Yesterday morning we left in the jeep to do some things in St. Louis. In the burrows or suburbs, we saw a sign saying Ulysses S. Grant House. We went to it, and found ourselves way back in a neighborhood that wouldn't be found unless you were lost. We saw a visitors center national park thing and walked in. We were told the tour was very good and that we should see the movie first. It was a nice place, and had a little gift shop that had all kinds of stuff about Grant, and even a few things about slavery and Harriet Beecher Stowe, a lady who's house we saw by Mark Twain's house in Hartford, CT. They had a book about her life, and also had some books about Mark Twain, but there were none I didn't have. They also had a few classics, and even had the Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, which I prior wanted to read around the holidays. It was only a buck 25. I'll save it 'til we get home. Anyway, I met a nice National Parker named Terry. We then watched the movie, and it was very good, giving us an outline of how Grant was stationed around here in his military base and met the Dents, that prior lived at this house. Grant came now and then, and met them because of the Dent's son who was a friend from West Point. Grant found out that the Dent's had a daughter, Julia, and they courted and spent time together, an 1840's way of dating. Then, something happened. Grant was transferred to fight the Mexican War (1846-1848) and saw things he would never forget. Before leaving, however, Grant made it clear to Julia he loved her and she did the same. They made an engagement, and reunited two years afterward. They then married, and Grant got away from the army, making several business ventures in St. Louis. Long story short, they had children, went to other homes, but kept going to the same house they met at, the house we were at today, informally called White Haven, even though it was painted Paris green. Anyway, after the whole war and everything, they retired here, or tried to, before General Grant was nominated for president, much against his wishes, but wanting to do his duty. General Grant became President Grant, and after 8 years (two terms) in the Presidency, he came back to White Haven and became poor and then lost White Haven to different owners after going on a two year trip around the world.
Then after switching owners many times and became in the 1980's a national park. A man who had a little beard and a tall appearance with black hair told us the tour was starting and we followed him into the house, a two floored, old, green house, with an additional one story connected. Robert (the tour guide) took us to the front door, telling us while the Grant's were in the white house they shipped their furniture to another building nearby, and that building burned to the ground, leaving the Grant's with no furniture. So, he said, there is nothing in there belonging to the grants save the house and a few other things, but dials and plaques on the walls show what used to be there. He told us to go to the right, where the parlor is, and when you go to the left room look in where the dining room was a picture frame hung on the wall, and when you walk in a sensor trips and the frame shows you a little video of a conversation with Col. Dent (Julia's father, Grant's father-in-law) about slavery, secession, and the Dredd Scott Decision. We went into the house, and saw the parlor, learning about where Grant and Julia would've sat. We walked together into the dining room, and the frame went on with figures of grey turning into actual people. It was really cool to see. They were very argumental, the Col. pro slavery and Grant anti- slavery and pro union. After we saw that, we saw a little nursery where the kids played, with books and games and a crib. It was little.
Outside was a part attached which was Grant's office, with a desk and shelf of books and pen and paper. There was also a staircase in the attached part which went down into the winter kitchen. It was dark and dreary, like a dungeon in the time of Shakespeare. It had little light, a drafty feeling, a fireplace in the right and left corners, facing each other, and a table with some cooking ware. We left, and then saw the three buildings behind us, a triangular ice house, a big summer kitchen, and a chicken farm. The summer kitchen was kind of cool and stuff, they made food there in the summer to put heat away from the house, whereas in winter they were under the house to make hot air travel up. The ice house was cool and in the ground, and sawdust on top of the ice made it stay cold very long. The chicken farm was cool and had side doors for the chickens to go out of, plus blanks of wood made like a bed for them to sit on. Well, the barn where all the farm animals were was made into a museum, and we looked at that and left.
Next, we went into downtown St. Louis, with a lot of big buildings and such. Then we saw it. A curved, metal but looking stone, long line of a skinny sort, by the water, very tall, and starting on the ground and going down on the ground. It, was, the Gateway to the west. It was, the St. Louis Arch! A magnificent peace of architecture, a great symbol of exploration, a great tour site which millions of people visit every year! And, like Bunker Hill Monument, The Statue of Liberty, The Empire State Building, the white house, we got to to see it. And, after going into a parking lot, we went in a very long park and finally emerged on the other side, seeing the Arch on the other side. Getting closer, we saw how large it actually was, with actual metal. It was so crazy.
