Dark clouds overshadowed the city of St Louis for the first two days of our stay, and our impression of it was correspondingly gloomy. Every building seemed to be made of old red brick, giving a sense of history, like even the most run down apartments could be museums somewhere else. But elegance aside, the city felt kind of shabby.
When we say this today Samuel and Kelly suspect some sunshine will change our impression and we set out for Forest Park.
Forest Park is a hub of freely offered culture. St Louis' no-admission-charge zoo, art museum, and science center are nestled into rolling green hills, and as advertised there are trees everywhere. It’s a great place to stroll, run, picnic, have a field trip or a lazy day.
(It was also, it seems, a great place to host the 1904 World’s Fair and water events from that year’s Summer Olympics.)
As we arrive at the boathouse near the center, looking for a bit of lunch, Jacob remembers that we ate here on our second anniversary trip, the only other time we have been to St Louis. It is an odd feeling to approach a place as if it's completely new and then realize you know it, the blurry lens of déjà vu coming suddenly into focus.
After a bite and a drink, Samuel suggests paddle boating and it sounds like a great way to work off our sugar-bread breakfast. Samuel and Jacob take the first turns peddling. It's like running through knee-high mud: furious effort sent through a funnel to a tiny result, as if the boat is saying go ahead, try to be in a hurry, and laughing.
From the docks, Post-Dispatch lake starts in a wide lagoon but soon breaks into little channels, webbing through the banks, under bridges, and around islands. We pick one and head upriver.
The sun and park meet in a pleasant mix of greens and blues, and with the forced laziness of the paddle-boat we have time to appreciate it. Leighann is content not peddling, as her legs have not forgiven her for the forty flights of stairs at City Museum yesterday. She opts instead to be the photographer, capturing:
Fountains in the Grand Basin at the foot of Art Hill.
Our Samuel masthead.
A man on a unicycle.
DUCKLINGS!
On the way back to the car, Jacob and Samuel start a foot race. They are neck and neck before realizing the car is about a quarter mile farther than they’d thought, and they decide to walk. Turning to look behind, Jacob sees the girls in the distance doing the same, without needing to prove something first.
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