Maybe next time...

This past weekend we slipped down to St. Louis, Missouri for the IAFE Zone 5 Convention, hosted by the fine folks in Missouri. Saturday we had a couple hours of free time and decided to try our luck and see if we could ride to the top of the Gateway Arch before it closed. We'd been there before, back in 2007, and arrived too late to go inside so we sat on the steps underneath and later sprawled in the grass and gazed upwards into the nighttime sky. That same night, Jamie treated me to a horse-drawn carriage rider along the riverfront under the Arch.

Magical as that night had been, this time we were determined to get there in time to ride to the top of the Arch and see St. Louis from the observation deck. We passed the Old Courthouse and got excited as the Arch grew in size as we crept closer through the heavy traffic.

We parked the car neaby and ran to the steps leading below the Arch. At the base, I paused to gaze upward and enjoy the view.

Jamie immediately caught my attendtion when he said, "Oh no! They're sold out!" And sure enough, a sign posted in the entrance to the underground visitor center said tickets to the observation deck were sold out for the rest of the day. We decided we'd come too far not to at least go inside this time.

The Museum of Westward Expansion was really cool. We spent over an hour inside learning about our eary presidents, Lewis & Clark's Expedition, the Louisiana Purchase, and Native American history.

This model showed how the last segment was hoisted into place to complete the Gateway Arch.

No trip is complete until we find the perfect Christmas ornament to add to our Memory Tree.

Back outside, the evening sky was getting darker, makng the Arch even more dramatic. 

Then in the car a stoplight gave just enough time for one more parting glance.

Now we're already planning to come back and hope the third time's the charm and we'll finally get to ride all the way to the top of the observation deck and say we've been inside the Gateway Arch.