The height was colossal, the allusion of the curve spectacular. I stood right by one side on the ground and looked up, right at one side. It was really, really cool. It was also slanting down to an underground entrance with doors and a metal detector and baggage check. We went in, and came into a big center. I took my phone off, my video camera, and my book. I went through clean. I can say the same for everybody. We walked down, and looked around a little, seeing a gift shop, restrooms, tickets for something, a big museum, two theaters, and an info desk. We went to that, and a tan man with a pony tail told us to do the museum and ride and that would take up all our time. What ride, we asked? The ride to the top, he said. He showed us a small yellow compartment with only five seats and contained space. He said a thing like that takes you to the top, and that you then look over St. Louis 630ft up in the air. He said that it is perfectly safe, not fast, and very amazing. "You can't give me a million dollars to do that, " Mom said. "Why not mom?" I asked. "It looks claustrophobic, I'm not doing it." Even after a lot of pleading and pleases, my mother stood her ground. I wanted to do it, Rebecca and Dad did too. Still sad that mom wasn't coming though, we bought tickets for it and went underground more, on a path right beneath where we went through the metal detectors. We went through a little area with museum stuff, but were ushered on by new coming people. We went down yet another staircase, and I couldn't even begin to imagine how much we were underground. We went through a large line of people, and were ushered down into one part of the staircase with the number 5 on it. Two more people came into our spot. 5 people in number 5. We faced a door that said Journey to the sky on it and then I put together everything. We were at the loading dock, about to go up, with these people. Who were these people? Without attracting much attention by them, I swept my eyes over their bodies. A man who was kind of chubby with a premature grey and being pretty tall and a 40 or 50 lady with long blonde hair, pale skin, and being skinny. Dad asked them where they were from. The man said Milwaukee. But just then, our pod opened, and we saw the five chairs. We went in, Rebecca facing the door, me by her on her left, Dad on the other, and the other two people to the right of Rebecca. The doors closed just as Dad came through. Our pod, with two strangers in it and limited space and air, began it's journey to the sky.
The pod went up slowly, rocking back and forth as though to make us go asleep. Over the rectangular little windows I could see we were close by stairs, and could also see electrical wires and all kinds of mechanics. Were inside of the arch, within it's secret network of technology and invention. We went a little faster now, still backing forth and backing forth. It was kind of scary, but I tried to swallow it and hide my emotions as best I could. "Kind of scary isn't it," the lady said. "Yeah, a little," I said, sad she read my emotions, "but it's not too bad."
We found out the man and lady were named Kevin and Karen (I think you know which one is which) and turned out to be very nice. We talked about what would happen if it stopped, that Rebecca had chips, Karen a little bit of water, and I had a book, something to do. We joked around a little, and it made any fear remaining go away. Then it stopped, and looking out I could see we were far above the stairs, and up so high like an elevator shaft. Wait, why did it stop? I could hear a tearing, scratching, and laughter. "MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!" What!? What's going on?! Goblins? Fiends? My imagination? It proved to be the latter. I was just thinking I heard it, but it was probably just the bottom of the pod scratching against the wall of something. The laughter? My imagination. The doors opened, and we were ushered up stairs as new people got into ours. We went into a door, and came to a little curving hallway with many people, a carpeting, and little windows reachable by stepping on a platform and basically laying on it, at a diagonal angle though. We were in the curve of the Arch of St. Louis. This was unreal. I looked out a window on the left side, and saw the sunset illumination of lights on the eastern side of the town. It was so pretty, so high, so amazing! The stadium with it's flatness and bowl shape, the courthouse and capital building, the magnificent swaying river, the untellable amount of buildings, houses, and shops all stretching out to the end of the horizon! It was so beautiful. On both sides. I will truly never forget it. And if I do, I will quickly remind myself by looking at pictures, seeing the videos I made, and read the blo... What am I saying? You can't forget a thing like that!
Rebecca and Dad were enjoying it with me, and we all were disappointed Mom wasn't there to enjoy it with us. After taking one more last look, we went down into a pad, not with Karen or Kevin, but by ourselves, because they left on the first pod down and we stayed and looked more, until many people had left. On the way down, it went a lot faster, and we reflected on the experience, the greatest of the week. Or so I would think. Until the next day.
But anyway, we made Mom suffer for not going, telling her again and again she should've gone. We saw a museum about exploration, but because of lack of time, we didn't see the movies. We then left, got to our car, and as we drove away in the night, said goodbye to the Gateway to the West, the Arch of St. Louis.
We got home, and I slept with my bed in. It was a great, great, great, day.
Mom should've gone,
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