory in operation here is still the origional, updated machinery of course, as the 1800s. Go to the photo gallery to see the ornate iron work, and how pristine the plant is. In the gallery you can see the brew kegs. They hold one million - 12 ounce cans of beer each. Wow. It was very impressive.
Last time we were here with Dale and Bonnie, there was a smokehouse we had heard of, and ate there. The ribs were delicious! We returned for a second time today, and the ribs were still delicious! I talked to the owner and he was tickled that we had remembered his restaurant and returned after two years, especially when he found out we were Canadian. Anyone that comes to Saint Louis has to try Bogart's Smoke house.
So back to Alton, and I had read about this man that lived in Alton that was the worlds tallest man. I have include pictures of him in the Gallery. He was 8 feet 11 inches, and was called the gentle giant. Sad story is that he died at 32 from an infection.
Busy day, lots of sights, good eating. What more can we ask for?