7/2022 Summer Trip to Missouri and Illinois National Parks

7/12/2022 –

Me and my mom both got up at 2 in the morning. It was hard. Got ready and about 3:15 am to the airport. We got to the airport at a prefect time. We were catching the first flight out of Tucson, AZ. Luckily no delays going to Dallas, TX. We got to Dallas and we had a hour to wait. We left on time. We flew into the airport in St. Louis. Got our stuff and went to the rental place for a car. We waited for two hours for the car to use for the day. Mom drove us to the Doubletree Hotel where we were staying for a week. We had dinner at the bar which was very good. We both had salmon salad.

7/13/2022 –

Happy Birthday to Me!! For my birthday we were going to Illinois to see some Abraham Lincoln sites. My mom drove us to Springfield, IL that it took 2 hours from where we staying from.

1. We stopped at was the Lincoln Tomb. It was very interesting. In the cemetery Lincoln was buried in three spots. There was a spot where they had his casket on top of the ground but people were trying to steal it. Second spot was on a hill with three out of the four sons and his wife (his other son is buried in Virginia.) The final spot is in a tomb under ten feet under concrete. You can walk around inside the tomb and it tells a story of his life.
2. Was the Lincoln Home. We meet up with a group of people that is part of a travelers club that I am in. It was a meet-up. It was a lot of fun. It was a pretty house. When is was first built it was a one bedroom cottage. Later on after his sons were born they made the house bigger. There was three bedrooms added to the home. There are a few pieces that were original back to the 1800’s. The family lived there for 17 years before moving to DC to become president. I found out that Abraham Lincoln had two hobbies. They were wrestling and saving stray cats. Where this house is there are a block of other houses to look at. Like a real neighborhood. There is a visitor center to get your information and your stamps.

When we got back to the hotel we went to a Welcome Party for the National Parks Traveling Club. Got to see some of the people I know from last year and got to meet some new people. We had snacks and talked.

7/14/2022 –

Today we started our first tour for the convention. We were going to Ulysses S Grant. He was a farmer, he served in the war and he was the president of the United States. This park is where you can see the home he lived with his family. Great displays.

When we got to Ste. Genevieve we had lunch at Audubon restaurant. It was good food. The next park we saw was Ste. Genevieve. This is a town in Missouri. This town the first European settlement. The group went to a couple of buildings: Jean Baptiste Valle and Green Tea Tavern. A lot of cool history around the town. Me and my mom walked around the town.

That night we had dinner provided by Favazza’s. Yummy!!

7/15/2022 –

Today was the second tour for the convention. We went to see the Gateway Arch. It was a lot of fun.

1. We watched a movie called Monument to the Dream. This movie was about how the Arch was made. The workers had to go up really high without cables holding them.
2. What we did was go up in the south side of the Arch. You take a seated elevator up. It takes four minutes up and three minutes down. You get to look through small windows at the top to see the views.. On one side you can see Missouri and the other side you see Illinois. We couldn’t go in the courthouse. It’s closed til 2024. It’s getting worked on. I got to see all three signs for this park.
3. What we did was go on a steamboat ride along the Mississippi River. The ride is a hour long and they talked about some of the history. We went on Tom Sawyer boat.

For dinner we went to Syberg’s. It was very good. Each table there played some National Park trivia. It was a lot of fun.

7/16/2022 –

Today I stayed at the hotel for a class and a meeting. The group had a big dinner party at the hotel.

7/17/2022 –

It was a raining day here in St. Louis but we decided to go to St. Charles for the day. You can find a museum that talks about the Lewis & Clark trail. It had displays about their trail. I didn’t realize how much they went through to get to another part of the country, Also while we were in St. Charles we saw two state parks. There were First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site and Katy Trail State Park.

7/18/2022 –

Got up around 2 in the morning for our 5:45 flight to Dallas and then home to Tucson. We returned the car and went to the airport. Everything was on time. So good to be home.

7/19/2022 –

Relaxing and enjoying my last day of vacation. I had a lot of fun on this trip and hanging out with my mom and all my new friends.