Day 63-66 Alton, Illinois (and St. Louis, MO.)

Our trip from Grafton to Alton was a little under two hours. The trip itself was uneventful, as there were no locks or anything else to slow us down. We left around 11am since there was no rush, and with the current we made good timing, traveling a little over 8 knots at low throttle. I understand the current will get to be much more once we get further down the mighty Mississippi.

We called Alton marina as we were on the way. We had reached out earlier in the week, but there were issues with water levels and shoaling, so they were not allowing anyone with 4 foot draft or more in. We are about 4′-4.5′ in draft depending on how much fuel we have. Five hundred gallons of fuel will drop us several inches. ON this phone call, they told us we could come on in, and they were currently dredging the entrance as well, so we should be fine. When we arrived we went straight to the fuel dock and filled up as well as got the waste tanks pumped out. We are preparing for the long journey south with no fuel or pump out stops. Once filled with fuel and waste taken care of, we went to our dock. They have covered docks here like the last marina, and again we had to ask for a slip with no roof because we would not fit under it. We tied up and did the usual Lauren/Frank walk while I did the post trip walk around and made sure all was secured.

Our first order of business was getting to the pool. It has been hot! It was in the mid-90’s on arrival. We spent the afternoon lounging in and around the pool ’cause this is what we do. A little about Alton: It is famous for its limestone bluffs along the river north of the city, for its role preceding and during the American Civil War, and as the home town of jazz musician Miles Davis and Robert Wadlow, the tallest known person in history. It was the site of the last Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas debate in October 1858. The former state penitentiary in Alton was used during the Civil War to hold up to 12,000 Confederate prisoners of war. Alton has a few places to check out, and steep streets lead up the hill from the Alton riverfront to the business district presiding over the river town. Evening time came and we decided to walk to a local place, Fast Eddie’s: it is a cash only bar with a few food items available. We were not aware of the cash only policy and I was a little upset because we didn’t have much cash on hand, but not to worry- beer was $3.50 for a giant 24 oz goblet, and peel-and-eat shrimp was .35 cents each. We had enough cash for a few beers each and about 20 shrimp plus tip. They also have live music every night, which we enjoyed as we ate and drank on the patio. The walk here was a bit long. Almost everything we passed on our walk was closed and it was a little iffy of an area. A police car passed us and Lauren saw him give us a second look, then he returned about 10 minutes later and parked in a lot which we passed on the way. At this point we were happy he was there as a shady character kind of started following us, but we were a block ahead and made it to our destination and past the cop before he could catch up to us. Later we Ubered back to the marina and called it a night.

Tuesday we had another pool day. Nothing much else to report. We hung out and made dinner on the boat and walked Frank a few times around a small park that was next to the marina. We made reservation for a rental car for tomorrow so we could explore St. Louis.

Wednesday morning Enterprise picked us up at the marina and took us to their office so we could get the car. Once the paperwork was done off we went to downtown St. Louis. Our first stop was Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. We found out they do tours every day, so we made the first morning tour at 9:30am. This took us around the stadium, in the press box, down through the dugout and onto the field. They were getting ready for the playoffs, so there was a lot of activity going on around us. The funniest story I heard was when Mr.Busch bought the team and field. He wanted to name it after a beer. MLB said no way. He named the stadium after his family, Busch Field. The next year, they made a new beer: Busch beer. I’m not sure if this story is 100% accurate, but this man was a genius if it is! After the tour, we went to the St. Louis Cardinals museum located across the street and enjoyed some more baseball history. Our next stop was going to be the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, but we figured we should eat first. We went across town to an area called The Delmar Loop. We found a Thai restaurant to get a quick bite, then continued on to the brewery. We made perfect timing, as the next tour was starting within five minutes of our arrival, so not much down time. We took the tour and saw the Clydesdale horses and their stables, the brewery and packaging facility as well. We were given a couple of beers on the tour, as well as one when we were done. They also gave us each a ‘fresh’ beer just bottled the same day as our tour. Once the tour was over and we were drinking our complimentary beer, they came around and gave everyone in the beer garden a small beer for their daily toast. What a cool concept.

