2022 was my first year in eighteen years to attend the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference without the responsibility of being a board member! While I missed hanging out with the wonderful people who make up the executive board of ACFW for those day-long meetings immediately before and after the conference, it was also a delight to have a little free time to explore the city where the conference was held. Since we only live a couple of hours from St. Louis, Ken and I drove, arriving on Wednesday night before the conference began. We had dinner at Landry’s Seafood House in Union Station. The goldfish and koi were hilarious, begging to be fed. (They did not look like they were starving by any means!)
The conference was held at the Hyatt Regency at the Arch and even though our conference has been held at this same hotel several times, because of board meetings, I’d never gotten to really explore the beautiful National Park around the Gateway Arch.
A huge highlight for me this year was riding up to the top of the Gateway Arch for the first time! (Ken had been up before on a business trip many years ago.) It wasn’t nearly as scary as I’d imagined, even though the little cars that take you to the top were plenty “cozy” with just the two of us—and they’re made to seat five!
Oh, but the views from the top were spectacular!
The moon gave us a show, rising underneath the Arch one night. Just stunning!
Someone told us that if it’s windy, you can feel the Arch sway! Not sure I’d like that, but I certainly enjoyed the experience on a sunny, calm day! Have you been up in the Arch before or explored the beautiful city of St. Louis, Missouri? Ken and I stayed a couple of extra days after the conference and rode bikes through Forest Park, strolled and shopped in the Delmar Loop, visited Tower Grove Park, ate a wonderful lunch at Mama’s in Little Italy on The Hill, and toured the stunning Missouri Botanical Gardens. Those photos will have to wait for another day, but we were certainly impressed with all St. Louis has to offer and can’t wait to come back!
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St. Louis is amazing! My family lived there for 8 years and we just moved back to my hometown of Tampa, FL last November. We lived just off the Delmar Loop and loved exploring Forest Park and everything in the area. Next time you’re there you’ll have to visit the zoo, the history museum and the art museum. They’re all in Forest Park, all of them are amazing and the best part is they’re all free!we love being back in Florida but miss St. Louis a lot too- especially this time of year when all the leaves are starting to change. I’m glad you had a great time!
We’ve been to the zoo several times and love that it’s FREE! We’ll have to explore the museums soon!
I wish I had had time to do more sight-seeing while I was there, Deb. It looks like you and Ken had a wonderful time. Love the view of the park and the old courthouse from the top of the arch!
Yes, the old courthouse is so appealing. One year my hotel room looked out over it and I just loved the view!
It was fun to meet you there, Deborah!
I have been up in the Arch a while ago. I actually love tall things where you get to look down at your surroundings. I didn’t get time to do much sight-seeing like you, but what I did see was fun and interesting. I even met a horse named Max and overcame my fear of horses to pet him!
Awww, so glad you got to pet Max. (My dad, an uncle, and one of my grandsons are all named Max, so anything sharing that name has a special place in my heart.)
What a wonderful trip for you and Ken! Thanks for sharing those amazing photos–even though I’ve attended 2 conferences there in the past, I’d not seen many of the sights you shared. What a blessing you had time to take all that in this year! 🙂
Sending a virtual hug (since I missed my real Deb hug this year!), Patti Jo
I missed getting my Patti Jo hug!! Hope you’ll be at ACFW next year!
My only time in St. Louis was the year of the major flooding from North Dakota to just about everywhere else. (Flying from Idaho, I got to see how bad it was from the air. Devastating.) That was 1993, and it was my first conference as RWA President. For a while, we didn’t even know if we could meet in the hotel because of the flooding. The Arch was closed. Then to make it even more exciting, a tornado touched down in the area on Saturday. I’d never seen yellow air before or windows sucking in and out. Ah me. Memorable for sure.
Oh wow! Sounds like you really got to see some sights, but NOT the kind St. Louis is ordinarily known for. Yes, that yellow/green air is a strange phenomenon, isn’t it? And scary!
I grew up in The Lou! I now live about 30 miles from downtown St Louis. I have been and done all the things you mentioned. I need to do them more often. Things I take for granted. Glad you enjoyed your stay!
Warmly
Kim
We said the same, Kim: “We need to do this more often!” It’s so true that we tend to miss the things in our own state that others travel far to visit.