2023 EB Day 15 - Curves

To mark the start of the third week on the trail we celebrated with breakfast at Shelly's in Cuba.

First stop was the Meramec Caverns in Stanton, well known as a hideout for Jesse James and his gang.

It's also the first place in the world where the venerable bumper sticker appeared, a lure to attract travellers off the main road.

The caverns are first class, some of the biggest and best to be found in the states.

Today was full of straights... and curves straddling the i44 as we barrelled on towards St Louis.

Vintage motels and classic cars still feature by the wayside.

The bridge that linked the resort town of Times Beach at Eureka is gone, as is the town itself, thanks to USA's high profile dioxin contamination disaster in the 1980s.

Signs begin to show we are nearing our destination.

Lunch at Blueberry Hills Cafe brought eccentric owner Joe Edwards out to explain his part in the development of the Delmar Loop neighbourhood over the past five decades....

...and there's a who's who of photos on the walls, evidence of the rock and roll era that was home to over 200 Chuck Berry performances alone.

In the centre of the city that lies alongside the Mississippi River is the unmistakable reminder we are in St. Louis...

...perhaps the ultimate curve.

At 630 feet The Arch towers above the CBD providing panoramic views in every direction.

It's an engineering marvel and a distinctive marker for the city.

Dinner is back at Blueberry Hills, the music has moved from blues and jazz to something a bit too modern for these 'older' travellers...

so we moved too, up to the roof top bar at the Moonrise Hotel, another of Joe's investments in this neighbourhood.