Next on the list of to-do’s was The Arch. The Gateway Arch is a 630-foot monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Clad in stainless steel it is the world’s tallest arch, the tallest man-made monument in the Western Hemisphere, and Missouri’s tallest accessible building. We just made it for one of the last rides to the top. It takes four minutes going up, and only three minutes to come down. They let you off on the top and you can stay as long as you like. We stayed for about 20 minutes taking pictures and admiring the view, then took the ride down. Next.

After the Arch we went back across town. A long-time Latin American area, Cherokee Street is known for its established taquerias and exuberant Cinco de Mayo celebrations, as well as its eclectic global eateries and hip bars. Vintage stores, antiques shops and contemporary art galleries showing local work also line the street. It’s funny to us we keep crossing the city, from one side to the other. We were looking for Earthbound Brewery, which is a brewery with a different attitude. The beers were delicious, and we had a musubi as well. The ‘sandwich’ consisted of marinated tofu, sushi rice, pineapple, sweet chili sauce, pickled ginger, furikake, wrapped in nori like a sandwich. Simple and delicious. This was the opposite of Budweiser- weird and funky, and some weren’t even beers: The Space Dream.  This braggot (barley and honey beverage) is brewed with copious amounts of wildflower honey and lavender, then fermented on blackberries. Yum! Next.

We left and went back to downtown, looking for a pizza place that is supposedly President Obama’s favorite pizza. The musubi did not fill us up. We found Pi Pizza right across from the National Blues Museum. We had ‘smashed scallion’ pizza, which had white sauce, mozz, smashed scallion, goat cheese, mike’s hot honey on it. It was good, but it is no Citizen Pie in Cleveland. Nothing can compare and we are spoiled. Now that our bellies were full, we figured we should be heading back to take the car back and relieve Frank. Next.

Of course we had to have dessert, so we went back across town and south to an ice cream shop: Ted Drewes. He “has been selling frozen custard for over 80 years and Christmas trees for over 50 years. His attention to quality has set the standard for frozen custard and Christmas trees in St. Louis.” It was well worth the trip.

At this point we’ve been out for almost twelve hours and it was time to get back. We took the car to the rental shop and got an Uber back to the marina. Frank was happy to see us, and was even more happy to get to some grass. We were not happy when we realized we left the ‘fresh’ beers in the rental car. It had been a long day and we retired soon after for a peaceful night.

Thursday we slept in a bit and hung out on the boat. We got some maintenance and cleaning done, and decided to ride the bikes around town and to a small lock museum up the river. The museum was located at the next lock we will be going through. We went there first, and saw the conservation and flooding efforts they are doing along the river. I also played with a video barge, which simulated me driving it; I hit the first boat I was supposed to pass and successfully passed the second one, but the machine told me I should have waited-I’m not sure why- I didn’t hit anything this time! Afterward we rode to town and saw some civil war relics and tallest man in the world statue. We of course were getting thirsty, so we found the Old Bakery Brewery: “The Old Bakery Beer Company was born in early 2015 after we were introduced to the beautiful old Colonial Bakery building in downtown Alton, IL.  Part of the building started its life as a bakery in the late 1800’s.  After a fire in 1929 and a series of remodels, additions, and changes in ownership, the building remained a bakery until the early 1980’s when it shut down.  We have tried our best to keep the building’s history alive, and our name is just a small piece of that endeavor. ” There was a special tonight: $20 pitcher and pizza, so we took them up on the deal. Oktoberfest beer and a burrata pizza. Again, no citizen pie here, but it will do.

We went back to the boat and walked Frank again. We also decided tomorrow we will depart for Hoppie’s, the must-do on the Looper trail, to at least say you’ve been there. Stay tuned!