Trip #1 to St Louis was too short

I'll road trip to the greater St Louis MO area 4 times in 2009; even so, the quick trip I took down there the weekend of March 14 was not long enough. It never is when you are meeting people and "catching up"....

Friday the 13th, I went to work for a few hours, came home, picked up the rental (a Dodge Charger, of course), finished packing and left town about 2:10p. I made a beeline for St Louis (via RT 64 W, I-39 S, I-55 S and I-64 W), hoping to arrive for the ValveReplacement Reunion Friday night dinner. I stopped once, at a Shell station in Raymond IL just off I-55. I noticed a "Route 66" historical marker ... so, I suspect I was on Route 66 a bit. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to explore that area ... or any other Route 66 area, for that matter. I arrived in "The Hill" area of St Louis around 7:20p ... just in time for dinner ... and I only saw one police car the entire trip down. I'm glad I rented ... I wouldn't have felt comfortable parking my '87 MC LS/CL in "The Hill" area.... Dinner was DELICIOUS ... and the late night gab session was great ... as they usually are.

Then, Saturday, after breakfast and a bit more chatting, I left St Louis around 11a. On the way out of the hotel parking lot (Crown Plaza, Clayton MO), I spotted a silver '87 or '88 MC SS. The trunk was open, but I didn't see anyone around. So, I headed on to Shelbina MO, where I met Randy (from several MC clubs/boards). I arrived just before 2p, via I-170 N to I-70 W to RT 61 N to RT 36 W. Spent about 5 hours there; Randy took me for a spin in his MCSS (first time he had it out this year!) and showed me around town. Later, he got out his RC cars ... and we had some fun with those. After dinner, I left for home, taking RT 36 E to I-72 E to I-55 N to I-39 N to RT 64 E. I left Shelbina ~7p ... and arrived home just before 1a.

I didn't have a lot of time this trip, but I tried to make the most of it. I know I missed a number of people in the area, but I'll be back 3 more times ... end of June for the MC Nationals in Collinsville IL ... early September during the Route 66 Drive ... (and) ... early October for the 3rd annual MC MidWest Meet. Sure hope to meet others during those road trips!



Cort | 35swm | "Mr Monte Carlo"."Mr Road Trip" | pig valve.pacemaker ...Chitown #2 = 07/25/09
WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort
"Just a deck of cards" ... Kurt Nilsen and Willie Nelson ... 'Lost Highway'

Since I have received a few comments about my observation of "The Hill" area (not being comfortable about parking my '87 MC LS/CL there) ... namely that it is one of the better areas of STL ... thought I'd better clarify, even though that observation was one small sentence in the entire post! My observation is NOT based on ME feeling or not feeling safe in the area, nor was it based on a feeling that it was a high crime area. My observation IS based on the narrow streets with parking on both sides. Heck, my rental car almost was sideswiped by others at least three times shortly after I parked it, and some cars were FLYING through that area. I can only imagine how I would've felt if that was my '87 MC LS/CL almost getting sideswiped.... Sorry, that is just not a comfortable feeling for me ... in ANY area.



Cort | 35swm | "Mr Monte Carlo"."Mr Road Trip" | pig valve.pacemaker ...RT 66 = Sept 5-16, '09
WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort
"I'm not scared now" ... Seether ... 'Fine Again'