- 19.1 miles
- 2 hours 10 minutes
- 8.8 mph average speed
- 9-11 mph winds
It was SO tough saying goodbye to Misty and Darrel! They were having Star Dust pulled out and surveyed for the sale as we were pulling out of the marina. We sure hope that our paths will cross again in the future, possibly on the road next time rather than on the water!
We had lunch at the legendary Fast Eddie’s Bon Air in Alton. Anheuser Busch first opened the small town bar, Bon Air, in 1921 but had to sell the tavern ten years later when statutes changed and prohibited breweries from owning drinking establishments. It was sold and continued to operate as a tavern for 50 years until “Fast Eddie” purchased it in 1981 and later his son purchased it in 2008 when “Fast Eddie” retired. The two men expanded the bar over the years but it still sells quality food at cheap prices. A 500 seat patio was added as well as a large stage for live music.
We had the best tenderloin and peppers on a stick, peel & eat shrimp, a cheeseburger and fries between us, along with a couple of beers (required by the bar!). The food was so good we had to go back for seconds on the tenderloin and fries!
We found this beautiful mural painted on the side of a building in town:
We took an Uber the following day to St. Louis to visit the Gateway Arch National Park. Interestingly, while St. Louis sits on the Mississippi River, there are no marinas in St. Louis so the only way for us to visit the Arch was by car but we will cruise past the Arch when we leave Alton.
The Arch is a memorial for Thomas Jefferson and his role in the westward expansion set forth by Lewis and Clark and the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. It also celebrates St. Louis’ role as the “Gateway to the West”. It was completed in 1965 and measures 630 feet wide and 630 feet tall making it the tallest national monument in America.
We took the tram ride to the top for spectacular views of both the city of St. Louis and the Mississippi River where we will travel the next day.
There is a museum at the Gateway Arch which covers the 201 history of the westward expansion from the founding of St. Louis in 1764 to the building of the Arch in 1965.
The Old Courthouse is also part of the National Park but, unfortunately, it was closed for renovations the day we were there. The courthouse was built in 1839 and served as the site of several landmark civil rights cases including the Dred Scott case in 1846 which hastened the start of the Civil War and Virginia Minor’s case for a woman’s right to vote in the 1872. The building is one of only two buildings that survived the Great Fire of May 1859 which devastated 15 city blocks and 23 steamboats along the riverfront.
Situated in front of the courthouse is a sculpture of Dred and Harriet Scott who as the inscription reads, “filed suit for their freedom at this courthouse in 1846. Their case reached the United States Supreme Court and was decided in 1857. The court ruled that the Scotts and all African Americans were not citizens of the United States. Opposition to this decision was one of the causes of the Civil War and led to the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution. The Scotts’ struggle for freedom stands as a defining moment in the history of the Civil Rights Movement.”
Once back in Alton, we walked around town and stopped at the local family-owned grocery store who gave us a ride back to the marina.
